The Life Insurance Review
Where Life Insurance is Talked About
First Quarter Earnings
Apr 21st
The insurance industry holds its breath as they await first quarter earnings reports. Forecasts for the year are not at all good but many still manage to hold their own weight with more attentive focus on adapting to current financial industry trends. The lower prices have enticed just enough customers to get health insurance along with the introduction of many personalized packages that are made available for the different needs that exist in the various levels of policy holders. The suspense continues as they await financial reports from the industry leaders who are key in the overall health of the industry. Many have been experiencing a slump in sales but have been able to maintain stability and keep existing policies even getting a few new ones to shore up the statistics.
FINRA Delays Rule 2821(c) Implementation
Apr 17th
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has agreed to move the enactment into law new proposals for changes to the insurance industry. The move would have accredited firms conduct principal reviews for the suitability of such deferred VA applications within only a few days before it is submitted to the insurance company. The amount of time they have specified has been contested by several providers may not be enough to allow them proper review and evaluation. Key representatives of the industry also asked for a different approach to the enforcement of the said rule instead of having a fixed date giving clue to a gradual implementation. The rule has been approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission last September and has already undergone several revisions to further refine the said rule. The FINRA has also said that they would allow firms time to comply with the rule and they would be handling them in a case to case basis.
Survivorship life insurance
Apr 13th
Survivorship policy is a special type of life insurance that wasn’t widely understood as the conventional life insurance. Also called “second-to-die” insurance, this type of policy insures two lives in one contract. The death benefit is paid only after the second person dies. For this reason, the cost of a survivorship policy is typically much lower than two separate policies with the same combined benefit. This is the industriy’s answer to the uncertainty of death for souses who have children and need security against the death of one spouse to give them better chances of making it through difficult times.
Mini Med’s and Health
Apr 9th
Mini packages have been around for quite sometime and they are now becoming the hot product for the industry due to their low price and limited coverage periods. These packages were initially designed for the seasonal worker market which allows these people to get the necessary insurance when they need it most, when they’re working. Many industries in the manufacturing field have the ability to raise or lower employees on demand and when the industry offered them, many were delighted. These workers were not qualified under old policies due to the short length of their tenure with firms, giving them the flexibility to choose the most appropriate schedule allows flexibility and competitive prices to low income workers who can now have coverage where there was traditionally none.
New Federal Government Oversight Agency in the works
Apr 5th
Hearing in the House Financial Services Committee’s Capital Market’s Sub-Committee has received a proposal for the creation of an oversight agency that would work with state legislators by providing timely information about the industry as a whole. The move is being opposed by many providers for they see a lot of loopholes citing the meddling of too many people in a previously self-regulated industry. The amount of influence this agency would have would be so grave that any misinformation or interpretation of the industry can mean the difference between making the cut or not in the field. This has long been opposed by providers and state legislators alike due to the many loopholes such an agency would create, the agency’s actions will dictate the overall health of the industry with recommendations to state legislators on the current health/status of the industry from their standpoint. State governments have been opposing this and want to maintain self-regulation of the industry within state walls which allows a more localized analyses of the industry.
The Land of Many Cultures – Under Strain
Apr 1st
Immigrants have long been coming to the United States which if it were left to itself may have an America which is over-run by nationals from all over the world who want a better life. May they be immigrants or asylum seekers; they are all facing a very harsh reality that life in America is not at all easy as it has been made to look. The financial crisis is leaving many immigrants without healthcare for they do not have access to proper healthcare due to their menial jobs. Most immigrants have illegal relatives living with them which they cannot support them. Health care has been moving to cover even those who do not have access to proper healthcare but still burdens the healthcare system. America is trying to maintain its image of the land of all who want to go to greener pastures which has come and gone. The country is facing internal problems that the country itself is finding hard to recover from increased expenditure internally and externally they may find it hard to recover from.