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What Older Clients Who Travel Must Know About Medicare

Those retirees need expert advice about Medicare enrollment to avoid potential missteps. The Coverage Gaps The Original Medicare Part A inpatient hospitalization plan and the Original Medicare Part B outpatient care and physician services plan generally do not cover medical services received outside the United States, with limited exceptions: Emergency care near U.S. borders, such as in Canada or Mexico. Medical care received onboard cruise ships within U.S. territorial waters. Certain emergencies during travel involving Alaska. Despite these limitations, it is crucial even for Americans who move overseas to maintain Part A coverage while abroad, to avoid penalties if they return to the United States later.

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Bank of England Finds Non-Bank Financial Firms Pose Wider Risks in Crisis Periods

Article 0 Comments Non-bank financial institutions such as hedge funds remain vulnerable to a sudden financial shock and would not all be able to access the funding they would need in such a crisis, the Bank of England said on Friday. Announcing the results of its first system-wide test of Britain’s financial firms, the BoE said the growing non-bank financial sector has increased its resilience. But its reliance on bank funding in a crisis could lead to “greater risks for financial stability,” it said. Unlike typical stress tests which look at how big banks’ or other financial firms’ balance sheets fare during a crisis, the BoE’s System-Wide Exploratory Scenario examined how the actions of the whole network of financial firms, including banks, funds, insurers and central counterparties, could amplify shocks. The scenario envisaged a hypothetical situation in which “a sudden crystallization of geopolitical tensions” led to a sudden and severe market shock. Such a scenario may be more likely following the U.S. presidential election victory of Donald Trump who has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on foreign imports, that could in turn increase trade and political tensions with countries such as China. The results of the BoE’s exercise highlighted continuing...

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Best Agency to Work For – East Silver Winner: Deland, Gibson

Article 0 Comments Investing in Employees Is a Priority at Deland, Gibson As Deland, Gibson Insurance Associates Inc. (DG) approaches its 125-year anniversary, the Massachusetts-based independent agency is expanding its footprint and revenue. DG is also continuing its tradition of treating employees right. For the second straight year, DG has been recognized in Insurance Journal’s Best Agencies to Work for competition. DG has earned the 2024 Silver regional award in the East region; the agency was recognized in the Bronze category in 2023. DG secured the Silver award based on anonymous employee responses to the annual Insurance Journal survey. In those responses, staff praised the agency’s focus on growth, team atmosphere and community giving. “We have a great culture,” an employee said in the survey. “There is opportunity for advancement, continuing education, expectations are clear and communication agency-wide is very good. It really is collaborative, the team is closely-knit and you feel there are always people around willing to help.” Chip Gibson and his brother, Ted, took the reins of DG from their father, Charlie, in 2020. Since then, Chip has served as CEO, and Ted has been the agency’s president. The brothers are 50-50 partners and the fourth generation...

Guidewire Congratulates 2024 Innovation Award Winners 0

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Guidewire Congratulates 2024 Innovation Award Winners

Alberta Motor Association, Ascot Group, and Mountain West Farm Bureau among award-winners recognized for meeting evolving market needs, improving customer experience, and enhancing operational efficiency via AI Nashville, TN (Nov. 21, 2024) – Guidewire congratulates the winners of its 2024 Innovation Awards: Alberta Motor Association, Ascot Group, and Mountain West Farm Bureau and its subsidiary 360 Insurance Company. This year’s awards honor Guidewire customers that are adapting to an accelerating pace of industry change and evolving customer needs in innovative ways. Winners were announced during Connections, Guidewire’s annual customer conference. The 2024 winners are: Alberta Motor Association for accelerating the delivery of Alberta’s first pay-as-you-go product and helping its customers to save up to 55% on their auto policy premiums.   Alberta Motor Association (AMA) transitioned to Guidewire Cloud in 2022 to free resources from maintaining an on-premises system, allowing the company to focus on innovation rather than operational overhead. This shift set the stage for AMA to leverage the Guidewire Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) Solution, which was critical to the development of its pay-as-you-go insurance product, AMA MyPace. AMA utilized the out-of-the-box capabilities of Guidewire’s UBI Solution to quickly operationalize Alberta’s first pay-as-you-go insurance product. The UBI solution provided technical advantages...

Equisoft Powers Emma Life Insurance’s Expansion into Third-Party Administration 0

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Equisoft Powers Emma Life Insurance’s Expansion into Third-Party Administration

Equisoft’s technology solutions enable Emma to scale operations, elevate the customer and agent experience, and expand administrative capabilities. Montreal, QC (Nov. 28, 2024) – Equisoft, a leader in insurance and wealth management solutions, is excited to announce that Emma, a family-centric platform dedicated to making life insurance easy, affordable, and accessible, has selected Equisoft to support their growth and operational transformation. Founded in Quebec, Emma provides term and whole life insurance through partnerships with Humania, a leading Canadian insurer. To further enhance their digital platform, Emma is launching third-party administration (TPA) services and establishing an agent distribution network. With Equisoft’s cutting-edge technology, Emma is now equipped to manage TPA operations, including policy administration, payments, commission tracking and streamlined workflows. By implementing Equisoft’s comprehensive solution, Emma can scale its operations, introduce innovative services, and elevate customer experience as it expands its administrative capabilities. Equisoft’s solution empowers Emma to efficiently support agents and manage distribution channels. With this technology, Emma gains control over the client experience from start to finish, enabling a more personalized approach to service. By integrating Equisoft’s distribution management capabilities, Emma can effectively manage agent relationships while enhancing customer satisfaction. Olivier Lafontaine, Chief Product Officer at Equisoft, stated, “Emma...

CSIO Congratulates Definity Financial Corporation for Achieving API Security Standards Certification 0

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CSIO Congratulates Definity Financial Corporation for Achieving API Security Standards Certification

Toronto, ON (Nov. 27, 2024) – CSIO is pleased to announce that Definity Financial Corporation has successfully implemented CSIO’s Application Programming Interface (API) Security Standards, earning them CSIO’s API Security Standards Certification. These Standards, created by CSIO’s INNOTECH Advisory Committee and its API Security Working Group, provide insurers and Broker Management System (BMS) vendors with a standard authentication and authorization API model. When an insurer or BMS vendor becomes Certified, they verify that all security concerns for API endpoints are mitigated. With this Certification, Definity’s broker partners can be confident that their data remains secure when accessing an API endpoint, such as obtaining a quote in their BMS. “Definity continues to pursue our ambition to be one of Canada’s most innovative property and casualty insurers by implementing solutions that benefit our customers and broker partners,” said Tatjana Lalkovic, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Definity. “This Certification provides brokers peace of mind that authorization and data flows are fully secured.” “We continue to invest in cyber security to support our commitments to customers and brokers,” added Bill Pearce, Vice President Information and Cyber Security, Definity. “This certification is an example of how we are ensuring we are adhering to...

Generative AI in the insurance industry 0

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Generative AI in the insurance industry

Savvy insurers will seize the gen AI opportunities that intrigue their customers — By Christian Bieck, IBM Institute for Business Value, et al — For the insurance industry, is generative AI more of a risk or an opportunity? Insurance CEOs are equally divided: 49% say it’s more of a risk, 51% say it’s more of an opportunity. Industry executives anticipate using gen AI to fuel competitive advantage with improved sales, customer experiences, and organizational capabilities—but they are wary of the risks to cybersecurity and operations and the issues that can arise from inaccuracy and bias, according to the results of the IBM Institute for Business Value’s 2023 generative AI impact on hybrid cloud pulse survey of 414 executives. Regardless of the insurer tendency for prudence and risk mitigation, the pressure is on to seize the opportunities. A recent IBM survey of 5,000 executives across 24 countries and 25 industries revealed 77% of industry executives say they need to adopt gen AI quickly to keep up with rivals.  As insurance organizations walk a tightrope between rapidly building new gen AI capabilities and managing gen AI risk and compliance, they are pushing forward with adoption, based on new research from the IBM...

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Are Small-Business Clients Ready for This Looming Deadline?

For each beneficial owner, the company must disclose (1) full legal name, (2) date of birth, (3) address, (4) identifying number from the individual’s ID (driver’s license or passport) and (5) a copy of the ID used. The reporting company must report the entity’s (1) legal name, (2) any trade names or dba names, (3) principal place of business, (4) state of formation and (5) unique taxpayer ID number. Understanding the Reporting Deadlines While FinCEN has said that roughly 6.5 million entities have filed, the bureau estimates that about 32 million companies are actually required to report. The law has created a sliding scale for applicable reporting deadlines, depending on when the business entity was formed. Entities created before Jan. 1, 2024, must file their BOI reports before Jan. 1, 2025. Entities created after Jan. 1, 2024, have 90 days from the date their registration becomes effective to report the required information. Starting in 2025, new entities have only 30 days from the date of creation to complete the reporting form. The clock starts to run on the date the entity has actual knowledge that its registration is effective, or the date when registration is published publicly. Exceptions to the...

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Integrated Partners CEO Sees ‘Exciting’ Years Ahead for RIAs

It depends. At the very beginning, we go through a bit of a diagnostic process where we look at everything they’re doing. When we point out they’re not doing the best they can possibly do for themselves and their families, they quickly become serious and want to learn more. What’s key in coaching your advisors? When advisors walk in the door trying to present something without understanding exactly where the client is [in their lives], they’re in a tough spot. Our process is all about understanding and diagnosing their current situation. A concept I use is the “complexity curve.” Clients have two levels of complexity: One is that their finances get more complex over time. The other is that so do their personal lives: Their children marry; and then they have grandchildren. We’re most impactful and can make a big difference when their personal lives become more complex. What prompted you to launch the CPA Alliance? I was a financial advisor with Cigna Financial Advisors and working inside the wirehouse community [Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Smith Barney]. Advisors would bring me in to do all the planning for their wealthiest clients. The only challenge was that we couldn’t manage the...

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To Sell for a Better Multiple, Put Your Firm Through Boot Camp

To maximize a business’ value, an advisor must ensure that it appears healthy to prospective acquirers. That could take a couple of years of hard work — a boot camp of sorts. Here are a few areas of your practice to reinvigorate before seeking an acquirer. Demonstrate Organic Growth Net new assets are a badge of success and a bit like an SAT score. While you don’t need the highest number to get into college, you’ll usually want an impressive score to boost your chance to attend the school of your choice. Ensuring that your business has a sustainable and meaningful growth trajectory will enhance its enterprise value and attract top-tier offers. One way to accumulate new assets is to get referrals from existing clients or work with their heirs. A client near retirement age could lead to four or more new accounts by way of the client’s parents and the client’s children. Another way to achieve organic growth is to partner with a third party to identify potential clients. Achieve Stability During Potential Disruption Ensuring client stability is also a key factor in the valuation process. An acquiring firm wants assurances that the current business model and client book...