December 2020 Carrier Updates

December 2020 Carrier Updates

Last Updated: December 18

In addition to the carrier updates below, you may also be interested in:

AIG

  • Non-Med Underwriting is Expanding to $1 Million. Effective November 21, 2020, AIG's non-medical underwriting has expanded to include eligible cases with face amounts up to and including $1 million. Non-medical underwriting will still be available to VUL and accumulation IUL products. When applicable, the ability to pivot to medical underwriting remains available.

Need help with any of AIG's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

Allianz

  • Underwriting programs permanently expanded. To help make it easier to do life insurance business with Allianz, we have permanently expanded the following underwriting programs: *Accelerated Underwriting for Preferred Plus, Preferred and Standard Non-Tobacco Risk Classes includes death benefits up to $3 million. *Alternatives to exam requirements: If your client does not qualify for Accelerated Underwriting, we have the ability to make fully underwritten decisions using the following alternative information sources instead of lab work initiated by Allianz.

Need help with any of Allianz's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

Equitable

  • 2020 Year-End Processing Dates and Holiday Hours. Year-end deadline: Before Friday, December 4. Cases must be complete, in good order and submitted to expedite underwriting, issue, and delivery by year-end. 2020 reportable income Year-end commissions: Friday, December 18. Premiums must be received, processed and paid by this date to count for 2020 reportable income. All outstanding delivery requirements must be submitted and received in good order by this date for year-end commissions to be paid.

Need help with any of Equitable's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

John Hancock

  • 2021 Dividend Interest Crediting Rate Announcement. Effective January 1, 2021, the dividend interest crediting rate will decrease on some participating traditional single-life and survivorship policies originally issued through the John Hancock Life Insurance Company and John Hancock Variable Life Insurance Company.
  • Making LTC Rider Elimination Period Simpler — For Easier Planning. John Hancock has changed the way the elimination period is satisfied on the most recent version of Long-Term Care (LTC) rider. Now, instead of requiring 100 service days before LTC benefits are payable, clients can simply: *Wait just 90 calendar days from the day they are certified as chronically ill *Count every day, whether or not they receive LTC services. LTCR '18 rates will remain the same.

Need help with any of John Hancock's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

Legal & General

  • Year-End Initiative to Reduce Cycle Time and Issue More Policies. Over the next few weeks, Legal & General America will be reaching out by phone to paper applicants in order to obtain missing information. This effort will enable them to approve and issue more policies before the close of the year. This proactive approach is expected to reduce cycle times and have a positive impact on helping agencies get business placed before the holidays. If you would NOT like LGA to reach out directly to the proposed insured in an attempt to get the one outstanding RTM (Response to Memo) requirement, please send an email to Laura Wheeler with instructions to opt-out your agency.

Need help with any of Legal & General's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

Lincoln

  • Coming Soon – Long-Term Care Rider on Lincoln AssetEdge® VUL (2020) – 12/14/20 and Lincoln AssetEdge® Exec VUL (2020) – 12/14/20. Effective December 14, 2020, the Long-Term Care Rider (LTC Rider), part of Lincoln’s life insurance rider portfolio, will be made available on Lincoln AssetEdge® VUL (2020) – 12/14/20 and Lincoln AssetEdge® Exec VUL (2020) – 12/14/20. Only available at policy issue, at an additional cost, this rider is designed for clients who have a need for death benefit protection with accumulation potential but are also concerned about long-term care expenses of covered services for temporary and permanent chronic illness, now with a zero-day elimination period. See details at link.
  • Coming Soon – Product Updates for Lincoln AssetEdge® VUL (2020) – 12/14/20 and Lincoln AssetEdge® Exec VUL (2020) – 12/14/20. Effective December 14, 2020, Lincoln will introduce Lincoln AssetEdge® VUL (2020) – 12/14/20 and Lincoln AssetEdge® Exec VUL (2020) – 12/14/20. These new product versions are being made available to accommodate the addition of a new Long-Term Care (LTC) Rider on Lincoln AssetEdge® VUL (2020) and Lincoln AssetEdge® Exec VUL (2020). The change to the product versions will apply to all policies sold, regardless of election of the LTC rider. See details at link.
  • Important Tax Reporting Update. The IRS has reintroduced form 1099-NEC for tax year 2020. Its purpose is to report non-employee compensation which was previously reported in box 7 of form 1099-MISC. If you previously received form 1099-MISC from us reporting this income in Box 7, you will receive form 1099-NEC in January 2021 for tax year 2020 in lieu of form 1099-MISC. Other income which was previously reported on form 1099-MISC continues to be reported on that form. See details at link.

Need help with any of Lincoln's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

Mutual of Omaha

Need help with any of Mutual of Omaha's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

New York Life

  • 2021 Dividend Announcement. The Board of Directors approved a total dividend payout of $1.8 billion in 2021, the second-highest payout in New York Life's 175-year history.

Need help with any of New York Life's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

OneAmerica

  • 2020 Year-End Processing Dates and Holiday Hours. Nov. 26 and 27: Closed. Dec. 24: Offices close at 1 p.m. ET. Dec. 25: Closed. Jan. 1: Closed.
  • Attention Arizona and Iowa Producers: Best Interest is Coming. Arizona and Iowa have updated the requirements around best interest and suitability in annuity transactions. A new training will be required to be able to submit applications for any annuity products, including Asset Care annuity funding whole life. The changes will go into effect Dec. 31, 2020, in Arizona, and Jan. 1, 2021, in Iowa. More details coming soon.

Need help with any of OneAmerica's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

Principal

  • Temporary Adjustments to IDI Underwriting Guidelines in CA and NY. Effective immediately, no physical measurements and labs are needed for applicants ages 18-50 up to the amounts listed below for applications where the written or residence state is either California or New York. These temporary limits are in effect until March 31, 2021: Disability Income (DI)—$10,000/month. Business Overhead Expense—$25,000/month. Disability Buy-Out and Key Person—$750,000
  • New business and underwriting processes have returned to normal time service levels. We’re well-positioned to get all of your business that meets the guarantee guidelines issued and paid by year-end. And be on the lookout for a communication from us in the upcoming weeks regarding informal application submissions in 2021.
  • Important year-end details for individual life and disability insurance. To help guarantee your life and individual disability business is processed and paid in 2020, we need all final underwriting and administrative requirements for policy approval and issuance (including premium) by Dec. 9, and all delivery requirements for new business, adjustments, and reinstatements by Dec. 28. While we won’t be able to guarantee processing after these dates, we’ll continue to process year-end business through Dec. 31.
  • Upcoming E-App changes. We’re making a few changes to the E-App you access through iPipeline to streamline and simplify the process for you. Here’s what’s changing:
    • A separate Part B request is no longer needed. When you access the “Proposed Insured Part B” page, you only need to indicate within the application that Part B needs to be requested. Then, we’ll automatically send the online Part B email to your clients once we receive the E-App submission. This change is effective now.
    • The full E-App option will require less work for you. The full E-App (Parts A, B, and C) will be replaced on iPipeline with the version that includes Parts A and C only. After completing those, you’ll simply request Principal to complete the Part B. This change will be effective Dec. 12.
    • New, more clear options for completion will be available in Lifepipe. When submitting an application through the quote engine you’ll see two easy-to-understand options: “Term Insurance” and “Term Insurance with CER Rider.” Both options will allow you to select either E-App with carrier-completed Part B or Drop Ticket in order to complete your submission the way you want. This change will be effective Dec. 12.

Need help with any of Principal's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

Protective

  • 2020 Year-End Processing Dates and Holiday Hours. The Protective Life offices will be closed on the following dates: Christmas Eve: Thursday, December 24th, Christmas Day: Friday, December 25th, New Year’s Day: Friday, January 1st. Note: The Home Office and Sales Desk will have limited staff available on Thursday, December 24th. To place a case inforce for year-end 2020, all necessary forms and underwriting requirements should be in-house by the close of business on Friday, November 27th. This will allow underwriting adequate time to have the case approved, issued and placed. We will make every effort to accommodate all cases completed by year-end. For assistance with special cases, contact your Case Manager or Relationship Manager.

Need help with any of Protective's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

SBLI

  • Extended Upsell Program Opportunity. SBLI is now extending the time for agents to increase their clients’ SBLI Term insurance coverage. Eligible clients, who have purchased a $500,000 SBLI Term policy since July 1, 2020, can qualify for reissue, if they meet the financial underwriting requirements and provide a no change in health statement.
  • Policy Issued Without Initial Premium. Please note, all policies that are approved and issued without the initial premium available at time of issue (payment is considered Cash, EFT and/or Credit Card) will be future dated with an Issue Effective Date, 10 calendar days from the date the Issue is processed.

Need help with any of SBLI's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

Security Mutual Life

Need help with any of Security Mutual Life's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

Transamerica

  • Important LTC Rider Updates. As a reminder, beginning December 5, in the state of California, the Comprehensive Long Term Care Rider on the Transamerica Financial Foundation IUL® (FFIUL) will be updated to meet new California guideline AB-1209. While it's mostly similar to the current Comprehensive LTC Rider on the FFIUL in California, there are a couple key changes to be aware of, including:
    • Allows for loans to be taken when on LTC claim
    • New LTC Rider rates changed to level and actuarially equivalent to the prior rates
    • No LTC Rider charges past age 100
    • LTC Rider charge is based on the Net Amount at Risk; if NAR decreases, then the charge decreases
    • Target premiums and minimum no-lapse premiums will increase in line with the rider charge

Need help with any of Transamerica's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

Symetra

  • AG49A Transition Rules. Like all carriers, Symetra is required to transition the way we illustrate indexed universal life (IUL) products to meet the Actuarial Guideline AG49A, by Dec. 14, 2020. To meet this regulatory deadline, this is a reminder that we have established the following transition dates for our Accumulator and Protector IUL products. Important dates. Nov. 13, 2020: Symetra Life Illustrator and Winflex illustration systems were updated to be compliant with AG49A requirements. You can now illustrate both the AG49A and pre-AG49A versions of Accumulator IUL and Protector IUL. Dec. 11, 2020: Formal applications that are received at Symetra’s home office in good order (fully completed, signed and dated) on or before this date will not be subject to the illustration guidelines set forth in AG49A. Feb. 12, 2021: The date in which pre-AG49A cases must be issued/paid. For 1035 exchange cases, the deadline will be extended if the only outstanding requirement is the receipt of 1035 funds.

Need help with any of Symetra's products?
Call us at 1-800-823-4852 or click here to email our Brokerage Sales Support team.

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