Short Takes
Tough times call for different selling strategies than good times. When fear and loathing of equities dominate investor psychology, you need to think about changing the perspective clients bring to the table. We have found a strategy that works...
Annuities can be ideal investments for seniors, providing guarantees, tax deferral, and, optionally, a stream of income. But lately the industry has been plagued with scandals. Regulators in several states are charging that agents and financial...
Many successful financial services professionals have benefited from having a mentor. Mentors often act as sounding boards, providing newer professionals with advice derived from their years of experience. Mentors can have an enormous influence on...
The Agent’s Sales Journal spoke to MDRT mentors and proteges to find out what makes their mentoring program work. Despite the opportunities for growth in the business, there are far fewer agents entering the insurance industry today. Where...
There are people who hear the words “life insurance” and remember some boring guy who came to the house after dinner and sat at the kitchen table with their parents. It’s possible that many of your clients and prospects may...
Social Security and company pension plans are in the news almost daily. People are worried about whether or not Social Security will be there for them when they retire. Even if Social Security is still viable in the future, it’s naive to...
During the 1990s and early 2000s, variable life insurance was the shining star of the life insurance industry. It was a product agents loved to sell and clients loved to buy. As a routine part of the variable sale, each client was asked to complete...
Some conversations in our industry make no sense, like the argument that variable annuities are great (made by those who sell them) or terrible (made by Wall Street types who hate any insurance product with fees). Variable annuities (VAs) are...
A great deal of recent press coverage has focused on the expense of variable annuities. An apples-to-apples comparison, however, shows that the real cost differential between variable annuities and mutual funds in 2004 was only 96.2 basis points...
As the 10-year-old equity index annuity (EIA) industry has matured, it has grown both in complexity of products and product selection. It’s so complex, in fact, that manual analysis of competing products is no longer feasible. Responding to a...
On August 8, 2005, the NASD issued a “Notice to Members.” The official NASD executive summary reads: “This Notice to Members addresses the responsibility of firms [broker-dealers] to supervise the sale by their associated persons...
Beacon Research released its third-quarter 2005 rankings of the top fixed annuity products. MasterDex, an Allianz Life index annuity, was the top-selling product in Beacon’s Fixed Annuity Premium Study for the fifth consecutive period. Also...
An annuity is a flexible financial retirement vehicle combining guaranteed lifetime income payments, insurance benefits, and tax-deferred savings. Americans who are considering the purchase of an annuity to help save for or provide income during...
With over 150,000 financial practitioners in its alumni association, the nation’s leading financial services educator is launching a national initiative designed to enhance consumers’ financial security. On March 6, 2006, graduates of...
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services was recognized for its best-in-class services to 401(k) plans with under $5 million and to plans with between $5 million and $50 million in plan assets by PLANSPONSOR Magazine’s Annual Defined Contribution...
A new study by the American Council of Life Insurers and the CF Effron Company LLC found that a majority of banks and insurers plan to increase their insurance product distribution programs through banks. About two-thirds of banks and insurers...
Add health care services to the growing list of businesses being outsourced to overseas entities. Many traditional offshore locations such as India and the Philippines have developed successful back-office services for the health care field. In a...
You’ve been hearing for some time that Americans are living longer. Now it’s official. According to the latest government calculations, a child born in 2003 can expect to live 77.6 years on average, up from 77.3 the year before. In 1990,...
The United Auto Workers National Ford Council endorsed the union’s tentative health care agreement with Ford Motor Co. According to the agreement, Ford’s active and retired auto workers will pay more for their health care. Up to...