This settlement covers the 532,578 people Globe Life Inc. and American Income Life Insurance Company notified about a data incident that happened on or about October 2, 2024. If you got one of those letters, you can claim up to $5,000 for documented losses plus up to $72 for time you spent dealing with it — and two years of credit monitoring comes to you whether or not you file anything.
Current Status
Claims are open. Claim Forms must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. CT on October 19, 2026, or mailed with a postmark no later than that date. The deadline to opt out or to object is November 16, 2026, and the final approval hearing is scheduled for December 14, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. CT in Waco, Texas — so the court has not yet decided whether to approve the settlement. No payment date had been announced as of August 30, 2026. If you were sent a notice letter, the action to take now is to file a Claim Form if you want cash; the two years of credit monitoring reaches you without one as long as you do not opt out.What Changed Recently?
Notice has gone out to the settlement class and the claim period is now running toward its October 19, 2026 close. The consolidated case is captioned In re American Income Life Ins. Co. and Globe Life Inc. Data Breach Litigation, No. 6:25-cv-00262, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division. Several separate lawsuits over the same incident were consolidated there into the single action now being settled.According to the court-authorized notice, an unknown actor threatened on or around October 2, 2024 to publish personally identifiable customer and lead information the companies maintained unless a ransom was paid. The notice says the incident potentially involved the Personal Information of 532,578 individuals and may have included names, physical addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, health related information and health insurance policy information. The companies began notifying those individuals beginning in March and running through June of 2025.
The plaintiffs allege the defendants failed to properly protect that Personal Information. Globe Life and American Income Life deny any and all wrongdoing, and the court has not decided in favor of either side. The parties agreed to settle to avoid the cost and risk of a trial.
Who Qualifies?
The Settlement Class is the 532,578 individuals who were sent notice by letter from American Income Life Insurance Company and/or Globe Life Inc. saying their Personal Information may have been involved in the Data Incident on or about October 2, 2024. The mailed notice is the gate: the class is defined by having been notified, not by having held a policy.Excluded from the class are directors, officers and agents of the defendants, governmental entities, the judge assigned to the action along with that judge's immediate family and court staff, and any class member who timely and properly opts out. If you are not sure whether you were notified, the contact page on the official settlement website is the place to ask.
How Much Can You Get?
The defendants will provide up to $3,400,000 for cash payments to the class. This is a cap on cash rather than a common fund that everything comes out of: the notice says the defendants separately pay the settlement administration costs and any court-approved attorneys' fees, costs and service awards, and separately pay for the credit monitoring. If valid claims add up to more than the $3,400,000 cap, the notice says cash payments are reduced pro rata.Cash Payment A — Documented Losses reimburses up to $5,000 per class member for unreimbursed, out-of-pocket losses more likely than not caused by the Data Incident. The notice lists bank fees, overdraft charges, late fees and declined-payment fees resulting from fraud; charges for credit monitoring or identity theft protection bought in response to the breach; costs to place or remove a credit freeze; professional fees paid to address identity fraud; replacement costs for government-issued identification or documents; long-distance phone charges, postage, notary and similar incidental costs; and fraudulent, unreimbursed charges or financial loss directly traceable to misuse of the information. The expenses must have been incurred between October 1, 2024 and the date of Notice, and expenses already reimbursed from another source do not qualify.
Cash Payment B — Lost Time pays for time spent responding to the Data Incident at $18.00 per hour, for a maximum of four hours — $72 at the top of the range. It is claimed by self-certifying the hours on the Claim Form, and the notice says lost time includes time spent dealing with anxiety, stress and loss of sleep. The same October 1, 2024 to date-of-Notice window applies.
The two cash payments stack. One Claim Form covers both, and the notice is explicit that a class member may choose one or both. That means the practical ceiling for a claimant with documentation is $5,072 before any pro rata adjustment, and $72 for a claimant with no out-of-pocket loss to document.
Class counsel will ask the court to approve attorneys' fees and costs of up to $1,260,000, plus service awards of $5,000 for each class representative. If approved, the notice says the defendants pay those amounts separately from the cash payments and the credit monitoring. The court may award less.
What About the Credit Monitoring?
Every Settlement Class Member who does not opt out receives two years of Cyex Financial Shield Complete, and no Claim Form is required for it. The notice describes it as identity and financial monitoring with alerts and fraud resolution support.The notice says class members were already sent a unique activation code, by email or on a mailed postcard. Enrollment does not open yet: activation becomes available only after the court grants final approval and the settlement becomes effective, and the administrator says instructions for using the code will be posted on the official settlement website at that point. If you cannot find your code, the official settlement website's contact form is the route to request it.
One consequence worth being clear about: opting out forfeits the monitoring along with the cash. Doing nothing at all still leaves you able to activate the code, but gives up the cash payments and releases your claims.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
Proof is required. The online claim portal opens with a login that asks for the Settlement Class Member ID printed on your notice mailing — an administrator-issued credential that gates the claim even for the self-certified lost-time payment. Under OCA's standard, an identifier a claimant can only get from the notice makes this a Proof Required: Yes settlement.Cash Payment A carries a second, heavier requirement. The notice calls for "Reasonable Documentation" generated by a third party — credit card statements, bank statements, invoices, telephone records, correspondence and receipts are the examples given. Personal certifications, declarations or affidavits from the class member are not accepted as documentation on their own, though they may be submitted alongside third-party records to add context. If documentation is missing or the administrator rejects the claim and it is not cured within a reasonable period, the notice says the claim is rejected.
Cash Payment B is lighter: it needs the self-certification of hours on the Claim Form, not receipts. A paper Claim Form can be downloaded from the Documents page of the official settlement website and mailed instead of filing online.
What Is the Deadline?
- File a Claim Form: online by 11:59 p.m. CT on October 19, 2026, or postmarked by October 19, 2026
- Exclude yourself (opt out): postmarked by November 16, 2026
- Object to the settlement: filed with the court by November 16, 2026, with copies mailed to counsel and the administrator postmarked by the same date
- Final approval hearing: December 14, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. CT (Western District of Texas, Waco Division)
The 11:59 p.m. CT cutoff applies to the online filing; the notice states only a date for the mailed alternative, judged by its postmark. There is no deadline attached to the credit monitoring benefit — a class member who does nothing keeps the ability to activate the code once the settlement becomes effective.
How Do You Take Action?
File through the official settlement website, AIL Data Settlement.com. The claim portal starts with a login screen asking for the Settlement Class Member ID from your notice mailing; after that you fill in your contact details, select Cash Payment A and/or Cash Payment B, attach documentation if you are claiming documented losses, enter your hours if you are claiming lost time, and sign the attestation. The notice says the online form is also where to set up an electronic payment method.If you do not have your Settlement Class Member ID, use the contact form on the official settlement website to request it, or download the paper Claim Form from the site's Documents page and mail it in. If your contact information changes after you file, the notice puts the burden on you to tell the administrator.
Opting out requires a signed written Request for Exclusion mailed to the administrator, postmarked by November 16, 2026. It is the only way to keep the right to sue over the released claims — but an opt-out gets no cash and no credit monitoring.
What Happens Next?
The next milestone is the December 14, 2026 final approval hearing, at which the court will consider whether to approve the settlement and will rule on the requests for attorneys' fees, costs and service awards. The notice warns that the date and time can change without further notice and that the hearing may be held virtually, so the official settlement website is the place to confirm it.A hearing being held is not the same as approval being granted. The notice says cash payments are distributed and credit monitoring enrollment opens if and when the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved, and that whether appeals are filed — and how long they take — is uncertain. No payment date had been announced as of August 30, 2026.
Sources and Verification
- In re American Income Life Ins. Co. and Globe Life Inc. Data Breach Litigation — Official Settlement Website
- Official Settlement FAQs — benefits, deadlines, opt-out and objection requirements
- Official Documents Page — settlement agreement, long form notice and paper Claim Form
- Court-Authorized Long Form Notice and Claim Form (PDF)
Questions
Who qualifies for the Globe Life and American Income Life data breach settlement?
You qualify if American Income Life Insurance Company or Globe Life Inc. sent you a letter saying your Personal Information may have been involved in the Data Incident that occurred on or about October 2, 2024. The notice puts the class at 532,578 individuals. Directors, officers and agents of the defendants, governmental entities, the assigned judge along with that judge's immediate family and court staff, and anyone who opts out are excluded.
How much is the Globe Life settlement paying?
There are two cash options and you can claim one or both. Cash Payment A reimburses up to $5,000 for documented out-of-pocket losses more likely than not caused by the incident. Cash Payment B pays for lost time at $18.00 per hour for up to four hours, which is $72 at the maximum. Cash payments are capped at $3,400,000 in total, and the notice says payments are reduced pro rata if valid claims exceed that cap.
Do I have to file a claim to get the credit monitoring?
No. Two years of Cyex Financial Shield Complete goes to every Settlement Class Member who does not opt out, with no Claim Form required. The notice says class members were sent a unique activation code by email or on a postcard, and that enrollment opens only after the court grants final approval and the settlement becomes effective. A claim is needed only for the cash payments.
Do I need proof to file a Globe Life data breach claim?
Yes. The online claim portal opens with a login that asks for the Settlement Class Member ID printed on your notice, so an administrator-issued code gates the claim even for the self-certified lost-time payment. Cash Payment A additionally requires Reasonable Documentation generated by a third party, such as receipts, bank or credit card statements, invoices, telephone records or correspondence. Personal affidavits do not count as documentation on their own, though they can be submitted to add context.
What is the deadline for the Globe Life data breach settlement?
Claim Forms must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. CT on October 19, 2026, or mailed with a postmark no later than October 19, 2026. The separate deadline to opt out or to object is November 16, 2026.
Is AILDataSettlement.com legit?
Yes. AILDataSettlement.com is the court-authorized settlement website for In re American Income Life Ins. Co. and Globe Life Inc. Data Breach Litigation, No. 6:25-cv-00262, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division, and administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC. The defendants deny all wrongdoing and the court has not decided who is right. File only through the official settlement website.
What counts as lost time in this settlement?
The notice describes Cash Payment B as compensation for time spent responding to the Data Incident, and says that lost time includes time spent dealing with anxiety, stress and loss of sleep. It is claimed by self-certifying the number of hours, up to four, on the Claim Form, and the time must fall between October 1, 2024 and the date of Notice.
When will Globe Life settlement payments be sent?
Cash payments are distributed and credit monitoring enrollment opens only if and when the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved. The final approval hearing is scheduled for December 14, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. CT in Waco, Texas. No payment date had been announced as of August 30, 2026.
Watch Out for Scams
A court-appointed administrator never charges a fee to release a class action payment and will not ask for banking passwords or a "processing payment" by text or phone. Use only the official settlement website linked on this page — a breach class this large draws imitation sites. Insurance and benefits companies keep producing settlements on similar terms: the Lucent Health settlement and the Lemonade data disclosure settlement are two open examples. For a wider view, see our roundup of open data breach settlements and our explainer on how a data breach class action works.Official Settlement Notice
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