The SEC alleges that actor Zachary Horwitz misappropriated investor funds for his personal use, including the purchase of his multi-million dollar home, trips to Las Vegas, and to pay a celebrity interior designer. Horwitz’s credits as an actor include low-budget features such as “Trespassers.”
Ohio National executives today announced an expansive reorganization plan to demutualize the company. The deal includes the conversion of Ohio National Mutual Holdings to a stock company and the issuance of all of its newly issued stock to Constellation Insurance Holdings.
In the fourth quarter, total life insurance new premium dropped 8%, compared with the record-breaking sales results in fourth quarter 2019. Total policy sales were up 2% in the fourth quarter, according to LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Retail Life Insurance Sales Survey.
The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation issued $220,000 in civil penalties, and Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. agreed to pay $123,279 in restitution to the victims of the excessive trading practices of Gary Dodds.
The insurance industry overcharged California drivers by hundreds of millions of dollars in past year amid less driving and accidents, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said. Lara ordered a refund plan by April 30.
U.S. annuity sales totaled $219 billion in 2020, 9% lower than sales in 2019, according to results from the Secure Retirement Institute U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey. But in the fourth quarter, annuity sales rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
Compensation rose between 8% and 14% year-over-year from 2019 to 2020. This was higher than the 3% increase in total revenue for these companies during that same period.
Life insurance application activity continues to grow at a steady pace early in 2021, with year-over-year activity up 3.9%, according to the January MIB Life Index. Growth was largely driven by the 31-50 age group, up 8.5%, MIP reported, while older age groups age 61+ declined year over year.
Fewer consumers report consulting financial professionals in 2020 vs. 2019, according to research from Hearts & Wallets. Bank and insurance reps show the biggest decline, a 10-point drop, in consumers turning to them as sources for investment information and advice.
Cetera announced a deal today to acquire certain assets related to the independent financial planning channel of Voya Financial Advisors (VFA).
Under the terms of the settlement, Northwestern Mutual will pay a $287,000 administrative penalty and will be required to report quarterly to the Department on its claims payments for the next two years.
The COVID-19 epidemic highlighted the need for life insurance and illuminated the gap of uninsured and underinsured American families, a longstanding problem illustrated by LIMRA research.
State Farm made a January 2020 move that would power the insurer through a turbulent year: It rekindled its iconic tagline, “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm Is There.” The 49-year-old line is among the most recognizable phrases in advertising, said Ad Age, which named State Farm a 2020 Marketer of the Year.
Prudential plc, the parent company of Jackson Financial, today announced that the Prudential board has decided to pursue the separation of Jackson in the second quarter of 2021 through a demerger, whereby shares in Jackson would be distributed to Prudential shareholders.
Sholam Weiss helped destroy the National Heritage Life Insurance Co. in a $450 million fraud scheme carried out in the 1990s. He was convicted of racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice and given an 835-year sentence, one of the longest for a white collar crime in U.S. history.
Gary Gensler will be named chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President-elect Joe Biden, Reuters reported Tuesday. The appointment is likely to prompt concern among Wall Street firms of tougher regulation.
The new year brings six new insurance laws in California, sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the California Department of Insurance.
The National Council of Insurance Legislators have adopted the NCOIL Transparency in Dental Benefits Contracting Model Act at year’s end.
Registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) are poised to exhibit robust growth as additional large, reputable insurers enter the space with innovative concepts, the research firm Cerulli Associates found. RILAs are one of the few annuity products showing steady growth in sales.
AIG Retirement Services, a leading retirement plan provider for tax-exempt and public sector employers, today announced the launch of its…
Two of the largest life insurers in the U.S. announced executive hires today to advance their respective diversity and inclusion strategies. The moves come as the industry continues work to fulfill commitments to diversity and inclusion made in the aftermath of the summer racial strife that spread across the United States.
Robert Muriel, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance, announced that he’ll leave his position on Dec. 11. Muriel was…
The package is trillions of dollars less than Democrats say are necessary to help Americans, but it provides aid to critical areas such as unemployment compensation and vaccine distribution.
Third-quarter sales of whole life registered $1.05 billion, up 12.9% when compared with the previous quarter, according to Wink’s Sales & Market Report. But sales were down more than 10.2% as compared to the same period last year.
COVID-19 has increased consumer awareness about the need for life insurance. LIMRA research finds 6 in 10 Americans say they have a heightened awareness about the need for life insurance due to the pandemic and 29% say they are more likely to buy life insurance in the next 12 months.
Wink reports that deferred annuities sales came to $54.2 billion, an increase of more than 18% over the devastating second quarter. However, the $54.2 billion still falls short of where sales have been in the past, said Sheryl J. Moore, president and CEO of both Moore Market Intelligence and Wink, Inc.
Driven by strong growth in whole life and term products, total individual life insurance new annualized premium increased 2% and the number of policies sold jumped 7% in the third quarter, according to LIMRA’s Third Quarter 2020 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Sales Survey.
FlexGuard, Prudential Financial’s first indexed variable annuity product, achieved $1 billion in sales less than six months after launch, making it the fastest-selling product of its kind ever, according to annuity sales data from the Secure Retirement Institute.
TIAA, a leading provider of secure retirements and outcome-focused investment solutions, said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., intends to retire as president and CEO on March 31, 2021. Ferguson is rumored to be on President-elect Joe Biden’s shortlist for a cabinet position.
President Donald Trump’s conservative nominee for the Federal Reserve is in danger today after Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., withdrew support. The surprising announcement puts the controversial economist’s confirmation in doubt during the the final months of the Trump presidency.
Wells Fargo’s former chief executive and former head of Wells Fargo’s Community Bank defrauded investors by using a metric that was inflated by accounts that were opened for consumers who did not ask for or want them, according to new charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Pooled employer plans will give employers, especially small unrelated employers, a way of offering their employees a workplace retirement savings option with reduced burdens and cost.
The NAIC Center for Insurance Policy and Research (CIPR) will hold a three-hour special session on business interruption insurance during…
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule to provide regulatory guideposts for plan fiduciaries seeking to invest using non-pecuniary principles, particularly those involving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing.
Total annuity sales were $54.8 billion in the third quarter, up 13% from the second quarter, but down 8% from 3Q 2019, according to preliminary results from the Secure Retirement Institute U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey.
Industry representatives are still reviewing the contents of Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020, but applauded the bill’s bipartisanship as well as the urgency of the U.S. retirement crisis.
A leading seller of fixed index annuities, American Equity announced the Brookfield deal with a Sunday news release. Brookfield will acquire a 19.9% ownership interest in the common shares of AEL in two stages, starting with an initial purchase of a 9.9% interest at $37 per share promptly following required regulatory approval.
Developed exclusively for the state of New York, AIG said the Power Index Premier NY is currently the only index annuity that gives New York residents the option of a living benefit rider. New York passed Regulation 187 last year, considered the toughest annuity sales rules in the country.
With a 4% growth rate for 2020 through the third quarter, life insurance application activity has “returned to pre-pandemic normal levels,” according to the MIB Life Index. The third quarter experienced the largest quarter-over-quarter gain since 2011 at 9.2%, MIB said, driven primarily by 12.8% growth in 0-44 age group and 9.2% growth in 45-59 age group.
In South Korea, China, France and India the top reason for owning life insurance is to supplement their retirement income, whereas in Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, consumers are far more concerned about replacing the income of a wage earner.
LL Global, the parent company for LIMRA, LOMA and Secure Retirement Institute, today named Mark Poklar to lead its insurance research unit. He will report to Alison Salka, senior vice president and head of LIMRA Research.
At the National Council of Insurance Legislators “Summer” Meeting in Alexandria, Va., the organization adopted the NCOIL Private Primary Residential Flood Insurance Model Act.
When asked why they don’t have life insurance, almost four in 10 (38%) said it would be too expensive. However, the survey suggests most people probably overestimate the cost. For example, a 20-year, $250,000 term policy would cost roughly $200/year for a healthy 30-year-old male and $185 for a healthy 30-year-old female.
LL Global, Inc., the parent organization for LIMRA and LOMA, today announced it has hired John Carroll to lead its National Accounts team.
Rates for individual plans were held essentially flat, with an average increase of 0.01%, down from the average requested increase of 6.29%.
Life insurance application activity jumped shot up 9.1% in August in a year-over-year comparison by MIB Life Index.
COVID-19 definitely affected life insurance sales this quarter, a LIMRA executive says. Despite the decline in new premium, nearly half of companies reported growth in policy sales, citing increased consumer interest due to the pandemic and their ability to sell products without meeting face-to-face.
A new U.S. consumer auto insurance shopping study provides key insights to help insurers improve their engagement strategies in order to help increase policyholder retention.
The U.S. single premium buy-out sales totaled $2.3 billion in the second quarter, down 46% from second quarter 2019, according to the Secure Retirement Institute U.S. Group Annuity Risk Transfer Sales Survey.
The life/annuity industry’s net income fell by 66% in the first half of 2020, compared with the year-ago period, A.M. Best reported today, driven by a major reinsurance agreement inked between Jackson National and Athene. The deal had the effect of moving approximately $27 billion of premium out of the U.S. statutory industry population.
The ongoing pandemic combined with new principles-based reserving rules to keep life insurance sales down for the second quarter, Wink Inc. reports. The future is brighter for some products, whole life, in particular, said Wink CEO Sheryl Moore.
Law firm Grant & Eisenhofer has filed a pair of class actions against 11 insurance companies who denied coverage claims for business shutdowns due to COVID-19.
When it comes to the economy, consumers are similarly split along political lines, LIMRA reports in a new survey. Sixty-eight percent of consumers who identify as liberal continue to be highly concerned about the economy while just 44% of conservatives show this level of concern.
Queen’s iconic rock opera “Bohemian Rhapsody” knocks out Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” as the top driving song this year, according to a new survey from Insurance.com.
Kent Sullivan has notified Governor Greg Abbott that he will resign as Texas Insurance Commissioner in September to return to the private sector.
Industry trade associations applauded a new rule today from the Trump administration requiring retirement plans to provide an illustration of the amount of monthly income that might be generated by an individual’s retirement savings.
British insurer Prudential Plc. will spin off its American businesses, which include Jackson National Life Insurance Co., in order to focus on operations in Asia and Africa. Jackson was the leading seller of annuities in the U.S. market for 2019, although the insurer has struggled financially in 2020.
Morningstar said that the DOL could go further to protect all investors receiving rollover advice in a variety of contexts. The DOL should revisit the “regular basis” prong of the five-part test to either eliminate this requirement or presume that it is satisfied in the context of a rollover.
The surplus for the private U.S. property/casualty insurance industry dropped by $75.9 billion in the first quarter of 2020—its largest-ever quarterly decline—as the stock market suffered a major downturn.
Total annuity sales were $48.8 billion in the second quarter, down 24% from second quarter 2019, according to preliminary results from the Secure Retirement Institute annuity sales survey. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is being blamed for slowed sales, in part by preventing face-to-face contact.
