Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell signaled Monday that he plans to hold a Senate vote this week on the long-delayed nomination of Christopher Waller to the Federal Reserve Board. Waller was first named by Trump on Twitter in July 2019, but the nomination wasn’t formally announced until January.
A new wave of COVID-19 cases threatens to trip up the economy. Increasing cases in Europe and the United States have brought new restrictions on activities, but the market doesn’t appear to be fazed by the recent outbreaks.
Coronavirus relief will likely be one of the first things on his plate when Joe Biden takes office in January 2021. Biden has long pushed for additional aid and this week said Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer “know my views” on stimulus.
COVID-19 has increased consumer awareness about the need for life insurance. LIMRA research finds 6 in 10 Americans say they have a heightened awareness about the need for life insurance due to the pandemic and 29% say they are more likely to buy life insurance in the next 12 months.
After a challenging first half, the independent distribution channel jumps back into indexed universal life sales with a big pop in the
third quarter. Variable universal life also had a boffo quarter.
Before retirement, most poor financial decisions and unlucky breaks can be overcome with a little time and a few additional paychecks. After retirement, the pool of assets is mostly fixed. Somehow, retirees must make those assets last for the rest of their lives.
The covid-19 pandemic does not appear to be threatening the financial strength nor slowing the growth of UPMC, according to the health giant’s executives and newly released documents. Buoyed by federal aid and insurance revenue gains, UPMC’s total revenue from January through October reached nearly $17 billion.
—At their meeting earlier this month, Federal Reserve officials discussed possible future adjustments to the central bank’s monthly bond purchases to boost the economy. The Fed on Wednesday released minutes of its Nov. 4-5 meeting revealing the discussions.
Department of Labor officials alerted the White House Wednesday that it has completed work on a reworked rule to regulate investment advice to workers and retirees. No details are available on any changes to the rule, which could be rescinded by the incoming Biden administration.
—Wall Street busted through its latest milestone Tuesday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 30,000 for the first time. It’ s an attention-grabbing psychological threshold, and it’ s an encouraging signal that the market’ s rally is broadening beyond the handful of stocks that carried Wall Street through the pandemic.
In a pair of lawsuits, both appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, insurers prevailed in lower-court rulings over cost-of-insurance increases. The cases are important because they are among the few COI cases that insurers have won a favorable verdict.
Wink reports that deferred annuities sales came to $54.2 billion, an increase of more than 18% over the devastating second quarter. However, the $54.2 billion still falls short of where sales have been in the past, said Sheryl J. Moore, president and CEO of both Moore Market Intelligence and Wink, Inc.
Federal prosecutors have upped the ante against the self-proclaimed “Annuity King” of Sarasota, Fla. Additional charges of filing false income tax returns and tax evasion were slapped last week against Phillip Roy Wasserman, who the U.S. Attorney’s Office has accused of bilking elderly investors out of at least $6.3 million.
Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s apparent choice for treasury secretary, served on the Federal Reserve’s policymaking committee during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. And now, according to a person familiar with Biden’s transition plans, she has been chosen to lead Treasury with the economy in the grip of a pandemic.
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to serve as treasury secretary, a pivotal role in which she would help shape and direct his economic policies.
Driven by strong growth in whole life and term products, total individual life insurance new annualized premium increased 2% and the number of policies sold jumped 7% in the third quarter, according to LIMRA’s Third Quarter 2020 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Sales Survey.
President-elect Joe Biden’s first Cabinet picks are coming Tuesday and several names and clues are being leaked. But one popular candidate to lead the Treasury Department might be staying at the Federal Reserve, according to a tweet Monday afternoon.
—President-elect Joe Biden’s first Cabinet picks are coming Tuesday and planning is underway for a pandemic-modified inauguration in January as his team moves forward despite road blocks from the Trump administration. He is being watched to see whether he will make history by nominating the first woman to lead the Pentagon, or the Treasury Department.
The shuttered Buffalo businesses have already struggled through months of closure and restrictions due to the state’s previous shutdown and phased reopenings, putting many on the verge of bankruptcy. Now, with no inkling how long the closure might last, many say they won’t make it through a second round of suffering.
Prior to March, shoppers would go to the mall or grocery store and scout out the latest sales. Now, shopping looks much different. “The way consumers approach shopping has understandably changed as a result of COVID-19,” said Katherine Cullen, senior director for industry and consumer insights at the National Retail Federation.
Panelists agreed that consolidation through mergers and acquisitions will pick up as carriers and others along the distribution chain seek efficiencies through scale. The life and annuity business is likely to follow the path of the property & casualty industry in terms of M&A activity, panelists agreed.
Insurance agency managers might have decades of experience to guide their judgment and decisions, but that is no match for the wisdom that data yields, according to panelists at NAILBA 39. Becoming a data-driven agency can boost the bottom line exponentially
Insurance and financial advisors are challenged to find the right partners and brokerage general agencies to work with, said Brian Haney, founder and vice president of The Haney Company in Silver Spring, Md.
To the extent that the economy has recovered to date from the March shutdown, NY Fed President John Williams said government aid played “a critical part.” In addition to unemployment benefits, Congress passed small-business funding and $1,200 stimulus checks for all Americans.
Several lawsuits filed recently in U.S. District Court in St. Louis reveal insurers are arguing that viruses are not covered under what is known as “business interruption insurance,” and the insurers say paying claims would lead to financial ruin as they’re unable to cover the scope of the financial losses.
While President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is hitting the ground running in preparation for Jan. 20, the Trump administration could issue some rules now that can be in effect by Inauguration Day – and some of those rules could impact health care.
Scott Allen Renninger knew he would be under scrutiny “once it all goes down” during a Nov. 11 conversation, police said. Renninger, in the conversation, said he accepted the scrutiny and was prepared for it. He also told a confidential source he knew the existence of an unknown amount of life insurance on his wife.
With more shutdowns looming and a vaccine months away from wide distribution, governors across the U.S. are pleading for more help from Washington ahead of what is shaping up to be a bleak winter.
The Senate on Tuesday voted against advancing the nomination of Judy Shelton to a seat on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee have opposed Shelton’s nomination, which can be voted on again.
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., needed a police escort to make it to the Senate floor in time to cast the key vote against the Judy Shelton nomination to the Fed board. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kent., voted No, which allows him to return the nomination to the floor.
Although President-elect Joe Biden will exert considerable influence over the Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency’s Regulation Best Interest is probably not going anywhere. At least not right away, say industry officials.
TIAA, a leading provider of secure retirements and outcome-focused investment solutions, said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., intends to retire as president and CEO on March 31, 2021. Ferguson is rumored to be on President-elect Joe Biden’s shortlist for a cabinet position.
For those employed and unemployed ages 55 to 64, most are worried about their ability to afford health insurance before reaching the current Medicare eligibility age of 65. Fifty-seven percent of the employed group is worried, and 62% of the unemployed group feels the same.
Richard Krassen, who turns 80 on Nov. 17, is a semiretired life insurance salesman, and you have never heard of him. And when he wrote his life story, the story of an unremarkable middle-class Jewish existence in Northeast Philadelphia, he didn’t care if nobody wanted to read it.
President Donald Trump’s conservative nominee for the Federal Reserve is in danger today after Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., withdrew support. The surprising announcement puts the controversial economist’s confirmation in doubt during the the final months of the Trump presidency.
In general, AG 49 reduced illustrated rates in the industry, producing customer expectations that are more likely to be met. However, IUL is still relatively new and, because the industry is innovative, new IUL designs were introduced that had not been contemplated when AG 49 was passed.
For financial adviser Dean Vagnozzi, it’s been a tough year. Since 2016, he had urged customers to invest in funds linked to a Philadelphia firm known as Par Funding. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says Vagnozzi and Par Funding misled investors about Par’s financial soundness and the criminal past of a founder.
The prospect of a Joe Biden presidency has experts and advisors taking a hard look at Biden’s tax proposals. Although, the viability of those plans hang on the Senate balance, advisors say clients want to talk tax.
Nov. 15– Coronavirus infections are climbing to record highs in Washington state and nationwide. Patients are filling hospitals in some states. Experts fear we're in for a dark winter.
Wells Fargo’s former chief executive and former head of Wells Fargo’s Community Bank defrauded investors by using a metric that was inflated by accounts that were opened for consumers who did not ask for or want them, according to new charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Pooled employer plans will give employers, especially small unrelated employers, a way of offering their employees a workplace retirement savings option with reduced burdens and cost.
A fourth person faces charges in connection to the fatal shooting of Andre Montgomery Jr., the grandson of the owner of Sweetie Pie’s restaurants in the St. Louis area.
The Department of Labor has one week to publish its investment advice rule to avoid a quick hook by the incoming Joe Biden administration. Any rules published in the final 60 days of an administration, known as “midnight regulations,” can be rescinded by the incoming administration.
Americans need to trust the vaccines ultimately approved for use against COVID-19 and ignore “absolutely false” notions that the development process has been unsafely accelerated, according to the head of an Oklahoma company that has conducted clinical trials for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Workplace productivity declined in October to -8.3, compared to -7.8 in September, which was lower than the -5.3 in August. At this point, work productivity is similar to the lowest point of -8.7 in April 2020. Another negative trend is evident in financial risk, where scores also declined for the second month in a row.
The Life Insurance and Annuities Committee gave consumer advocate Birny Birnbaum 20 minutes to make the case for new illustration rules. The overall life insurance illustration model regulation #582 was a very lengthy, acrimonious process that took years before the NAIC adopted it in 1995.
President-elect Joe Biden will inherit a vulnerable economic recovery under threat from a resurgent virus, likely with a divided Congress that will hinder his ability to address the challenges. And to help pay for it all, the president-elect would turn to large tax increases for corporations and wealthy individuals by reversing much of the current tax policy.
“Severability” was the key word as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on whether the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional without the individual mandate penalty. Meanwhile, two key U.S. Supreme Court justices indicated they are inclined to keep most of the Affordable Care Act intact even if the court strikes down the provision requiring people to have insurance.
With Republican control of the Senate appearing likely, the Democrats’ hopes for health care, family leave, retirement and tax reforms are scuttled, a Mercer analyst said at a webinar.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden is the unofficial winner of the presidential race, including in Wisconsin, but President Donald Trump’s campaign says it plans to request a recount in the state, triggering a process that was used four years ago after a similarly tight election result.
In July, 69% of consumers said they had a greater need for adequate health insurance, while 58% said they had a heightened need for adequate life insurance. This level of concern was almost as high as the 72% of people who were concerned about having enough paper products (tissue, toilet paper and paper towels)!
On the heels of a tense election week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case Tuesday that could change the face of health care in America. About 800,000 people in Illinois receive health insurance under the law, and Obamacare advocates worry many people will become uninsured, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, if the law is struck down.
Some possible outcomes as the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act goes before the Supreme Court once again.
For now, investors seem inclined to shrug off President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede and threats of legal action. With Republicans expected to retain their grip on a majority in the Senate, they are betting on continuity in tax, regulatory and other policies, analysts said.
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., 77, was elected Saturday as the 46th president of the United States, defeating President Donald Trump in an election that played out against the backdrop of a pandemic, its economic fallout and a national reckoning on racism. He becomes the oldest president-elect and brings with him a history-making vice president-elect in Kamala Harris, the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve in the nation’s second-highest office.
Whoever is declared the winner of the presidential election won’t have a clear mandate to accomplish his policy goals, and that includes health care.
Brighthouse Financial credits the company’s strong showing in annuities to consumer demand and the sales force’s ability to pivot during the pandemic.
The plan is to sell 19.9% of the life/retirement business, either through an initial public offering, commonly called an IPO, or a private sale. It “will not consider” selling more than that, said Zaffino, who will become CEO on March 1, 2021, and remain president of AIG.
Looking at a red and blue electoral map shows a clear divide in the country between rural and urban areas. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
