Insurance Company

Insurance Company rating agency A.M. Best released a report on the state of the industry for life and annuity insurance companies. The report is somewhat optimistic given the carnage the industry has experienced over the past year or so. The industry as a whole managed to eke out a small amount of net income --$91.5 million--for 2008. However, capital losses for 2008 reached $19.6 billion. Companies such as Allstate Corporation and The Hartford Financial Services have been hit hardest. However...

The financial crisis has had an enormous impact on the financial plans of millions of people around the world. The savings of millions of retirees and near retirees have taken a huge hit at the worst possible time. This message has become fairly ubiquitous in the financial media. However, the message that has not been as clear involves longevity risk . The reality is that average lifespans are headed in the opposite direction from the levels of saving required to fund those golden years...

Rating agency A.M. Best has recently issued a report indicating that three insurance companies have become financially impaired thus far in 2009. A.M. Best considers an insurance company impaired once a state department of insurance has taken its first official regulatory action against the company. The three carriers considered impaired are: Shenandoah Life Insurance Company American Network Insurance Company Penn Treaty Network America Insurance Company A.M. Best indicated that more impaired...

Bernard Winograd is an executive vice president at the Prudential Insurance Company. Speaking at a recent industry conference, Winograd expressed his views on the existing methods of explaining retirement issues and solutions in the United States: "The retail system in this country of explaining this (retirement) to people is deeply flawed. There are way too many people in the system without adequate training, and there are way too many people with the wrong motives." The "retail" system...