Financial Products

Edison, McDowell & Hetherington represents insurance and financial services industry clients in a wide range of commercial litigation matters in Texas and across the country. We represent life, health and disability insurers, annuity issuers, stop-loss insurers, and commercial and residential property and casualty insurers. In addition to representing clients in single-claim disputes and in government and regulatory enforcement actions, we have successfully served as regional and national counsel in a number of complex, multimillion-dollar lawsuits involving stranger-owned or originated life insurance (SOLI or STOLI), welfare benefit plan litigation, premium financing issues and itinerant fraud, among others. 

We have represented life, health and disability insurers for many years and have substantial expertise in all types of claims litigation, including prompt pay, bad faith, fraud and material misrepresentation rescissions, agent/market conduct, policy exclusions, preexisting conditions, medical necessity, precertification and verification, retroactive termination, maximum benefits, and claims under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Additionally, we regularly handle litigation relating to annuities and other financial products. We also represent our commercial and residential property and casualty insurance clients in claims litigation, including the defense of hurricane cases along the Gulf Coast.

In addition to claims litigation, we regularly represent financial services companies and insurers in cases involving the use of life insurance products as the funding source for 412(i) and 419A benefit plans, market conduct cases, including vanishing premium litigation, and disputes over the illustration and description of products and policies. We have won numerous cases relating to fixed and variable annuity products, including achieving dismissal of a national class action regarding the management of tax reporting issues relating to annuity administration. Our attorneys have also successfully argued against claims of bad faith, including allegations of wrongful denial of coverage and violations of consumer protection status and insurance codes, and have defended clients in litigation involving agent liability and other agent/broker/distribution channel issues, commission disputes and agent recovery actions.

Disputes involving SOLI or STOLI and investor-owned life insurance (IOLI) policies have grown significantly in recent years. Our attorneys are recognized among the nation’s leading advocates in this area of law, which often revolves around financial underwriting, insurable interest and return of premium issues. We have filed and defended SOLI-related actions in dozens of states and obtained some of the most significant legal opinions in this rapidly developing area. For example, the firm won significant victories for the life insurance industry in several SOLI cases. Recently, litigation relating to stranger annuity transactions (STAT) has also arisen, and EMH has been actively involved in representing our clients in such matters.

Itinerant fraud is another area of organized insurance fraud in which our attorneys offer substantial expertise. Our attorneys help clients develop proactive techniques to combat the use of fictitious companies and disreputable individuals to procure life insurance policies and extract settlements from insurance companies. We have also helped companies recoup death benefits—and prevent millions of dollars in potential losses—through effective court action. 

As an ever-increasing number of disputes are being resolved through arbitration, we have likewise increased our representation of clients in matters presented before National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) panels, as well as other relevant agencies. We also represent clients in out-of-court agreements and settlements, including oppositions to structured settlement transfers.