Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected]
The No. 1 challenge for advisors right now is to give clients permission to contact them and work with clients through “the new normal,” a behavioral finance expert said.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act contains a number of provisions that can benefit your clients in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and market downturn. Don’t wait to reach out to business and individual clients to help them take advantage of this new law. In addition, some portions of the CARES Act can help your own practice.
The recent market crash presents an opportunity for advisors to ease their clients’ fears on everything from how to deal with future tax increases to how to generate lifetime retirement income,
The current working environment “is a huge opportunity to pick up clients, market share and new opportunities moving forward,” said an advisor who is running his practice virtually.
Technology enables advisors to keep their practices humming and continue serving their clients in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, said an advisor from Tennessee who described what he is doing now that social distancing has required him to work from home.
Advisors can choose not to participate in the negativity stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, a retirement income specialist and author told members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.
Clients are “looking for a port in a storm” in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, and are looking for advisors to be the community of leaders they can count on. That was the word from Jill Judd, former president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.
Clients want human interaction in this time of social isolation, and they need to have their advisors communicate with them. Brock Jolly, financial advisor at Veritas Financial, shared some tips for communicating with clients during a webinar held Monday for members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.
Clients may have some confusion about the COVID-19 virus. Health insurance brokers can help break through that confusion and be a trusted source of information.
Health care costs keep rising and consumers aren’t the only ones feeling the financial pain. Employers also are seeing their expenses rise, and are beginning to question those expenses.
As the number of baby boomers head into their retirement years, Medicare will be under pressure to continue providing benefits while being financially stable. Still, despite challenges, a panel of health care experts said Medicare is here to stay.
The American health care system is failing those who need to access life-saving treatment, according to author Den Bishop, the author of “The Voter’s Guide To Healthcare.” He spoke at the National Association of Health Underwriters 2020 Capitol Conference.
The head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reinforced today the Trump administration’s opposition to replacing the current health insurance system with a public option or a single-payer plan.
Seema Verma, administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will be one of the keynote speakers as the National Association of Health Underwriters gathers in Washington for their annual Capitol Conference Monday and Tuesday.
Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg wants to resuscitate the DOL rule if he becomes president, according to information he released in his financial reform policy. The DOL rule, which originated during the Obama administration, expanded the definition of “investment advice fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
Transamerica’s chief investment officer sees the 2020 market environment as investor-friendly, or what he calls a “Goldilocks” scenario: an economic and market backdrop not too hot or too cold, but just enough for stock and bond investors to generate good returns in the year ahead.
Your client is about to get a windfall, courtesy of the IRS. What should they do with their tax refund? Splurge on something? Sock it away? Make an additional principal payment (or two) on their mortgage or their student debt?
Surprise medical billing is a source of anger and frustration to consumers. Now, two House committees are releasing their proposals to protect consumers from the practice.
An industry association is taking aim at the nation’s lack of financial literacy. The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors is looking at the issue from two sides: lack of basic consumer financial education and a need for financial professionals to provide services.
During their annual visit to Washington, Health Agents for America looked to lawmakers to help their clients save money on health care while being able to choose the right products for their needs.
What would you rather have – free universal health care or total student loan forgiveness? LendEDU surveyed 1,000 Americans and found 60% opted for the free health care as opposed to 40% who want to see the nation’s $1.61 trillion in student loan debt erased.
Elder financial abuse has been categorized as “a crime of the 21st century,” according to the presenter of a webinar on understanding elder financial exploitation and fraud.
A study from Allianz Life finds worries about market volatility are on the wane. But consumers are still worried about the rising cost of living and its impact on retirement income.
Some finance pros are suggesting that clients consider protecting some of the gains they earned during the market surge of the past year by moving them into a safer product – an insurance product.
Between 2013 and 2018, compound annual growth rate in life insurance premium growth has been 1.7%, the EY report said. Gross written premium grew from $661 billion in 2013 to $718 billion in 2018.
Health insurance CEO pay is outpacing the growth of revenue and growth of other top executives’ pay according to a report. The most recent survey showed that total direct compensation (the sum of base salary plus annual incentives and long-term incentives) for health insurance CEOs increased 12% from 2018 to 2019.
The National Financial Educators Council conducted a survey with a single question: “When you have a financial question, who do you turn to for trusted financial guidance?” The most popular answer to the question depended on the age of the respondent.
Annuities provide guaranteed lifetime income, something that should be attractive to those who fear running out of money in retirement. So why aren’t more Americans buying annuities?
An aging population and the need for workers to protect themselves were two recurring themes in InsuranceNewsNet’s most-read health-related articles in 2019.
Consumers still want to have the option to explore coverage online, but they also want to be able to talk to a professional, the survey revealed. More than two-thirds of those surveyed (68%) said they would buy life insurance through an agent, while 38% said they would likely buy coverage online.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors is joining forces with the American Council of Life Insurers to coordinate advocacy efforts in seven states in 2020, with plans to expand those efforts into the remaining states in 2021.
Advisors are fighting their own battles with the rapid pace of change, disengagement among their team members, and a churn of conflict keeping their message from reaching their prospects and clients, said decorated war veteran Scott Mann. Humans are “meaning, seeking, emotional, social creatures,” he added.
If you want to convince someone of the need for an annuity, position it as part of a strategy instead of merely presenting it as a product.
A higher percentage of Gen Xers are looking more like millennials than baby boomers as far as their retirement confidence is concerned, according to a study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. This is troublesome as the oldest members of Gen X are getting very close to retirement age.
The DOL issued a regulation expanding multi-employer retirement plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The rule is aimed at expanding access to saving options by clarifying the circumstances under which an employer group or association or professional employment organization may sponsor a multiple employer workplace retirement plan.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute looked at spending patterns of older households and found that spending varies upon whether the households are singles or couples, or whether they are in retirement or currently working.
The Senate will wait until after the August recess to vote on a health care bill that would require health benefits brokers to disclose their commissions, The Hill reported today. The Lower Health Care Costs Act was introduced by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
Employees at small businesses are less likely to have disability insurance than those who work for larger employers, a Guardian Life study showed. The vast majority (92%) of Americans who have DI acquired it through their employer, Guardian said. And fewer Americans own DI, with an 11% drop in the percentage of those who have the product – from 65% in 2017 to 54% in 2018.
It’s graduation season and, along with finding their first real-world jobs, new grads need help managing their finances. Managing money remains the most daunting challenge for college students, with nearly half of college students (47%) saying they do not feel prepared to manage their money.
The 10th annual Northwestern Mutual Planning and Progress study shows that Americans learned some lessons from the recession and used those lessons to work on improving their financial security – in particular, carrying less debt.
Commissions are not the reason health care costs are so high, representatives of two health insurance agents groups told InsuranceNewsNet.
Health benefits brokers would be subject to disclosure requirements as part of a sweeping health care bill introduced in the U.S. Senate.
Although the government shutdown is a well-known example of a disruption in income, it’s more likely that Americans will see their income grind to a halt as a result of an illness or disability. So why aren’t they lining up to buy disability insurance?
Workers who are sidelined by illness or injury are often more worried about their financial health than they are about their physical health, a Cigna survey revealed. More than half (52%) of survey respondents who did not have DI said it took them more than two years to recover financially.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, discussed the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act during a briefing at the start of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Congressional Conference. More than 600 NAIFA members are in Washington for this annual event.
Members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors are urging Congress to enact a package that would help workers better prepare for retirement. NAIFA members are in Washington Tuesday and Wednesday for their annual political advocacy event.
George Nichols began his tenure as The American College’s president and CEO on Nov. 1 after a 17-year career with New York Life. He wants to see the school expand by breaking out of its insurance niche and focusing on financial services.
Voluntary benefits do more than fill in the gaps left by traditional health insurance. They can be part of a worker’s holistic protection plan. And with more workers facing higher out-of-pocket medical expenses, voluntary benefits can help cover those unexpected costs.
The results of a study showed that a high percentage of workers are experiencing mental health issues in the workplace but are afraid to disclose them to their employers.
A disability insurance provider released the results of a study that showed employee absence and disability are costing companies an average of $800,000 a year.
Nearly half of single parents with children under age 18 don’t have life insurance, and the majority of them say the reason they don’t have coverage is because they believe it’s too expensive, a survey said.
Six insurance industry professional associations and four life insurance carriers have joined forces to address issues that affect the industry. The leadership teams of the associations have been meeting regularly since 2016 to discuss “what we might be able to do in the spirit of better communication, collaboration and ultimately perhaps even consolidation,” said Warren May of Principal Financial.
As the 2018 income tax filing season heads down its final stretch, many Americans are finding themselves with surprise tax bills. One area that can lead to unwanted surprises come tax season is required minimum distributions.
African-Americans view life insurance as more than a means to pay for final expenses. They are increasingly looking to life insurance as a way to transfer wealth and leave a legacy, according to a New York Life study.
Lawmakers are proposing legislation to stabilize the Affordable Care Act insurance market, make coverage more affordable for consumers, and improve access to care by leveraging the bargaining power and administrative savings of public programs.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors conducted its first comprehensive membership survey in nearly a decade. Among the findings are that members are offering more products and services than ever before, while still receiving the bulk of their income from commissions instead of fees.
A Partnership for America’s Health Care Future spokeswoman calls single-payer health care a one-size-fits-all system that would give consumers less choice and control over their doctors, treatments and coverage. It would mean higher taxes, long wait times and lower quality of care.
Consumers covered under single-payer plans frequently experience long wait times to access care. In addition, the governments of most single-payer countries are heavily involved in setting the price of care, especially prescription drugs.
Polls show that an estimated 35 percent of voters “will vote for Trump no matter what,” Charlie Cook said, 45 percent “will never vote for him in a million years” and 20 percent are in the middle. The votes of that 20 percent group are up for grabs in 2020 but Trump is not going after this group.
Nearly 700 health insurance and benefits advisors from across the nation will travel to Washington to meet with members of Congress. In addition, NAHU members will hear from industry experts, members of Congress and members of the Trump administration as they look at the future for health care reform.
