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529-to-Roth Rollovers: What We Still Don’t Know

What You Need to Know The IRS has yet to release detailed guidance on the rules around this Secure 2.0 provision, which took effect this year. There are a number of open questions, such as how the lifetime limit is applied and how beneficiary switches are handled. Clients would be wise to tread carefully until the IRS provides more clarity. It’s now 2024, and the Secure 2.0 Act’s 529-to-Roth IRA transfer option is officially live and available to taxpayers. However, the IRS has yet to provide any type of detailed guidance on the rules that will apply to these rollovers. While allowing taxpayers to execute tax- and-penalty-free rollovers from 529 plans to Roth IRAs can be extremely helpful for taxpayers who don’t end up needing the college savings funds, the details are always important. While some issues have been addressed squarely by the law itself, we continue to await guidance on some important issues from the IRS — meaning that clients should tread carefully when determining how to interpret certain rules. 529-to-Roth Transfers: The Basics Under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (Secure) 2.0 Act, beginning with the 2024 tax year, taxpayers are officially permitted to roll Section...

CFC Joins Quotey Marketplace 0

CFC Joins Quotey Marketplace

Whitby, ON (Jan. 22, 2024) – Quotey is delighted to announce that it has expanded its commercial and specialty insurer marketplace to include CFC’s Cyber insurance product. CFC is a global specialist insurance provider, pioneer in emerging risk and leader in cyber. Broker partners using the Quotey platform can now receive instant Cyber insurance quotes for their clients from Canada’s market leader, CFC. In just a few questions, CFC will quote for over a thousand specific industries and offer their award-winning coverage, together with proactive cyber-attack prevention and unrivaled cyber claims and incident response services. “CFC is an undisputed leader and pioneer in Cyber insurance, so enabling Quotey’s users to instantly obtain their Cyber quotes through our marketplace is a big step forward,” said Quotey CEO and Co-Founder, Nick Kidd. “In my experience, Cyber insurance is an extremely important, yet highly misunderstood product in Canada. By working with CFC, we intend to help Canadian insurance brokers de-mystify the product and provide better overall protection for their clients.” “We’re delighted to join forces with Quotey and widen access for Canadian brokers to our market-leading cyber insurance,” says Laura Martin, CFC Cyber Development Manager, Canada. “This partnership shows our joint commitment to...

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What Does Red Sea Disruption Mean for Europe’s Economy?

Article 0 Comments Weeks of attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants on vessels in the Red Sea have disrupted shipping in the Suez Canal, the fastest sea route between Asia and Europe, carrying around 15% of global sea trade. For the European economy, already skirting a mild recession as it tries to shake off high inflation, prolonged trade disruption could derail plans by central banks to start cutting interest rates this year. Here are some factors policymakers are considering as they assess the implications of the disruptions. WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT ON THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY SO FAR? In macroeconomic terms, small to negligible. Germany’s Economy Ministry said last week the only noticeable impact on output so far was a few cases of stretched delivery times. Bank of England chief Andrew Bailey concurred, telling a parliamentary hearing it “hasn’t actually had the effect that I sort of feared it might,” though uncertainties remained. No impact from the attacks has yet turned up in Europe’s main economic indicators, including December inflation numbers, which ticked up slightly. That might change – watch Wednesday’s preliminary PMI readings for activity in European economies in January, and Feb. 1’s first estimate of euro zone inflation for...

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What Pills Is That Client On?

What You Need to Know The famous Medicare annual enrollment period is over until October. The lesser-known Medicare Advantage enrollment period is in progress right now. Clients whose drug coverage needs have changed might want to make a switch. Some older clients who were happy with their Medicare coverage a few weeks ago are looking more carefully at their prescription benefits and finding … problems. One client wants a particular form of insulin. Another needs a new miracle drug with no generic competition. A patient’s out-of-pocket cost for a drug might be $50 per month at one plan and high enough to infuriate a high-net-worth client at another plan. If you sell Medicare plans for a living, you know the “secret” solution. If you’re just starting to learn about the subtleties of Medicare, the answer is: the other Medicare plan enrollment period. Thanks to the seriously underpublicized annual Medicare Advantage open enrollment period, which runs from Jan. 1 through March 31, clients unhappy with their prescription benefits “can switch to a new Medicare Advantage plan better suited to their needs,” according to Bob Rees, chief sales officer at eHealth, a company that helped create the online health insurance sales industry....

A cyber event is the top global business risk for 2024: Allianz Risk Barometer 0

A cyber event is the top global business risk for 2024: Allianz Risk Barometer

Data breaches, attacks on critical infrastructure or physical assets and increased ransomware attacks drive cyber concerns (36% of responses) Business interruption remains #2 with 31% of responses. Natural catastrophes is the biggest riser compared to 2023 with 26% in #3 Risk perception differs regionally for climate change, political risks and violence, and shortage of skilled workforce Munich (Jan. 16, 2024) – Cyber incidents such as ransomware attacks, data breaches, and IT disruptions are the biggest worry for companies globally in 2024, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer. The closely interlinked peril of Business interruption ranks second. Natural catastrophes (up from #6 to #3 year-on-year), Fire, explosion (up from #9 to #6), and Political risks and violence (up from #10 to #8) are the biggest risers in the latest compilation of the top global business risks, based on the insights of more than 3,000 risk management professionals. Allianz Commercial CEO Petros Papanikolaou comments on the findings: “The top risks and major risers in this year’s Allianz Risk Barometer reflect the big issues facing companies around the world right now – digitalization, climate change and an uncertain geopolitical environment. Many of these risks are already hitting home, with extreme weather, ransomware attacks...

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FAA Steps Up Scrutiny of Boeing With Calls for Checks on Another 737 Model

Article 0 Comments The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recommended that airlines operating Boeing 737-900ER jets inspect door plugs to ensure that they are properly secured after some operators reported unspecified issues with bolts upon inspections. Regulators have stepped up scrutiny on Boeing after a Jan. 5 mid-air panel blowout on an eight-week-old Alaska Airlines MAX 9 jet that left a gaping hole in the aircraft. Boeing has sought to contain the damage, appointing an independent advisor to examine quality control in its manufacturing processes while numerous planes remain grounded. The FAA grounded 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes after the Jan. 5 incident. In its new “Safety Alert for Operators,” the FAA said that some airlines had conducted additional inspections on the 737-900ER mid-exit door plugs and had noted “findings with bolts during the maintenance inspections.” The 737-900ER is more widely used than the 737 MAX 9. It is an older model but has the same optional door plug design that allows for the addition of an extra emergency exit door when carriers opt to install more seats. There are 490 Boeing 737-900ER jets in service, at least 79 of which have an active door rather than the...

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S&P 500 Rises as Stocks Build on Record High

The so-called call wall has moved to 5,000 points from 4,800 — signaling that traders see the market clearing the next hurdle toward further gains, according to SpotGamma data. That points to a further 3.3% of upside, based on Friday’s close. “We may just get the upside follow-through that we too to signal that last week’s breakout to new all-time highs in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 has been confirmed,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak + Co. “We do need to point out that both indices are reaching overbought levels, so they could take a breather at any time. However, as long as any ‘breathers’ do not become severe reversals, the bulls have a lot going for them right now,” he added. The Ned Davis Research Leading Indicator Model — based on 10 indicators that typically lead the S&P 500  — has already been flashing bullish for most of the past year. The majority of the components are price-based and include one on sentiment with two others on macroeconomics. Although the model is just off its highs, with four of the seven bullish indicators starting to weaken including financials, volume demand and weekly new highs on the...

Managing Cyber Risk: Resilience Cyber Solutions 0

Managing Cyber Risk: Resilience Cyber Solutions

A 2024 ICTA nomination Toronto, ON (Jan. 19, 2024) – Cyber risk is a concern of virtually all organizations, posing an existential threat to millions of them. Data theft, denial of service, data encryption and other incidents can all result in significant first-party financial loss and third-party liability. Compounding this challenge is the dynamic nature of cyber – the risk is evolving constantly, and traditional, siloed forms of risk transfer are unable to keep pace. Organizations’ IT security and risk management teams need help keeping up; they require greater cyber risk visibility, a plan to improve security practices, and cyber insurance that matches their organizational needs. The Resilience Solution provides an efficient way to achieve all three, delivering advanced cyber risk visibility and actionable cyber hygiene with accountable cyber insurance. As an integrated solution that brings together risk managers, IT security, and financial leaders together to manage cyber risk in one place, The Resilience Solution excels at cyber risk identification, risk assessment, risk control and risk financing. The Solution is available in three package levels that surpass what companies can currently obtain elsewhere in the cyber marketplace, and additional enhanced features are also available. The solution’s Essential package features include:...

Using IoT to Reduce Construction Risks: Brickeye 0

Using IoT to Reduce Construction Risks: Brickeye

A 2024 ICTA nomination Toronto, ON (Jan. 19, 2024) – Brickeye delivers innovation in risk mitigation solutions at the intersection of technology, construction, and insurance. The company’s Construction Risk Mitigation Platform integrates state-of-the-art IoT sensors, reliable job site connectivity, and advanced cloud-based software and analytics – delivering actionable alerts and intelligent automated risk controls, providing comprehensive protection from water damage incidents and claims on building construction projects for both insureds and insurers. The business use of the technology within the insurance market is twofold: First, in preconstruction, before going to markets, Brickeye works with insureds and brokers to help de-risk building projects through the development of technology-enabled water mitigation plans. These plans, together with a Brickeye-issued Certificate of Protection (CoP), are included by brokers as part of the application package for placement of Builders Risk and Wrap Up Liability policies. Brickeye’s project-specific plans provide underwriters and risk engineers with a detailed understanding of the risk controls being put in place by the insured during construction – together with a corresponding water response plan outlining the alerts and automations (e.g. valve shut-off) that are initiated in the event of a water incident. These tools, and the analytics behind them, help insurers...

10 Secure 2.0 Act Tax Changes You Should Know for 2024 and Beyond 0

10 Secure 2.0 Act Tax Changes You Should Know for 2024 and Beyond

Start Slideshow The landmark retirement reform legislation referred to as the Secure 2.0 Act, short for the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement 2.0 Act of 2022, just celebrated its first birthday. With that, the financial advisor community remains hard at work digesting its nearly 100 individual provisions. The significant challenge is evident in the “latest developments” section of ALM’s Tax Facts library. The regularly updated section includes some 70 entries discussing the tax implications of Secure 2.0 alone. While every provision won’t affect each client, the broad scope of the law means that many clients will see the tax treatment of their retirement savings and investments altered in the years ahead. For example, some wealthier clients may find themselves being forced to make catch-up contributions to a Roth individual retirement account in place of a traditional IRA. Younger clients may find they can now pay down student loan debt while also receiving tax-advantaged matching contributions into their 401(k). To be clear, advisors say many Secure 2.0 Act provisions represent positive developments for their retirement-focused clients, but the challenge of mastering all the changes is a significant one. See the accompanying slideshow for a sample of the Secure 2.0 Act...