Advisors, brokers slacking on compliance under fiduciary rule
{February 6th, 2018} by Nick Thornton
More than six months after the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule was partially implemented, anecdotal evidence is emerging that industry is struggling to comply with new requirements on investment recommendations in qualified retirement accounts. Specifically, brokers and advisors are failing the rule’s best interest standard when advising on distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans and rollovers to IRAs, according […]
Prudential Jumps Into Indexed Annuity Market
{February 6th, 2018} by Allison Bell
Prudential Financial Inc. has jumped into the indexed annuity market with a single-premium contract that will help purchasers tie returns to the performance of hard assets. The new PruSecure Fixed Indexed Annuity contract index menu includes the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index and the Bloomberg Commodity Index as well as the S&P 500 index and the MSCI EAFE. Click […]
DOL, SEC Fiduciary Rules Likely in Fall
{February 6th, 2018} by Melanie Waddell
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Labor Department will likely release simultaneously in the fall their fiduciary rule proposals, prominent ERISA attorneys say. Fall “is a reasonable estimate,” said Brad Campbell, former head of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, who’s now counsel with Drinker Biddle & Reath, during the firm’s recent Inside the Beltway […]
Knighthead Annuity Welcomes Armando Perez as Vice President, Business Development
{February 6th, 2018} by Knighthead Annuity
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, Feb. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Knighthead Annuity & Life Assurance Company™ is pleased to welcome another new member to our team, Armando Perez, Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Perez will be working with intermediaries and advisors in Florida to execute distribution strategies that will lead to the firm’s continued […]
Insurance agent admits stealing $1.5M from elderly clients
{February 6th, 2018} by City News Service
SAN DIEGO — A San Diego insurance agent pleaded guilty Monday to defrauding senior citizens and others out of nearly $1.5 million by soliciting investment funds and spending the money on personal items such as jewelry, a Maserati and three rental properties. Shawn Heffernan, 43, faces nine years in state prison when he is sentenced […]
Prudential Financial and Scottish Widows reach first longevity reinsurance agreement
{February 5th, 2018} by Prudential
For Prudential Financial: Gregory Roth, Direct: 973-802-6585 Mobile: 973-477-0570 gregory.roth@prudential.com For Scottish Widows: Kevin Brown, Direct: +44 07500 910904 kevin.brown2@lloydsbanking.com February 05, 2018 NEWARK, N.J., February 05, 2018 – The Prudential Insurance Company of America (PICA) a Prudential Financial, Inc. company (NYSE:PRU), and Scottish Widows Limited, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group plc, agreed to […]
Lincoln Annuity Sales Rise for First Time Since 2013
{February 5th, 2018} by Allison Bell
Executives at Lincoln Financial say efforts to improve annuity products and annuity distribution helped lead to strong annuity sales gains in the fourth quarter. Sales increased 57% for fixed annuities, and 54% for variable annuities. Sales of variable annuities with living benefits guarantees increased 62%. Dennis Glass, the president of the Radnor, Pennsylvania-based company, said last week, during a […]
Labor Department Data Shows Insurance Industry Lost 1,700 Jobs in January
{February 3rd, 2018} by Thomas Harman
WASHINGTON – The insurance industry lost 1,700 jobs in January 2018 from December 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Numbers from both January and December remain preliminary. They show the job loss was 0.06% for January 2018 over December 2017. Updated preliminary jobs estimates for December show the industry gained 700 jobs […]
Disclosure not the solution for a fiduciary standard, industry reps agree
{February 2nd, 2018} by Jeff Benjamin
Representatives from both the brokerage industry and the registered investment advisory side of the advice business expect the Securities and Exchange Commission to produce some kind of proposal this year for a fiduciary standard for brokers. And both agreed that simply requiring brokers to disclose potential conflicts of interest will not satisfy the need for […]
Lincoln To Launch First Buffered VA in May
{February 2nd, 2018} by Cyril Tuohy
Lincoln Financial, one of the nation’s biggest sellers of life and annuity products, is targeting a May launch for its first buffered variable annuity (VA), president and CEO Dennis R. Glass said Thursday. Buffered VAs, sometimes referred to as indexed or structured VAs, are a fast-growing subsegment of the broader VA market, which is shrinking. […]
Boomers most likely to use an online source for life insurance info; Millennials more likely to work with financial pro
{February 2nd, 2018} by Insurance Forums Staff
Despite not growing up with the Internet, LIMRA research finds Baby Boomers are most likely to say they used at least one online information source when shopping for life insurance. Sixty-one percent say they found the information online to be very useful, compared with 58% of Millennials and 54% of Generation X (Gen X). Conversely, […]
FGL Holdings Schedules Fourth Quarter 2017 Earnings Release, Conference Call and Webcast
{February 2nd, 2018} by FGL Holdings
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, Jan. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — FGL Holdings (NYSE: FG), a leading provider of fixed indexed annuities and life insurance, announced today that it will release financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2017 after the market closes on Wednesday, February 28, 2018. A live webcast and conference call will be held on Thursday, March 1, […]
Reinsurer Hungry for Big Life and Annuity Blocks
{February 2nd, 2018} by Allison Bell
Reinsurance Group of America Inc. is eager to start using its new Langhorne Re affiliate to make reinsurance deals involving big blocks of in-force life insurance and annuity business. Anna Manning, the Chesterfield, Missouri-based reinsurer’s president, talked about the company’s hunger for big blocks Tuesday, during a conference call with securities analysts. Click HERE to read the original story […]
Apollo And Blackstone Pick Insurance As Their Next Bet To Disrupt Wall Street
{February 2nd, 2018} by Antoine Gara
Private equity moguls Leon Black of Apollo Global and Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone Group are likely to solve a brewing liability crisis way before they get their hands on the American 401k retirement system. That’s the takeaway from Apollo and Blackstone’s somewhat unheralded push into the insurance market, a move that’s likely to be a major growth driver for […]
Jury Convicts Former Insurance Agent of Fraud Scheme
{February 1st, 2018} by Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted an Ashburn woman today on charges of engaging in a fraud scheme that resulted in an attempted loss of approximately $182,000. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Semyya Cunningham, 40, was an agent and licensed representative of the Western Reserve Life Assurance Co. of Ohio, […]
Brooks Tingle named President and CEO John Hancock Insurance
{February 1st, 2018} by John Hancock Financial
BOSTON, January 29, 2017—John Hancock today announced two key leadership appointments, naming Brooks Tingle president and CEO of John Hancock Insurance and Linda Levyne senior vice president, head of Sales and Distribution also for John Hancock Insurance. Mr. Tingle and Ms. Levyne, who have served in these roles on an interim basis since last summer, assume them permanently effective […]
Transamerica adjusts its Retirement Income Max® living benefit to provide industry leading growth rate
{February 1st, 2018} by Transamerica
BALTIMORE, Jan. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Addressing customers’ objectives for security and flexibility in their retirement planning, Transamerica has made enhancements to the Transamerica Retirement Income Max® living benefit rider available with most Transamerica variable annuities. Changes to the optional living benefit include increasing the compounding growth rate to an industry leading 7.2 percent, presenting […]
