Julie Grundstrom, et al., v. Wilcac Life Insurance Company, et al.

Overview

• A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit, Julie Grundstrom, et al., v. Wilcac Life Insurance Company, et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-03445-MMC (N.D. California) (the “Action”), against Wilcac Life Insurance Company, Texas Life Insurance Company, and Wilton Reassurance Life Company of New York (collectively, “Defendants”).
• The Action alleges that Defendants failed to comply with two California statutes — California Insurance Code Sections 10113.71 and 10113.72 (the “Statutes”) — that went into effect January 1, 2013, and apply to life insurance policies “issued or delivered” in California. Specifically, the Action alleges that Defendants terminated life insurance policies without complying with one or more of the Statutes’ requirements governing grace periods, notices of pending lapse and termination, and the right to designate an additional person to receive notice of lapse or termination.
• The Settlement is not a finding or an admission of liability by Defendants, which deny all allegations of wrongful conduct. The Court has not decided who is right.
• You are included in the Settlement Class if you were an owner or co-owner of a Class Policy as of the Final Lapse Date and the Insured under the Class Policy is living as of July 31, 2026. If you were an owner or beneficiary of record of a Class Policy as of the Final Lapse Date and the Insured under the Class Policy is deceased as of July 31, 2026, you are also included in the Settlement Class, unless you timely submit a valid Request for Exclusion.

Am I a Class Member?

The Class is defined as all owners and beneficiaries (where the Insured has died as of July 31, 2026) of individual life insurance policies issued or delivered in California by Wilton, or issued or delivered outside of California by Wilton where the Policy Owner resided in California on the Final Lapse Date, that: (i) lapsed or terminated during the Class Period for nonpayment of the amount due without the benefit of one or more of the requirements of California Insurance Code Sections 10113.71 and 10113.72; (ii) have a Maturity Date that did not expire prior to the Insured’s death, or if the Insured is still living, prior to July 31, 2026; and (iii) were not affirmatively canceled or terminated in writing by the Policy Owner (“Class Policies”).

The Class includes two groups:

• All living Policy Owners of a Class Policy (or, if the Policy Owner is deceased, that Policy Owner’s successor in interest) where the Insured under the Class Policy is living as of July 31, 2026 (the “Alive Population”); and
• All Policy Owners and beneficiaries of a Class Policy where the Insured under the Class Policy is deceased as of July 31, 2026 (the “Deceased Population”).

“Class Period” means the period from January 1, 2013, through July 31, 2026. “Wilton” means any Defendant, and their respective predecessor(s) under the Class Policy, but only to the extent one of the Defendants was the insurer under the Class Policy as of the Final Lapse Date.

What Can I Get?

If approved by the Court, the Settlement offers the following relief to Class Members:

1. If the named Insured under the Class Policy is alive as of July 31, 2026, the Policy Owner, upon timely payment of the Discounted Reinstatement Amount, can reinstate the Class Policy without underwriting and without triggering a new contestability period under the Class Policy (“Injunctive Relief”).
2. If the named Insured under the Class Policy is deceased as of July 31, 2026, the beneficiary(s) of the Class Policy may be entitled to a monetary payment, which will be determined based on the Plan of Allocation described in the Settlement Agreement (“Damages Relief”).

How Do I Get Settlement Relief?

Visit this Settlement Website and enter the Notice ID and Confirmation Code shown on the front of your Postcard to be directed to the Claim Form or Reinstatement Request Form that appears applicable to you based on Defendants’ records.

You must timely submit a properly completed Claim Form or Reinstatement Request Form no later than January 6, 2027. Claim Forms and Reinstatement Request Forms may be obtained on this Settlement Website, or by contacting the Settlement Administrator at 1-844-405-4091 or info@LifeInsuranceTerminationSettlement.com. Submitting a Claim Form or Reinstatement Request Form does not guarantee that you will receive relief under the Settlement. If you have questions or experience any difficulty completing the Claim Form or Reinstatement Request Form, please contact the Settlement Administrator for assistance.

What Are My Other Options?

If you are a Class Member associated with a Class Policy where the named Insured is deceased as of July 31, 2026 and you do not want to be legally bound by the Settlement, you must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class by January 6, 2027. If you timely and validly exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you cannot get settlement relief, but will retain any rights you may have to sue the Defendants over the legal issues in the Action.

If you stay in the Settlement Class, you may object to the Settlement by submitting a written Objection Notice to the Settlement Administrator by January 6, 2027. The FAQs on this Settlement Website explain how to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class and how to object to the Settlement.

The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing on March 5, 2027 at 9:00 a.m. PST to consider whether to approve the Settlement; whether to approve Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees (up to $5,250,000.00) and litigation costs (up to $100,000.00); and whether to award the Class Representatives an Incentive Award — of no more than $10,000 for Plaintiff Julie Grundstrom and no more than $5,000 for Plaintiff David Merritt — for their services in helping to bring and settle this Action. You may appear at the Fairness Hearing, but you are not required to attend. You may also hire your own attorney, at your own expense, to appear and speak for you at the hearing.