Facing mounting pressures on Medicaid budgets, some states are forging a vision for what is necessary to finance a growing…
Press Release
TYSONS, Va., July 28, 2020 — Western & Southern Financial Group, a leading provider of a wide range of insurance, investment…
Transamerica announces the expansion of the company’s workplace benefit solutions with the addition and integration of a suite of tax-advantaged…
Despite falling unemployment and a strong economy in 2017-18 the number of uninsured rose during the same time period, according…
NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 — American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) today announced that it will relocate its global…
New York, July 20, 2020 – New York Life announced today that Co-Chief Operating Officer Craig DeSanto, 43, has been elected president…
OMAHA, Neb. – Mutual of Omaha today announced several new initiatives to address issues of racial equity and social justice,…
MINNEAPOLIS – July 15, 2020 – In an effort to help its employees save for their own retirement, Allianz Life…
NEWARK, N.J., July 13, 2020 – The first months of the COVID-19 pandemic largely wiped out three years of financial gains…
An estimated 48 million nonelderly people in the United States will be part of a household where someone loses a…
Two-thirds (67%) of Americans say that the pandemic has been a wake-up call for them to reevaluate their finances, according to a new study by Life Happens, a nonprofit dedicated to educating consumers about the importance of life insurance and other related products for sound financial planning.
RADNOR, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC) today announced it has entered into a complementary partnership with Swiss Life Global…
Washington, D.C. – July 9, 2020 – A new EBRI study finds people who receive health insurance coverage through the…
COLUMBUS, Ohio – On July 1, Nationwide makes history by completing its 18-month transition to operate as a fully independent…
LIMRA: Fraud Is On The Rise In Financial Services
A recent LIMRA survey of financial services companies identified increased fraudulent activity, as well as efforts to combat it through education and other preventive measures.
Advisors, Consumers Didn’t See COVID-19 Coming: Study
Despite growing attention to COVID-19 in the run up to the March stock market crash, the sixth annual Guaranteed Lifetime Income Study finds that few clients or advisors believed a market downturn was very likely in 2020.
Just 21% Of Consumers Are Confident In Economy, LIMRA Finds
A new LIMRA study finds just 21% of Americans have a favorable view of the economy, down from 25% in March 2020 and falling to less than half of the 56% reported in January 2020. The ongoing pandemic is chipping away at jobs and spending as millions remain unemployed.
A new study conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that unmarried women had lower levels of retirement confidence than their married counterparts and were more likely to have fewer resources and be less prepared for retirement. The research also finds over half of unmarried women retired earlier than they expected.
According to a new LIMRA study, an equal percentage (30%) of employers ranked costs and benefit features as the top factor when choosing a carrier.
New York-regulated insurers were ordered today to accelerate the resolution and payment of insurance claims by businesses and individuals who suffered damage as a result of looting.
The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges against Bermuda-based insurance company Argo Group International Holdings for allegedly failing to fully disclose CEO compensation.
MINNEAPOLIS – The COVID-19 pandemic is drastically changing how Americans view their retirement prospects and many fear the worst is…
INDIANAPOLIS – (June 3, 2020) OneAmerica® today announced its 2019 financial results, recording another solid year of growth, highlighted by…
Life Insurance Ownership Drops 9% In A Decade, Study Finds
Over the past decade, U.S. life insurance ownership has fallen 9 percentage points to 54%, according to the 2020 Insurance Barometer Study. Researchers attribute the drop in ownership to a broad decline in employer-paid group life insurance benefits.
Registered index-linked annuity (RILA) sales were $4.9 billion in the first quarter 2020, up 38% from the prior year results, according to final results from the Secure Retirement Institute U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey.
U.S. life insurance application activity was down 3% year-over-year in April, according to the MIB Life Index — the second consecutive month of decline.
U.S. single premium buy-out sales totaled $4.5 billion in the first quarter, according to the Secure Retirement Institute U.S. Group Annuity Risk Transfer Sales Survey. This represents the second-highest first-quarter sales results and only the second time first-quarter sales have exceeded $4 billion.
All of the companies surveyed by LIMRA recently are still recruiting agents. Despite the challenges with getting newer agents licensed, 65% of companies are not focusing on more experienced agents.
The potential claims impact of increased death benefits from the COVID-19 pandemic on life insurers will be relatively small, Moody’s Investors Service reports.
SEC Slaps Charges On Two Firms Allegedly Running COVID-19 Scams
A pair of companies allegedly tried to scam the public by claiming to offer products to combat the COVID-19 virus, the Securities and Exchange Commission said today. The companies are based in New York and Florida, two states hard hit by the virus.
COLUMBUS, OHIO – The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the kinds of concerns agents must address from their customers, including a…
Insurers Wrestling With Distribution, Profitability Concerns: Survey
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in social-distancing practices and volatile market conditions that has many insurers concerned, according to a new survey. About 90% of the companies rated distribution/social distancing and pricing/new business profitability (89%) as a concern and 77% listed in-force profitability.
MetLife is offering paid voluntary leave to its licensed healthcare workers who join the fight against COVID-19, the company announced today.
PARK RIDGE, Ill. (May 06, 2020) — The COVID-19 pandemic, its associated market volatility and new regulations to combat the fallout…
Insurance Agency Marketing Services, Inc., a leading national independent marketing organization, announces Christopher Conroy has joined the firm as executive vice president of national accounts and principal.
The New York Department of Financial Services is requiring state-regulated health insurers to waive out-of-pocket costs, including cost-sharing, deductibles, copayments and coinsurance, for in-network mental health services for New York’s frontline essential workers during COVID-19.
Workers More Concerned About Their Finances Than Their Health
A new MetLife study showed that more than half of U.S. employees are worried about their financial health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Americans Nervous About Looming Recession: MDRT Survey
Americans are more nervous about looming recessions and are more closely following the news about the stock market during times of uncertainty than they were in 2019 and 2018, a Million Dollar Round Table survey revealed.
The 2020 Retirement Confidence Survey, fielded in January, found 77% of retirees are confident in their ability to live comfortably throughout retirement, down slightly from 82% in 2019. Despite the subsequent pandemic, that number barely changed when the survey was re-fielded in late March (76%).
Although the individual health insurance market has stabilized recently, it will feel the impact of COVID-19 in regard to the cost of testing, changes in non-COVID-related health care services and the impact of the recession, according to researchers.
The NAIC’s Statutory Accounting Principles (E) Working Group adopted three interpretations related to COVID-19 last week.
New research shows certain insurance brokers refused to sell what they said were riskier, non-Affordable Care Act-compliant products to consumers, including…
Mutual of Omaha CEO James Blackledge says the company is very strong and will survive the pandemic.
Insurers Are Helping Businesses Maintain Employee Benefits: LIMRA
According to the LIMRA survey, a large majority of carriers are making exceptions to their usual method of determining benefit eligibility in order to extend coverage for employees affected by COVID-19.
LIMRA: 40% Of Financial Services Firms See Increased Fraud
LIMRA surveyed financial services firms to determine whether they have detected increased levels of criminal activity. The study finds 4 in 10 companies report an uptick in malicious emails and account takeover attempts over the past 30 days.
COVID-19 Blamed For 2.2% Decline In March Life Insurance Activity
The COVID-19 pandemic is being blamed for a -2.2% year-over-year decline in U.S. life insurance application activity for March, according to the MIB Life Index. The poor month interrupted a strong two-month growth trend.
Life Insurers: COVID-19 Changing How Consumers Apply
Consumers are turning to online life insurance applications as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a new LIMRA survey found. A third of companies reported a decline in face-to-face applications while a quarter reported an increase in online applications in March.
Assuming a 20% infection rate among the study population, the report estimates that more than 50 million Americans will become infected, with at least 5.5 million requiring hospitalization – of which 1.3 million will require intensive care.
New York has issued an emergency regulation requiring health plans to defer premium payments for individual and small group commercial plans through June 1 for consumers and businesses burdened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consumer Confidence Plunges 31 Points Since January, LIMRA Reports
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half (57%) of Americans are very or extremely concerned about the economy, LIMRA research found.
With more and more states closing businesses and requiring people to implement social distancing practices, LIMRA examined what advisors are doing to stay connected to their clients.
Leaders of four insurance industry organizations have sent letters to every state insurance licensing authority requesting temporary licensing accommodations for producers who…
CSO Deadline Drives Indexed Life Sales Records In 2019: Wink
Life insurance sales were very strong in 2019, according to Wink’s Sales & Market Report, with indexed life sales smashing records. Indexed life sales for the fourth quarter were $725.1 million, up 30.8% when compared with the previous quarter, and up 14.6% as compared to the same period last year.
Total insurance industry merger-and-acquisition deals in the fourth quarter 2019 totaled $11.43 billion in the U.S., according to GlobalData’s deals database. The value marked an increase of 174% over the previous quarter.
Trade associations from across the entire health care spectrum came together with one voice in a letter to Vice President…
California is pressing all insurers to give policyholders “at least” a 60-day grace period from insurance premium payments.
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to clarify coverage for the diagnosis…
LIMRA/LOMA Cancels All Upcoming Industry Conferences
LIMRA and LOMA are canceling all industry meetings and conferences through April due to coronavirus concerns. The move comes as President Donald Trump urged Americans to avoid meeting in any groups of 10 or more.
As Drivers Stay Home, Insurers Should Cut Rates: Consumer Groups
As millions of Americans shelter in place, work from home, or face business closures and layoffs, the number of cars on the road has fallen precipitously and, as a result, the number of daily car accidents will diminish dramatically, consumer groups say.
A recent LIMRA and LOMA survey of financial services companies found that 91% have a pandemic stress scenario in place, but just 16% see the coronavirus as a severe pandemic.
