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Aon survey: Slowdown still No. 1 risk
An economic slowdown remains the No. 1 risk facing businesses, according to Aon Corp.'s biennial Global Risk Management Survey of global risk managers and chief financial officers
Exit, stage left
Sun Life's recent exit from the variable annuity business is just the latest sign that carriers aren't thrilled by the risks such long-term investments carry. With several insurers backing out of the business, and others reining in benefits and raising prices, 2011 may go down as the year of the vanishing VA | Extra Advisers favorite VA providers »
Judge kills Pru motion to toss death benefit suits
Carrier being sued for allegedly retaining life insurance payouts, pocketing the float
States’ probe of death benefit payouts could spawn regs
A continuing three-year, 35-state investigation into the practices by which life insurers pay death benefits may spawn more-stringent requirements for locating beneficiaries
VA charge hits ING hard
A hefty charge that ING Groep NV will take on its American variable annuity business appears to be a mixed blessing for investors hoping to snap up shares of the company's insurance unit once it makes its public debut.
Hartford sells private-placement ops
The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has spun off its private-placement life insurance operations. The carrier sold…
Allianz Preferred perks strike nerve with agents
A new Allianz Life distribution program -- one that rewards top indexed-annuity sellers with exclusive products -- is ruffling feathers among agents and marketing groups
Sun Life bows out of VA biz in the U.S.
Market gyrations, low interest rates forces company to scale back; life insurance also nixed here
Insurers using nimble approach to shield VA holders’ assets
The recent bout of stock market volatility is putting a new variable annuity investment strategy to the test.
Sun Life guns for market share in hybrid life/LTC space
Sun Life Financial Inc.'s hybrid whole-life and long-term-care product came out just last month, but the insurer is champing at the bit to build market share in a space currently dominated by just a select few.
Boomers roll the dice, skip meds to make ends meet
Falling investment returns, rising costs of necessities has pre-retirees cutting back on prescriptions, skipping doctors' appointments, study finds
Seeing ING’s hefty VA charge, IPO investors may need some reassurance
A hefty charge ING Groep NV will take on its American variable annuity business appears to be a mixed blessing for investors hoping to snap up shares of the company's insurance unit once it makes its public debut.
Latest VAs reflect the ‘new normal’
Volatile equity markets and record low interest rates have led major variable annuity issuers to rein in sales, but a few insurers are drumming up business with products that reflect the “new normal”
MetLife leads in VA sales
MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer, kept the top spot in variable annuity sales in the third quarter by cutting rates to attract customers looking for a consistent return amid equity market declines.
ING to shutter registered indexed annuity
ING Groep NV will close its registered indexed annuity to new sales Oct. 31 after a little more than a year.
Critics fear government isn’t promoting annuities enough
The government is hoping that its upcoming support for lifetime-income solutions such as annuities will encourage companies to add these options to their retirement plans for employees, but some worry that Uncle Sam isn't giving a big-enough push
Variable annuity players join the fixed indexed annuity fray
Carriers that have been stalwarts in the variable annuity industry are trying their hand at manufacturing and selling fixed indexed annuities.
Insurers’ death benefit payout practices targeted
State regulators continue to investigate claims that life insurance carriers may be failing to pay out death benefits or submit the money to the state in a timely fashion. Not surprisingly, this has attracted the attention of tort lawyers.
Accidental death becomes suicide when insurers dodge payouts
Critics say it's smart for carriers to deny life insurance claims for allegedly spurious reasons. Why? Because they make money off the float.
Skimpier living benefits could kill interest in VAs, advisers warn
Financial advisers are calling on insurers to enhance their suite of variable annuities, saying that clients are turned off by falling accrual rates on living benefits and insufficient investment choices
