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Ex-Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson Gives Up Politics For Life Insurance World

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It’s been 13 years since Ben Nelson was reelected to the Senate, romping to a second-term victory over a Republican newcomer named Pete Ricketts in 2006.. The former Democratic senator- and former two-term governor- won that contest by 164,000 votes, and it marked the sixth Democratic victory in the past eight Senate elections in Nebraska at the time.

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The American Council of Life Insurers elected its chairman, officers and board of directors at the 2019 ACLI Annual Conference.

Actress and model Brooke Shields, 54, is a near perfect fit for this year’s Life Insurance Awareness Month campaign, said Faisa Stafford, president and chief financial officer of Life Happens. So far, more than 60 million people have seen either Shields’ television or radio ads.

New IUL products featuring “multipliers” or “bonuses” prompted the IUL Illustration Subgroup to consider changes to Actuarial Guideline 49. During a Monday conference call, one regulator called for “a total rework of AG 49 from the ground up.”

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–U.S. insurance companies are rapidly adopting new technologies such as artificial intelligence and drones to better serve their customers, and they are looking to business process outsourcing providers to help them roll out these advancements, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group, a leading global technology research…

Oct. 16– A murder-for-hire killing that left a father and son dead in Loris will be featured on an upcoming Investigation Discovery television show. The crime-focused channel will air a new episode at 9 p.m. Oct. 22 of “Relatively Evil,” which recounts the killing of Amos Hatfield and his son, Tommy. Amos Hatfield’s wife, Sandy Locklear, is featured on the show.

A Canton man has been indicted in a $40 million financial fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Byung J. James Torchia, 61, of Canton is accused in the indictment of running a fraud scheme that caused investors to spend more than $40 million on his company’s promissory notes. “The harm that can be caused by greed and the false promise of safe investments can be devastating,” said…

A judge recently ordered the Zurich American Life Insurance Company to place Sandra Kalosky’ s insurance benefit into an escrow account rather than pay it to her husband Robert Kalosky. Judge Victor Bolden said since the March 2018 homicide is unsolved the insurance company is in an untenable position.

When it comes to feelings about finances, working Americans are practically split down the middle, according to a recent study. Fifty-five percent of employed Americans feel they are on the right track to achieving financial well-being, while the other 45 percent feel they are not headed in the right direction, according to the recent Lincoln Financial Group…
Life insurance sales are stagnant, but profits are still being made.

Regulation 187 was finalized in 2018 and took effect Aug. 1 of this year for annuities. Life insurance sales will fall under the rule on Feb. 1, 2020. It establishes a best-interest standard, mandates enhanced disclosure and documentation, required of the producer and insurance carrier, as well as training programs.

Many market participants in the fraternal segment of the U.S. life insurance industry are struggling to stay relevant, given their limited financial resources and difficulties in growing membership, according to a new AM Best report. Net premiums written for the 44 U.S. life fraternal companies covered in this report have hovered around $10 billion in each of…
The Auschwitz concentration camp was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II.

And as time runs out on aging Holocaust survivors, some are trying to recover insurance policies that were not honored by Nazi-era companies, which could be worth at least $25 billion altogether in today’s dollars, according to the Holocaust Survivors’ Foundation USA.

Securities America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc., today announced that it has successfully recruited Knight Investments Group, Inc., an independent wealth management practice in Russellville, Ark. with approximately $160 million in total client assets, to its platform. Gregg Johnson, Securities America’ s…

–Foresters Financial™ today announces the launch of Advantage Plus II Participating Whole Life, replacing its flagship Advantage Plus Whole Life product, with lower premiums. Complimentary benefits and a shared purpose. Foresters Financial Vice President, Product& Pricing Jeremy W. Ragsdale said,“ We’ re excited to offer a whole life product that can be tailored…

Likewise, based on the information I have seen, the allegations from an unnamed source of a “hole” in the balance sheets of Mr. Lindberg’s insurers are false. The fact is the North Carolina Department of Insurance said recently that there are no defaults with loans to Mr. Lindberg’s companies and said this week that Mr. Lindberg’s insurers have substantial “…

With the John Hancock Vitality Apple Watch program, life insurance policyholders can walk, run, bike or swim, share their activities and earn points that go toward monthly payments for their watch over a two-year period. The program first launched in 2015 amid some privacy concerns.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners creates model laws for states to pass.

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.

–Traditional insurance carriers, beset by slow growth and high churn, are seeking new ways to attract and retain customers. Working with Dynata, an online global market research company, Bain& Company surveyed nearly170, 000 insurance customers in 16 countries and found that worldwide, 39 percent of insurance customers currently use at least one connected…

–Employee benefits solutions company, Clarity Benefit Solutions, explains why millennials are the most at-risk generation when it comes to life insurance. Young adults that range in age from 23 to 38, also known as millennials, face a unique set of financial challenges. First of all, many are burdened with overwhelming student loan debt.

Many people just think of life insurance as something useful when there’ s a death. Colonial Life’ s new product debuts in 48 states and the District of Columbia– just in time for a busy enrollment season and Life Insurance Awareness Month.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners issued the following news release:. -Understand the Difference Between Term and Cash Value. All life insurance policies have one thing in common- they’re designed to pay money to “named beneficiaries” when you die.
Life insurance sales are stagnant, but profits are still being made.

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.

The New York State Department of Financial Services issued the following news release:. Superintendent of Financial Services Linda A. Lacewell today announced that the Department of Financial Services has fined American Progressive Life and Health Insurance Company of New York $260,000 for rescinding certain life insurance policies without the…

To help consumers meet the increasing need and cost of long-term care, Lincoln Financial Group today introduced MoneyGuard ® III, the newest generation of its hybrid life/long-term care funding solution. MoneyGuard III, issued by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Fort Wayne, IN, offers new coverage and benefit options and provides greater…

Sep. 15– Leslie Chance is schedule to appear before a Kern County Superior judge Wednesday. She is accused of shooting her husband to death in August 2013 and leaving his body near a commercial orchard several miles northwest of Bakersfield. Prosecutors say the couple drove that morning to the area of Noriega Road near Enos Lane, where Chance is alleged to have…

–Are you like the majority of Americans who don’t have life insurance, but also know that you should? Erie Insurance provides perspective on the six most common reasons people delay buying life insurance:. For instance, when asked how much a $250,000 term life insurance policy would be for a healthy 30- year-old, the median estimate was $500 annually— more than…
Scott Mann on stage this morning at NAIFA's 2019 annual conference. (Photo courtesy of NAIFA)

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.

–The National Association of Insurance Commissioners Life Insurance Policy Locator continues to connect consumers with lost life insurance. This free online tool, maintained by the NAIC, has received 145,432 requests which has led to 46,665 matches of lost or misplaced life insurance policies or annuities with claim amounts of $650,520,451 million being…
Prudential is making its first leap into Artificial Intelligence with a $2.3 billion purchase.

Prudential Financial is purchasing Assurance IQ, an online insurance-tech company that meets its customers through an online portal instead of through a financial adviser. It sells life insurance, auto insurance, health insurance and Medicare options online from over 20 providers.

Employee benefits provider Unum finds that 38% of U.S. adults rate their ability to manage finances as average, poor, or very poor. Thirty-five percent say thinking about what would happen to their family should they die unexpectedly was a top cause of anxiety; only going to the dentist (40%) rated higher.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners creates model laws for states to pass.

A National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ working group was working through policy overview language when it took up a request by Pacific Life to change “gender” to “sex.” That led regulators to consider how transgender consumers are treated under insurance regulation.

–Knights of Columbus, a Fortune 1000 insurer with more than $25 billion in assets, announced today that it has launched two more permanent life insurance products in The Knights Advantage Series in the U.S. and Canada: Limited Pay Whole Life and Single Premium Whole Life. Both the Limited Pay Whole Life and the Single Premium Whole Life plans offer a guaranteed…

Approximately 37.5 million U.S. households currently have no life insurance coverage, and nearly half of all households are underinsured, putting them at risk of not being able replace their income and missing out on a valuable financial tool. 1 During Life Insurance Awareness Month, Lincoln Financial Group shares‘ 9 Things You Need to Know About Life…
Life insurance sales are stagnant, but profits are still being made.

Although 28 percent of employed Americans have voluntary group life insurance through their employer, 59% of workers who say they don’t because their employer doesn’t offer it say they would be likely to purchase it if it was an option. That’s according to a survey conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of OneAmerica.

Chicago, IL, September 01, 2019—- As a leader in the insurance industry of Illinois, Insurance Navy has added life insurance policies to its list of insurance services. This is done to meet the changing needs of an individual as time progresses. President of Insurance Navy, Fadi Sneineh, is happy to announce the agency “s growing insurance services.” People often think…
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eMoney’ s Foundational Planning feature is getting a new module, according to an announcement by Fidelity’ s financial planning software company. Called Life Insurance Gap Analysis, the feature is intended to illustrate client insurance needs through either a modular approach or as part of a broader financial plan. “With a planning-led approach, advisors are…
Life insurance sales are stagnant, but profits are still being made.

Total U.S. individual life insurance new annualized premium growth was flat in the second quarter and the first half of 2019, according to LIMRA’s annual sales survey. In the second quarter, the number of policies sold decreased 5%, compared with second quarter 2018. Year-to-date, policy count dropped 4%.

Aug. 28– FORT WORTH– Until now, the story of an Arlington couple murdered in 2012 has been tinged with salacious details about witchcraft and voodoo. Willie Guillory, now 24, testified that he was a Houston- area teenager in 2012 when he traveled to Arlington with his uncle Bobby Guillory, 56– and bludgeoned Nguyen and Ly with a baseball bat he had made in high school…
Brooke Shields succeeds racecar driver Danica Patrick as the face of Life Insurance Awareness Month.
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Actress and model Brooke Shields, 54, is a near perfect fit for this year’s Life Insurance Awareness Month campaign, said Faisa Stafford, president and chief financial officer of Life Happens. So far, more than 60 million people have seen either Shields’ television or radio ads.
A New Jersey man believes he is entitled to a $1 million life insurance policy after his wife and son were slain.

Two years after his wife and 6- year-old son were stabbed to death in their Maple Shade apartment, a South Jersey man is fighting to collect $1 million in life insurance on the victims. Late on March 23, 2017, Hanumantha Rao Narra told police on a 911 call that he had “just come from the office” to find his family dead at home.
Life insurance sales are stagnant, but profits are still being made.

Total income in the U.S. life/annuity industry essentially remained flat in the first half of 2019, dropping slightly to $422.4 billion compared with $424.6 billion in the same prior-year period. These significant swings were largely the result of modified coinsurance agreements and the recapture of retrocessions.

Death benefits payable from a life insurance policy on the death of the insured can be considerable. Such benefits can either be paid directly to one or more individual beneficiaries or be paid to a trust administered for their benefit. Nowadays, however, with the estate tax threshold at around 11.2 million dollars far fewer persons are concerned with estate…

—A man arrested in the stabbing death of a retired administrator at the California State University, Fullerton campus was a co-worker, police said Thursday. Chuyen Vo, 51, was arrested Wednesday night at his home in Huntington Beach, officials announced at a news conference near the killing scene in a campus parking lot. Vo, whom neighbors said they knew as Chris,…

Aug. 21– CARY– Inside MetLife’ s newest building in Cary– its third tower overlooking Lake Crabtree– the insurance giant is hoping to find the future of the insurance industry, or at least a competitive advantage. The office is open concept, with not a cubicle in sight– just shared tables and desks and a few private rooms to be used by nine young companies that are all…

–Midland National ® Life Insurance Company, a member of Sammons ® Financial Group and one of America’ s leading insurance companies, today announced a new Essential Guaranteed ® Universal Life insurance product with an added Premium Recovery Endorsement and new rates. People are living longer and need to be better prepared for the future,” says Jerry Blair,…

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America today announced the launch of the Allianz Life Pro+ Advantage℠ Fixed Index Universal Life Insurance Policy, which will serve as the company’ s flagship FIUL product. Life Pro+ Advantage was built to be in compliance with the 2020 commissioners standard ordinary mortality table. “We’ ve listened to both financial…
Many seniors are not prepared for the cost of retirement.

Life insurance or annuity policies sold with a long-term care rider jumped from 228,000 in 2015 to 461,000 in 2018, LIMRA has found. Today, more than 40 carriers are selling these products with a long-term care element. State insurance regulators are hoping the hybrid products stabilize the LTC market while providing consumers with protection.

Kevin Miles, the 41- year-old insurance agent who allegedly scammed more than 30 people, is in custody, according to Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office. Miles worked in the Tennessee Valley area as an independent insurance agent for Atlantic Coast Insurance Co. From June 2017 to July this year.

CINCINNATI, Aug. 13, 2019– Ohio National Financial Services is pleased to announce the promotion of Christopher J. Calabro, CLU, ChFC ®, to senior vice president and chief marketing officer, effective immediately. He was formerly with MassMutual and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut. Active in the community, Calabro is a board…

Pamela Hupp, 60, of the St. Louis suburb of O’Fallon, entered an Alford plea in June on a first-degree murder charge in the 2016 death of 33- year-old Louis Gumpenberger. In reality, St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar said, Hupp killed Gumpenberger to distract from the re-investigation of her friend Betsy Faria’s 2011 death. Faria was stabbed to death in…

–Health Insurance Innovations, Inc., a leading cloud-based technology platform and distributor of affordable health insurance, life insurance and supplemental plans, today announced the launch of www.agilelifeinsurance.com, a new on-line marketplace where consumers can easily compare and purchase an array of affordable life insurance products..

_ CNA Financial Corp. on Monday reported second-quarter earnings of $278 million. On a per-share basis, the Chicago- based company said it had profit of $1.02. CNA Financial shares have risen nearly 7% since the beginning of the year.
Life insurance sales are stagnant, but profits are still being made.

A National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ working group has accelerated efforts to complete its long-delayed “policy overview” summary to accompany life insurance sales. The policy overview will accompany the Life Insurance Buyer’s Guide and regulators are considering moving up delivery of both.

The information in this document is based on the unaudited interim financial results of Sun Life Financial Inc. for the period ended June 30, 2019. SLF Inc., its subsidiaries and, where applicable, its joint ventures and associates are collectively referred to as “the Company”, “Sun Life”, “we”, “our”, and “us”. TORONTO, July 31, 2019/ PRNewswire/- Sun Life Financial Inc. today…

Jul. 30– Unum Group reported a 4.6% gain in its after-tax adjusted operating earnings during the second quarter as premium income grew another 6.8% in Unum’s core business, helping the company to beat analysts’ forecasts for the period by a penny per share. The Chattanooga- based insurer said today its net income in the three months ended June 30 totaled $281.2…