State Farm Owes Class Counsel $13 Million in Overcharging Case

State Farm Life Insurance Co. owes about $13 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses in a class action brought by policyholders who successfully argued that the company overcharged them, a federal judge in Missouri ruled Monday.

The insurance giant was accused of breaching a contract with policyholders by collecting “cost of insurance” fees based on “non-mortality factors” that were not listed in their policy. The company was hit with a $34 million judgment, which was affirmed in June by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Class counsel asked for and got attorneys’ fees equal to one-third of ...