Annuity Market News articles from October 2000

Annuity Market News archives from October 2000

Variable Life Sales Surge in First Half.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Variable life insurance sales soared 34 percent during the first six months of this year. Variable life sales were more than $3.2 billion during the first half of 2000 compared to $2.4 billion during the same period last year, according...

Industry Shifts its Attention to Service.(MetLife Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Whereas bonus features, such as guaranteed minimum accumulation and income benefits were capturing the attention of the annuity industry several months ago, the new focus in the industry will be more on product servicing than new benefits,...

Rising Persistency Risk Clouds Pricing.(AEGON Insurance Group)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... BOSTON Developing the pricing structure for both fixed and variable annuities is challenging since the persistency risk on both types of contracts is increasing, according to Ron Ziegler, chief financial officer, vice president and actuary...

Variable Life Policies Are Revised.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... A variety of changes were made to variable universal life insurance policies in the second quarter. While companies usually introduce new products earlier in the year, changes to existing products are often made in the second quarter in...

At Deadline.(Guardian Life Insurance Company of America acquires Berkshire Life Insurance Co.)
October 1, 2000... Guardian Life Acquires Berkshire to Enter Institutional Market The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America of New York has agreed to acquire The Berkshire Life Insurance Company of Pittsfield, Mass., according to Guardian Life. The...

Annuities Add Long Term Care.
October 1, 2000... BOSTON - As unbundled annuity products increase in popularity, more insurance companies are considering adding long term care benefits and critical illness guarantees. A variety of designs, prices and marketing approaches for these products...

Fund Manager Shuns Orthodoxies.(Bob Lee; National Life Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Risk does not perturb Bob Lee. Lee's portfolio for the Sentinel Mid Cap Growth Fund contains many market leaders as well as opportunistic picks. The Sentinel fund underlies the Advantage Variable Annuity underwritten by the National...

John Hancock Shuffles Sub-Advisers.(John Hancock Financial Services)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... John Hancock Financial Services of Boston is shaking up the management of its Variable Series Trust I group of variable annuities and life products. It has hired three new sub-advisers, fired another and is planning to make several other...

American Express Allies with Comerica.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... In the latest of a series of alliances with banks, American Express Financial Advisors of Minneapolis has formed a partnership with Comerica Securities of Detroit, according to American Express. Comerica will distribute American Express...

Annuity Lemon List Introduced.(Doug Fabian)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Call him the Mr. Blackwell of the variable annuity industry. Like the famous fashion commentator who has issued Hollywood's best- and worst-dressed lists every year since 1960, Doug Fabian has created a list of the worst-performing...

Sub-Adviser Change Alters Name.(Schafer Capital Management, Phoenix-Schafer Mid-Cap Value Series)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Company of Hartford, Conn. announced to its variable annuity and variable universal life policyholders in its Sept. 1 prospectus, that the board of directors of the Phoenix-Schafer Mid-Cap Value Series had...

SEC Holds to After-Tax Proposal.(Securities and Exchange Commission, for mutual funds)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... CHICAGO The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is not likely to back down on its pending controversial after-tax performance requirement. This was the impression that Susan Nash, the SEC's associate director of the division of...

SEC Steps up Frequency of Exams.(Securities and Exchange Commission, mutual fund examinations)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... CHICAGO The SEC has stepped up its routine fund examinations from once every ten or 15 years to every five, said Gene Gohlke, associate director of the SEC's office of compliance, inspections and examinations. Gohlke spoke on a panel about...