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.

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.

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.

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.