According to data from the Secure Retirement Institute, strong equity market gains and lower volatility — as well as rising interest rates — are all contributing factors to annuity sales reaching $129 billion year to date, a 29% increase over 2020.

In the heart of the Motor City — a town not known as a hotbed for insurance innovation — a young company called Signal Advisors is hard at work. Patrick Kelly, 31, now the co-founder and CEO of Signal Advisors, started his career as a financial advisor. In just a few short years, Signal Advisors has managed to raise tens of millions of dollars from some of the nation’s most successful entrepreneurs and investors. So what is the secret to Signal’s success?

Big changes are underway in the industry. And they could soon elevate your production and your clients’ satisfaction. As you read this, paper apps, products taking months to issue, invasive underwriting and legacy systems are on their way out the door.

As more life insurance customers seek a carefully balanced blend of security and opportunity, John Hancock is now offering its
all-new Protection VUL, (a variable universal life insurance product).

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz) is helping producers position themselves as highly-experienced and knowledgeable in various industries. David R. Foster, JD, AEP, CLU, ChFC, CAP, FLMI, Advanced Markets attorney and Senior Director of Advanced Markets at Allianz, explains how.

Mary Lyons, the Wealth Woman, founder of Benchmark Income Group, a General Agency appointed with the insurance companies of OneAmerica®, discusses economics-based financial planning and how it moves beyond an investment-only mindset and focuses on post-retirement spending targets.

A key make-or-break factor for any business or industry during the COVID-19 pandemic has been the ability to shift business online and provide “contactless” service. This holds particular pain for an industry built on home paramedical exams and handshakes across dining room tables, but the solution has actually been here the whole time, and it all comes down to some innovative and powerful uses of credit-based and non-credit-based data.

Legal & General America is helping advisors streamline processes to accelerate business growth and give their clients a faster, easier way to get the coverage they need.

With light at the end of the proverbial COVID-19 tunnel, it’s human nature to seek out the bright side. Many have slowed down to appreciate life — we’ve deepened our sense of gratitude, been more in touch with our families and communities, enjoyed clearer days with less pollution, and leveraged technology for, well, just about everything.

Today’s headlines continue to echo a crisis mode even though more than 200 million Americans have been vaccinated and many parts of the country are returning to a “new normal.” We need more annuity education.

If you have older clients sitting on nonqualified assets — especially clients who may have difficulty qualifying for traditional long-term care insurance — there’s a smart strategy to help them get the protection they need, without incurring tax penalties or risking legacy planning.

It’s no surprise that the No. 1 reason advisors lose clients is lack of communication. So why aren’t more advisors meeting annually with their clients? That’s a problem Signal Advisors, a new tech-focused IMO, set out to uncover and solve.

It may seem self-evident, but there is a direct correlation between annuity awareness and annuity preference. According to the Secure Retirement Institute, 83% of annuity owners view annuities favorably; that number is cut in half (41%) for non-annuity owners.

As a financial professional, you know the benefits annuities offer to clients: guaranteed lifetime income and peace of mind knowing they’ll have enough money to retire. Unfortunately, your clients might be carrying several common misconceptions about annuities, such as concerns that the guarantee can’t be trusted or that there are more effective methods to generate lifetime income.

For almost two years, this pandemic has tested the resiliency of nearly every human being on earth. And while its devastating mark will never be forgotten, this tragedy is proving to be the wakeup call many industries needed in order to adopt 21st-century processes and technologies.

“Annuity commissions paid in one day. Client-facing annual reviews done for you in one click. The first end-to-end platform designed to manage every part of an annuity advisor’s business.”