The Senate approved an amendment Tuesday to the regulatory reform bill that would give federal regulators more leeway to preempt state laws, but still allow state attorneys general some enforcement power over national banks.
The measure, approved 80 to 18, was softer on the banking industry than a previous version by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, but would still be stronger than current law.
“The amendment preserves the ability of state attorneys general to be a backstop for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and while the new bureau will be the main enforcer of its new rules, it preserves the role for the state AGs to ensure that consumers are never again put at risk because federal regulators are asleep at the switch,” said Sen. Full Article…
Insurers need to work harder at educating advisors on how their products work if they want to boost sales, according to a quantitative study of four groups of seven to 10 advisors by Matthew Drinkwater, associate managing director specializing in retirement research at LIMRA in Windsor, Conn.
Insurers trying to persuade registered investment advisors to pick up the pace may be barking up the wrong tree. None of Drinkwater?s group of independent advisors were interested in hearing anything about the product, as they feel such retirement income vehicles undermine their cache as experts.
?RIAs don?t feel they need to use annuities,?
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Life insurers are adjusting the way they calculate capital requirements a new study from New York-based Towers Watson finds. The report, Evolving Capital Management Practices, queried 30 CFOs and found they expect to make greater use of economic capital when determining capital requirements.
“Capital management is becoming a top priority for many companies,” Jack Gibson, leader of Towers Watson’s life insurance consulting practice in the Americas said in a statement. “That
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Agents and Brokers Looking to Reach Consumers with Health Insurance Questions can Join HealthInsuranceFinders.com Answers.
(1888PressRelease) May 18, 2010 – Miami, FL – HealthInsuranceFinders.com launches a social network dedicated to helping consumers get help from industry experts. With the recent changes in health insurance, there can be confusion and concern regarding eligibility. Oftentimes health insurance shoppers don’t know where to find reliable answers to their questions. Full Article…
The UK’s Prudential Plc is expected to outline divestments of some Asian assets in its upcoming rights offering prospectus in an effort to appease shareholder concerns about its planned AIA acquisition, a source familiar with the process told Reuters on Friday.
Prudential’s audacious $35.5 billion takeover of American International Group Inc’s Asian life insurance business hit a regulatory snag last week and delayed the release of the prospectus for the $21 billion rights issue to part fund the deal.
Reuters reported in March that Prudential was expected to exit some Asian markets after the completion of the American International Assurance (AIA) buy, to focus on key markets and raise at least $1 billion.
“For most countries in Asia they have still not reached a conclusion for integration plans.
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Individuals traveling both domestically and internationally may have a lot of considerations on their plate.
One of these should be travel insurance, according to a recent release by the United States Travel Insurance Association. The organization offered advice on purchasing such a policy from a reliable insurance agency.
First, consumers may want to evaluate their needs. For some, this means insuring their personal luggage or protecting against losses if their travel is canceled.
Coverage may also pay for emergency medical evacuations or health care, according to the release.
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Many insurers have reported first-quarter results. INN reported on AIG’s results last week and The Hartford’s on April 30. Below are recent reports from other insurers.
Allianz SE
German insurer Allianz SE said it nearly quadrupled profits in the first quarter of 2010 thanks to growth in its life and health insurance and asset management segments as well as one-off gains.
The Munich company reported net income rose to euro1.6 billion ($2.03 billion) in the first quarter from euro424 million during the same quarter last year.
Total revenue grew 10.3% to euro30.6 billion from euro27.7 billion the previous year, while operating profit increased 20.4% to euro1.7 billion from euro1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2009.
The company said its life and health insurance unit saw net income rise more than 72% on the quarter, while its asset management segment posted a 55% gain. It a
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Recent health care reform won’t just provide opportunities to people with pre-existing medical conditions; it may also protect all policyholders from fraud, according to a recent release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice.
The departments are teaming up with the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ new Center for Program Integrity to allocate fraud-fighting resources within the government-sponsored insurance programs.
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