John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company will return a total of $23.8 million to customers and the state of New York and pay a $2.5 million fine for violations of the state’s law regarding the handling of long-term care insurance policies.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced Thursday that John Hancock will return nearly $21.6 million to consumers and/or their beneficiaries and $2.2 million to the New York State Medicaid Program following a compliance review with state requirements on long-term care insurance.

A joint investigation by the NYDFS and the state’s Department of Health concluded from 2001-19, John Hancock “prematurely terminated” 156 long-term care policies for New Yorkers before the customers had fully exhausted the benefits to which they were entitled, the NYDFS said. The early terminations resulted in 27,161 days of unpaid benefits, leaving customers to either pay the expenses out of pocket or go on Medicaid prematurely.