Annuity Market News articles from October 2002

Annuity Market News archives from October 2002

VA Equity Assets Continue to Drop.(variable annuity assets fall, life insurers downgraded)
October 1, 2002... Variable annuity assets for the second quarter were $829 billion, down 8.9% from the previous year's $910 billion, according to a report from the National Association for Variable Annuities. Flow figures present a contradictory picture, as...

Patents Threaten Industry Upset: Some See Trademarks a Sure Sign of Lawsuits to Come.(Patent litigation increase analysis)
October 1, 2002... Insurers have much to gain and fear from the recent trend to patent annuity functions and features. With patent applications on the rise, carriers will no longer be able to ignore cohorts' patents. The patent approval itself is not...

American Skandia Goes on the Block.
October 1, 2002... If Wade Dokken, CEO of American Skandia, is a betting man, he may be about to lose his shirt. In March of this year, when AMN asked him about the likelihood of a sale of the company, he responded, "I'll take all those side bets." Skandia...

New Benefits Boost Big Sales at Jackson.(Jackson National Life's redesigned annuity death and living benefit coverage)
October 1, 2002... Jackson National Life's move to beef up its variable annuity death and living benefit coverage has paid off handsomely. Since its redesign of these benefits last year, the Lansing, Mich.-based company's variable annuity sales are up 8% over...

N.C.'s 529 Offers First Guaranteed Return.(News)(North Carolina's National College Savings Program offered through MetLife)
October 1, 2002... North Carolina's National College Savings Program has launched a guaranteed fund option through MetLife. The Protected Stock Fund offers investment protection similar to that offered by equity-index annuities, which have swelled in popularity...

NAVA Sets Sights on Star Spokesperson.(National Association for Variable Annuities hopes to recruit high-profile star for ad campaign)
October 1, 2002... The National Association for Variable Annuities hopes to soon unveil the details of a new consumer-oriented advertising campaign to showcase carriers' new approach to comprehensive financial planning for investors. Mark Mackey, president of the...

Gilotti Takes Over Distribution at Phoenix.(Mike Gilotti, executive vice-president of wholesale distribution and marketing at Phoenix Companies)
October 1, 2002... The Phoenix Companies has restructured its wholesale distribution force, placing all its retail distribution under the leadership of Mike Gilotti, EVP, wholesale distribution and marketing. Gilotti has assumed responsibility for distribution...

Hartford Taps AmEx For Biz Development Leader.(Hartford Financial Services Group hires Ann Kelly Jones from American Express Financial Advisors)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Hartford Financial Services Group has hired Ann Kelly Jones to head up business development for individual life insurance. Jones, now an assistant vice president and director of new business for individual life at The Hartford, joins from...

McCamish Expands Staff.(McCamish Systems)
October 1, 2002... McCamish Systems has hired Sharon A. Hamby as VP of business process outsourcing. She now oversees that unit, which provides administration services for life insurance and DC plans. Hamby comes from American International Group (AIG), where...

States Look Askance at Two-Tier Fixed Annuities.
October 1, 2002... This is the second part in a two-part series on two-tier annuities, a type of fixed product that offers a higher contract value for investors who annuitize than for those who surrender their policies. Two-tier fixed annuities survived a...

Insurers Look to Help People Beyond Age 100.
October 1, 2002... As the population ages, insurers are adding wrinkles to life insurance and variable annuity products to serve the growing number of people who may actually live to be 100 or beyond. Insurance companies have added maturity-extension riders...

The More They Know, The More You Grow.
October 1, 2002... The proliferation of annuity product enhancements over the past few years presents one of the greatest challenges and opportunities for every aspect of the annuity industry. However, the broadening array and complexity of products creates new...

Suitability Key Concern Among Broker/Dealers.
October 1, 2002... Broker/dealers don't want reps ending up selling annuity investors the wrong product, according to a recent study by Info-One in Campbell, Calif. The "Variable Annuity Product Design and Broker/Dealer Distribution Analysis" compiles information...

WSJ Article Slams Annuity Sales Practices: Quotes Trainer Calling Investors Blind 12-Year-Olds'.
October 1, 2002... A July 2, 2002 article in The Wall Street Journal entitled "Annuities 101: How to Sell to Senior Citizens" that described sales training for brokers interested in marketing annuities to seniors became a shot heard around the annuity world. The...

Lane Leads TIAA-CREF's $1 Billion Adviser Crusade.(director of adviser services, Michael Lane)(Interview)
October 1, 2002... Michael Lane, director of adviser services at TIAA-CREF, joined the New York-based company a year ago to help build its registered investment adviser (RIA) business. During his tenure, the department has grown from five to 18 staff dedicated to...

NAVA Inducts Four Heavyweights into Hall of Fame: This year, the National Association for Variable Annuities in Reston, Va. has chosen four new inductees for its Hall of Fame. Each honoree has seen and helped this industry take its first uncertain steps. Here, each of these four individuals all offer their vision for and warnings about the future.(Joseph J. Gasper, president and COO of Nationwide Financial, is profiled)
October 1, 2002... Joseph J. Gasper Sees the Light Joe Gasper is the picture of a company man, having started with Nationwide Financial before the dawn of the annuity industry. A former NAVA chairman, he has been there since the beginning, helping to launch...

Thomas L. West, Jr.: An Eye for Income.
October 1, 2002... T om West started his career at Aetna Life Insurance and Annuity Co., where he worked with John Marsh. Marsh, who pioneered the variable annuity at VALIC, had joined Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna after selling the company to American General. In...

Annuity Wholesalers' Comp Drops 23.3%.(total cash compensation)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Wholesalers of investment products and services, including mutual funds and annuities, saw their total cash compensation dip an average of 18.6% last year, according to a survey by DGL Consultants of Richmond, Vt. Annuity wholesalers fared...

CIGNA Takes $720 Million Charge.(CIGNA of Hartford, Connecticut)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... In what could be a harbinger of things to come, CIGNA of Hartford, Conn., took an after-tax charge of $720 million to cover liabilities from its discontinued life reinsurance on minimum death benefits for variable annuity products. The...