Judge Sides With Principal Life Insurance in GIC Lawsuit A federal judge found Principal’s ‘meticulous’ process for setting the GIC’s composite crediting rate protected the availability of the investment and was in the best interest of participants. Reported by Following a six-day trial, Judge John A. Jarvey of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa ruled in favor of Principal Life Insurance Co. in a lawsuit alleging it violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by setting the crediting rate for a guaranteed investment contract (GIC) such that it could “retain unreasonably large and/or excessive profits.” A GIC is a stable value investment contract issued by an insurance company that usually pays a specified rate of return for a specific period of time, guaranteeing principal and accumulated interest.