A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit accusing MetLife and its executives of defrauding investors concerning accounting for its retirement and income solution line of business. In a Jan. 11 decision, Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. of the Eastern District of New York found the claims “without merit.”
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A day after being sworn in, President Joe Biden is rolling out a national strategy to fight COVID-19, reopen the nation’s schools and restart the U.S. economy. —Establishes a federal COVID-19 response team to coordinate efforts across agencies and restores a White House team on global health risks.
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain instructed executive department and agency heads to put a hold on recently-issued rules and regulations and to refrain from issuing new ones. Klain said departments should consider postponing the effective dates of rules already published, such as the DOL investment advice rule.
Federal authorities said ex-Rep. Robin Hayes participated in a scheme while GOP state chairman in which wealthy insurance company exec Greg Lindberg attempted to bribe the state insurance commissioner with $1.5 million in campaign funds in exchange for removing a top department regulator.
Joseph R. Biden Jr. became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, pledging to support all Americans as they grapple with the public health and economic crises wrought by COVID-19 and promising to a help a divided nation heal just two weeks after a deadly assault on the Capitol.
Sholam Weiss helped destroy the National Heritage Life Insurance Co. in a $450 million fraud scheme carried out in the 1990s. He was convicted of racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice and given an 835-year sentence, one of the longest for a white collar crime in U.S. history.
President-elect Joe Biden will step into the White House today facing an array of crises, from COVID-19 to nationwide tension surrounding racial justice. On Thursday, Biden laid out a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that he hopes to see pass through Congress in the immediate weeks after taking office.
President-elect Joe Biden offered an emotional farewell to his home state Tuesday, weeping openly several times as he spoke in front of a bank of Delaware flags before boarding a flight to Washington for his swearing-in as president at noon Eastern time today.
A bill to establish a best-interest standard was unanimously approved by the North Dakota House Industry, Business and Labor Committee following a morning public hearing. North Dakota is the latest state to pursue the best-interest model law put forth by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The Fair Access to Financial Services Rule, just finalized by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, aims to prevent lenders from blackballing businesses in industries opposed by the left by requiring banks to demonstrate that their loan decisions are “based on quantitative, impartial risk-based standards.”
The rescue package Biden unveiled Thursday already indicates he won’t exhibit the excessive caution that inhibited President Barack Obama’s response to economic crisis. Still, in case anyone on the Biden team is feeling cautious, Paul Krugman offers four rules that should encourage them to be bold in dealing with the mess we’re in.
—Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen is calling on Congress to do more to fight a deep pandemic-induced recession, saying the threats of a longer and even worse downturn are too great to cut back on support now. Yellen, who will be the first female treasury secretary in the nation’s history, is expected to win easy confirmation.
The incoming Senate majority leader has never taken on such a torrent of challenges, with the opening days of both the Biden administration and Democratic control of the Senate coming at the very moment an impeachment trial gets underway. A 38- year veteran of Congress, Sen. Chuck Schumer has seen a lot of Beltway drama.
A pair of McKinsey & Co. analysts briefed members of the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies last week and described a life insurance industry in desperate need of digital skills, younger talent and products that offer innovate solutions for a changing demographic.
The economic news has continued to soften in recent days. December saw layoffs go up and the number of jobs decline, and, this morning, the retail sales numbers dropped. Consumer confidence has gone down. Clearly, the economic headwinds from the pandemic are getting worse.
A nationwide lack of optimism from small business owners is supported by a recent survey from the National Federation of Independent Business. The NFIB’s “Small Business Optimism Index” declined 5.5 points in December to 95.9, falling below the lowest average index value since 1973 of 98.
On Jan. 20, the Biden administration will enter the Oval Office in the midst of a pandemic and economic crisis, with the Democrats in control of both houses of Congress, which means that big policy changes are afoot in the United States.
The Democrats and Republicans will work closer together than most expect in order to get some things accomplished which may include another round of stimulus and a 2022 tax package. However, we are not as frightened as many of the Democrats moving too far to the left and believe that the sway of power lies mostly with the middle, the centrists.
This is the second season of the “At Home with Baker” series, and Progressive knows it has hit on something big. The spots run nationally, and folks at the Mayfield Heights (yes, Mayfield), Ohio-based insurance company have seen lots of evidence of their impact, including social media chatter.
Under the plan, Georgia would be the first state to bypass the HealthCare.gov website and instead offer federally subsidized health insurance through private agents. The lawsuit claims the move to private brokers and insurers would decrease enrollment, shift consumers to junk insurance plans.
Two insurers are defendants in new lawsuits filed in California over whether proper notice was given in cases of lapse or termination of policies. The plaintiffs claim American National Insurance Company and Lincoln Benefit Life Company violated a 2013 California law that beefed up notification requirements.
—The coronavirus action plan President Joe Biden is unveiling Thursday aims to bring new urgency to the nation’s vaccination campaign coupled with another round of economic relief for hunkered-down Americans. He’s also expected to ask Congress for another round of economic relief.
While the development and approval of two effective COVID-19 vaccines offer great promise that the public health crisis inflicted by COVID-19 will soon fade, the sputtering rollout of the vaccines is bogging down the economic recovery, the leader of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said Tuesday.
More Americans are now eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine but they may still face a wait for their first shot even as supplies increase. Drugstore pharmacists are now doling out the shots in many states, and sports arenas and fairgrounds are planning big clinics. Florida and Georgia and Washington, D.C., had already started doing this.
Financial services trade associations raise substantial sums of political action committee funds, money that supports lobbying efforts on important issues. In light of last week’s mob attack on the Capitol and the tense political atmosphere, trade associations are reviewing donor policies.
“Clients buy life insurance for someone else, but they buy DI for themselves.” — Brokers give their disability insurance perspective and positioning during a NAILBA Engage virtual event.
Gary Gensler will be named chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President-elect Joe Biden, Reuters reported Tuesday. The appointment is likely to prompt concern among Wall Street firms of tougher regulation.
Benefits for some 14 million people expired on or before December 26— a day before President Trump signed the latest stimulus bill into law, leading to lapses. Joe Biden is unveiling his proposal this week to provide trillions of dollars in pandemic relief funds, which includes plans to increase direct relief to $2,000 per person.
The U.S. economy has officially lost what little bounce was left in its step. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that total non-farm employment decreased by 140,000 in December, the first decline since April’s COVID-19-induced free fall. Meanwhile, a recent report showed U.S. economic output declined slightly in November.
The report found 82% of older women said they have a plan for retirement income, but only about 1 in 3 has a formal written retirement plan in place. Only 12% of women feel highly knowledgeable about long-term care and only 27% have a plan to fund it, despite the fact that 50% of women expect to require it.
Several more states are moving quickly to add a best-interest annuity sales standard to its regulation of insurance products. The latest states to pursue the best-interest model law put forth by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners are Michigan, Arkansas, Maine and Nebraska.
The nation’s largest financial firms as well as a major health insurance system are halting political donations after an attempt to disrupt the certification of the election resulted in a riot that killed five people.
Financial advisor clients feel better about their financial situation when they believe their advisor has recommended the right amount of life insurance for them, according to research conducted by Jamie Hopkins. But a third of advisors think that half their clients don’t have the right amount of life insurance.
The diversity of penultimate moments can make them difficult to recognize if you aren’t looking for them. Many people in various industries focus only on an envisioned finish line instead of their personal or professional journeys. Aside from making life duller, this outlook also turns life events from steps to evaluate into obstacles to overcome.
For most of us, thinking about creating even a simple last will and testament is about as enjoyable as having teeth pulled. We procrastinate, we make excuses and we justify avoidance. We may even think of situations in which people have managed to die without proper documents in place and how those specific instances turned out fine after all.
President-elect Joe Biden is set to introduce the governor of Rhode Island, the mayor of Boston and a small-business advocate from California as the newest members of his economic team. Gina Raimondo is his choice to for commerce secretary, Mayor Marty Walsh for labor secretary and Isabel Guzman to lead the Small Business Administration.
In the wake of a deadly insurrection on Capitol Hill, the major U.S. stock indices saw record highs. Gary Hoover, an economist at Tulane University, wasn’t surprised. Andrea Eisfeldt, an economist at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, also expected this reaction, or lack thereof.
The nomination of Walsh was rumored for weeks, but comes two days after Democrats swept a pair of Senate races in Georgia. The wins by Rafael Warnock and Jon Ossoff over Republican incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, respectively, gives Democrats control of the Senate.
While Americans are starting to get their $600 stimulus payments passed by Congress last month, one big question is whether the $2,000 payments demanded by President Donald Trump are still a possibility. It means the Senate will be split 50-50, with the Democrats holding the tiebreak advantage when President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Congress confirmed Democrat Joe Biden as the presidential election winner early Thursday after a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election, undercut the nation’s democracy and keep Trump in the White House.
Democrats sweeping both Senate races in Georgia frees up Biden to pick a more left-leaning candidate for labor secretary. For starters, he doesn’t have to worry so much about a difficult Senate confirmation fight. Secondly, pro-worker issues requiring legislation at least have a fighting chance of passing Congress.
The Congressional Review Act was a little-used device that Republicans used frequently early in the Trump presidency. It’s a model that a Democrat-controlled Senate could employ to kill two rules that invited public scorn.
With a Democratic-controlled Senate becoming more of a reality after Tuesday’s Senate runoff vote in Georgia, Democrats are in charge…
Democrat Raphael Warnock won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs Wednesday, becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the party’s reach. Democrat Jon Ossoff led Sen. Kelly Loeffler by more than 16,000 votes in the other Senate race, one that will determine control of the body.
Republicans are unified against Biden’s plans for health care, environmental protection and civil rights. But they might not be able to stop progress on those issues — not to mention tax increases and stronger financial regulation — should Democrats Rafael Warnock and Jon Ossoff emerge victorious today.
The disinvestment during the pandemic, especially in developing regions, will compound over the decade, slowing down the economic spurt expected as the pandemic subsides, according to the World Bank Global Economic Prospects report.
Georgia voters are set to decide the balance of power in Congress in a pair of high-stakes Senate runoff elections that will help determine President-elect Joe Biden’s capacity to enact what may be the most progressive governing agenda in generations. Democrats must win both races to gain Senate control.
A new survey places COVID-19 regulatory hurdle atop the top 10 regulatory issues that employers should be monitoring in 2021. President Trump signed the latest COVID-19 relief bill into law last month, which includes a new round Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding for small businesses.
Transit riders from Seoul to Hong Kong often wear them if they’re coming down with something, a public-health measure borne in part from the SARS outbreak in 2003. Routine mask-wearing might be asking too much of Americans, a land of rugged individuals. But doctors see ample room for targeted use, especially during flu season.
Genworth and Oceanwide have not extended the current Dec. 31, 2020, “end date” under the merger agreement, Genworth said in a news release on its website. The deadline to complete the merger already has been extended 16 times. Such a merger was expected to infuse Genworth with $1.5 billion in capital.
Three of the nation’s biggest names in business – Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan – banded together with the goal of reinventing health care. Three years later, Haven is closing.
The U.S. ramped up COVID-19 vaccinations in the past few days, bringing the number of shots dispensed to about 4 million. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, also said on ABC’s “This Week” that President-elect Joe Biden’s pledge to administer 100 million shots of the vaccine within his first 100 days in office is achievable.
The IRS determined that Prince’s estate is worth $163.2 million, well above the $82.3 million valuation submitted by Comerica Bank & Trust, the estate’s administrator. In the IRS’s view, Prince’s estate owes another $32.4 million in federal taxes, roughly doubling the tax bill based on Comerica’s valuation.
InsuranceNewsNet’s most-read Washington Wire stories from 2020 reflect the turbulent economic reality. Tax issues, Social Security and legislation to improve retirement savings dominated our news coverage. Here are the top five news stories from our nation’s capital.
President Trump was set to jet back to the White House on New Year’s Eve Thursday after the Republican Senate rejected his demands for $2,000 COVID stimulus checks. The House quickly passed a bill for $2,000 direct payments and pushed for its enactment in the Senate.
It was a tough year to be a life insurance agent as COVID-19 swept across the country and led to business restrictions and stay-home advisories. On the other hand, the pandemic reminded Americans of the value of planning and life insurance. These five most-read stories reflect the year in life insurance.
The SECURE Act opens new opportunities for advisors to discuss long-term care planning, life insurance and guaranteed income with clients.
Paper checks are starting to go out on Wednesday— even as Democrats and President Donald Trump are embroiled in a contentious haggling session with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Kentucky Republican on Tuesday blocked quick passage of a House-approved bipartisan measure to increase the checks to $2,000.
The year in annuities included good news, bad news, regulation and legislation. Annuities sold great, sold poorly and, for a brief period, didn’t sell at all as insurers pulled products from the shelves during the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Check out these five most-read annuity stories from InsuranceNewsNet.
A look at INN’s most-read health-related articles for the year showed that long-term care insurance attracted the most reader interest, with two of the five most popular health-related articles devoted to the topic.
