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.
This report compiled by InsuranceNewsNet staff.
Staff Reports
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.
2Q Life Insurance Sales Decline ‘More Severe’ Than Expected: Wink
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.
Just 25% Of Americans View Economy Favorably: LIMRA Survey
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 ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Crowned Top Driving Song: Survey
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.
Top Annuity Seller Jackson National Set Free By Prudential Plc.
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.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners announced a special committee on race in a news release today. The new committee comes as insurance regulators on several committees and task forces continue to discuss whether “proxy discrimination” needs further attention.
The New York State Department of Financial Services today filed charges against First American Title Insurance Co., claiming the company exposed millions of documents containing personal information of clients.
COVID-19 Money Woes Push Americans To Tap Retirement Cash
A new study by Secure Retirement Institute finds American workers who lost their jobs or experienced a drop in income due to the COVID-19 pandemic were at least twice as likely to take money from their qualified retirement savings accounts as those who weren’t impacted.
After pandemic-related declines in March thru April, U.S. life insurance application activity rose for the second consecutive month, up 1.2% in June year over year, according to the MIB Life Index.
Employers — many who are dealing with the potential of lower revenue and managing remote work arrangements and the uncertainty of when things will return to normal — may choose to delay or cancel plans to put their defined contribution (DC) plans out to bid. This would significantly impact DC plan sales in 2020.
Prolific insurance executive and author John (Jack) A. Bogardus Jr., 92, died June 28 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
More Insurers Bundling Health/Dental Coverage
Health insurers are far more interested in offering dental benefits now than they were two years ago, according to a new report. The percentage of health insurers offering dental insurance products has risen from 68% in 2018 to 80% today.
