Annuity Market News articles from July 2002

Annuity Market News archives from July 2002

At Deadline.(includes brief articles)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Fidelity Offers Annuity With 12% Persistency Bonus Fidelity & Guarantee Life Insurance Co. has introduced a single premium fixed annuity with a total of 12% in persistency bonuses as well as other incentives. Bonus 444 rewards persistency...

Retirement Income Should Gain Steam: Experts Expect Education to Help Drive Market.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... ARLINGTON, Va. Creating new products for retiring baby boomers is not the only way insurers can build the retirement income market, said speakers at the Retirement Income Conference sponsored here last month by the National Association for...

MassMutual Designs VA for a Lifetime.(MassMutual Financial Group launches unbundled variable annuity)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... MassMutual Financial Group of Springfield, Mass., has issued a fully unbundled variable annuity designed to suit an investor's needs over the course of their lifetime by giving them the option to add and subtract riders annually. The aim...

Bonuses Drive Record Equity Index Sales.(index annuity data, sales for top 10 companies)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Index annuity sales cracked the $2 billion mark in the first quarter of 2002 and set a new record for the period. According to The Advantage Group, an index annuity research and consulting firm in St. Louis, sales were $2.17 billion, a 7%...

ING Brings Indexed Annuities to Brokers.(ING U.S. Financial Services launches ING SmartDesign Multi-Rate Index Annuity)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... ING U.S. Financial Services has created a new equity index annuity (EIA) designed for distribution through wirehouses and broker/dealers. Generally, such products have been sold through insurance agents, said Bill Lowe, senior vice president of...

Hartford Financial to Hire 33 Wholesalers.(Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Hartford Financial Services Group of Simsbury, Conn., plans to hire 33 wholesalers to revamp the sales of its formerly best-selling Putnam Investments-advised variable annuity line. Hartford and Boston-based Putnam also will turn over all...

Conseco Hires Hoffman To Head Individual Sales.(Conseco Insurance Group, Michael Hoffman)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Conseco Insurance Group has hired Michael Hoffman as senior vice president of individual sales for its annuity, life insurance and supplemental health insurance lines. Hoffman will be responsible for boosting sales of the various product...

GE Financial Hires Three Regional Wholesalers.(Jason Petrie, Bruce Stewart, Jay Whitaker)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... GE Financial has hired three regional vice presidents to market variable annuities, variable life and mutual funds. They are Jason Petrie, Bruce Stewart and Jay Whitaker. Petrie covers southern Texas and is from Enterprise Mutual Funds....

Nationwide Adds Six Execs To Distribution Team.(Nationwide Financial)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... To sharpen its focus on wirehouse distribution, Nationwide Financial has hired an eastern divisional manager and two wholesalers. In addition, Nationwide has hired three additional regional life consultants, bringing the total to 15. "We...

NAIC Considers Suitability Screens for Fixed Products.(National Association of Insurance Commissions)(Interview)
July 1, 2002... B. Shelby Baetz is a partner specializing in insurance law in the Houston office of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. Baetz has more than 16 years of experience in the insurance industry and formerly served as general counsel of the American...

Regulators Focus on Annuity Sales Practices, Fees.(Brief Article)(Column)
July 1, 2002... Insurers currently are facing many new legal challenges, on both the state and federal levels. The legal issues facing insurers and their agents tend to come from the same two sources: regulators and hungry plaintiff attorneys. Not...