Fed Eases Limit On Wells Fargo To Make More Small Biz Loans

The Louisiana Association of Health Plans is challenging state mandates being imposed on health insurance companies during the coronavirus pandemic. In a copy of the petition, the trade organization, which represents insurance carriers in Louisiana, said that its members would be “immediately and significantly harmed.”

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half (57%) of Americans are very or extremely concerned about the economy, LIMRA research found.

But Americans may be getting something close to a free lunch in the $2 trillion economic rescue package, thanks to an accommodating Federal Reserve and a financial slight-of-hand known as “monetizing the debt.” To get the money promised to businesses, households, hospitals and local governments, the Treasury will have to borrow it over the coming months.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday mortgage forbearance requests surged amid signing of a coronavirus relief bill last month, allowing many people to delay at least 90 days of monthly payments. From March 2 to April 1, total forbearance loans grew to 2.66%, up from 0.25%.

The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index, a leading national poll on consumer confidence, fell by 11.3% in April after dropping 9.9% in March. April’s index moved from 53.9 to 47.8, ending the index’s record 42-month run in positive territory. It also marks the first time in Donald Trump’s presidency that the index fell below 50.

The No. 1 challenge for advisors right now is to give clients permission to contact them and work with clients through “the new normal,” a behavioral finance expert said.

Marketing is essential for advisors to get their message out, but it is also essential that the message matches the tenor of our times. Here are five risks to watch out for during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many businesses had hopes their commercial business interruption insurance would reimburse them for COVID-19 losses. But this insurance generally contains exclusions for war, flood and pandemics. Some state lawmakers are trying to apply retroactive coverage to those policies.

Prudential Financial Inc. will temporarily suspend taking applications for 30-year term life insurance policies, effective April 13, a spokeswoman confirmed today. The insurer cited “unprecedented market volatility over the past month and the anticipated low interest rate environment.”

March was a really tough month. After a terrible February, all major stock indices were down by double digits, leading to significant declines for the quarter as a whole. All of the major indices ended the month and quarter below their 200-day moving averages, often a sign of more trouble ahead.

Despite a still rapidly expanding coronavirus pandemic that has financially ravaged businesses locally and across the nation, companies are quickly finding out that their property insurance policies, which include protection against the interruption of business, simply don’t apply in the world of COVID-19.

Market downturns can create annuity sales opportunities, but agents and advisors need to be taking steps to protect and prepare themselves because history will look back on how advisors and the industry conducted business during the crisis.

Billionaire insurance magnate Greg Lindberg’s lawyers filed a motion Thursday for acquittal and for a new trial in the Western District of North Carolina. His attorneys submitted a 69-page document, claiming court errors, the government failed to meet the standard of “beyond reasonable doubt,” and that Lindberg was entrapped.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that more than 6.6 million people signed up for unemployment insurance during the week that ended March 28. Policymakers have often used Medicaid to help people gain health coverage and health care in response to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and the 9/ 11 terrorist attacks.

A record ten million Americans lost their jobs in just two weeks because of the coronavirus shutdown, the government reported Thursday, as states struggle to keep up with demand for unemployment benefits in the deepest, most rapid shock to the U.S. economy in history.

Virtual selling may take you out of your comfort zone, but it’s an effective way to reach clients and prospects in the time of stay-at-home orders and social distancing.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act contains a number of provisions that can benefit your clients in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and market downturn. Don’t wait to reach out to business and individual clients to help them take advantage of this new law. In addition, some portions of the CARES Act can help your own practice.

Sixty percent of Medicare insurance agents say their income declined over the past month as COVID-19 shut down businesses and forced Americans indoors. The online poll was conducted by the American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance.

Emil Verner, professor of finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and his colleagues looked to see how social distancing measures implemented by cities to mitigate the impact of the 1918 flu pandemic — efforts that are nearly identical to what is being done today.

U.S. stocks joined a worldwide downdraft Wednesday as more signs piled up of the economic and physical pain being caused by the coronavirus outbreak. In the U.S., President Donald Trump warned Americans to brace for “one of the roughest two or three weeks we’ve ever had in our country.”

Where only days ago, economists were following President Donald Trump’ s lead in saying the U.S. economy would be back on track relatively quickly, a growing number now say the downturn will likely exceed the Great Recession of 2008-09. The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to take months to defeat.

House Democrats want to enact a massive infrastructure package upgrading the nation’s broadband, road and water systems, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday, in the next installment of Congress’ effort to help the country weather the destructive blows inflicted by the coronavirus outbreak.

Life insurance is an invaluable asset to those facing advanced-stage illness. It’s also a flexible asset that can be leveraged in different ways to meet individuals’ various financial needs.

Risk tolerance is a personal question and varies depending on the individual, their target retirement age, their financial goals and other circumstances unique to their situation. The traditional thinking is that investors should de-risk into fixed investments as they age. Annuities can help answer a lot of questions in this planning process.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump extended social distancing guidelines through the end of April. Before initiating a conversation about social distancing, it’ s important to understand the psychology behind why some people refuse to participate.

The U.S. economy could get back on track quickly for very strong growth in the fourth quarter. The key is to get the COVID-19 pandemic under control by mid-summer, if not before, said Ben Ayers, senior economist for Nationwide.

U.S. consumer confidence tumbled this month to its lowest level in nearly three years as the impact of the coronavirus on the economy began to be felt.

The recent market crash presents an opportunity for advisors to ease their clients’ fears on everything from how to deal with future tax increases to how to generate lifetime retirement income,

The Federal Reserve will lend dollars to overseas central banks in exchange for Treasury securities, the latest effort by the Fed to hold down interest rates and ensure financial markets can function. The Fed said Tuesday that its new lending facility would enable foreign central banks to access dollars without having to sell Treasury securities.

Many commercial insurance policies contain clauses that may cover losses suffered as a result of an order issued by the government, such as the recent orders restricting access to restaurants, bars and other public establishments.

Insurers are required to delay collecting premium on life insurance and annuity contracts written in New York for 90 days under an emergency regulation adopted today. The directive covers consumers experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York Department of Financial Services said.

The current working environment “is a huge opportunity to pick up clients, market share and new opportunities moving forward,” said an advisor who is running his practice virtually.

Individuals who thought they could “self-insure” the risk of long-term care during these uncertain times may be reconsidering their decision. What would happen if a client had an incident today and needed to liquidate assets to pay for care when their portfolio is down 20%-30%?

In an abrupt turnaround, President Donald Trump extended lockdown measures across the United States as deaths in New York alone from the new coronavirus passed 1,000. Moscow went on its own lockdown Monday as all of Russia braced for sweeping nationwide restrictions.

Many clients are scared, nervous and simply filled with anxiety over their portfolios, said Anders Smith, national sales consultant with Delaware Life Insurance Company. “During times like these, unfortunately, our jobs as financial professionals become a lot harder,” Smith said.

Financial professionals are the link to protect clients and their families in the event that they are too sick or too hurt to go to work.

The U.S. markets will remain open while the country battles to control the spreading COVID-19 virus, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday. He responded to a smattering of calls for the battered markets to take at least brief holiday.

In light of the recent market and interest rate volatility, it’s important to take a moment and reinforce why annuities are sold in uncertain economic times.

Take care of yourself – and those around you – during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

With President Donald Trump expected to sign a $2 trillion economic rescue package this week, advisors and clients have a lifeline to recalibrate financial plans. The legislation steers aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Technology enables advisors to keep their practices humming and continue serving their clients in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, said an advisor from Tennessee who described what he is doing now that social distancing has required him to work from home.

Market crash and recession fears increased significantly from the end of 2019 when worries were at their lowest levels in over a year and half. Now, nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) express concerns about a recession (compared with 43% in Q4 2019).

The Senate passed an unparalleled $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic. The unanimous vote Wednesday came despite misgivings on both sides.

Powell said the Fed’s ability to lend is somewhat constrained by the amount of capital provide by the Treasury to offset any credit losses. He said the Fed can lend $10 for every $1 of cash that the Treasury provides. The economic rescue bill approved by the Senate early Thursday includes $425 billion that the Treasury could use to backstop the Fed.

An unprecedented $2 trillion stimulus package to help with the medical and financial crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic has been crafted by the U.S. Senate. Citizens would also receive one-time direct payments from the federal government, starting with $1,200 for individuals.

Advisors can choose not to participate in the negativity stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, a retirement income specialist and author told members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

Married couples earning up to $150,000 will receive $2,400; for each child, families will receive $500. The legislation, the largest economic stimulus bill in U.S. history, provides $130 billion to get hospitals, nursing homes and community health centers more equipment, including ventilators and personal protective equipment.

Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose by a solid amount in February, but the gain came before the coronavirus had shut down much of the country. The Commerce Department said Wednesday durable goods orders rose 1.2% last month, rebounding from January when orders had shown a tiny 0.1% gain.

The White House and Senate leaders of both parties have struck an agreement on a sweeping $2 trillion measure to aid workers, businesses and a health care system strained by the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak. Top White House aide Eric Ueland announced the agreement in a Capitol hallway shortly after midnight.

“I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter, “he said during a Fox News virtual town hall. The reassessment comes as the White House is encouraging lawmakers on Capitol Hill to pass a roughly $2 trillion stimulus package to ease the financial pain for Americans and hard-hit industries.

In today’s environment, it’s easy to live in a state of panic and fear. Especially when you continually hear “Dow down 2000 points,” “We are in a recession,” “stimulus package,” “rising cases and deaths.” But focusing on the things you know will help you guide your clients out of this uncertain economic and political time.

Congresswoman Susan Wild and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey have introduced a bill that would require a special health insurance enrollment period any time there is a public health emergency declaration like the the coronavirus outbreak.

Why a health savings account is the ideal tool to help individuals pay for health care and provide financial wellness support in times of uncertainty.

Monday marks the 10-year-anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, which has provided medical insurance to more than 20 million people and may play a crucial role for those needing hospitalization during the coronavirus crisis.

Doug Wheeler has built his insurance and annuity business around caring for his clients, so serving them well in a time of COVID-19 crisis comes naturally.

Life insurance sales were very strong in 2019, according to Wink’s Sales & Market Report, with indexed life sales smashing records. Indexed life sales for the fourth quarter were $725.1 million, up 30.8% when compared with the previous quarter, and up 14.6% as compared to the same period last year.