On February 5, shares of Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) plunged by 20% as of 11 a.m. ET, after reporting the end of another low quarter the Thursday before. The company reported a net loss of $292 million. Earlier that day, Genworth announced its decision to suspend sales of all its traditional life insurance and fixed annuity products, including Total Living Coverage. …
Read More »Spotlight: Experienced Life & Annuity Producer Greg Spreng
The business I got into 22 years ago is not the same business I work in today. It costs more today than it has in the past to market yourself, you’ve got to make sure you don’t run out of money. Greg Spreng is a long-time life insurance and annuity producer with more than 22 years of experience in the …
Read More »A Watchman on the Wall
I am a student of history. Reading about lost civilizations and their culture is fascinating. Their customs and traditions (as well as their myths and legends) tell us much about what they valued. The social, religious and political interactions amongst these ancient people are intriguing, and reveal that we aren’t that different from our distant ancestors. In ancient times, city-states …
Read More »The Top 3 Sources of Guaranteed Retirement Income
In December 2009, the Hartford Life Insurance Company conducted a study titled, The Hartford Investments and Retirement Survey. The goal of the survey was to come up with a better understanding of the retirement needs, concerns, and perceptions of consumers in the U.S., particularly the Baby Boomer demographic. The results? “Retirement and/or financial planning is viewed as too complex or …
Read More »What’s a QLAC? Understanding Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts
Today’s Boomers will, on average, live 20 to 25 years in retirement, and one in four will live to at least age 90. As stated in a previous article, longevity has become the “fountain of youth,” and many of today’s Boomers are coming to grips with the new “retirement reality” that will be the world they wake up to for …
Read More »Today’s Retirement Reality: Dream or Nightmare?
As the last of the Baby Boomers celebrate their 50th birthday this year, a recent Wells Fargo survey added to what is already a very bleak picture for many of these pre-retirees. As they prepare for what could be up to one third of their lifetime in retirement, the picture-perfect dream of life after work is becoming a nightmare reality …
Read More »Why Insurance Industry Is Crucial for Americans: Dennis Glass
By James L. Green, September 30, 2014 Speaking at IRI conference, Lincoln Financial Distributors’ CEO says the retirement readiness gap provides a big opportunity for the industry Kicking off the Insured Retirement Institute’s second annual conference on Monday, Dennis Glass, CEO of Lincoln National Corp., made the case for life insurance and annuities in general. He said the industry now …
Read More »Searching for a New Career Opportunity?
Have you ever noticed that when a series of events collide, the result is often both a crisis and the emergence of new opportunities? That appears to be what’s happening today. The tough economy we’ve experienced over the past several years has led to record-high levels of unemployment across most of the nation, and the situation is improving at a …
Read More »The Blessing and Curse of Longevity: Today’s Uncomfortable Boomer Reality
As financial professionals, if we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times: Boomers are turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 a day and will continue to do so through 2030. But as I talk with independent producers across the country, the reality of this opportunity really hasn’t sunk in. And for those who it has, they are …
Read More »US Insurance Group First to Offer Commercial Bitcoin Coverage
By Sabina Laska, June 8, 2014 A major US insurance company, the Great American Financial Group, has become the first in the sector to offer Bitcoin coverage to commercial and governmental clients. The company said Monday that its fidelity and crime division is already offering coverage in some US states and pending approval in others, as part of a drive …
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