National Underwriter Life & Health Magazine September Issue

Paving the Way

By Arthur D. Postal

A brave new era of insurance regulation will likely be launched sometime this month, when the government’s share of American International Group (AIG) is expected to fall below 50 percent and the Federal Reserve Board uses that opportunity to launch fresh oversight of the AIG holding company.

3 Big Hot-Buttons for Advanced Sales

By Warren S. Hersch

How will the approaching expiration of estate and gift tax provisions of the 2010 Tax Relief Act impact your clients? Can one structure an irrevocable life insurance trust as a non-grantor trust? What role can side funds play in fixing life insurance-funded split-dollar or private premium financing arrangements that were...

The 2012 NUL Top 100

By Bill Coffin

National Underwriter Life & Health is proud to present its 2012 Top 100 – a series of 10 charts ranking the 100 highest-ranking companies in a broad series of categories meant to offer the most basic financial snapshot of life and health insurers today.

Out of the Blue

By Bill Coffin

Fish Out of Water

By Bill Coffin

Swimming and springboard diving were my sports as a kid, and growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, it was a great time to be in the water. Mark Spitz, one of the greatest Olympic swimmers of all time utterly dominated the 1972 Munich games and set world records in...

Producer Groups: On a Growth Trajectory

By Warren S. Hersch

Consider this dichotomy: While the distribution of life insurance products has shifted from a once largely career/captive agent workforce to independent life insurance professionals, today’s producers depend more than ever for their success on an ability to (1) work collaboratively with other advisors possessing complementary skills; and (2) tap into...

Watch Your Toes

By Arthur D. Postal

Immediately after this summer’s meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners convened in Atlanta, the NAIC announced that its CEO Therese Vaughan was stepping down, and would be replaced by Florida commissioner Kevin McCarty. McCarty immediately got to work on putting his own stamp on the NAIC, and in...

Here Lie Monsters

By Allison Bell

I think it will be hard to know exactly where the gaps in our knowledge of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2012 (PPACA) lie until all of PPACA that will get up and running is up and running.

Paul Ryan, Romney’s Running Mate: Health Account Backer

By Allison Bell

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney has picked Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., a longtime supporter of personal account programs, to be his running mate.

At the NAIC, a Changing of the Guard

By Elizabeth Festa

Dr. Theresa “Terri” Vaughan has announced her retirement, effective in February, as chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. She made her announcement at the plenary session that marked the end of the NAIC summer meeting in Atlanta, last month.

Aetna to Acquire Coventry for $7.3 Billion

By Allison Bell

Aetna Inc. has tried to position itself for the world of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) health insurance exchanges by agreeing to pay $7.3 billion for Coventry Health Care Inc.

FSOC Warns About Low Interest Rate Environment Ramifications

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.