The new year brings six new insurance laws in California, sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the California Department of Insurance.
This report compiled by InsuranceNewsNet staff.
Staff Reports
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…
Congressional Centrists Float $908B Aid Package
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.
Whole Life Sales Lone Bright Spot In Third-Quarter Sales: Wink
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.
Life Insurance Sales To Match Pre-Pandemic Growth By 2022: LIMRA
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.
3Q Annuity Sales Reveal Good News, So-So News Amid Pandemic
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 CEO Roger Ferguson To Retire As Biden Cabinet Rumors Swirl
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.
Trump’s Fed Nominee In Danger After 3rd GOP Senator Opposes
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.
