Shareholder Spotlight : Corebridge Financial – Exposing the Greed, Glitches, and Gutless Behaviour

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Listen, in the cutthroat world of finance where suits peddle promises of security and retirement dreams, there’s always a company that stands out for all the wrong fucking reasons. Corebridge Financial Inc. – spun off from the notorious AIG like some unwanted bastard child in 2022 – is that company. It’s a behemoth hawking annuities, life insurance, and retirement plans, raking in billions while treating customers like disposable chum. But peel back the glossy facade, and what do you find? A steaming pile of scandals, data breaches that expose your most private shit to hackers, endless delays that hold your hard-earned cash hostage, and a litany of complaints that scream incompetence or worse – outright malice. This isn’t just bad business; it’s a betrayal of trust on a massive scale, and it’s high time someone called them out on their bollocks.

I’ve dug through the muck – lawsuits, customer rants, regulatory slaps – and it’s clear: Corebridge isn’t just flawed; it’s fucking rotten. They’re the kind of outfit that promises stability but delivers chaos, all while their execs probably sip martinis in boardrooms, oblivious or uncaring about the lives they’re screwing over. And now, with ties to ethically dubious players like Cummins Inc., you have to wonder if this is just another cog in a machine that views ethics as optional. Let’s tear this apart, piece by shitty piece.

The 2023 Data Breach: A Hacker’s Wet Dream, Courtesy of Corebridge

Picture this: You’re minding your own business, trusting some faceless corporation with your Social Security number, bank details, and policy info because, hey, they’re supposed to be the experts. Then bam – in May 2023, a bunch of Russian cybercriminals from the Clop gang waltz in through a vulnerability in third-party software called MOVEit. Corebridge gets hit hard, with personal data on nearly 800,000 people leaked into the void. Names, SSNs, policy numbers – all up for grabs on the dark web, ripe for identity theft and fraud.

What did Corebridge do? They waited until June to notify victims, tossing out some half-arsed credit monitoring as if that fixes the nightmare of frozen credit and endless calls to banks. The hackers demanded ransom – undisclosed if paid, but you can bet your arse it was a king’s sum – and Corebridge’s response? “Change your passwords and watch your back.” Pathetic. This wasn’t some unavoidable act of God; it was negligence, pure and simple. They relied on crappy third-party tech without proper safeguards, and now ordinary folks are paying the price with ruined credit scores and sleepless nights.

And the lawsuits? Oh, they’re piling up like rubbish in a skip. Class actions in California, Massachusetts, and beyond, seeking millions for the company’s failure to protect data. Take Segal et al. v. Corebridge Financial, Inc. – filed in 2023, demanding over five million quid for sheer incompetence. Or Sweeney v. Corebridge Financial, zeroing in on the breach’s fallout. Even a broader suit ropes in Corebridge alongside Fidelity and Bank of America, accusing them of playing fast and loose with consumer info. It’s outrageous – these bastards tout “fraud protection” on their site, but when push comes to shove, they’re as secure as a sieve. If this doesn’t piss you off, nothing will.

Customer Service: A Labyrinth of Lies, Delays, and Daylight Robbery

If the breach wasn’t enough to make you spit your tea, let’s talk about the everyday hell Corebridge inflicts on its customers. Forums, review sites, and complaint boards are littered with stories that read like horror tales. People waiting months – six, twelve, even eighteen bloody months – for IRA/401(k) rollovers. Forms rejected over and over for nitpicky reasons, requirements for notarisation/fax/mail, and untracked cheques that vanish into thin air. Some allege intentional delays to retain funds. It smells like a scam, and it stinks to high heaven.

Customer service? Don’t make me laugh. Hold times stretch to 40 minutes, reps – often outsourced to god-knows-where – give conflicting advice, mumble through language barriers, and then ghost you. Local agents? They vanish like smoke when things get sticky. And the fees – christ, the fees. Shoved into high-expense investments or annuities with hidden gotchas like 20% annual transfer limits until you’re 59.5. Small accounts get eroded by monthly charges, and payouts? Short by thousands, with excuses piling up.

Death benefits and estate claims? A special kind of torture. Families grieving, only to be told “no record” of policies despite years of premiums paid. Denials, delays, and demands for power-of-attorney forms that reek of scam tactics. Trustpilot gives them a dismal 1.3 out of 5, with 96 reviews mostly one-star rants. The NAIC Complaint Index for their issuing arm, American General Life, sits at 2.48 – way above average. BBB complaints flood in: unauthorised billing, incomplete transfer info, you name it. J.D. Power ranks them low in satisfaction surveys, and customers advise lawyering up or hitting the CFPB to get anywhere. It’s not incompetence; it’s a system designed to frustrate and fleece.

Behind the scenes? Massive layoffs – 95% of staff in some areas – outsourcing to green teams, and unresponsive resolutions. This isn’t a company; it’s a racket, preying on the vulnerable who just want their money back.

Inherited Rot from AIG: The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far

Corebridge didn’t spring from nowhere; it’s the rebranded remnants of AIG Life & Retirement, carrying the baggage of AIG’s infamous 2008 bailout and fraud sagas. Even post-spin-off, the stains linger. Take the 2019-2022 executive lawsuit: An AIG subsidiary bankrupted amid claims from 46 former execs over missing compensation funds worth over 100 million dollars. It’s a messy web of financial disputes that screams poor governance, and Corebridge, as the offspring, can’t fully escape the shadow.

While direct ties to AIG’s bigger sins are severed, the culture persists – prioritising profits over people, ethics be damned.

Ties to Troubled Titans: The Cummins Connection and Ethical Quagmires

Speaking of ethics, let’s address the elephant in the room: Corebridge’s holdings in Cummins Inc., the engine giant with its own chequered history. Yes, Corebridge does hold shares in Cummins – through their portfolio funds, as evidenced in holdings reports from 2021 and 2022, where Cummins positions appear with values in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. It’s not a massive stake – they’re not in the top institutional holders like Vanguard or BlackRock, who dominate with millions of shares – but it’s there, tucked into mutual funds and retirement products.

The size? Modest by giant standards – for instance, one fund listed a Cummins holding valued at around 588,000 USD in 2021, another at 4.6 million in 2022. But here’s the rub: Cummins has been knee-deep in scandals, most notably the 2023-2024 emissions cheating fiasco, where they paid a staggering 1.675 billion dollars in fines for installing defeat devices on engines, polluting the air and lying to regulators. It’s the kind of corporate fuckery that harms the planet and public health for profit.

So, is Corebridge just another player in the Cummins ecosystem, where ethical behaviour is treated like an optional extra? You bet. Investing client money in a company with such a track record – even if small – raises questions about their moral compass. Are they turning a blind eye to environmental crimes while preaching financial security? It fits the pattern: Data leaks, customer abuse, and now propping up polluters. The whole lot stinks of hypocrisy.

The Bigger Picture: Why Corebridge Deserves Your Scorn

At the end of the day, Corebridge Financial isn’t an anomaly; it’s the symptom of a broken industry where greed trumps all. They’ve got the resources – billions in assets – to fix this shit, but they don’t. Instead, they hide behind PR fluff about “data security” and “customer focus,” while the reality is a grinder that chews up lives. Ongoing lawsuits like Salaiz v. Corebridge in 2025 keep the pressure on, but will it change anything? Doubtful. Until regulators grow a spine or customers flee en masse, this crap continues.

If you’re entangled with them, get out. File complaints, sue if needed, and spread the word. Corebridge isn’t safeguarding your future; they’re sabotaging it. Fuck that noise – demand better, or we’ll all end up in the same sorry boat.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

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