Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Changes in some life insurers’ sales and marketing strategies might have shaped U.S. individual life insurance application activity in July. MIB Group, an organization that helps life insurers share some of the information used in the life insurance underwriting process, found that overall individual life application activity was 0.6% lower than in July 2022. In June, overall application activity was 4.5% higher than in June 2022. MIB reported dramatic differences between activity levels for applications for death benefits equal to or less than $250,000 and applications for bigger death benefits. For all age groups MIB tracks, activity level changes for small policies looked worse than the changes for bigger policies. What It Means The difference between the activity levels for small policies and big policies could be a result of the effects of inflation and layoffs on middle-market consumers, but it could also be a sign that some carriers that have focused on courting middle-market consumers pulled back in July. The Numbers, by Age MIB creates its monthly life insurance application activity reports by using the volume data for its policy-checking systems.

But Fortier said that it’s also easy for advisors who are focusing on maximizing clients’ return on investment to lose track of the need to help clients cope with risk. Now that interest rates are higher, issuers of registered index-linked annuities and non-variable indexed annuities can offer clients more attractive terms, Fortier said. “We use these tools to help craft an asymmetrical risk reward for clients by retaining upside but transferring the downside risk,” Fortier added. What the Big Players Are Doing When your retail client transfers investment risk to an insurer, that’s the purchase of an annuity contract. In the world of employer-sponsored pension plans, that’s a pension risk transfer. An issuer survey from LIMRA, a nonprofit life insurance and financial services research organization, shows that pension risk transfer volume increased to $6.3 billion in the first quarter of this year, which ended March 31, from $2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021. LIMRA is predicting that pension risk transfer volume will be strong this year, in part because pension yields are up, making the amount of value that can be locked in through a pension risk transfer more attractive. If individual clients nearing retirement age can buy...

At the start of its yearly conference, LPL Financial executives are emphasizing the growing role of artificial intelligence and their optimistic outlook for the advice business.  “As we look forward together, we are bullish on the future of financial advice and our strategy to  help advisors and institutions turn a blue ocean opportunity into reality,” President & CEO Dan Arnold said in a statement. “For us, that means empowering advisors and institutions to deliver great advice to their clients and to be great operators of their businesses,” Arnold explained in remarks shared with the press early Saturday before the Focus 2023 event’s general session.  In terms of technology, the broker-dealer highlighted its growing interest in the role of AI — as it did during its July 27 earnings call. “When it comes to AI, we don’t believe there’s any replacing the advisor-client relationship,” Chief Technology Advisor Greg Gates said in statement Saturday. “We see AI as an additional opportunity for advisors to enhance the way they engage with clients and run their business.” In the second quarter, the firm introduced a new performance tool, Practice Hub, which relies on AI and aims to serve as a “co-pilot” for advisors, its executives said...

What You Need to Know Some clients have no practical way to pay to keep a policy in force. Other clients can do that. For those clients, deciding between keeping the policy and selling it can be complicated. Most retirees who are looking for an exit strategy from an unwanted life insurance policy have very limited knowledge of the secondary market or where to begin to sell it for the highest possible value. That’s why the majority of policy owners entrust a life settlement broker to lead them through the application process and to negotiate with market buyers to obtain the highest offer. Because a life settlement broker derives his/her professional livelihood from earning a commission on the sale of the policy, the above scenario opens the door to temptation. It may create an ethical dilemma for those who may be a little too eager to broker the sales transaction. Less responsible players in the market might be inclined to take advantage of an unsuspecting client by readily agreeing to represent the policy seller in the transaction ─ regardless of whether (in the long term) selling the policy is in the client’s best interest. At Asset Life Settlements, we believe...

What You Need to Know CI Private Wealth changed its U.S. brand name to Corient, derived from client oriented. The change received a positive reaction from some members of the financial services industry. CI’s rebranding followed the recent name change of Riskalyze to Nitrogen and Advisor Group to Osaic. Corient, the new brand name of CI Private Wealth, is being greeted with an initially positive reaction from some members of the financial services industry. The wealth advisory firm’s new name was derived from “client oriented” and “expresses the firm’s commitment to providing its clients with an unparalleled wealth management experience,” the Miami-based subsidiary of Toronto-based CI Financial Group, said in announcing the rebranding on Tuesday. Corient now serves as the brand for all CI Private Wealth offices, the company said, noting it “discontinued co-branding with its legacy firm names, effective immediately.” The move, it said, “reflects the ongoing integration of Corient’s predecessor companies into one cohesive” registered investment advisor firm. CI’s rebranding followed the recent name change of Riskalyze to Nitrogen and Advisor Group to Osaic. Industry Reaction In the case of CI, “the timing for a rebrand does seem logical, given the unification of the various entities” at the...