Arizona residents claim fraud on EquiTrust annuity

Two Arizona residents have filed a class action lawsuit against an Iowa insurance agency, claiming the company engaged in fraudulent business and marketing practices regarding its sales of indexed annuities. The complaint, filed Jan. 12, claims EquiTrust Life Insurance Co. sold an annuities package that matured after the policyholder’s 105th birthday, thereby protecting the firm from risk, while damaging the financial security of the policyholder... Phoenix Business: Arizona residents claim fraud on EquiTrust annuity
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Cigna will cut 1100 jobs and consolidate - Philadelphia Inquirer

Cigna will cut 1100 jobs and consolidate Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - 8 hours ago But what walloped Cigna were losses from two programs - its variable- annuity death-benefit program and its guaranteed-minimum death-benefit program. ...
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New York Life Insurance Company today announced that total sales of its income annuities have exceeded $1 billion for the first time, reaching more than $1.2 billion at year-end 2008. The
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Led by New York Life Products, Fixed Annuity Sales Rise 54% in Third Quarter

Buttressed by favorable interest rates and sought by investors looking for shelter from falling equity prices, U.S. fixed annuity sales set a new quarterly record. Led by New York Life Products, Fixed Annuity Sales Rise 54% in Third Quarter Source: Financial-Planning
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Despite the continual upswing of fixed annuity products, a LIMRA International study of consumers between 50 and 75 years old with household incomes of at least 50,000 dollars in
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Lincoln, MetLife Decline on Variable Annuity Concerns (Update2) (Bloomberg)

Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Lincoln National Corp . and MetLife Inc. declined in New York trading as life insurance stocks slumped for a fifth straight day on concerns that falling equity markets will cause losses on retirement products.
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Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Lincoln National Corp . and MetLife Inc. declined in New York trading as life insurance stocks slumped for a fifth straight day on concerns that
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SEC Reviewing 4,000 Comments on Indexed Annuity Rule, Official Says

The regulation of indexed annuities and 'synthetic' annuities were among the topics addressed by SEC Director of Investment Management Andrew J. Donohue in a keynote speech at the American Law Institute-American Bar Association Conference on Life Insurance Products in Washington, D.C., November 13 and 14. SEC Reviewing 4,000 Comments on Indexed Annuity Rule, Official Says Source: Financial Planning
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The regulation of indexed annuities and 'synthetic' annuities
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Life Planning as Part of Retirement Planning

Helping employees build a nest egg is essential, but it's only part of the total retirement planning equation. Longer life spans mean that having a successful retirement takes not just financial planning, but "life planning." However, despite the fact that today's retirees have two or even three decades of active years ahead of them, few really think about how they're going to spend that time and what their retirement will mean for their family. Life
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Lincoln Financial Group Comments on Standard & Poor's Ratings Action (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)

Lincoln Financial Group today announced that Standard & Poor's affirmed its AA counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company and Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York, and revised its outlook for the insurance subsidiaries from positive to stable.
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Pennsylvania Insurance Department Hits Allegheny County Insurance ... MarketWatch - 21 hours ago Lorena Mierau - Philadelphia - $8000 penalty and
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Insurance Professionals See Investor Confidence of Retirement ... - Centre Daily Times

Insurance Professionals See Investor Confidence of Retirement ... Centre Daily Times, PA - Oct 8, 2008 The NAVA member opinion survey was conducted via an electronic polling system on October 6, 2008, at the NAVA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia , Pa . ...
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We have seen this before, websites popping up over night saying that they are unbiased and the best place to compare annuities . Well, each site that comes along is a
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New NAVA Message Testing Service to Ensure Compliance with Annuity Sales Automation Standards

NAVA, Inc., the Association for Insured Retirement Solutions, today announced a new service to help insurers, annuity distributors and technology solutions providers ensure that their electronic data messages are compliant with NAVA’s Straight-through Processing (STP) Standards Initiative. STP is an industry-backed initiative establishing an automated standardized process that streamlines the sale of annuities. New NAVA Message Testing Service to Ensure Compliance with Annuity Sales Automation Standards Source: Business Wire
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U.S. Life Insurers Face Increasing Risk from Variable Annuities

Fitch Ratings sees equity market performance 2008 as having a dramatic impact on U.S. life insurers active in the variable annuity market. Persistent adverse market conditions will pressure life insurer's earnings and risk-based capital levels for the balance of 2008 and into 2009. The industry ability to manage this growing risk exposure represents one of the most significant risk management challenges confronting U.S. life insurers. U.S. Life Insurers Face Increasing Risk from Variable Annuities Source:
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