Steven A. Morelli

Steven A. Morelli is editor-in-chief for InsuranceNewsNet. He has more than 25 years of experience as a reporter and editor for newspapers and magazines. He was also vice president of communications for an insurance agents’ association. Steve can be reached at smorelli@insurancenewsnet.com.

The Smoke In Our Eyes

As my neighbor yelled at me on our front stoop, he stopped for a moment while he clearly had a…

Make The Call

The edge of autumn is a strange place this September. After this broiling summer, when COVID-19 flared rather than faded, we are missing our routines. Usually in the cooling refuge of September we can settle into the reassuring rhythm of the kids going to school and our pushing back into serious business leading up to the holiday season.

RILAs Take The FIA Road In This Crisis

Consumers are rushing to safety as they did early in the Great Recession, but they are running toward different products during this economic downturn – and that trend is likely to continue even in this ultralow rate environment.

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The Scariest Chart You’ll See Today

Mortgage delinquencies are increasing faster than they did during the Great Recession. The good news is that it appears to be slowing down. The bad news is that a second great shutdown combined with lax federal aid might make for an ugly third and fourth quarter.

Our Shot

Like millions of viewers, I was captivated by Hamilton recently…

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Eating, Drinking, Ouching: Working From Home

Although most people working remotely hope to continue doing so after the pandemic, many of them are already starting to feel some of the ill effects from working from home, according to a Chubb survey.

Threat Reassessments

When I left for the night from my first newspaper editing job, I had to be careful.

DOL Issues Fiduciary Rule To Harmonize With SEC

The Department of Labor issued its new fiduciary rule one workday after a federal court upheld the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest standard, which the DOL rule was designed to harmonize with.

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How Companies Can Bring On Real Diversity

A webinar presented by the National African American Insurance Association explores how individuals and companies can go beyond the promises and bring on real change .

Annuity Sales Soar In Flight To Safety

Fixed-rate deferred and indexed annuity sales spiked in March as consumers flocked to safety. But the quarter was still a downer overall because of low sales in January and February.

Consumers Looking To Buy Life Insurance

A majority of consumers are interested in increasing or buying life insurance, particularly younger people, according to a survey. But almost all of them do not want to go to an office for it these days.

2020, The Year Of (Advisors) Working Dangerously

So, you’re Zooming and using all sorts of tools to work remotely. Well, that’s kind of the problem. A fixable problem. Here are some tips for a safe and protected home office setup.

5 Ways Bad Annuity Marketing Can Get You Sued

Marketing is essential for advisors to get their message out, but it is also essential that the message matches the tenor of our times. Here are five risks to watch out for during the COVID-19 pandemic.

6 Compliance Risks Annuity Sellers Face In COVID Times

Market downturns can create annuity sales opportunities, but agents and advisors need to be taking steps to protect and prepare themselves because history will look back on how advisors and the industry conducted business during the crisis.

LIMRA’s Realignment Requires Layoffs To Meet 5-Year Plan Goals

LIMRA is realigning in response to a rapidly changing insurance environment. The association found that its members needed more tools to be efficient in their services and better informed in their product development. LIMRA has already introduced new platforms to help companies in this challenging market.

Is Your Uber-Driving Client Covered By Personal Auto?

Asking clients or prospects about ridesharing can open the door to a conversation about adequate auto coverage. Rideshare drivers might know personal-use auto insurance will not cover liability for commercial use unless the policy has a ridesharing endorsement. But they might not know about the gray areas where coverage gets questionable.

Who Will Win The Battle For the Dashboard?

We are in an age when we can get dinner delivered by drone with a click of the thumb, so why is the life insurance and annuity industry’s tech seemingly stuck?

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China Retaliation Ratchets Tension On Trade + Everything Else

This morning saw China retaliate with tariffs on at least $75 billion worth of U.S. goods, including oil, soybeans and cars, to go into effect Sept. 1 and Dec. 15 in lockstep with U.S. tariffs. President Donald Trump responded to China’s announcement by ordering U.S. companies to stop trading with China.

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Are We Looking Into The Abyss Of Recession?

Is this it? Is this the last step to recession? It seems we have been asking this question for a few years now. But there might be reasons to think that this time is the real one. The question now might be will it be a blip or something far bigger?

Who Will Still Feed Them When They’re 64?

In an era when pensions are as old-fashioned as plaid bell bottoms, four in 10 boomers have less than $100,000 saved for retirement; one quarter has less than $25,000, according to LIMRA. With 10,000 boomers hitting 65 every day, it is a mystery who will feed them once they are past 64.

DOL, SEC Appear To Be Harmonizing Fiduciary Standard

The Department of Labor is likely to harmonize its Conflict of Interest Rule language with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s best interest standard, according to a prominent industry lobbyist. The DOL fiduciary rule was tossed out by a federal appeals court earlier this year.

When The Fed Really Did Go Crazy

Paul Volcker became Fed chairman in 1979, promptly running into an economy burning down because of runaway inflation and then threw gas on it. He eventually raised the prime rate to 1981, extinguishing inflation, but also President Jimmy Carter’s chances of a second term.

This is Your Brain on Finance

Finance is the scariest topic people face, studies show. The way many financial professionals approach consumers compounds the fear. The findings are part of an emerging field of behavioral finance or financial psychology.

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NAFA Files For Emergency Injunction Against DOL Rule

The National Association for Fixed Annuities is asking an appellate court for an emergency injunction to suspend the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule after a lower court refused NAFA’s request for a preliminary injunction.

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‘Annuity Burglar’ Case Tossed by Judge

A California judge threw out 29 felony charges and one misdemeanor against a former insurance agent who spent more than four months in jail awaiting trial in a case that some said could lead to criminalizing surrender charges…

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