We were cheated by LBL (Lincoln Benefit Life) and its agent Howard Chang when we enrolled in LBL's Ultra Index Life Insurance plan in March. Two months later, after we found out the plan was not what we were told, LBL denied our request to cancel it. Here is the story.
We were initially approached by LBL agent Howard Chang in February 2008. He must have gotten our phone number from one of our colleagues, but he would not tell us how he got our contact information. During several meetings, he showed us some tables of how LBL provided investment options that also cover life insurance. He showed us several tables where the return, based on the growth of the S&P 500, looked very beautiful. He told us there was no risk in the investment, and if we wanted, we could cancel it at any time and get the money back without questions. We specifically asked if there were any hidden charges, and he said no.
Even though at times we had doubts about whether it was real that the plan could be so great in generating cash return while covering life insurance, somehow we believed him that we could get out any time if we decided to, and that it was part of the Allstate company.
Finally, we enrolled in LBL on March 26. On that day, he just brought us a bunch of documents to sign and left some documents for us. We were very busy at the time and did not review the documents immediately. After two months, we were warned by a friend that the agent we trusted might have lied to us. We then read the papers that Howard Chang gave us on the day he asked us to sign the paperwork to enroll, and realized that we had in fact been cheated by the agent:
1. If we do not cancel the plan within 20 days after signing the document, we cannot get out of the plan. Otherwise, we would lose all of the enrollment money of about $10,000.
2. There are various charges, which amount to about $2500 a year.
We started contacting LBL customer service right after we realized the issue, on June 16. My wife and I talked to LBL representatives Scott A. Steinbrook, Gary Marshok (x87256) and Marcie (x86484) and discussed our situation. After having conversations with LBL customer service representatives, and per their suggestions based on our case, we requested to exercise the Free Look surrender and requested a full refund of the premium.
There were three main reasons that we requested the Free Look surrender:
1. We were cheated and tricked into enrolling in the program by many lies told by Howard Chang. While we were being approached by Howard Chang, we repeatedly asked if we could withdraw from the program at any time and get all our money back without fees or penalties, and each time Howard Chang answered that we could get all the money back at any time and that there was no limitation and no penalty or cost. Because we trusted him and believed the information he told us verbally many times, we did not review the papers he gave us on the day of enrollment. When we finally read the papers in detail, we realized that a lot of (and most of) the information that Howard Chang communicated to us was totally not in line with the papers.
2. We were never asked to read the policy before signing.
3. After signing, we asked Howard Chang for a copy of all the documents we signed, but we never received the copy.
But our requests to cancel the enrollment were denied by LBL. Now our only choice is to continue to pay them $5,000 every year, or lose all the money we have invested, which is about $10,000.
We do not know what to do. Please help!
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