Articles by Linda
Koco
Contributing Editor
The Real Story Behind Landing the Big Case
Those in the know say that breaking into the ultra-wealthy market expertise and experience — plus connections, collaboration, business management, patience and finesse...
Obama: Tax Deal Good for American People
Although temporary, the estate tax would be a boon to insurance professionals who have been trying to help clients with tax planning without any clarity on the future tax structure. But the higher rate might dissuade some high-net-worth clients from aggressive estate planning and lessen the need for life insurance to cover estate taxes...
Whole Life Taking on a Whole New Life
Whole life insurance might be stodgy to some but its sales are exciting and it's ready to burst into other distribution channels...
Heads Up! Busy 2 Weeks in Regs, Reports, Bills
Prepare for a wintry blast of legislative and regulatory news of keen interest to insurance and allied professionals in the next few weeks...
State of Tax Treatment Catches Eyes in Insurance
The State of the Union didn't directly address it, but insurance tax treatment lurked in the background, particularly in mention of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform...
SEC Study on Fiduciary Standard Sets Up Fight
A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff study published last week about fiduciary standards is already setting off a new round of skirmishing over advisor standards of care...
States Ready ‘Source of Funds’ Rules
Regulators in Iowa and Minnesota are co-developing “source of funds” guidelines that will help draw the lines for advisors on making recommendations about moving money between insurance and securities sources...
Wall Street Eyes IAs, After Long Battling Them
At least a couple of big Wall Street securities firms are already preparing to make filings for their indexed annuity products, perhaps by spring or summer...
401(k) Annuity Options: Works in Progress
More employers are contemplating offering “in-plan annuity options” to allow retired workers to convert part or all of their 401(k) account into a lifetime income stream via an annuity...
Some Independent Agents Looking At WL
Whole life, long the product of mutuals and career agents, is starting nudge over universal life in the independent space...
Do Fixed Annuity Rates Matter Now?
Today's low credited interest rates in fixed annuities may make the products a tough sell, but it is all a matter of perspective for clients...
Gas Pump Pain Means Clients Cling to Policies
You would think it is a long way from gas pump to insurance policy, but clients are feeling poorer...
New Annuity Suitability Model Catches On
California and New York are the latest states to pass tougher suitability regs, just days after the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) endorsed annuity suitability model regulations developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)...
Ready for Annuities Paired With Bond Funds?
Some financial companies are designing new types of retirement income products that package features of an income annuity with features of a bond fund...
10/10 Limits IA Design
Indexed annuities with 10-year surrender charges are becoming so prevalent that newly developed products are starting to look very similar, according to an indexed product researcher...
In Quake’s Wake, Revelations About Nuclear Insurance
The pool has been around for decades but it is getting renewed attention in the wake of the nuclear reactor damage following Japan’s powerful earthquake and tsunami on March 11...
Income Annuities Elbow In
Maybe it's the boomers looking for a new retirement vehicle or insurance companies wanting another sales vehicle -- or maybe both -- but there is no doubt income annuities are getting more popular...
Life, Retirement Conferences Lift Off
Get ready for a week of invaluable insignts from two major industry conferences designed to help producers thrive in tomorrow's insurance and retirement markets...
Seeking Zealots for Customer Service
Carriers, producers both have to earn their business with each transaction...
Simplified Issue May Mean More Sales, Less Comp
Simplified issue may mean smoother and quicker transactions, which is good because you're going to need to do a lot of them to make up for the compensation cut!...
Money on the Move, Heading to Annuities
Money is moving and many say a good chunk of it is going into annuities...
Customers Are Unique So Treat Them That Way: Aviva
Aviva coined a term — youmanity — to express the message that the company expresses “heartfelt humanity.” It has begun offering products, services and programs under that banner and promises more...
Retirement Education: The More the Better
Research is finding that consumer education can and does make a difference in how people save for retirement. Simply put, the more education the better for the retirement savings account...
2-Year Estate Tax Window Slows Big Gifts
The new $5 million gift tax exemption has triggered a lot of interest in nudging the ultra-wealthy to make large gifts between now and the end of 2012 because that’s when the high lifetime exemption limit will end. But that is not the norm among the wealthy...
Independent B/Ds Gain Annuity Market Share
Independent broker/dealers (IBDs) are raising some eyebrows as gain some market share in the individual annuity sales, according to data starting in 2006...
Illinois Ruling May Reopen Indexed Annuity, Securities Issue
Not only does Illinois Order 0800064 provide a “cautionary tale” about understanding and explaining policy features, “but it also strongly intimates— without saying — that Illinois considers index annuities to be securities”...
Illinois Indexed Annuity Case Heads to Court
The Illinois secretary of state issued the order on May 24. It includes an indirect “proclamation” calling indexed annuities securities, according to Thomas W. Kelty, the advisors’ attorney. Kelty also filed an appeal in circuit court on June 1...
Millionaires Do Buy Annuities: Here’s Why
Fewer millionaires want to actively manage theirs assets, opening the door to annuity products...
More Annuity Suitability Rules Going into Effect This Summer
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires that all 50 individual states to comply with the NAIC 2010 annuity suitability model by June 16, 2013...
Iowa Draws Line in the Sand for Advisors
Industry professionals consider the Bulletin to be a regulatory effort to help resolve the so-called “source of funds” issue that has sprung up around the country...
GAO Report Puts Annuities on Center Stage
Retirements are at risk and the situation cries for annuities. Even the government knows that!...
The Harkin Amendment’s Big What-If Question
What if all 50 states do not adopt the new annuity suitability regulations developed by National Association of Insurance Commissioners by June 16, 2013 -- and what insurance agents need to know about it...
Swaps Proposal Threatens Annuities’ Insurance Status
Several insurance organizations are concerned that a new government proposal regarding swaps could remove certain annuity and life insurance products from state regulation and make them subject to federal regulation...
Debt Deal Could Spur Annuity Sales
The wrangling over the debt ceiling scared consumers enough about the future to want the safe money of annuities...
NAIC Targets 'Unrealistic' Annuity Illustrations
illustrations offered with traditional fixed and indexed annuities are not subject to any regulations but use of illustrations with fixed annuities has been growing over the past five years, and some of the documents are “pretty unrealistic,” NAIC official says...
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AnnuityNews Wrap: Downgrade Begets Downgrade?
Catch the latest from Linda Koco on the annuities industry, including what the "downgrade" of S&P's head honcho really means...
Why Aren’t VULs Riding The VA Sales Rocket?
At first blush, the variable universal life sales increase might prompt industry professionals to think that the first half’s rising stock market made VULs catch on once again among consumers -- but not so fast...
Indexed, Income Annuities Surge in Market Share
Indexed annuities and income annuities have grown market share against all odds and all predictions...
No-Lapse UL: Down but Don't Count Them Out
Despite the popularity of no-lapse UL, some carriers started exiting the market in 2009 and all eight of the top players had left by 2010. Now those exits are crimping industry-wide individual life sales...
NFI: Federal Regulation of Annuities ‘Conceivable’
A federal regulator could eventually become the principal regulator for life and annuities or reinsurance or monoline bond carriers...
Are Contingent Annuities Really Annuities?
State regulators are planning what could become a “robust discussion” this Friday about whether so-called contingent annuities are actually annuities or perhaps financial guaranty type of product...
ACLI: Annuities Not So Fuddy-Duddy
Products that provide guaranteed lifetime income have changed so much in the past six years that American Council of Life Insurers is now reminding people that “This isn’t your father’s annuity.”...
Insurers Delay Contingent Annuity Launches
Some insurers are delaying the launch of contingent annuity products while regulators are trying to determine whether contingent annuity products are in fact annuities...
IRI to Super Committee: Save Annuity Tax Deferral
“We do not believe that deficit reduction should be done at the cost of individual retirement savings. We urge committee members to protect savings incentives for all American workers.”...
VA Players Nosing into Indexed Annuity Market
Registered reps who have been selling variable annuities will soon be asked to start selling indexed annuities, too...
Can Annuities Solve The Retirement Crisis?
The 79-page document issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says experts are recommending use of income annuities to generate retirement income, among other strategies...
Speed-to-Market Building Steam
Annuity products are getting to the market faster today than five years ago because more states are signing onto a compact...
Annuities Vie With Mattress Money
The tough economy is causing consumers to make some tough retirement savings choices — between annuities, other retirement plans, investments and mattress money, according to an Allianz survey...
What If Interest Rates Keep Falling?
A falling interest rate environment will spur some customers to look for opportunities for upside potential, and that can affect the products and strategies that agents and companies take...
Social Media Use Growing At Life Carriers
“The companies are using social media technologies primarily to help producers with lead generation and community building,” said Todd A. Silverhart during a packed break-out session at LIMRA’s annual meeting...
Kerzner: This Technology Can Rock Our World
Innovations such as iPads, tablet computers and smart phones “can rock our world,” says life insurance executive Robert A. Kerzner...
Where Are The Next-Gen Producers?
“We will need to go out there and adopt their mindset rather than think about who we are and how will they fit with us,” said Todd Tharp at LIMRA’s annual meeting...
Companies Apply Annuity Balm for Retirement Pain
Recent annuity product rollouts are putting the spotlight on retirement income strategies just as boomers and retirees contemplate an uncertain future...
Carriers Back Away from Registered Indexed Annuities
ING Groep NV stopped selling registered indexed annuities at the end of October, and now some annuity watchers are wondering if that spells the end of the registered indexed annuity marketplace...
Liquidity: Annuity Buyers Want It but Most Don’t Use It
Liquidity features may be the apple of the annuity buyer’s eye – but relatively few policyholders actually use them, according to advisors...
NAILBA: Women Breaking into Brokerage
More women are reaching the top rungs of the brokerage ladder but why aren't there more? A NAILBA session seeks the answers...
Brokers' Big Problem Needs Big Solution
NAILBA chairwoman, Christi M. Daughenbaugh, says the big problem is recruiting and brokerages can't just nibble around the edges...
Don’t Forget, It’s SOCIAL Media
Too often, producers think they should sell on social media. The trick is to be social, first...
Panel: Low Rates Batter UL But Value Still Strong
Low-interest rates force carriers to cut some universal life value but extra spice still makes UL nice for clients, according to a NAILBA panel...
Gen Y Producers Want To Be Entrepreneurs
To attract Generation Y into life and annuity production, the insurance industry — including brokerage general agencies — will need to make some adjustments...
BGA Concern: Agents Keep the Sales Dial on Term Life
At a NAILBA roundtable, BGAs say term life is doing well but the products that make the money are not moving...
Carriers Build MVA Annuity Arsenal
Market Value Adjusted annuities are not going great guns right now, but carriers want them to protect against consumer flight when interest rates rise...
DIAs Mix It Up with SPIAs in Income Annuity Market
Interest grows in deferred income annuities for "bucketing" retirement income...
Retirement Anxiety Inspires Rush of New Annuity Products
Annuity sales have suffered with the low rates – but innovations in indexed annuities help to sweeten the deal...
2012 Could Be Rebuilding Year for Annuities
A review of new products shows that annuity carriers have definitely unveiled new products this year, but certain product lines got most of the attention...
Annuity Company Ratings: Can You Count On Them?
Producers need to know if their carriers are healthy, but how reliable are the ratings agencies?...
More Policyholders Keeping Their Indexed Annuities
If you have been thinking the indexed annuity owners have been keeping their annuities for longer and longer periods in the past few years, you are right! But why they are keeping them, that's the surprise...
How Annuities Could Be a Health-Care Cost Cushion
A recent report endorses the growing trend of using annuities for health-care expense planning...
Contingent Annuities May Emerge as Income Option
What are contingent annuities? They might be an answer for some clients' guaranteed income needs...
Watch Your ‘Lesser-Known’ Indexes
Regulators say that talking about some indexes in indexed annuities gets a little close to the financial advising line...
Regulators Call for Annuity Income Guarantee Scrutiny
NAIC group recommends a different treatment of popular annuity guarantees...
Advisors Eyeball SPIAs Valued At Over $200,000
Financial advisors ran searches on single premium income annuities valued at an average of $231,000 last year, according to a 2011 report from an income annuity database...
Advisors Face More Scrutiny in the ‘Alternative’ Zone
The guidance that FINRA has laid out for securities firms may subject advisors who recommend “alternative investment” options inside of variable annuities to greater scrutiny...
DTCC Analysis Shows Fixed Annuity Activity Uptick
According to DTCC data there was a 34 percent increase in fixed annuity inflows, when comparing March 2010 to February 2012 figures...
United States of Annuities
The federal endorsement will increase opportunities for advisors - but they may also come to view their annuity bedfellow with a guarded eye...
To Use Exclusive Annuity Distribution or Not?
Many insurance agents are curious about exclusive distribution arrangements for indexed annuities but they also find the arrangements to be a bit of a puzzle...
Dementia Risks Grow for Life Insurers as Population Ages
Insurers are starting to make cognitive impairment testing a part of the underwriting process for larger life insurance cases...
LIMRA CEO: We Can’t Grow Unless…
Life industry needs to nurture green shoots of growth, LIMRA CEO Bob Kerzner tells Life Insurance Conference on Tuesday...
In Life Insurance Sales, Prepare to Reckon with Women
Agents who still engage in the “old style” of selling, where they talk only to the husband and totally ignore the wife when both are present, may want to reconsider their approach...
Social Media Builds Trust (and Sales) for Agents
Rather than getting excited about getting 50,000 likes on the corporate website, carriers should be focusing on getting their agents to post local content and getting people to “like” it...
Why Annuities Are Now Cool
Large broker-dealers and wirehouses are tuning into income annuities, to the point that they are asking for support and information about the products, according to CANNEX...
Advisors Shifting to Active Management of Retirement Income
Speaking at the annual Retirement Income Conference, Prudential CEO stressed that retirement entails many complexities and that industry advisors and providers need to factor those complexities into their planning and solutions...
Targeting Middle Market Retirees? Read This
Advisors can make a living by serving the retirement income needs of the middle market,if they focus on the right segment and use the right strategies...
Information Pays as it Sways Income Annuity Buyers
Tell them and they will buy, according to a study that showed that when advisors tell pre-retirees about income annuities, at least 30 percent said they were likely to purchase one...
Annuity Carrier Exits: Tsunamis or Small Waves?
The Aviva CEO's exit is the latest in a string of annuity industry shakeups, but should we worry?...
