Insurer Tells Houston To Act Boldly To Counter Future Floods, Hurricanes

Despite proposed double-digit premium hikes for ACA plans in 2019, one insurer is taking a deeper dive into the marketplace and expanding its footprint to several more states.

New Hampshire authorities say a 76-year-old Maine man has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for operating a multi-million dollar investment fraud scheme. William Bischoff defrauded more than two dozen clients of his financial advisory business from 2009 until 2017. The York resident pleaded guilty in March to a wire fraud count and another count of failing to file federal tax returns. He stole $5.6 million from the defrauded investors.

Clients have been hearing about the impending retirement“ crisis” for so long that many are ignoring the other side of the coin, the risk of running out of retirement funds due to unexpected longevity. Primary among the various“ longevity risks” is the potentially astronomical cost of long-term care. Just how deep the problem runs is explored in a recent survey of…

Advisers must develop relationships with business owners to establish customized plans that work best for the needs of their employees.

Money market yields were low after the financial crisis — but that’s no longer the case. Here’s what advisors should do.

Dean Mustaphalli “deceived the clients that trusted him,” New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said.

The advisor told the client that she could pre-pay her advisory account fees at a discount by writing him a $7,400 check, FINRA claimed.

Pennsylvania firm Benefit Design Specialists offers self-funded clients a nurse-managed surgery network that is free to employees.

Many of the company’ s new jobs in Springfield are simply being relocated several miles north from an office MassMutual plans to shutter in Enfield, Conn. Others will come from other MassMutual offices in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Tennessee. MassMutual wants to build a 17- story, $240 million office building at Fan Pier, the Fallon Co. development in the…

FEMA, which started purchasing reinsurance last year for the National Flood Insurance Program, is exploring the expansion of the program, spokesman Michael Hart said last week. Reinsurance is coverage bought by insurers— or, in this case, FEMA— as protection against unexpectedly high claims. FEMA worked through Guy Carpenter& Co. LLC, a subsidiary of Marsh&…

The combined wealth of the world’s millionaires rose for a sixth straight year and grew 10.6 percent to a record $70.2 trillion.

Oakmark Funds’ David Herro, who grew up outside of Milwaukee, told an audience recently at Morningstar’ s Investment Conference that he recalled a time that when a“ cool” haircut trend made its way from the streets of New York City to his Midwestern neighborhood, you could be sure the trend was fashionable no more. The manager of the Oakmark International Fund since…

A federal judge in San Francisco has signed off on Wells Fargo’ s $142 million settlement in a class-action suit over the creation of more than 3.5 million phony accounts. The agreement sets aside funds for customers who were harmed by the lender’s opening of savings and credit card accounts they hadn’t authorized and, in some cases, deducting fees for those…

It turns out robots need insurance, too.

Health insurers in Minnesota’s individual market are proposing lower premiums for consumers. Information from the Minnesota Department of Commerce shows that the four largest carriers in the market are seeking average rate decreases ranging from 7 to 12 percent. The agency notes the proposed decreases are preliminary. But the decreases are a sign of stability in a market that’s seen premium spikes under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Fidelis Care anticipates the number of people buying coverage in New York’s individual insurance market will shrink by 37 percent next year, driving up medical costs 23 percent, according to documents the company filed with the state. Excellus, MVP and CDPHP, insurers that also sell Obamacare policies in Central New York, have all asked for increases of less…

Only about a third of advisors have an asset-transfer plan in place, according to research.

A cease and desist order has been issued to a Mississippi insurance agent accused of failing to forward premiums to the respective insurance companies. The Mississippi Insurance Department said Friday it had issued the order against James Michael Brand of Biloxi, who is the owner/operator of Brand Insurance Services, LLC, d/b/a Gulf Coast Insurance.

Ten states and one city have already taken steps to offer government-facilitated retirement programs.

The convergence of these factors has led to the idea that HSAs can serve as longer-term savings vehicles, notes Patrick Delaney, vice president, DCIO Marketing with T. Rowe Price Investment Services Inc. in Baltimore.“ It’ s the triple tax benefit that everyone grabs on to that makes them a viable long-term savings vehicle.”. A recent survey from Devenir Research…

June 12– The complaints about two life insurance companies piled up: California customers said Accordia Life& Annuity Co. and Athene Annuity& Life Co. hadn’t sent them billing statements or annual reports and then let their policies lapse. And he thinks far more customers than that have had problems with Accordia and Athene, which have committed to service more…

Walt Bettinger also took aim at robo advisors at the Morningstar conference.

Image via Michael Hicks/ Wikimedia. Voya Financial VOYA, formerly named ING U.S, is a retirement, investment and insurance company serving approximately 14.7 million individual and institutional customers in the United States. This Fortune 500 company manages $541 billion in assets, explains Crista Huff, editor of Cabot Undervalued Stocks Advisor..

The Trump administration is no longer requesting a $107 million cut of Superstorm Sandy recovery aid as part of its $15 billion rescission budget submitted to Congress. A White House statement at the time added that Washington has a “spending program,” calling for the elimination of “outdated and ineffective programs across the federal government, ending the…

A company that employs 10,000 people can save $500,000 a year by getting employees on a more sound fiscal footing.

Families and individuals shopping for health insurance on New Mexico’s federally subsidized exchange may have more companies to choose from next year. The Office of the Superintendent of Insurance said Monday that five companies have applied to offer exchange plans on the 2019, including four companies that currently participate. Agency spokeswoman Heather Widler says an affiliate of Presbyterian Health Services has proposed new exchange offerings in a development that could benefit consumers.

Life Insurance and associated tax issues are complicated. You can imagine that this can become an issue when a donor realizes, after the donation, that the donated policy with a $100,000 of cash value is a very well-seasoned whole life policy with only a $10,000 basis. Going to the rule above, the deductible number would be the lesser of the FMV, which we’ ll call…

Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency are in Connecticut to assess damage from a tornado that touched down during severe storms last month. FEMA officials are scheduled to conduct preliminary damage assessments in Hamden on Monday as part of a process to determine federal aid amounts. Four tornadoes struck six towns in the state on May 15. Two people died and more than 120,000 homes and businesses lost power.

Though policy makers may need to step in where market forces fail, businesses should play a more significant role in cutting costs.

Advisors should make sure they know how to discuss bonds in a new environment.

Grandma is an easy target. She’ s probably trusting, alone and lonely. In this case, Grandma is a senior or elderly person.

As tech drives M&A activity, more insurers seek vertical integration to improve user experiences and broaden benefit portfolios.

The skies of the U.S. economy are clear and sunny, but many analysts see storm clouds on the horizon. By many measures, the economy is in its best shape since the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009. Employment hit an 18-year low of 3.8% in May. Average wage growth is widely expected to reach 3% by the end of the year. And the economy is projected to grow nearly 3% in 2018 for the second time since the downturn.

Americans are losing millions of dollars because investment advisers put them into pricier categories of retirement funds that often pay the consultants for their recommendations.

Robert Dekas claimed the firm breached its fiduciary duty by executing trades in unsuitable investments, says the regulator.

Defenders of the Affordable Care Act argued the move breaks Trump’s promise that he would not get rid of the protections for Americans with pre-existing health conditions.

Bills aimed at curtailing auto insurance premiums for seniors are advancing in Michigan’s Legislature. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 23-13 Thursday to let drivers age 65 or older opt out of unlimited personal injury protection and instead choose $50,000 of coverage. Michigan’s the only state to require unlimited coverage for medical expenses resulting from car crashes.

There’s no question it’s in everyone’s best interest to have healthy, engaged employees. Employees who avoid illness see lower healthcare costs, while employers see lower absenteeism rates. But there’s a problem with the quest for healthy workers: Over the last decade, employers have largely focused on wellness programs to help their employees get and stay…

A new report concludes that federal spending on children is declining while the amount of money going to programs for the elderly is on the rise.

Mr. Azar, testifying before a House committee, vigorously disputed suggestions by Democrats that President Trump had sabotaged Affordable Care Act marketplaces, where millions of people obtain insurance subsidized by the federal government. ”Those prices are going to go up, and, absent statutory change, there’s little we can do to stop that premium increase…

While testifying before a House committee on Wednesday, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said there wouldn’t be enough time to turn new regulations around for a rule against silver loading.

New York Obamacare insurers want to raise prices for 2019 by an average 24 percent, with some plans seeking rate increases as high as nearly 40 percent. The most common reason the state’s 14 insurers on Obamacare’ s exchanges gave for the increases was the repeal of the individual mandate in the new tax law. That follows insurers in several other states that have…

Social Security is known as the “third rail” of politics: American voters are so protective of the federal retirement program that they’ll electrocute any politician who messes with it. Survey data regularly highlights the yawning gap between those expectations and the Social Security benefits they will actually receive: To wit, the Nationwide Retirement…

And even though the number is startling, it’s considered good news because cost growth has slowed

In 2009 it was $125, the Health Care Cost Institute research shows. The reason for the spike appears to be a dramatic shift in how emergency visits are coded by facilities, with many more designated at the highest levels of severity and therefore billed at steeper prices, said John Hargraves, a researcher and co-author of the report. The insurers included United…

Massachusetts- based Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is requesting an average premium increase of 9.5 percent for its individual plans on Maine’s ACA marketplace in 2019, according to documents filed Monday with the state Bureau of Insurance. For an estimated 85 percent of individual ACA policyholders in Maine, those rate increases would be offset by…

EP Wealth Advisors’ acquisition of Donnelly Wealth Advisors will boost its AUM by more than $400 million.

Innovo Benefits Group and Aegis Retirement Partners join together against sales-driven strategies and the commoditization of services among large group advisers.

June 05– ALBANY– Most of New York’s health insurers are looking to raise premiums on the individual market next year, an increase they say is necessary now that Republicans in Congress have repealed the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. The mandate, which imposed a tax penalty on Americans who did not obtain health insurance, was by far the most unpopular…

California legislators are quietly discussing a new disaster relief fund that, in the aftermath of last fall’s devastating wildfires, could take some of the financial pressure off utility companies such as Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

With interest rates on the rise — and expected to climb even higher– plain-old cash is looking more alluring to savers and conservative investors.

Avalere Health and the Centers for Medicare Advocacy tell FierceHealthcare why the GOP’s renewed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act should be taken seriously, and how even talks of repeal could hurt the marketplace and providers.

Whatever else we expect of our big deal company leaders, we don’ t expect to be privy to the history of their darkest days. But Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini, speaking at an Asia Society event on the topic of Buddhism and Business, was candid about a day several years ago when he contemplated suicide. “I was on the verge of taking my life,” the insurance executive said.“ I was…

Employees may want to cash in their retirement accounts but other variables complicate the outlook.

A recent study by West Monroe and Mergermarket, Reshaping Healthcare M&A, provides an in-depth look at how mergers and acquisitions are continuing to transform the industry in the face of mounting complexities. From aging populations to disruptive technologies, we take a look at the key findings of the US based study, undertaken by 100 senior executives, split…

Stocks opened solidly higher on a strong jobs report that shouldn’t spook the Fed. Lululemon soared on earnings. Facebook and Amazon aim to confirm moves into buy zones.

The author of right-to-try legislation is pressuring Scott Gottlieb, M.D., to implement the law in a way that weakens the FDA. “This law intends to diminish the FDA’s power over people’s lives, not increase it,” wrote Sen. Ron Johnson.

May 31– After Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, there were two political stalwarts who were stunned– besides the obvious choice of Hillary Clinton. Outgoing President Barack Obama wondered whether Americans simply wanted a “cartoon” figure as their leader. Obama felt Trump trivialized the importance of the task ahead of him, according to The…

President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned conservative crank Dinesh D’Souza, who in 2014 was convicted of making an illegal donation to a Republican Senate candidate. It was Trump’s fifth presidential pardon, following those of other well-known figures such as former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa…