National Underwriter Life & Health Magazine August 2012

Battle Lines Drawn on Bush-Era Tax Cuts

By Arthur D. Postal

Senate floor action on taxes the week of July 23 lays out for the first time the battle lines on the future of the Bush tax cuts, especially estate tax policy going forward.

5 Things I Learned from the Supreme Court Ruling

By Bill Coffin

On June 28, I returned home from a week of strategic meetings in our Denver office, in a state somewhere between that feeling kids get when they know they have presents beneath the Christmas tree but have not yet gotten the parental go-ahead to tear into them, and the nervousness...

DIAs: Planting Their Roots in Fertile Soil for Growth

By Warren S. Hersch

At a time when many life insurers are scaling back or eliminating product guarantees because their balance sheets are strained, many advisors will be heartened to learn that one product boasting an attractive combination of guaranteed income, high rate of return and tax advantages is becoming more widely available: the...

Exit Wounds

By Bill Coffin

“An incident like Aurora reminds us of the fragility of life not by tapping us on the shoulder, but by punching us in the face, and so we respond in kind, instead of with kindness.”

In Passing Sally Kristen Ride, Ph.D. (1951-2012)

By Bill Coffin

On the Third Hand: Disability Insurance Observer: Gaps at the Top

By Allison Bell

The top of the individual disability insurance market seems to be warming up with the rest of the market, but plenty of glacial ignorance remains.

Potomac Watch: An Uncertain Opportunity

By Arthur D. Postal

Uncertainty and turmoil are obviously two things that players in the financial services industry certainly want to avoid, indeed at all costs.

Producer's Corner: Expect a Surge in DIA Sales

By Warren S. Hersch

My review beginning on p. 38 of deferred income annuities (DIAs) (products that delay the start date of annuitization by more than the 12-month time limitation imposed on single premium immediate annuities) provides a generally positive assessment of this recent entrant to the annuity marketplace.

The Millennial: Sticker Shock

By Michael K. Stanley

Bill to Be Introduced Exempting Insurers from SIFI Designation

By Arthur D. Postal

A senior Republican member of the House Financial Services Committee plans to introduce legislation that would bar federal regulators from designating insurance companies as systemically significant.

Senate Dems Play Hardball with Tax Battle

By Arthur D. Postal

Senate Democrats signaled that they will hold hostage extension of the current, relatively generous, estate tax provisions to higher taxes on the wealthy.

Conning Study: Annuities Account for Almost Half of DC Plan Assets

By Warren S. Hersch

Individual and group annuities accounted for nearly half of defined contribution plan assets, according to a new report.

CBO: PPACA Ruling to Cut Spending by $84 Billion

By Allison Bell

The recent Supreme Court ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) could reduce total PPACA insurance coverage provision spending by 6.7%, to a total of $1.2 trillion from 2012 to 2022.

FSOC Warns About Low Interest Rate Environment Ramifications

By Elizabeth Festa

With U.S.Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner due to address the House Financial Services Committee, July 25, on the annual report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), a Dodd-Frank Act requirement, expect some cautionary words about the health of the insurance industry and concerns surrounding the euro.

AIG Looking to Buy Hartford Advisory Group

By Arthur D. Postal

American International Group’s SunAmerica unit is seen within the securities distribution industry as the strongest amongst four suitors for Hartford Financial Groups’ broker-dealer arm, Woodbury Financial Services, Inc.