$93 Million Settlement Approved in ‘Cost of Insurance’ Lawsuit Against John Hancock

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge has approved a $93 million settlement of a class action accusing a life insurer of imposing an improper “cost of insurance” rate increase on policyholders in violation of state insurance laws and the terms of the policies.

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York approved the settlement on May 17, which calls for a cash settlement fund equal to 91.25 percent of all COI overcharges collected by John Hancock from the policies through Aug. 31, 2021. The final settlement fund is $93,097,406.

The …