Annuity Market News articles from April 2002

Annuity Market News archives from April 2002

Hartford Takes $118M Hit in VL Suit.(Hartford Life Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... After two-and-a-half years of litigation, a seven-man jury ordered Hartford Life Insurance Co. to pony up $118,338,000 to Bancorp Services LLC. The St. Louis firm's litigation stemmed from charges of trade secret misappropriation and breach of...

GE Creates Pension-Like VA.(GE Financial)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... GE Financial of Richmond, Va., has started to sell the GE Retirement Answer, a variable annuity that guarantees a monthly retirement income, starting at a set date. The income amount represents a floor above which payments may also rise. ...

AmEx Subsidiary Launches FlexChoice.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... American Enterprise Life Insurance Co. of Minneapolis has introduced the American Express FlexChoice Variable Annuity. Rather than offering different contracts for L and C shares, FlexChoice allows investors and their advisors to choose between...

No-Load VUL Available from TIAA-CREF.(TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Co. offers variable universal life products)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Co. of New York has added to its life insurance line with single-life and survivorship life variable universal life products. Following the firm's tradition of low-cost policies, the VUL offers no-load coverage with no...

Merrill Meets Met.(Merrill Lynch Insurance Group to offer annuity products from MetLife Investors Distribution Co.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Merrill Lynch Insurance Group of Jacksonville, Fla., will begin offering annuity products from MetLife Investors Distribution Co. The Newport Beach, Calif. subsidiary of MetLife, extended the carrier's reach outside its traditional distribution...

Annuity Processing Races at Snail's Pace: LOMA Survey Shows Little Improvement.(Life Office Management Association )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Insurance carriers may aim to make annuities more like mutual funds, but policy processing and servicing must get up to speed literally to achieve that goal. The Life Office Management Association (LOMA) recently released results from its 2001...

Skandia Retools, Pares Its Product Line.(American Skandia )(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Despite a series of layoffs and the discontinuation of two product lines, American Skandia insists the company will get bigger. Last week, the Shelton, Conn.-based financial services firm announced that it will stop selling its defined...

Equity-Index Annuity Sales Set Record in 2001.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Looking for a safe port in a storm, investors moored their money last year in equity-index annuities as never before. Sales in 2001 reached $6.5 billion, a new record and a 20% increase over the previous year, according to the Advantage Group,...

Minnesota Life Ready for Wider Distribution.(plans annuity sales growth strategy)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Sights set on national expansion, St. Paul-based Minnesota Life has embarked on an ambitious five-year plan intended to build annual annuity sales through outside distributors from zero to $1 billion. Greg Farley, managing director of Minnesota...

Psych Yourself into a Job.(Minnesota Life uses psychological assessment to assist employee selection)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Minnesota Life wants to find the perfect employee. And they mean it. While a resume, interview, and reference check may suffice for some firms, the St. Paul-based insurance company uses a psychologist's assessment to help determine whether a...

Correction.(Capital Appreciation HLS Fund)(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2002... In the March issue, Annuity Market News reported on the performance discrepancy between Hartford's Capital Appreciation VA sub-account and its corresponding mutual fund. To clarify, the Capital Appreciation HLS Fund was created in 1984, 12...

DST Expands Its Vision to Include Annuities.(DST Systems' Web portal)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... DST Systems of Kansas City, Mo., is expanding Vision, its Web portal used mostly by independent financial advisors. In a push to bring annuities to its platform, DST added four of the largest annuity manufacturers at the beginning of the year:...

NYLife Creates Annuity Marketing Position.(New York Life Insurance Co. hires Patricia Spencer Favreau)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... New York Life Insurance Co. announced last week that Patricia Spencer Favreau has been promoted to chief marketing officer for the firm's life and annuity operations. Favreau reports to SVP Ted Mathas, COO for the firm's life & annuity...

Conseco Pares Down.(management structure consolidated)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... To prepare for the sale of its variable annuity unit, Carmel, Ind.-based Conseco has consolidated the management structure for its life, supplemental health, and annuity businesses. Changes include the elimination of several positions and a...

Pivot/Info-One Completes Merger.(executive changes announced)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Pivot/Info-One, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia Corp., has announced executive changes that complete the firms' merger. David Shapiro, founder and formerly president of Info-One, is CEO of Pivot/Info-One. He is...

Minnesota Life Adds Managing Director.(Greg Farley hired)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Minnesota Life Distributors has appointed Greg Farley as managing director. In this newly-created position, he will be hiring a wholesaling staff to distribute the firm's new variable annuity line, which is part of a strategy to sell to...