Annuity Market News articles from February 2002

Annuity Market News archives from February 2002

Annuitization Pays, Study Says.(National Association for Variable Annuities)(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Fresh ammunition for the annuity industry in the VA vs. mutual fund debate is at hand. The National Association for Variable Annuities recently commissioned a study from PricewaterhouseCoopers to compare the cost benefit of annuitization...

Banks' Fixed Sales Rose in 2001.(Fixed annuity sales)(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... For variable annuities, 2001 may have been the worst of times, but for fixed annuities, it was the best of times, especially in the bank channel. Sales of fixed annuities in banks remained strong last November, the most recent month for which...

New Alliance Will Set Standards.(National Association for Variable Annuities allies with Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The annuity industry, criticized both from within and without for remaining in the technological dark ages, will soon have a set of standards for electronic product profiles. Furthermore, a series of alliances will continue to both develop and...

DTCC Aids Adoption of Technology.(Depository Trust and Clearing Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. (DTCC) has done it before and is looking to do it again: facilitate the adoption of technology to modernize an industry. When mutual funds, which once lagged behind securities trading, did so, it paved...

At Deadline.(American Life Insurance Company of New York sees scrutiny from National Association of Securities Dealers)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... "No-Fee" Annuity Pulled From Virtual Shelf The American Life Insurance Company of New York and Annuity.com have pulled the Annuity.com Direct Annuity off of Annuity.com's Web site. It is still available for sale through the Berger Funds...

ACORD Makes It Legal With DTCC.(Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development, Depository Trust and Clearing Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... In a sense, the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) will be playing middleman in the effort to establish standards for the annuity industry; the association has entered a strategic partnership with the...

Berger Gets Involved in VA Market.(Berger Financial Group, variable annuity market)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Berger Financial Group has developed a concerted push into the variable annuity/variable life sub-advisory market, adding two carriers to its list of clients in December despite performance woes. Within the last year, the Denver-based firm has...

Transamerica Taps First Union for Marketing Head.(Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co. hires Janet Elie)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co. has hired Janet Elie as regional VP of the central regional marketing center, overseeing general agency operations for fixed products. She replaces Bruce Wing, who took over management of variable...

MetLife Hires for New Life Markets Group.(MetLife Investors Group, Mark LaPiana)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... MetLife Investors Group, based in Newport Beach, Calif., has added variable life products to its lineup and an executive to run the new unit. Mark LaPiana, now EVP, life markets, comes most recently from Equitable Distributors, where he served...

New DTCC Managing Director Replaces Siebecker.(Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, Randy Grespin)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation has hired Randy Grespin as managing director for distribution services. Grespin will be responsible for insurance services and mutual funds, replacing Walter Siebecker, who has left the firm to pursue...

Golden Rule Names President.(Richard Merrill)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Golden Rule Insurance Co. has created the position of president, financial services division, and named Richard Merrill, former SVP of the financial services division, to the post. Merrill will continue to report to Jack Whelan, president of...

E-Wholesaling Is for All Companies, Report Says.(according to Financial Research Corp., Kasina)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... If it is hard for executives to get a handle on the concept of e-wholesaling it may be because everyone has their own way of defining it. A recent joint report from Financial Research Corp. (FRC) and kasina, E-wholesaling: The Distribution...

Getting Shelf Space Challenges VL Industry.(variable life producers)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The need for shelf space in broker-dealers seems to be a perpetual challenge to both variable annuity and variable life producers. A panel at the recent National Association for Variable Annuities variable life conference in Dallas looked at...

Knights Of Columbus Posts Record In Fixed Annuities.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Knights of Columbus far outpaced the rest of the industry last year in fixed annuity sales due to the strength of its product combined with underperforming markets elsewhere in the investment world. The overall fixed annuity market saw an...

Alliance Creates New Variable Product Manufacturer.(Ohio National Financial Services Inc., Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York purchase First ING Life Insurance Company of New York)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Two insurers have banded together to purchase First ING Life Insurance Company of New York, a shell company formerly owned by Security Life of Denver. Ohio National Financial Services, Inc., and Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New...

Three Associations Maintain Conference Tradition.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... In 1998, LIMRA, LOMA and the Society of Actuaries came together to form a partnership to produce The Annuity Conference, which was held in a hotel in the Orlando, Fla., airport with approximately 225 attendees. Today, these organizations...

Pacifc Life Waives Restrictions.(Pacific Life Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Pacific Life Insurance Co. temporarily waived transfer-out restrictions on the Fixed LT Account, a minimum guaranteed rate option offered with most of the company's variable life insurance policies. Policyholders will be able to direct premiums...

ASPs for Annuities Have Much to Offer.(application service providers)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... By Bob Hamill, AdminServer, Inc., Systems Management and Co-Founder. We've all heard much talk in the past couple of years about ASPs (application service providers) and how they will redefine software delivery. But, for those of us who...

New VA Is First Result of MONY Reorganization.(variable annuity product)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The recent launch of a new annuity from MONY Life Insurance Co. is the first result of last fall's reorganization of the company along functional lines. By creating separate divisions for life insurance, annuities and distribution MONY sought...

What to Study Next?(PricewaterhouseCoopers to study death benefit guarantees)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The current PricewaterhouseCoopers study comparing annuities and mutual funds goes beyond the first, which was commissioned in response to changes in capital gains taxation in 1997. At that time, many financial intermediaries pooh-poohed...