Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

What You Need to Know The coalition that filed the new suit includes the ACLI, IRI, Finseca, NAFA, NAIFA and several NAIFA chapters. Another group filed a separate suit against the fiduciary rule regulations May 2. Appeals from either case would flow to the federal appeals court that rejected an earlier Labor Department fiduciary rule effort. Nine insurance trade groups today joined to file a suit attacking the U.S. Labor Department’s new fiduciary rule regulations in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The groups have accused the department of rushing to adopt the new retirement investment advice fiduciary definition regulations without meeting federal Administrative Procedures Act requirements, and without analyzing impact data in an adequate way while conducting a cost-benefit analysis. The plaintiffs are the American Council of Life Insurers, the Insured Retirement Institute, the National Association for Fixed Annuities, Finseca, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and NAIFA-Texas, NAIFA-Dallas, NAIFA-Fort Worth and NAIFA-POET. Labor Department representatives did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The background: The Labor Department has been working to impose a fiduciary rule on sellers of non-variable indexed annuities for years. A fiduciary standard requires the people and...

Mental Health Awareness Month in May highlights the importance of Medicare’s mental health services benefits. This concern came up for me recently, when Michael, a 72-year-old former marketing executive, told me that he was feeling isolated and anxious, especially after his wife’s passing. Michael’s question: Does Medicare provide support for mental health services, and, if so, how can enrollees use the mental health services benefits? The short answer: Yes. Medicare now covers a wide range of mental health services. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has posted a 24-page guide to Medicare’s mental health benefits. The Standard Benefits Preventive services: Medicare Part B covers annual depression screenings. Medications: Medicare Part D covers the medications used to treat mental health conditions. Outpatient treatment: Years ago, health insurers skimped on coverage for mental health services delivered outside of institutions. Today, Medicare Part B covers psychiatric evaluations, individual therapy, group therapy and other services provided in outpatient settings. Telehealth services: Medicare is now more likely than in the past to cover counseling and other services provided through telehealth systems. That can be especially helpful for clients in remote or underserved areas.

What You Need to Know Some clients may need coverage to stay in force at age 90. Some may have tight budgets and more flexible coverage duration needs. The author suggests helping clients weigh the costs and the benefits carefully. Permanent life insurance comes in many forms. Too often, however, clients are presented as if only two types exist: “guaranteed” and “non-guaranteed.” Whether intentional or not, framing the choice this way creates a false dichotomy and too often leads clients toward solutions that don’t best meet their needs. In my experience, the most successful producers take a different approach. The first thing they acknowledge is that all products have guarantees, and all products have risks. It does not serve anyone to pretend otherwise. For example, a product presented as the “guaranteed” option may come with the risk of limiting a client’s ability to adjust their premium funding in the future, or with the risk that the cost is substantially higher than alternatives. On the other hand, a product presented as “non-guaranteed” might actually guarantee coverage for decades while providing compelling cash value growth potential relative to the “guaranteed” alternative. The second thing successful producers do is keep it simple, but...

“We self-identified the issue, significant remedial actions have been taken and others are underway; and we have not found any employee misconduct or harm to clients or the market in our review of the previously uncaptured data,” said the bank’s statement. “We do not expect any disruption of service to clients as a result of these resolutions.” In the settlement order, JPMorgan indicated that the surveillance gaps were resolved by 2023. The bank admitted to some of the CFTC’s allegations. In addition to the CFTC fine, JPMorgan agreed to hire an independent consultant to review the bank’s trade surveillance and fix any issues they find. In March, JPMorgan agreed to pay the Fed and OCC a total of more than $300 million to settle their investigations into the matter. As a condition of the OCC settlement, the bank wasn’t allowed to add new trading venues without receiving approval from that regulator. Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.