Overall annuity sales fell 3.6% in the first quarter of 2019, with combined sales of fixed and variable annuities of $57.8 billion as compared to sales of $59.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the Insured Retirement Institute, based on data reported by Beacon Research and Morningstar.

Why carriers need to see the agent as a customer and provide them tools, resources and methods to represent their products in the way the agent’s consumer wants to buy those products.

You’re busy taking care of your clients’ financial needs, but are you neglecting your own financial plan? One of the biggest challenges is managing cash flow. Most financial advisors are tied in some way to the performance of the market. Generally, as the markets drop, so does the income.

Commissioner Doug Ommen hopes to retain suitability ideas even as the word is scrubbed from his annuity sales proposal. The driving force is to harmonize state insurance regulations with the new Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest, Ommen explained.

Life insurance could help alleviate financial disaster for many families who are caring for parents and loved ones.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ working group is studying a proposal to double the time indexes must be in existence to be used in annuity illustrations from 10 to 20 years. Regulators are concerned that consumers are being misled by unrealistic indexed annuity illustrations.

Just one year after the Department of Labor fiduciary rule was vacated, the financial services industry is again reeling and rejoicing (depending on where you are in the industry) after the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of Regulation Best Interest and its subsequent rulings.

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.

The three-fold rulemaking package, which debuted last April went up for a vote this morning as Chairman Jay Clayton and Commissioners Elad Roisman, Robert Jackson, Jr. and Hester Peirce gave their final thoughts on the matter before the vote.

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.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is voting tomorrow on a three-part rulemaking package containing regulation best interest.

Total first-quarter, non-variable deferred annuity sales were $33.4 billion — up 2.6% when compared to the previous quarter and up 44.8% when compared to the same period last year. Non-variable deferred annuities include the indexed annuity, traditional fixed annuity, and MYGA product lines.

As wedding season ramps up, you can help couples send the ultimate love letter – financial protection in sickness and in health – to their future selves. Protection-first planning should be the foundation of any couple’s financial plans – it’s the key that unlocks the door to future financial stability.

Commissions are not the reason health care costs are so high, representatives of two health insurance agents groups told InsuranceNewsNet.