The Accelerated Underwriting Working Group had its first conference call today and vowed to stick with a deliberative schedule that has the group deferring a work product until next summer. Annual surveys show insurers steadily adopting additional Big Data and accelerated underwriting efforts.

Representing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Eugene Scalia played a major role in convincing an appeals court judicial panel to vacate the Obama Labor Department’s fiduciary rule. The DOL is working on a replacement rule to be unveiled by the end of the year.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America supports the bill, which would protect agents and brokers who write insurance coverage for legitimate cannabis-related businesses from criminal prosecution and civil liability. The bill passed the House with a vote of 321-103.

The Securities and Exchange Commission was accused of failing its mission as “Wall Street’s cop” in the first appearance of the full SEC board in Congress since 2007.

LIMRA research shows 26% of all U.S. workers participate in gig work either as their primary job or as a secondary source of income and almost three-quarters of these workers believe they will continue working in this capacity over the next five years. Lack of access to benefits that are usually offered to traditional workers is one of the big challenges of this work.

No more are actively managed funds the kings of Wall Street. Index funds usurped actively managed funds for the first time this week, confirming a major shift in the way people invest. As of Aug. 31, index funds held $4.27 trillion in assets, compared to $4.25 trillion currently in active funds, Morningstar research found.

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.

The combined sales of fixed and variable annuities totaled $60.7 billion, compared to sales of $57.7 billion in the first quarter of 2019, according to data reported by Beacon Research and Morningstar.

The Federal Reserve announced its decision today to cut interest rates. The move had been expected and while President Donald Trump urged a rate cut, he still might not be happy with the decision.

The Accelerated Underwriting Working Group is chaired by Robert H. Muriel, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. It will consider the use of external data and data analytics in accelerated life underwriting and possibly draft guidance for states in 2020.

After roughly 18 months of meetings, the group is in tentative agreement on a best interest standard for annuity sales. But New York officials are adamant that the standard apply to in-force policies, a move other regulators are hesitant to make.

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.

Plaintiffs claim that the SEC failed to act on a 2010 Dodd-Frank directive that required it to write rules establishing a fiduciary standard for broker-dealers to replace the suitability standard. The states argue that “Overall, the Final Rule’s best interest obligations fall short of the standard of conduct contemplated by (the) Dodd-Frank Act.”

The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York filed an appeal Monday challenging a New York Supreme Court ruling upholding Regulation 187. The state’s new regulations governing annuity and life insurance sales, Regulation 187 is viewed by the industry as being too punitive.

After 20 years and more than 150 commercials, the Geico gecko remains one of the most recognizable commercial characters on television. In fact, the gecko came in third place in a survey of the most recognizable mascots in a recent survey.