Litigation
In September 2006, Lincoln National Corporation filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Transamerica Life Insurance Company and other entities for allegedly infringing U.S. Patent 7,089,201, “Method and apparatus for providing retirement income benefits”. This patent covers methods for administering variable annuities. The jury found the patent valid and infringed. The court ordered Transamerica to pay Lincoln $13 million in damages. At a rate of 11 basis points of assets under management, this was considered a reasonable royalty. In June 2010, however, the verdict against Transamerica was overturned on appeal
In June 2010, Progressive Auto Insurance filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Liberty Mutual over one of Progressive’s Pay As You Drive auto insurance patents.
Read more about this topic: Insurance Patent