Conning
Research
- America's middle market has generated much attention in
the life insurance industry and among consumer advocates for
being underserved...
Consumer Driven Health Care
- As employers ask brokers to ease rising health
insurance costs, one answer is crisscrossing the country:
consumer driven healthcare. Is this the silver bullet the
industry has been searching for?
Employee Attitudes
- Benefit telepathy: the ability to read the minds of
employees in order to understand how they make
benefit-related decisions. No, this paranormal phenomenon does
not exist, but many employers, benefit
managers and HR professionals wish it did.
How Do You Feel About Life Insurance?
- For most consumers, buying life insurance can be a
tough decision - a combination of rational financial
calculations and emotional attitudes. Consumers can take a
short quiz created by LIMRA International...
How Long You Live Depends...
- America is a nation divided by vast differences in life
expectancy, a "longevity gap" that can't be readily explained by
race, income or access to health care, a study reported
Monday...
Insurance
Biz
- Insurance agent Clif Rosenberry knows firsthand what
can happen when a family's
breadwinner dies without life insurance: His brother was killed
at the age of 39 in a work accident, and
he didn't have his own policy...
Insurance Pool Makes Exclamation Point
-You probably wouldn't think combining the bureaucracy of
state government with the confusing, myriad options of health
insurance coverage would be a good thing for anyone but people
who love red tape...
Interim
Reserve Proposal Cleared by NAIC Committee
- Following months of debate and discussion, immediate
reserve relief for writers of both term and universal life
insurance is on the way. An interim reserve proposal was
approved unanimously by a senior committee of the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners during an Aug. 31
conference call...
Life Insurance In the Retirement Red Zone
- The domestic individual life insurance business for
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), announced today the
reasons why consumers should consider life insurance during the
Retirement Red Zone, a window consisting of the five years
immediately before retirement and the first five years into
retirement...
Life Insurance Premiums Expected...
- Premiums for individual life insurance - both term life
and "permanent" insurance - will drop, on average, by four
percent in 2007, according to the Insurance Information
Institute (I.I.I.)...
Life Planning Goes Mainstream
- Life Planning Goes Mainstream: Will baby boomers
respond best to asset allocation models that are served up with
a dash of soul-searching? The biggest firms are betting on it...
Majority of Workers Favor Health Benefits
- More than half of workers in the United States -- 54
percent -- said that health benefits are more important to them
than higher wages, according to results from the American
Payroll Association's 2006 "Getting Paid In America" online
survey, released today...
NAIC Adopts New Long-term Care
- The Health Insurance and Managed Care (B) Committee of
the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
adopted several revisions to the Long Term Care Model Act and
Regulation during its Fall National Meeting in St. Louis,
including provisions that will increase access to care and allow
insurance consumers more flexibility in managing the cost of
their coverage...
NAIC Life Insurance Working Group
- The Travel to Foreign Countries Working Group of the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Life
Insurance and Annuities (A) Committee held a public hearing
today in St. Louis to discuss the use of past and future foreign
travel in life insurance underwriting...
NFL superstar Warrick Dunn
- The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
(Guardian), has teamed up with Warrick Dunn, running back for
the Atlanta Falcons, to educate Americans about the importance
of life insurance and financial planning. Dunn's partnership
with Guardian included a radio media tour on September 12 to
promote Life Insurance Awareness Month...
Plans to Help More Get Long-term Care
- By next year, Floridians will be able to buy something
that the federal government hopes will revolutionize nursing
home care: a simplified long-term care insurance policy that has
been reviewed and
certified by state regulators...
Reliance Standard Life Introduces New
Leave Management Tool for Small And Mid
- Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (RSL), a
top-rated group life and group disability carrier, has
introduced RSL LeaveManager™, a webbased software application
designed to administer leave and absence programs in accordance
with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for cases of 50 to
2,000 lives...
Single
- A bill that would replace all private health insurance
in California with a state-run, single-payer system has cleared
the state Assembly and could be delivered to Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's desk by week's end...
Small
Businesses Have Affordable Health
- Health insurance coverage for small employers is more
affordable than is widely known, a new survey released today by
America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) found...
Taking
Charge
- When a new product hits the market, it’s inevitably met
with different reactions from the buying public. There are those
who plunge in right away and help fuel the trend. Others watch
from the sidelines to see what happens before making a move. And
there are also the skeptics who don’t buy into the trend at
all...
The Allure of Securitization
- Life insurance securitizations have been on the rise
both in the United States and globally, fueled by the
availability of ever-increasing amounts of capital chasing deals
and returns, the increased regulatory capital requirements for
life insurers, and diminished and more costly reinsurance
capacity...
The Measure of the Movement
- Why aren't we further along in the consumer-driven
health movement? Some say it is too soon to grade the industry
on its decision to reverse course from two decades ago and put
America's health care consumers center stage in the national
debate on escalating costs and questionable quality...
Top Life Insurance Direct Marketing
Companies
- ReliaQuote, IntelliQuote, InsWeb, AccuQuote,
InsuranceOnly, Insurance Central and Insure.com are among the
list of direct life insurance marketers that will participate in
the Annual Fall Meeting of the Life Insurance Direct Marketing
Association (LIDMA) being held at the downtown Ritz Carlton in
Atlanta on September 14th and 15th...
Universal American Agrees To Sell Its
Canadian Subsidiary PennCorp Life Insurance Company
- Universal American Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:UHCO)
("Universal American") announced today that it has entered into
a definitive agreement to sell UAFC (Canada) Inc., including the
Company's Canadian insurance subsidiary PennCorp Life Insurance
Company ("PennCorp Life"), for approximately $131 million
(CAD$146 million) in cash to a venture 70% owned by La Capitale
Civil Service Insurer Inc...
Insurers Are Ready to Fight
- Insurance and business groups are gearing up for a
battle to preserve a government program that would cover most of
the losses from another major terrorist attack...
The Council
-Gregory Case,
president and CEO of Aon Corporation, urged Congress today to
act on a permanent solution to cover losses from future acts of
terrorism and have it in place before disaster strikes rather
than attempting to respond after the fact in time of crisis...
New Nationwide Survey
- Is life insurance really necessary? How much does
coverage cost? What type of plan is right for me? SBLI USA
Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc. today announced the results
of a nationwide survey asking adults about important life
insurance needs...
Leading Cause of Critical Illness
-Heart attacks are by far the top reason for claims on Colonial
Life & Accident Insurance Company critical illness policies. Of
all the critical illness claims Colonial paid in an 18- month
period from Jan. 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006, 40 percent were
for a heart illness categorized as a heart attack...
Wooing Baby Boomers
-While life insurers
have been fairly active in the retirement income marketplace,
their activities have focused more on product solutions rather
than addressing broad-based consumer needs...
PA Insurance Commissioner
-
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Diane Koken today
reminded consumers of the need to review and understand their
personal or family life insurance needs. "Life insurance
can help to provide future financial security for your loved
ones, but some consumers may have insurance policies in place
that are not appropriate to their stage of life," Commissioner
Koken said...
House Introduces National Insurance Act
- The National Association of Insurance and Financial
Advisors (NAIFA) welcomed
action taken by Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) today to bring greater
attention to the need for reforms in the insurance regulatory
system...
Boomers
and Life
- The baby boomers have had a heavy influence on every
area of society as they've moved through various stages of life.
Now, as their oldest members approach age 65, they are poised to
challenge the expectations of retirement as well...
2006 Life Industry Continues Growth -
Based on advanced financial results through the first six months
of 2006, the life insurance industry continues to grow. Admitted
assets for the total life industry increased when compared with
the second quarter of 2005...
One Charter to Rule Them All
-
As Senate hearings on the possible federal regulation of the
life and property-and-casualty insurance industries continue
this fall, insurers, analysts and vendors are weighing the
benefits and risks of the National Insurance Act of 2006 - a
plan to adopt an optional federally chartered regulatory system
- as well as the impact the federal regulation could have on IT
systems...
Avian Flu
-
Worldwide epidemics (termed 'pandemics') of the respiratory
disease known as influenza or 'flu' occur on a regular basis,
generally two to three times per century. The last three flu
pandemics occurred in 1918, 1957 and 1968. The mortality toll
from such a pandemic depends on whether the particular strain of
flu involved is relatively mild (as in the 1957-58 pandemic) or
virulent (as in the 1918 pandemic, which is estimated to have
taken between 40-50 million lives worldwide)...
Consumerism
- Employers are continually
seeking to control their benefit costs. One approach has been
shifting more of the decisions as well as more of the costs to employees.
Health savings accounts (HSAs) were the first step towards
taking a consumer-driven health-care approach...
Protect Your Clients
- If registered reps don't sell
their clients life insurance, someone else will - and that's a
risk reps probably
shouldn't take. At least, that's one conclusion that can be
drawn from the results of two separate studies: one conducted by
this magazine together with The Hartford Life Insurance Company
and the other by LIMRA International...
Mission: Educate the Boomers
- The stats have arrived-
survey results from insurers and researchers have one thing in
common: Baby boomers are not prepared for retirement, and
therefore insurers could be missing out on business. Some
companies are stepping up, using technology to capture this
pending market...
Why
Sell Annuities
- All of us would like to think
our clients would remain loyal when approached by another broker
or agent,
particularly given the effort invested in building those
relationships. But what happens when the guy down the street,
who sells the same wares as you, starts offering other products
to the market you are both targeting?
Tom Rodell Elected Chairman of the Council
of Insurance Agents
- Tom Rodell, resident managing
director of Aon Risk Services of San Francisco, is the 2007
chairman of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, the first
person to serve twice in the key leadership position.
Rodell was elected chairman during a general membership meeting
held White Sulpher Springs, W.Va., in conjunction with the 93rd
annual Insurance Leadership Forum at The Greenbrier...
Insurers Ensure 2008 Games Will Be Covered
- As Beijing counts down to the
2008 Olympic Games, a leading insurance regulator yesterday said
the event can count on proper insurance services...
Disability Insurance
- At the Inaugural Meeting of
the International DI Society in Tampa, on October 7th, 2005, I
made a statement which seemed to amaze the audience: "My
father, mother, sister, wife, both of my sons, mother-in-law,
father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and yes, even me,
all had one thing in common. All of us had been disabled.
Ironic? Horrifying is more
like it..."
With Life Insurance Rates at an All Time
Low
- With term life insurance
policy premiums continuing to drop, there has never been a
better time to consider purchasing life insurance, according to
the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)...
Long-Term-Care Policy May Be Vital
- With the costs of health care
rising and people living longer, more seniors are thinking about
buying insurance to pay for long- term care...
About Half of US Adults Lack Confidence
- As the November elections
approach, fourteen percent of U.S. adults say that healthcare
will be the most important issue in determining how they vote,
and over half (54%) contend that healthcare will be important,
but not as important as other issues...
Conning Research Project Accelerates Life
- The life insurance industry
accelerated its rapid profit growth in 2005 with statutory net
operating gains of $32.8 billion in 2005, according to the
latest analysis for the life-health insurance industry from
Conning Research and Consulting, Inc....
Study Shows Minorities
- Minorities in the United
States are at much higher risk of being uninsured for
healthcare, according to an analysis by The Commonwealth Fund
Biennial Health Insurance Survey (2005) released in August....
PIA Says New Congress Alters Insurance
Agenda
- The new Congress will alter
the insurance agenda on Capitol Hill,
but losses for the industry are not a foregone conclusion.
That's the after-the-election take by the National Association
of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA)...
Tillinghast Survey Finds Increasingly
Complex Regulations...
- More than three-quarters
(77%) of life insurance CFOs cited the growing level and
complexity of regulations as their biggest concern for the
market and economic environment in 2007, according to the latest
CFO survey from the Tillinghast business of Towers Perrin...
Escalating Competition Spurring
Breakthrough
- Spurred by intensifying
competition, breakthroughs in analytics are transforming
dynamics in insurance markets. Sophisticated insurers able to
harness large volumes of high-quality data to drive decisioning
all along the value creation chain can look forward to a long
and prosperous future. But insurers unable to keep up in the
intellectual and technological arms race face a grim prognosis,
according to an industry leader...
Jefferson National Partners
- To help Fee-Only financial
advisors, the clients they serve, and the millions of Americans
who need to save more for retirement, Jefferson National Life
Insurance Company (Jefferson National) has launched the Annuity
Rescue Center in partnership with the National Association of
Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), the nation's leading
organization of Fee-Only comprehensive financial planning
professionals...
AHIP Briefs Congressional Staff on New
Access Proposal
- Congressional staff members
were briefed today at an event on Capitol Hill on a new policy
proposal put forth by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) to
expand access to health insurance coverage to all Americans...
Life
Companies
- The American Council of Life
Insurers (ACLI), the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting
(AALU), the National Association of Insurance and Financial
Advisors (NAIFA), and the National Association of Independent
Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA) are calling for changes to
state regulation to protect the vital, social purposes of life
insurance from transactions known as stranger-originated life
insurance (STOLI)...
2007 Tax Deductible Limits
- The Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) has announced increased deductibility levels for long-term
care insurance policies purchased in 2007. According to Jesse
Slome, Executive Director of the American Association for Long-
Term Care Insurance, “millions of Americans, especially those
who own small and mid-sized businesses are unaware that the cost
of long-term care insurance protection may be tax deductible."
In some cases 100 percent of the cost of coverage can be
deducted...
Recruiting New Agents
- A real estate broker. A
lawyer. An accountant. A banker. More and more, service
professionals from various fields which may or may not touch
insurance are becoming an attractive choice for insurance
carriers and distributors looking to recruit new agents...
US Life Insurers Enjoy Stable Outlook
- The next 12 months present
challenges for the U.S. life insurance sector, including a flat
yield curve, M&A activity, and a weak traditional sales
environment that should be exacerbated by an increasingly
complex product array, according to a report released to-day by
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services...
Life Insurance Finance Association
Conference
- At the first
Life Insurance Finance Association conference, held Wednesday,
Nov. 29, participants reinforced the importance of reasonable
regulation of the life insurance premium-finance industry to
protect consumer rights...
Long-Term Care Insurance Is Worth a Look
- As baby
boomers turn 60, the question of whether to buy long term care
insurance becomes more real, but it's not always easy to wade
through the sales pitches and numbers to make an educated
decision...
BIG
- The Independent Insurance
Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) celebrated the
holidays with an important victory, as President George W. Bush
signed H.R. 6111, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006,
into law today...
Ernst & Young
- In 2007 the life insurance
industry is looking forward to a year of continued good
performance, opportunity and tough competition for the loyalty
of a new generation of retiring consumers, according to Ernst &
Young's Global Insurance Center...
Life Insurance Finance Association Will
Not Support NAIC Viatical Law
- The Life Insurance Finance
Association (LIFA) today issued the following statement
regarding the NAIC Viatical Settlements Model Act: The
Life Insurance Annuities (A) Committee of the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) missed the mark
this weekend when it voted out of committee a draft of
amendments to the NAIC Viatical Settlements Model Act (the
"Model Act"), which are harmful to consumer rights and do little
to prevent the abuses which they were purportedly drafted to
address...
Mixed Prognosis For Health Care in 2007
- From sickening spinach to
healthier indoor air and ever-increasing insurance costs, 2006
was anything but dull for public health and health care...
