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Last year was a tumultuous year when it came to market volatility and a global pandemic that brought the world’s economy to its knees. But client needs haven’t changed, and people continue to plan for retirement. The result is continued opportunities to present life insurance and annuities to clients, a NAILBA panel said.

Appearing on the inaugural 2021 Allianz Global webcast Tuesday, Guy Adami of CNBC’s “Fast Money” did not hold back his concerns about corporate recklessness. Fueling that recklessness is a Federal Reserve that has been “extraordinarily accommodative” over the past 12 years or so, Adami said.

Matt Eyles, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, said that his organization wants to assist the administration in its goals of COVID-19 relief and economic recovery, while calling for health equity in America’s communities.

The lawsuit focuses on universal life insurance policies issued by Security Life under names such as Strategic Accumulator Universal Life. The policies include a separate COI charge deducted monthly and meant to compensate Security Life for its mortality risk, the lawsuit noted.

President Joe Biden is expected to take executive action as early as Thursday to reopen the Affordable Care Act marketplaces as well as to lower the barriers to enroll in Medicaid.

Fourth-quarter variable annuity sales increased 4% from prior year to $27.9 billion, powered by robust registered index-linked annuity  sales, according to preliminary results from the Secure Retirement Institute’s Individual Annuity Sales Survey.

Although the Consolidated Appropriations Act was largely a spending and stimulus relief bill, it also contained a provision that changed the determination of a minimum interest rate used in certain tax-related calculations for life insurance contracts.

If a customer reaches out to you, desperate to manage rising cost-of-insurance costs that are in excess of the policy’s investment income, what recommendations do you provide? That customer could surrender all or part of the insurance to reduce the premium burden. A life settlement is also an option, however. And often, it’s an option with better financial outcomes for your customer.
Janet Yellen, Treasury secretary, is calling for more pandemic stimulus.

The Senate on Monday approved President Joe Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nation’s 78th treasury secretary, making her the first woman to hold the job in the department’s 232-year history.

The Florida Supreme Court settled last week a critical property/casualty coverage issue dating to Hurricane Frances in 2004, ruling that an apartment complex owner cannot sue for lost rental income. The case threatened to set a critical precedent for P&C insurers.

Janet Yellen is one step closer to becoming Treasury secretary, with the Senate Finance Committee’s unanimously approving her nomination on Friday.

Are you truly committed to serving your clients for the long run? You may care deeply about your clients and their financial interests, but if you don’t have a great relationship with their spouses or adult children, how can you assure their financial interests will survive well into the future?

A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit accusing MetLife and its executives of defrauding investors concerning accounting for its retirement and income solution line of business. In a Jan. 11 decision, Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. of the Eastern District of New York found the claims “without merit.”