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How to Prospect for Life Settlements

So, yes, it is possible to cold call qualified candidates and ask the question: Do you have too much life insurance? This, of course, is the opposite of what life insurance producers have been trained to do since they first entered the business, but, nonetheless, it can be helpful for people who have life insurance policies they no longer want, no longer need or no longer can afford. However, the universe of prospects who still need insurance is much larger than the universe of prospects who would benefit from a life settlement. Rejection A more likely scenario is the traditional life insurance cold call that leads to the common objection: “I already have enough life insurance.” If you think you’re talking to a prospect old enough to qualify (ages 65 and older), an interesting pivot from this response could be: “Well, maybe you have too much life insurance, and I might be able to help you with that as well.” The foundation of your life settlement activity should really be your existing clients, by keeping aware of their life changes, financial changes, health changes and the status of their policies, and by building clients’ awareness that life settlements exist. You...

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Relm Launches 50-State MGA to Be Led by Lavigne

Article 0 Comments Specialty carrier Relm Insurance said it has launched a managing general agent licensed in all 50 states. Relm also said Keith Lavigne has joined as head of underwriting – US. He will report to Relm CEO and founder Joseph Ziolowski. “Operating our MGA in the U.S. enhances our ability to deepen and broaden our relationships with clients and brokers across the US insurance ecosystem,” said Ziolkowski. “With Keith at the helm, our underwriting framework in emerging sectors has become even stronger. His proven expertise will enhance our technical and operational underwriting capabilities as we continue to make innovation resilient for our clients.” Lavigne was most recently chief underwriting officer for Euclid Fiduciary. His more than 25 years of industry experience include managing large teams at AIG, Chubb, and Everest Insurance. Relm’s MGA office locations will be in New York, Miami, and Pennsylvania, according to the Bermuda-based company. Relm said the MGA is the first of its kind for emerging industries. Relm was launched in 2019 and has a product suite tailored for clients in “emerging and innovative industries.” Industries it serves include biotech, artificial intelligence, fintech, esports, Web3, digital assets, and space. Topics Insurance Wholesale Was this...

CSIO Announces Six New Compliance-Certified Insurers 0

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CSIO Announces Six New Compliance-Certified Insurers

Toronto, ON (Dec. 10, 2024) – CSIO is pleased to extend its congratulations with the announcement that the following six insurers have achieved CSIO’s Compliance Certification: Carleton-Fundy Mutual Insurance Company The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group Estrie-Richelieu Group Insurance Company Max Insurance My Mutual Insurance Stratford Underwriting Agency Inc. To achieve Certification, the insurers have eliminated all Z-Codes (non-standard coverage codes) from their data exchange with brokers, and now only use CSIO Standard codes. By eliminating Z-Codes, brokers benefit from accurate reporting, improved operational efficiency, targeted marketing, and an enhanced customer experience. “Compliance Certification is a key part of our industry initiative to establish clear, consistent, relevant Data Standards that save brokers valuable time,” said Catherine Smola, President & CEO of CSIO. “Certified insurers demonstrate a commitment to compliance best practices, providing brokers with streamlined workflows and a higher level of data quality in their BMS.” CSIO supports insurers in eliminating Z-Codes by mapping them to CSIO Standard codes. Insurers can also request the addition of new coverage codes to the Standards through our agile Maintenance Request (MR) process. Our National Standards Working Group reviews all submitted MRs and once approved, they can be programmed immediately into insurers’ systems, eliminating the...

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Lawsuit Accuses Major Food Companies of Marketing ‘Addictive’ Food to Kids

Article 0 Comments Major food companies, including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Coca-Cola, were hit with a new lawsuit in the U.S. on Tuesday accusing them of designing and marketing “ultra-processed” foods to be addictive to children, causing chronic disease. The lawsuit was filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by Bryce Martinez, a Pennsylvania resident who alleges he developed type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diagnosed at age 16, as a result of consuming the companies’ products. His lawyers at the firm Morgan & Morgan, a major U.S. plaintiffs’ firm, described the case as the first of its kind. The other companies being sued are Post Holdings, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle’s U.S. arm, WK Kellogg, Mars, Kellanova and Conagra. “There is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultra-processed foods,” Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy for the Consumer Brands Association, an industry group representing food and beverage makers, said in a statement. “Attempting to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed, or demonizing food by ignoring its full nutrient content, misleads consumers and exacerbates health disparities.” Evidence has grown in recent years that highly processed foods are linked to a wide range...

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Trump Will Have a Big Impact on Client Portfolios

All the changes that are coming mean your clients will need your guidance more than ever. And weaving through all these issues is the biggest question of all: What will it mean for your clients’ investments? There is substantial debate about how stocks will fare in the Trump administration. Will his tax cuts, and support for drilling, boost productivity — or will his tariffs and mass-deportation policies impede corporate profits? Wall Street analysts disagree, but there’s one topic no one seems bearish about: crypto. Trump has made it clear that he strongly supports crypto, as do a majority of members in the House and Senate — more than 275 of them, by one count. The Biden administration’s effort to prevent crypto companies from doing business in the United States will be immediately halted on Jan. 20 — as will Gary Gensler’s role as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Trump nominees Paul Atkins (SEC chair), David Sacks (AI and crypto czar) Scott Bessent (Treasury secretary), Howard Lutnick (Commerce secretary) and Kelly Loeffler (Small Business Administration head) are all strong proponents of digital assets, and they are widely expected to foster a regulatory environment that is the exact opposite of...

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Insurers’ Climate Losses Almost Match Premiums From Fossil Fuels

Article 0 Comments Top insurance companies suffered $10.6 billion of climate-attributed losses this year, just shy of the $11.3 billion of direct premiums they underwrote for commercial fossil-fuel clients in 2023, according to Insure Our Future. Of the 28 insurers reviewed, more than half were hit by climate-attributed losses that exceeded the coal, oil and gas premiums they earned, Insure Our Future said Tuesday in a statement. On average, fossil-fuel premiums account for less than 2% of total premiums, raising questions about why insurers aren’t using their immense influence to protect the other 98% of their business from spiraling climate risks. The report said climate change accounted for about $600 billion, or more than 33%, of global insured weather losses over the past two decades. Climate-attributed losses rose to an average 38% of total insured weather losses over the past decade, up from 31%. The insurance industry has itself warned about the rising toll. Insured losses from natural catastrophes are on track to exceed $135 billion in 2024, Swiss Re said in a recent statement. It marks the fifth consecutive year that insured losses from natural disasters will break the $100 billion mark. Insure our Future said the climate price...

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Morgan Stanley to Pay $15M Over Advisors Who Stole Millions From Clients: SEC

These ACH payments, the order states, “were typically to pay the FA’s credit card bill or to transfer funds to the FA’s account at an online payment application.” “Safeguarding investor assets is a fundamental duty of every financial services firm, but MSSB’s supervisory and compliance policy failures let its financial advisors make hundreds of unauthorized transfers from their customer and client accounts and put many other such accounts at significant risk of harm,” said Sanjay Wadhwa, acting director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement in a statement. “However, today’s resolution also takes into account the firm’s several self-reports to, and substantial cooperation with, the Commission staff and its remedial efforts, including compensating the financial advisors’ victims and retaining a compliance consultant to conduct a comprehensive review of the relevant policies and procedures.” In addition, from October 2015 to at least February 2021, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney “failed to implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent and detect misappropriation by its FAs using unauthorized cash wire transfers from multiple unrelated customer or client accounts of the same FA to the same third-party external account,” the order states. “Although Morgan Stanley Smith Barney understood such activity was a red flag and...

IRC Study Shows Disparities in Rate Regulation for Personal Auto Insurance Has Negative Market Impacts 0

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IRC Study Shows Disparities in Rate Regulation for Personal Auto Insurance Has Negative Market Impacts

Malvern, PA (Dec. 5, 2024) – A new study from the Insurance Research Council (IRC), an affiliate of The Institutes, shows that the processes to achieve approved rate filings for personal auto insurance throughout the U.S. has become more cumbersome since 2010, negatively impacting market performance. To better understand the regulatory environment of personal auto during the timeframe studied (2010-2023), IRC reviewed common rate filing measures across all states and the District of Columbia. Key findings from IRC’s study, Rate Regulation in Personal Auto Insurance: Comparison of State Systems, included: Approximately 10,200 rate filings each year without much variance. Average number of days to approve rate filings has grown by ~40% Number of filings withdrawn across all rate filings has grown by ~40% Frequency of filings receiving less rate impact than requested grew by ~10 points Severity of difference in that approved rate impact grew by ~2 points Market concentration (as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, or HHI) has increased by ~9% Strong to moderate correlation between net underwriting losses and premium shortfalls within states and across time Filing process measures and market outcomes vary by regulatory systems. IRC’s analysis noted that from 2010 through 2023, direct written premium for...

Coverdash Partners With LendingTree to Launch Its First-Ever Insurance Offering for Startups and SMBs 0

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Coverdash Partners With LendingTree to Launch Its First-Ever Insurance Offering for Startups and SMBs

New York, NY (Dec. 5, 2024) – Coverdash, the fastest growing startup and SMB-focused insurtech broker, and LendingTree, the nation’s leading online financial marketplace, are pleased to announce a partnership to provide LendingTree customers with access to business insurance for the very first time. This strategic collaboration expands LendingTree’s suite of financial products for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), providing them with an efficient and streamlined way to obtain business insurance and fulfill financial requirements. Coverdash’s fully embedded insurance offering provides business insurance to LendingTree customers without ever having to leave the platform. This partnership marks an important step in LendingTree’s evolution by expanding its services for small businesses beyond loans and financial products to now include comprehensive insurance solutions. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank found that businesses that demonstrated lower risk profiles – which includes carrying insurance – were 25% more likely to be approved for loans compared to higher-risk businesses. By integrating Coverdash’s business insurance offering, LendingTree not only enhances its own platform but also empowers small businesses to reduce their risk profile, increasing their chances of securing a loan and supporting their long-term growth. “LendingTree’s legacy in financial services is unmatched, and we’re incredibly proud...

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CFPB Claims Supervision Over Google Unit, Which Promptly Sues

Article 0 Comments The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it’s claiming supervisory authority over Google Payment Corp., as the agency extends its oversight of nonbank financial platforms. The unit of Alphabet Inc. promptly filed a lawsuit to fight the move. The CFPB’s finding, announced in a statement Friday, is a step toward conducting exams, though it doesn’t necessarily mean the agency will do so. Nor does it mean that the company engaged in wrongdoing. “While Google Payment Corp. is already subject to CFPB’s enforcement jurisdiction, the CFPB has determined that Google Payment Corp. has met the legal requirements for supervision,” the CFPB said. Google already discontinued the US version of its Google Pay app, but some users may still have balances in existing accounts, the CFPB noted. The company, which contested the regulator’s right to supervise those operations, sued the agency and Director Rohit Chopra at federal court in Washington on Friday, saying the decision “suffers from numerous legal defects” and that current or future risks to consumers “are not present, or even possible, here.” “This is a clear case of government overreach involving Google Pay peer-to-peer payments, which never raised risks and is no longer provided in the US,”...