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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowStandard Life Insurance of Indiana has been taken over by Indiana regulators after massive investment losses threatened its obligations to policyholders.
Indiana Insurance Commissioners Jim Atterholt won an order of rehabilitation from Marion County Circuit Judge Theodore Sosin yesterday, granting him management authority over the company.
Standard Life is owned by Kentucky-based Capital Assurance Corp., which bought the company for $80 million in 2005 from Indianapolis-based Standard Management Corp. Standard Life employs 74 in Carmel and 17 in Prospect, Ky.
Capital Assurance infused $18 million into Standard Life this year but recently said it would contribute no more capital, Atterholt said in a written statement. His staff met with company management weekly this year to find other sources of capital, but all efforts failed.
“We needed to act now,” Atterholt said. “The quality of Standard Life’s investment portfolio, which has a high concentration of sub-prime debt, has deteriorated under current market conditions to the point that it has become necessary for the Department to protect the annuity holders of the company.”
Standard Life has nearly 39,000 annuity customers in 48 states; 4,700 of them are in Indiana.
Atterholt said all Standard Life‘s annuities are covered, but he recommended that policyholders not make additional contributions or surrender their annuities.
Atterholt appointed Randy Lamberjack to oversee the rehabilitation of Standard Life. Lamberjack was chief examiner for the Indiana insurance department under former Gov. Evan Bayh.
Consumers with questions should call customer service at 1-800-222-3216 or visit the web site at www.standardagents.com.
Standard Life is the second insurer to be taken under the wing of regulators this month.
Medical Savings Insurance Co. was ordered into receivership by Sosin on Dec. 1 after its profit evaporated and customer rolls withered.
Medical Savings was owned by Patrick Rooney until his unexpected death in September at age 80. the company specialized in high-deductible health insurance policies along with health savings accounts.
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