- New York Life Declares Largest Dividend In Company History
Declaring a dividend for the 168th consecutive year underscores New York Life’s commitment to financial strength, mutuality, and delivering ongoing value to policy owners
New York Life, America’s largest and most admired mutual life insurer, today announced that the company has declared a dividend of $1.9 billion to eligible participating policy owners in 2022, the largest in company history.
read more - Low Interest Rate Environment & Pandemic Pressure U.S. Fraternals
Net premiums written for the 73 U.S. life fraternal companies decreased by approximately 6% year over year in 2020 to $9.3 billion
U.S. fraternal insurance companies posted a positive year in 2020 despite COVID-19 challenges and low interest rates, as well as difficulties in reaching current and prospective members, according to a new AM Best report.
read more - Bridging The Collateral Divide
Measuring the true extent of fragmentation in the collateral marketplace
The global collateral marketplace remains highly fragmented, making it challenging for market participants to easily deliver securities to locations where they can be efficiently posted as collateral, according to a new white paper published today by BNY Mellon and Euroclear.
read more - Insurance Companies Adjust To Conversions In Their Industry
New S&P Global Market Intelligence insurance industry outlook projects the status quo won't suffice in post-pandemic landscape
Insurance companies will need to accelerate the evolution of everything from distribution and pricing to customer and investor relations, according to the newly released 2022 Insurance Industry Outlook Report from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
read more - October 2021 U.S. Life Insurance Activity Flat YOY Compared To 2020
Growth remains strong YTD
U.S. life insurance application activity was flat in October 2021 compared to October 2020 with Year-over-Year (YOY) activity at -1.5%. While YOY comparisons are impacted by fluctuations in 2020 activity due to COVID, when comparing October 2021 results to 2019, activity continues to be relatively flat at +1.0%. On a Year-to-Date (YTD) basis, the industry…
read more - Satisfaction With Group Life Insurance Languishes As Carriers Miss Mark On Policyholder Education
Lincoln Financial Group and New York Life rank highest in a tie
A combination of limited direct engagement with insureds and a failure to offer the variety of products and services those policyholders seek have resulted in relatively low customer satisfaction scores for the group life insurance industry.
read more - An Agents Guide to Preventing Life Settlement Gray Sheeting
Why are we systematically underpaying for life insurance policies?
by Wm. Scott Page
In recent weeks, I published two articles that talked about a troubling trend in the life insurance settlement industry, known as gray sheeting.
read more - What Are Today’s Top Compliance Challenges For U.S. Insurers?
Annual review of Top 10 market conduct issues provides vital checklist for insurers
The U.S. insurance industry’s top compliance shortcomings relate to claims handling noncompliance, including timeliness, required disclosures, payments and grievance and appeal processes—as well as underwriting, rating and insurance producer and sales issues.
read more - Incorporating Diversity
Significant, meaningful and impactful change often can be found in the most unexpected places
by P.E. Kelley
For Will Porter, MassMutual’s® Head of Procurement, the routine task of buying goods and services to support the company’s goals that could drive greater impact has blossomed into something much different over the last year.
read more - Variable Annuities Propel Total Annuity Sales To Double-Digit Growth In Third Quarter 2021
Traditional VA sales were $21.5 billion in the third quarter, a 22% increase from third quarter 2020. Year to date, traditional VA sales totaled $65 billion, up 17% from prior year
Total preliminary U.S. annuity sales were $62.2 billion in the third quarter, up 12% from third quarter 2020. Year-to-date, annuity sales increased 19% to $191.4 billion, representing the highest sales in the first nine months since 2008, according to preliminary results from the Secure Retirement Institute® (SRI®) U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey.
read more - Pandemic Drives Shift In Priorities
Technology cited as top challenge facing the global life insurance industry
As COVID-19 prompted life insurance companies to accelerate their digital adoption to ensure continuity of business and serve their customers, it exposed the challenges of life insurers’ legacy systems, siloed operations and the continued need to modernize. As a result, life insurance executives cited technology as both the top challenge facing their companies and the…
read more - American Workers Are Finding The Expansion Of Health Benefits Increasingly Vital
Life insurance is the top new health benefit added to health coverage plans
With open enrollment season upon us, new data shows U.S. employees now believe the expansion of health care coverage, telemedicine and supplemental insurance is more important today because of the pandemic.
read more - Pandemic & Tax Code Change Spur Interest In Life Insurance
State Farm ranks highest in individual life insurance satisfaction
The adage that “life insurance is sold, not bought” may have met its match in the one-two punch of the COVID-19 pandemic and a federal tax code change that makes it possible for policyholders to build more cash value in their plans.
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