Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Western & Southern Life's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Western & Southern Life

  400 Broadway Street Cincinnati, OH 45202-3312

  
• 

  Western & Southern Life

  4172 Cleveland Massillon Rd. Norton, OH 44203

• 

  Western and Southern Life Insurance Company

  2914 Cleveland Road Suite A Wooster, OH 44691

• 

  Western & Southern Life Insurance Co.

  303 E Army Trail Rd # 302 Bloomingdale, IL 60108

• 

  Western & Southern Life

  303 E Army Trail Rd # 302 Bloomingdale, IL 60108

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/21/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Dad paid the premium on this policy for many years. He died in 2016 and we just found the policy in his belongings. I reported the claim to the company on 11-20-23 and as of 12-21-23 (today), I haven't even had confirmation or acknowledgment from the company. It is a very small policy of $1,400 so there shouldn't be an issue.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/28/2023

  We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family.
  Our records show that forms were
  emailed to *** ***** on December 19, 2023. Upon phone contact with *** *****
  this morning, he has advised that he did not receive the documents and
  requested we resend the forms, which we will email to the requested email
  address. *** ***** has a contact phone number should he have any
  issues with filing the claim. Additionally, in order for the company to make payment on
  claims, proper paperwork is required along with a certified death certificate. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/14/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  11/14/2023- I have contacted the company on several attempts. My wife and I, spoke with them on those attempts. I was locked out of my online account because I had changed my phone number. The website was unable to send it to my current phone number. I called and spoke with several representatives including a manager. I provided all my information. Then, they claim that in order to access my policy, they had to ask a series of questions. I asked why when their online portal don't even ask me questions etc.
  
  The representatives and manager claim, they access the public's DMV records and Credit file. They use this information to ask me a series of questions that must match up with DMV records and my credit file. This was all to change the phone number. The manager insisted that they are a financial institution that has the right to ask a series of questions that match our DMV records and credit information. I asked who gave them permission to access DMV records or credit files when a consumer would have to provide that information. The manager claims, that's their procedure and the company's right. I requested a copy of the recorded call. THe manager refused. The manager insisted that the information on our credit report should be up to date in order for their system to access our DMV and Credit information to ask a series of questions so they can access our policy. I am furious that as a consumer they can access our personal information without consent.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/20/2023

  Western & Southern Financial Group takes its privacy
  responsibilities seriously and is committed to treating you and our millions of other customers fairly and with
  respect. 
  
  Safeguarding our
  policyholder’s information is a critical component of our
  promise to customers, policyholders and ourselves. When
  a policyholder is unable to confirm their account information, we leverage a third party to help us verify their identity. These
  authentication procedures are specifically designed to protect our
  policyholders and prevent bad actors from gaining access to their personal
  information. The information used during this process is collected by the
  third party, used only for identify verification, and not added to our
  policyholders’ files. Our own data sharing practices are outlined in our
  privacy notice, which we provide to all of our policyholders. Policyholder may limit our sharing of certain data by contacting us at (**** *********     
  
  If you would like to discuss
  further, please contact our Executive Correspondence Manager Erica H******
  directly at ***************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/13/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This problem started in June of 2023 after I alerted them of my incorrect birthdate. My policy number is ********** My correct birthday year is 1950 but was recorded as 1951. I've been a client for approximately 14 years, paying a monthly premium of $75.50, NEVER late because of an automatic draft. I have a whole life insurance policy and the nature of the dispute is an underpayment due to having the incorrect year. However, is the amount of underpayment correct? I've talked to my agent Dean O***** but he has stopped corresponding with me. He advised me I owed $788 but I could make a partial payment of $653, which I did but now the company sent me an invoice for $1021. I don't feel that anyone is trying to help me, I feel that I am being messed over because of my age and I cannot find any more affordable insurance at my age of 73. Since this started, I've paid 324.14, 75.50 twice, and 653.73. My final invoice before 653 was 1300, so after paying about half why do I still owe over one thousand dollars? The original agent is no longer with Western & Southern and maybe I should have read my contract closer but that is no reason for Western & Southern to try to mess over me because of my age and they know it would be next to impossible for me to buy affordable insurance. I need your help for them to revisit the calculation because $1300-653 does not equal $1021. Thank You.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/27/2023

  Western & Southern has remained steadfast in providing
  coverage to our many policyholder’s while consistently following the terms of
  the contract signed by our policyholder. Once a contract has been issued, the
  policyholder has 10 days to return if any information submitted is incorrect.
  If the information has not been submitted for changes, it is assumed that all
  information provided by the policyholder is correct. The policyholder may
  request a change of date of birth at any time of the policy while active.
  
  For any information that is misrepresented, this may cause any
  policy values to be recalculated as stated in the contract. The policy is
  issued at the attained age provided by the policyholder. Unfortunately, if the
  information is found to be inaccurate, this would adjust any cost of insurance
  or if a claim is filed, the total claim amount is recalculated based on the
  insured’s age.
  
  The company will reach out to Ms. ***** to provide a breakdown
  of how the total amount due is calculated as it is adjusted once a payment has
  been received. We would strongly encourage Ms. ***** to refer to the terms of
  her contract for review. Once we have reached out, we will also provide a copy
  of the information related to her particular circumstance.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/01/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  Marcia *****

  I called the above number back on December 1, 2023 at 3:40 PM and left a voice message.  The message stated she was working from home???  I  don't know if I heard her the message correctly.  Thank you.  M***** ***** *************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/06/2023

  Ms. ***** has been contacted via phone to answer any questions
  or concerns she has regarding her policy and billing notices. Upon our
  conversation, she has advised that she was pleased with our response and now
  has a better understanding of the billing and her policy. She will work closely
  with financial representative and our Executive Correspondence Manager going
  forward.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/08/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 7/24/23 I spoke with a Western Southern (WS) representative about cancelling my life insurance police (***********). On 7/27/23 I emailed (att) them the documents they requested to cancel the policy. I was to get refunded the policy value of $293.30 plus the premium refund of $66.80 which totals $360.10. On 9/22/23, I received (att) notification that they were using this policy value to pay for the premium. I called and they said they never received my 7/27/ paperwork. I emailed it to them from home and work and verified the email address with them and the website (att). I called and they never received the paperwork. They instructed me to fax them the paperwork, so I faxed it and called and they said they received it and I received a check for $148.52. They said that I needed to pay back the loan that I took out. I did not take a loan out - it's right in the paper that they sent me that they took it out to pay the premium. I have called numerous times, and while friendly and helpful - they will not do anything about the money owed to me. I have proof that I have been trying to cancel since 7/27/23 and have faxed it to them, but the people that I talk to say there is nothing that they can do.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2023

  Western and Southern attempts to process our policyholder
  request promptly upon receipt of the initial request. After review, we were
  able to find due to our error, we did not process *** *********** request upon
  receipt of her request. As a result, the amount quoted on her initial phone
  call was not released. Due to our error, we have processed this request and
  *** ********* should expect the difference of the amount quoted on her initial
  phone call July 25, 2023 to be refunded within 5-7 business days. This will be
  sent to the address of record. We offer our apologies for any inconvenience
  this has caused and appreciate *** ********* bringing this to our attention.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/09/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  I received a phone call and email 11/7/23 asking for me to forward the email that was originally sent on 7/27/23.  I have faxed this already to them several times and also sent it to you for your documentation.  I was told when they received this email, they would process the refund, so they weren't 100% truthful in their response to the BBB.  They said they realized it was their error and actually Erica H****** (from WS) still wanted proof of information that they already had.  Thank you for your help.  Hopefully they will give me my refund in a timely manner; however, I don't have much faith in them at this point.
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** * *********
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/03/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Western & Southern Life is withholding 3 monthly installments of $353.23 beginning June 7th through September, 2023. I am the beneficiary on certificate ************ **** ******. Western & Southern Life acknowledged they sent these funds to ****** bank account after he passed away on June 7, 2023 and ***** bank account was closed by me personally on June 13th, 2023. They have failed to refund me these payments and return my phone calls requesting resolution of same. I am requesting assistance to receive these 3 payments deposited into my bank account as arranged immediately.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2023

  Western and Southern  has a contractual obligation to
  process payments as requested from the policy owner. Once a death notification
  has been made, all payments will cease and a claim is completed. If any
  payments are processed prior to our Company being notified, the client should
  contact the bank in which automatic payments were deposited.
  
  The client will be notified via letter of the Company’s decision
  within 7-10 business days as the information provided is policy specific.
  
  Thank you.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/14/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  I did not receive a resolution that satisfied me from this business.  They advised me they will not reach out to Chase Bank to request the funds they issued to Chase Bank instead of to me for June, July, August & September 2023, that are rightfully mine, nor will they issue me payment.  Since I was not a beneficiary on ****** ***** Bank account I am not authorized to receive any assistance directly from Chase Bank, therefore I expected Western & Southern would take action and contact them as indicated in the letter provided, so these funds could be issued to me, not to Chase Bank.  I expected Western & Southern to request a refund from Chase as Chase Bank should not have accepted these funds for those 4 months by law.  Western & Southern advised me they will not be taking any further action to issue me these funds.  

  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** *******
  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/15/2023

  Western and Southern is a Fortune 500 company with a long record
  of fair and equitable treatment of our customers and exceptional commitment to
  be there for our customers. We must adhere and continue to honor the contracted
  terms as set forth by the policyholder and Company. We apologize that we are
  unable to provide your desired outcome. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/13/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  It was reported to me that my life insurance lapsed in 2019 and no notices were issued. I have requested corporate information and no one has been able to produce information. Address has not been updated and person have been to the home.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2023

  Western & Southern makes every attempt to contact
  our policyholder’s prior to any lapse of a policy. Notices are mailed to the
  address of record provided by the policyholder. As a courtesy, we may also
  attempt to contact the policyholder via phone at the phone number provided.
  
  We make every attempt to obtain payment however, we also rely on
  our policyholder’s to review their billing statements and mail premium payments
  by the payment due date. If a policy lapses within its contractual term, the
  policyholder may apply for reinstatement which is reviewed by our underwriting
  department.
  
  A letter is being mailed to *** ******** providing all options
  available to her related to her complaint. She may also contact our Client
  Relationship Center at ###-###-#### Monday-Thursday 8am-8pm or Friday 8am-6pm
  with any additional questions as policy specific information cannot be provided
  in our response.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/07/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I filed all the necessary paperwork to cash in a policy for my deceased brother in law on June 2, 2023. After many calls I finally received the check on July 7, 2023 in which the check was made out to the wrong name. They used the deceased first name and my last name. I called and they said it was a typo (a typo is not using the complete wrong name). I called the same day and they said they would stop payment on that check and issue another one with the correct name. It has been a month now and I called again and they couldn't tell me why it hasn't been sent out. I have talked to so many people over the last couple months. We are trying to complete the estate work and this is the only item holding it up. I have never seen such poor customer service and people telling me something is being done and it is not. Why would I buy life insurance from a company that is so frustrating if someone passes away and all they do is cause more distress.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/09/2023

  We have reviewed *** ******* complaint and would like to offer
  our sincere apology. It is not in our company’s practice to cause any distress
  to the family of a loved one grieving. We try to make sure all claims are
  handled in a timely manner. The claim was handled within the allotted time and
  a check mailed however, due to our error, the spelling was transposed. Our
  claims analyst initially thought this was handled and learned upon a more
  recent call from *** ***** that a corrected check had not been received.
  
  We can now report
  that this has been resolved and that we have made contact with *** ***** on
  August 8, 2023, providing a tracking number to him. Our file has now been closed.

  Thank you. 

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/09/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.  It does resolve my complaint however they never reached out to me Aug 8, 2023 by phone or email and yes I did check my spam emails too.  I have also checked my voicemail on my phone and there was no call missed from Western Southern.  If I receive the check as they have stated I will accept the response.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* *****
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/06/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On March 6, 2023 forms were submitted to ******** Investments to purchase 2 fixed annuities to the tune of $108000+. The forms were forwarded to Western Southern by ********. The funds were to be transferred from ********* **** mature annuities to Western Southern. Contact through ******** relayed to me, was that it was delayed by 26 days due to staff shortages. I have had no confirmation from Western on receipt of the funds from ********* or any other actions. I have lost hundreds of dollars in interest from this money that seems to be in the wind., I had reservations based on financial ratings but followed my advisor's recommendations that I severaly regret. Where is my money and interest?

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/12/2023

  
  *** ******, we have received your message and reached out to our
  partners for more information. We will be in touch as soon as possible.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/29/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been attempting to cash in a policy since December 2022. I have contacted them multiple times about why my policy is not cashed and I get the same answer of 'we haven't received your paper work', 'we can't open the pdf', 'we didn't have your contact information, except for the email address', etc. I keep resending the paper work and still have not been able to get my policy cashed in.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/04/2023

  Western & Southern will make every reasonable attempt to process all surrender request within its standard turnaround time of 7-10 business days. Typically, when a surrender is delayed, it is because the request is not in good order. This could be caused by a number of reasons such as incorrect name or personal identifiers required to process the surrender. The surrender must be in good order to be processed.
  
  The company will make every attempt to be sure our policyowners are able to submit proper documentation to process their request and if additional documentation is required, we will write out to the client and provide required documents to process their request.
  
  Our records show that **** ********* contract is now closed and her request has been processed as the company received proper documents required to complete her request.
  
  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/05/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* *******
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/14/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Western Southern has charged me unlawfully a termination fee of 95 $. When I spoke to my previous brokerage agent last year he said there was no fee when changing firms. Since I had my **** IRA transferred to a new firm last week I saw a fee on my account. I was never made aware of said charges. I called the organization and spoke to Michael F******** who did not have the contract available when requested. I called 3-13-23 to discuss this matter with Michael who said he would call me back, and did not. I followed up again on 3-14-23 where Michael said the fee was a part of my contract and he did not have the contract available and has not provided it. He has not even provided written proof of closing my account as requested.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/16/2023

  A $95 fee is charged for ********** account closeout fee,
  something should have been provided in original paperwork when opening the
  account. In this case, we will refund the $95 fee, and it should hit your
  account as soon as next week.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/18/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******** ***