House GOP Outlines Health Care Bill- House Republicans on Wednesday presented what they called a "sorely needed" alternative to Democrats' proposals to overhaul health care.

True Cost of Disability is Staggering Without DI, Newspaper Says- Costs can reach as high as 20 times a person's annual salary.

COBRA Premium Subsidy Guidance- The Service has released a series of 58 questions and answers providing detailed guidance relating to premium assistance for COBRA.

Beacon's Fixed Annuity Premium Study Reports First Quarter's Fixed Annuity Sales- Overall quarterly sales were 78% above those of first quarter 2008, up 2% from the previous quarter (which also set a record)

To Play in U.S. Health Reform, Some Insurers May Leave Agents, Brokers Behind- Some U.S. health insurers may leave agents and brokers hanging out to dry as President Barack Obama seeks to slash their administrative expenses.

Health Insurance Industry Urges Congress to Consider Pay-for-Performance Practices- the health insurance industry is urging policymakers to consider their private-sector pay-for-performance programs for doctors and hospitals

Health Insurance From Uncle Sam Gets A Look- Senators are meeting behind closed doors to consider whether the federal government should jump into the health insurance business.

Americans Ignoring Income Protection of Disability Insurance- New survey highlights need for consumers to understand risks of ignoring disability insurance during tough economic times.

COBRA Subsidy Has Some Holes- Could be out of reach for thousands of jobless workers because they worked for a small company or their former employer has gone out of business.

Worker Expectations for Retirement Continue to Fall, Many Anticipate Working Longer- Only 13% of American Workers are saying they are very confident of having enough money to live comfortably in retirement.

House Passes Bill Requiring Group Health Disclosures- Group health plans would be required to disclose all limitations and restrictions that could impact coverage.

Sebelius To Call For Action Now On Health Care- Sebelius pledged herself to President Barack Obama's goal of overhauling the health system to cover 48 million uninsured Americans.

Michigan Insurer Selling Fake Auto Insurance- The commissioner warned consumers that they may have purchased fake auto insurance certificates

Half of Full-Time Employees Surveyed Don't Understand Health Insurance Coverage for Cancer-Related Medical Expenses- Americans with health insurance surveyed say they don't have a clear understanding of what their health insurance covers for medical expenses related to cancer treatment.

New Year, New Laws: 2009? Utahns Can Expect to Pay More For Auto Insurance- Utahns will face a few changes as a dozen new state laws take effect.

Health Plan Influx Awaited- With unemployment rising, more people with high-risk health problems are expected to turn to state-subsidized insurance.

Recession Puts Chinks in Health-Care Industry Armor- Chicago-area hospitals haven't seen such threats to the health-care industry in recent memory.

Insurance Commissioner Poizner Announces $750,000 Settlements With Company For Alleged Claims Handling Violations- Steve Poizner announced a $750,000 settlement with American Bankers Life Insurance Company for alleged claims handling violations.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Acts On Credit Default Swaps- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission took a step Tuesday toward a new system of central clearinghouses for credit default swaps.

Tough Decisions; Fiftysomething Retirees May Have To Choose Between Emptying IRAs and Slashing Spending- "They can either cut their spending sharply, deplete their IRAs or even go back to work at what is likely to be a much lower salary.

If the Muni Market Falls, Will Anyone in Washington Hear It?- Conditions in the municipal bond market have qualified as miserable since at least February.

Federal Court says State Cannot Consider Annuity in Medicaid Eligibility- Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare cannot include a spouse’s annuity as an asset for the purpose of determining the eligibility of her institutionalized spouse for Medicaid benefits

U.S. Workers Taking Steps to Lower Medical Costs, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds- A significantly lower number of employees (19%) are willing to pay higher premiums in order to keep deductibles and co-pays lower and more predictable

State Health Care Programs May Cut Back On Benefits Without Federal Bailout- InsuranceBureau.com reports that state health care programs like the State Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid may experience severe cutbacks.

Insurers Offer Universal Health Proposal- America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released a broad outline of a plan that seeks to offer universal care

A Look At Long Term Care Costs- Seventy percent of Americans haven't planned for their long-term care needs in retirement.

Blue Cross Warns of Mounting Losses- Blue Cross faces losses that threaten its financial health unless Legislature acts quickly to make it easier for it to raise rates.

The Coming Health-Care Tsunami- The unfunded liability of Medicare and Social Security stands at more than $99 trillion.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.J. Agrees to Settle Eating Disorder Lawsuit- The settlement will affect about 500 patients involved in the class-action lawsuit.

16th Milliman Survey Indicates Health Insurance Rate Increases in 2009 About 3% Lower for HMOs than PPOs- Estimated premium rate increases for January 2009 renewals are 8.4% for HMOs and 10.7% to 12.1% for PPOs.

Survey Finds Economic Downturn Has Had a Major Negative Impact on Americans' Ability to Pay for Long-Term Care Services- Many Americans are feeling uncertain about their retirement security and their ability to pay for long-term care services.

Fatalities On The Rise In Vehicle-Animal Crashes- Fatalities from vehicle crashes with deer and other animals have more than doubled over the last 15 years

Mississippi Report: State Farm Did Not Defraud Policyholders- no proof was found that State Farm intentionally sought to defraud its customers.

Ex-Bear Stearns Chief Risk Executive Joins U.S. Federal Reserve- Federal Reserve joke; Risk officer from Bear Stearns hired for bank supervision.

Managing Your Insurance Needs During Financial Crisis- Many Americans are cutting back on everything from luxury goods to everyday essentials.

Healthcare Cost Increases Continue To Decline: Expected Average Increase Is 10.6 Percent, Lowest In Recent Years, According To Aon Consulting- Healthcare cost survey from Aon Consulting Worldwide shows increases are the lowest they've been since 2001.

Health Scare- The point sheds light on a neglected flaw in Obama's health-care plan and a neglected virtue in McCain's.

Long-Term Care Insurance Is an Option for the Financially Turbulent Times- Many analysts have suggested different sectors that might be good investments now.

Schwarzenegger Vetoes Profit Limit, Single-Payer Health Insurance Bills- Several Health Insurance bills are vetoed by Schwarzenegger.

Health Care Reform Key Issue as Entrepreneurs Size Up Presidential Candidates- Small Business supports health care reform.

Laboring Without Health Insurance? HSAs May Be an Affordable Option- Nearly 1.3 million full-time workers lost their health insurance...

Consumers Looking to the Web for Auto Insurance- Consumers are increasingly reliant on the Internet as a channel to research and learn more about auto insurance

Healthcare Benefits Expert Jim Edholm Calls for a Ceasefire in the War Against Employers- State and Federal government is hostile to the average employer and it's about to get worse.

Study Reveals Benefits Of Starting Long-Term Care Planning Pre-Retirement- Buying Long Term Care Insurance before retirement has many benefits.

Midwest Floods And New I.I.I. Survey Underscore Need For Flood Insurance: Only 17 percent of Americans have Flood Insurance Policy- Although more home owners have flood insurance, the recent flooding shows too few have taken it seriously.

McCain, Obama Promise More Health-Care Coverage, Differently- Candidates differ on national health care.

Using Health Insurance To Build Your Nest Egg- Now you can use health insurance to help build your nest egg.

Four Out of Five Disability Income Insurance Claimants are Satisfied With Their Policy- The survey of disability insurance claimants assessed their satisfaction with their policy and their experience filing a claim and receiving benefits.

Insurance Regulators Protect Seniors From Abusive Sales, Marketing- Insurance regulators passing laws to protect seniors from abusive insurance practices.

New report ranks children's health care by state- Children who live in the Northeast and Upper Midwest get better health care, on average, than those in the South and Southwest.

Senate Adds Private Insurer Oversight to Flood Insurance Bill- Flood insurance to be expanded by government.

Most Baby Boomers Overestimate Breadth and Depth of Public Safety Net for Disabled Workers- Baby boomers misinformed about how much disability coverage they get from the government.

More Than Six Million Enrolled in Health Savings Account Plans- HSA enrollment continues to increase.

What Exactly is an HSA?- HSAs are tax exempt accounts where funds grow to pay for medical expenses.

Now that Your Taxes are Done figure out What You Could Save in 2008 by Using an HSA- Find out what you could save by switching from a Traditional health plan to an HSA.

InsuranceNewsNet Responds to Flaws in Dateline NBC Report- Dateline misrepresents the annuity market and misinforms its audience.

Innovative Branding Helps Company Boost HSA Rolls- Making an HSA work for your company is easy when you present it to the employees in a positive way.

ACLI: Landmark West Virginia Law Protects Seniors; Leads Way For Rest Of Nation- West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III (D) today signed landmark legislation that protects senior citizens from an abusive practice called stranger-originated life insurance.

GOP Strategist: Both Parties Would Target Health Insurers- the industry should nonetheless be prepared to be targeted by Washington regardless of which party ultimately captures the White House, Republican strategist Michael Murphy warned members of America's Health Insurance Plans.

Fidelity Investments Estimates $225,000 Needed to Cover Retiree Health Care Costs- Since the estimate was first calculated in 2002, the number has risen a total of 41 percent, with an average annual increase of 5.8 percent.

Insuring Invincibility: Opening Up A Dialogue On Disability Insurance With Gen Xers And Millennials- Three out of 10 workers between the ages of 25 and 65 will experience an accident or illness that keeps them out of work for three months or longer

AHIP: Insurers Support Strengthened Federal Regulation and Oversight for Marketing to Medicare Beneficiaries- In adopting this statement, the AHIP Board has indicated its strong commitment to serving seniors in Medicare and to advocate that more be done through this process to advance consumer protections.

Spending on Health to Rise Dramatically- By 2017, consumers and taxpayers will spend more than $4 trillion on health care, accounting for one of every $5 dollars spent, the federal government projects...

Immediate Gratification: New Studies Show That Immediate Annuities Add Both Income And Stability To A Retirement Portfolio.- Immediate Gratification: New Studies Show That Immediate Annuities Add Both Income And Stability To A Retirement Portfolio

Democrats Target Medicare Insurers- Democratic lawmakers will propose banning private Medicare insurance plans from door-to-door sales pitches after some seniors complained they were pressured or misled into enrolling in the wrong plans.

SCHIP is extended until 2009 amid lingering concerns- After months of debate and two presidential vetoes, Congress has successfully voted to extend the State Children's Health Insurance Program to April 2009.

Health Secretary sees continued divide on health care in 2008- In a preview of what is ahead, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt says the administration will work to limit the government's role in the delivery of health care....

Quick Q & A on Fixed Index Annuities- Fixed index annuities (FIAs) are a fairly recent addition to the annuity family. It was introduced around the mid-90s and combines features of the two previous classes of annuities: the variable and the fixed.

Number of Americans Without Health Insurance Grew By 1.3 Million in 2005 - One of the nation's most vexing public-health problems deepened last year as the number of Americans without health insurance jumped by 1.3 million ...

Total U.S. Life Industry Benefits Increase, Impacted by the Continuing Increase in Surrender Activity -Total life, annuity and health benefits paid by the U.S. life insurance industry were $438.5 billion for 2005, an increase of 6.2% from...

Health Insurance: A Plan to Help Small Businesses -One Harvard expert calls on the feds to reinsure insurers, making it cheaper for small outfits to provide health benefits for workers...

Health Care Rate Hikes Not Expected to Jump Despite Mixed Results -Despite flat to reduced profits from some of the major managed care companies during the first half of 2006, commercial health care cost ...

Universal Health Care for California; Too good to be true? -A bill that would replace all private health insurance in California with a state-run, single-payer system ...

Workers With High-Deductible Health Plans May Heed The Need For DI -The trend toward consumer-driven health plans creates a critical risk management shift from employer to employee," says Ronald Leopold, MetLife vice president ...

Cantor Eyes Life Settlement Exchange - Cantor Fitzgerald is considering launching an automated exchange for trading death benefits in life insurance policies, according to ...

More Than One in Three Parents Without Life Insurance Say Their Children... - Asked to assess the impact the death of the primary wage earner would have on their children's college plans...

Arkansas Blue Cross - Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield recently inked a deal with Online Insight, Inc., a leading provider of multi-channel guided selling solutions, to provide Medicare eligible Arkansans with valuable decision support tools...

Analyst Upgrades - A Bank of America analyst on Tuesday upgraded the life insurance industry, saying life insurers have been resilient in a tough operating environment....

Blue Cross Blue Shield... - Many consumers today shoulder a greater share of their health care costs than in the past. That's why the ability to predict and manage health care costs is so...

Conning Research - America's middle market has generated much attention in the life insurance industry and among consumer advocates for being underserved...

Consumer Driven Health Care - As employers ask brokers to ease rising health insurance costs, one answer is crisscrossing the country: consumer driven healthcare. Is this the silver bullet the industry has been searching for?

Employee Attitudes - Benefit telepathy: the ability to read the minds of employees in order to understand how they make
benefit-related decisions. No, this paranormal phenomenon does not exist, but many employers, benefit
managers and HR professionals wish it did.

How Do You Feel About Life Insurance? - For most consumers, buying life insurance can be a tough decision - a combination of rational financial calculations and emotional attitudes.  Consumers can take a short quiz created by LIMRA International...

How Long You Live Depends... - America is a nation divided by vast differences in life expectancy, a "longevity gap" that can't be readily explained by race, income or access to health care, a study reported Monday...

Insurance Biz - Insurance agent Clif Rosenberry knows firsthand what can happen when a family's breadwinner dies without life insurance: His brother was killed at the age of 39 in a work accident, and he didn't have his own policy...

Insurance Pool Makes Exclamation Point -You probably wouldn't think combining the bureaucracy of state government with the confusing, myriad options of health insurance coverage would be a good thing for anyone but people who love red tape...

Interim Reserve Proposal Cleared by NAIC Committee - Following months of debate and discussion, immediate reserve relief for writers of both term and universal life insurance is on the way.  An interim reserve proposal was approved unanimously by a senior committee of the National  Association of Insurance Commissioners during an Aug. 31 conference call...

Life Insurance In the Retirement Red Zone - The domestic individual life insurance business for Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), announced today the reasons why consumers should consider life insurance during the Retirement Red Zone, a window consisting of the five years immediately before retirement and the first five years into retirement...

Life Planning Goes Mainstream - Life Planning Goes Mainstream: Will baby boomers respond best to asset allocation models that are served up with a dash of soul-searching? The biggest firms are betting on it...

Majority of Workers Favor Health Benefits - More than half of workers in the United States -- 54 percent -- said that health benefits are more important to them than higher wages, according to results from the American Payroll Association's 2006 "Getting Paid In America" online survey, released today...

NAIC Adopts New Long-term Care - The Health Insurance and Managed Care (B) Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) adopted several revisions to the Long Term Care Model Act and Regulation during its Fall National Meeting in St. Louis, including provisions that will increase access to care and allow insurance consumers more flexibility in managing the cost of their coverage...

NAIC Life Insurance Working Group - The Travel to Foreign Countries Working Group of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Life Insurance and Annuities (A) Committee held a public hearing today in St. Louis to discuss the use of past and future foreign travel in life insurance underwriting...

Plans to Help More Get Long-term Care - By next year, Floridians will be able to buy something that the federal government hopes will revolutionize nursing home care: a simplified long-term care insurance policy that has been reviewed and
certified by state regulators...

Reliance Standard Life Introduces New Leave Management Tool for Small And Mid - Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (RSL), a top-rated group life and group disability carrier, has introduced RSL LeaveManager™, a webbased software application designed to administer leave and absence programs in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for cases of 50 to 2,000 lives...

Single - A bill that would replace all private health insurance in California with a state-run, single-payer system has cleared the state Assembly and could be delivered to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk by week's end...

Small Businesses Have Affordable Health - Health insurance coverage for small employers is more affordable than is widely known, a new survey released today by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) found...

Taking Charge - When a new product hits the market, it’s inevitably met with different reactions from the buying public. There are those who plunge in right away and help fuel the trend. Others watch from the sidelines to see what happens before making a move. And there are also the skeptics who don’t buy into the trend at all...

The Allure of Securitization - Life insurance securitizations have been on the rise both in the United States and globally, fueled by the availability of ever-increasing amounts of capital chasing deals and returns, the increased regulatory capital requirements for life insurers, and diminished and more costly reinsurance capacity...

The Measure of the Movement - Why aren't we further along in the consumer-driven health movement? Some say it is too soon to grade the industry on its decision to reverse course from two decades ago and put America's health care consumers center stage in the national debate on escalating costs and questionable quality...

Top Life Insurance Direct Marketing Companies - ReliaQuote, IntelliQuote, InsWeb, AccuQuote, InsuranceOnly, Insurance Central and Insure.com are among the list of direct life insurance marketers that will participate in the Annual Fall Meeting of the Life Insurance Direct Marketing Association (LIDMA) being held at the downtown Ritz Carlton in Atlanta on September 14th and 15th...

Universal American Agrees To Sell Its Canadian Subsidiary PennCorp Life Insurance Company - Universal American Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:UHCO) ("Universal American") announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell UAFC (Canada) Inc., including the Company's Canadian insurance subsidiary PennCorp Life Insurance Company ("PennCorp Life"), for approximately $131 million (CAD$146 million) in cash to a venture 70% owned by La Capitale Civil Service Insurer Inc...

Insurers Are Ready to Fight - Insurance and business groups are gearing up for a battle to preserve a government program that would cover most of the losses from another major terrorist attack...

The Council -Gregory Case, president and CEO of Aon Corporation, urged Congress today to act on a permanent solution to cover losses from future acts of terrorism and have it in place before disaster strikes rather than attempting to respond after the fact in time of crisis...

New Nationwide Survey - Is life insurance really necessary? How much does coverage cost?  What type of plan is right for me? SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc. today announced the results of a nationwide survey asking adults about important life insurance needs...

Wooing Baby Boomers -While life insurers have been fairly active in the retirement income marketplace, their activities have focused more on product solutions rather than addressing broad-based consumer needs...

PA Insurance Commissioner - Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Diane Koken today reminded consumers of the need to review and understand their personal or family life insurance needs.  "Life insurance can help to provide future financial security for your loved ones, but some consumers may have insurance policies in place that are not appropriate to their stage of life," Commissioner Koken said...

House Introduces National Insurance Act - The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) welcomed
action taken by Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) today to bring greater attention to the need for reforms in the insurance regulatory system...

Boomers and Life - The baby boomers have had a heavy influence on every area of society as they've moved through various stages of life. Now, as their oldest members approach age 65, they are poised to challenge the expectations of retirement as well...

One Charter to Rule Them All - As Senate hearings on the possible federal regulation of the life and property-and-casualty insurance industries continue this fall, insurers, analysts and vendors are weighing the benefits and risks of the National Insurance Act of 2006 - a plan to adopt an optional federally chartered regulatory system - as well as the impact the federal regulation could have on IT systems...

Avian Flu - Worldwide epidemics (termed 'pandemics') of the respiratory disease known as influenza or 'flu' occur on a regular basis, generally two to three times per century. The last three flu pandemics occurred in 1918, 1957 and 1968. The mortality toll from such a pandemic depends on whether the particular strain of flu involved is relatively mild (as in the 1957-58 pandemic) or virulent (as in the 1918 pandemic, which is estimated to have taken between 40-50 million lives worldwide)...

Consumerism - Employers are continually seeking to control their benefit costs. One approach has been shifting more of the decisions as well as more of the costs to employees. Health savings accounts (HSAs) were the first step towards taking a consumer-driven health-care approach...

Protect Your Clients - If registered reps don't sell their clients life insurance, someone else will - and that's a risk reps probably
shouldn't take. At least, that's one conclusion that can be drawn from the results of two separate studies: one conducted by this magazine together with The Hartford Life Insurance Company and the other by LIMRA International...

Mission: Educate the Boomers - The stats have arrived- survey results from insurers and researchers have one thing in common: Baby boomers are not prepared for retirement, and therefore insurers could be missing out on business. Some companies are stepping up, using technology to capture this pending market...

Why Sell Annuities- All of us would like to think our clients would remain loyal when approached by another broker or agent,
particularly given the effort invested in building those relationships. But what happens when the guy down the street, who sells the same wares as you, starts offering other products to the market you are both targeting?

Tom Rodell Elected Chairman of the Council of Insurance Agents- Tom Rodell, resident managing director of Aon Risk Services of San Francisco, is the 2007 chairman of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, the first person to serve twice in the key leadership position.  Rodell was elected chairman during a general membership meeting held White Sulpher Springs, W.Va., in conjunction with the 93rd annual Insurance Leadership Forum at The Greenbrier...

Insurers Ensure 2008 Games Will Be Covered - As Beijing counts down to the 2008 Olympic Games, a leading insurance regulator yesterday said the event can count on proper insurance services...

Disability Insurance - At the Inaugural Meeting of the International DI Society in Tampa, on October 7th, 2005, I made a statement which seemed to amaze the audience:  "My father, mother, sister, wife, both of my sons, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and yes, even me, all had one thing in common. All of us had been disabled. Ironic? Horrifying is more
like it..."

With Life Insurance Rates at an All Time Low- With term life insurance policy premiums continuing to drop, there has never been a better time to consider purchasing life insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)...

Long-Term-Care Policy May Be Vital - With the costs of health care rising and people living longer, more seniors are thinking about buying insurance to pay for long- term care...

About Half of US Adults Lack Confidence - As the November elections approach, fourteen percent of U.S. adults say that healthcare will be the most important issue in determining how they vote, and over half (54%) contend that healthcare will be important, but not as important as other issues...

Conning Research Project Accelerates Life - The life insurance industry accelerated its rapid profit growth in 2005 with statutory net operating gains of $32.8 billion in 2005, according to the latest analysis for the life-health insurance industry from Conning Research and Consulting, Inc....

PIA Says New Congress Alters Insurance Agenda- The new Congress will alter the insurance agenda on Capitol Hill,
but losses for the industry are not a foregone conclusion. That's the after-the-election take by the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA)...

Tillinghast Survey Finds Increasingly Complex Regulations...- More than three-quarters (77%) of life insurance CFOs cited the growing level and complexity of regulations as their biggest concern for the market and economic environment in 2007, according to the latest CFO survey from the Tillinghast business of Towers Perrin...

Escalating Competition Spurring Breakthrough- Spurred by intensifying competition, breakthroughs in analytics are transforming dynamics in insurance markets. Sophisticated insurers able to harness large volumes of high-quality data to drive decisioning all along the value creation chain can look forward to a long and prosperous future. But insurers unable to keep up in the intellectual and technological arms race face a grim prognosis, according to an industry leader...

Jefferson National Partners - To help Fee-Only financial advisors, the clients they serve, and the millions of Americans who need to save more for retirement, Jefferson National Life Insurance Company (Jefferson National) has launched the Annuity Rescue Center in partnership with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), the nation's leading organization of Fee-Only comprehensive financial planning professionals...

AHIP Briefs Congressional Staff on New Access Proposal- Congressional staff members were briefed today at an event on Capitol Hill on a new policy proposal put forth by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) to expand access to health insurance coverage to all Americans...

Life Companies- The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU), the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), and the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA) are calling for changes to state regulation to protect the vital, social purposes of life insurance from transactions known as stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI)...

Life Insurance Finance Association Conference- At the first Life Insurance Finance Association conference, held Wednesday, Nov. 29, participants reinforced the importance of reasonable regulation of the life insurance premium-finance industry to protect consumer rights...