Insurance

The U.S. life insurance industry--which includes companies that provide annuity -based products--has stabilized somewhat during 2009. Conning Research predicts net after tax statutory income of $16 billion in 2009. This is despite $20 billion in capital losses for the industry in 2009. Annuities were the most painful and volatile segement for insurers, producing a $4 billion loss in the combined 2008 - 2009 period. Much of this came from losses on living benefit guarantees associated with...

A survey of UK-based pension plan sponsors indicates that 40 percent expect longevity derivatives --such as longevity swaps--to play a strong role in mitigating longevity risk . UK defined benefit pension plan sponsors are seeking solutions that will allow them to off-load the risk that their pension plan participants live longer than expected. Use of derivatives to address longevity risk and other pension funding related issues serves as an alternative to other solutions such as a full pension...

AARP recently offered support for the health reform legislation that is currently circulating in Congress. As discussed by Grace Marie Turner in a recent Chicago Tribule piece, there is a case to be made that AARP's support of the legislation directly conflicts with the best interests of its 40 million members. AARP receives more than half of its $1.1 billion annual budget from fees related to endorsement and sale of health insurance and other retiree financial services products. So called "...