The Colorado Bankers Life lawsuit ended in a court-ordered liquidation of the insurer effective November 30, 2024, after its owner, Greg Lindberg, was found to have diverted billions of dollars in policyholder funds into companies he personally controlled. If you hold a CBL policy, your covered benefits were assumed by Continental General Insurance Company on January 1, 2026, and are backed by your state’s life and health insurance guaranty association up to statutory limits.
Why Colorado Bankers Life Failed
CBL was a North Carolina-domiciled life insurer and the largest of more than 100 companies Greg Lindberg controlled through Eli Global LLC and Global Bankers Insurance Group. Between 2016 and 2019, according to federal prosecutors, Lindberg directed a scheme of circular transactions that funneled more than $2 billion of insurance company funds into his own affiliated businesses. He also forgave more than $125 million in loans he had taken from the insurers.
The North Carolina Department of Insurance placed CBL, Bankers Life Insurance Company, and two Southland National entities into rehabilitation on June 27, 2019, citing liquidity and solvency concerns. In July of that year, Governor Roy Cooper signed a bill capping affiliated investments by insurers at 10 percent of assets.
Lindberg pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering conspiracy on November 12, 2024, and has been in federal custody since. On May 26, 2026, U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn sentenced him to 12 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay more than $1.6 billion in restitution.
The Liquidation Timeline
The Superior Court of Wake County signed an Order of Liquidation for CBL and BLIC on December 30, 2022, finding both companies insolvent and appointing the North Carolina Insurance Commissioner as Liquidator. GBIG Holdings, Lindberg’s parent company for CBL, appealed on January 27, 2023, which blocked the order from taking effect and delayed activation of the state guaranty associations that protect policyholders.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the liquidation order unanimously on March 5, 2024. GBIG then petitioned the North Carolina Supreme Court on April 9, 2024, only to move to withdraw the petition on July 11, 2024. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition as moot, and the liquidation finally took effect on November 30, 2024, nearly two years after it was first ordered.
The effective date matters because it fixed all claims as of that day, activated the guaranty associations, and started the clock on the deadline to file a Proof of Claim against the liquidation estate. That deadline is November 30, 2026.
Who Is Paying Claims Now
Effective January 1, 2026, Continental General Insurance Company, based in Austin, assumed the guaranty associations’ covered obligations for roughly 91,000 CBL and BLIC policies. The transaction, coordinated by the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (NOLHGA), covers final expense, traditional life insurance, annuity, and accident and health plans. Continental General now handles policy administration, policyholder services, and claims for covered obligations.
Policyholder contact information for Continental General:
- Mail: P.O. Box 11047, Winston-Salem, NC 27116
- Phone: 1-844-850-3718
- Email: CGIService@actmanre.com
Guaranty Association Coverage Limits
Behind Continental General sit the state life and health insurance guaranty associations, which pay covered benefits when a member insurer becomes insolvent. The limit that applies to you is set by the guaranty association of your state of residence, not by CBL’s home state. In most states, the caps are:
- Annuity benefits: up to $250,000 in present value, including cash surrender and withdrawal values
- Life insurance death benefits: up to $300,000
- Life insurance cash values: up to $100,000
- Combined limit: generally $300,000 across all policies from the same insurer
Several states go higher. Connecticut, New York, and Washington cover up to $500,000 across the major categories. Minnesota covers up to $410,000 for annuities under certain conditions. California applies an 80-percent-of-value formula rather than a flat cap. North Carolina covers up to $1 million for structured settlement annuities.
If your policy benefit exceeds your state’s cap, the excess is not automatically lost. It becomes a pro-rata claim against the CBL liquidation estate, payable only if enough assets are recovered and only when a court orders a distribution.
What Policyholders Need to Do
Keep paying your premiums. Life and health policyholders who stop paying can lose their benefits, including guaranty association protection.
Expect restrictions on anything beyond routine benefit payments. A court-ordered moratorium still applies to obligations not covered by the guaranty associations, including cash surrenders, transfers, policy loans, and interest payments on annuity accounts. No interest has been credited on annuity accounts since November 30, 2024, and all claims were fixed as of that date.
If you believe you are owed more than the guaranty association will pay, file a Proof of Claim with the Liquidator before the November 30, 2026 deadline. Missing that deadline forfeits any share of a future distribution from the estate.
Route service questions to Continental General using the contact information above. Address changes, forms, benefit questions, and claims all go through them for covered policies.
The $1.6 Billion Restitution Order and What It Means for Excess Claims
Judge Cogburn’s restitution order relies on a 35-page report by court-appointed special master Joseph Grier, filed in May 2026. The report identified eight possible recipients and designated $821 million for Colorado Bankers Life alone, reflecting $688 million in unpaid principal plus interest. Another $406 million was designated for PBLA and ULICO, two other Lindberg-controlled insurance entities.
Full recovery is not guaranteed. Grier’s report indicated that identified “primary restitution assets” may total only about $1.16 billion, potentially short of the full obligation. Lindberg’s lawyers filed an emergency motion to block the sale of his assets, arguing that Grier lacked authority to liquidate property before a final restitution determination, and Lindberg has filed multiple appeals of the restitution order. Thousands of policyholders across Lindberg’s former insurance companies are still owed more than $1 billion in total, and CBL alone accounts for more than 122,000 of them.
For most policyholders, the practical result is straightforward: covered benefits continue through Continental General up to state guaranty limits, and any amount above those limits depends on how much the court eventually recovers from Lindberg’s estate.