Last updated: June 22
Looking for annuity updates? Click here for our annuities page.
Accordia Life
- Carrier-sponsored initiative for LifeMark Partner Agencies. The summer months are heating up with a special incentive offer from Accordia Life. LifeMark Partner Agencies will receive a 5% compensation bonus on up to $5 million of Lifetime Foundation sales from June through September. Here are the details.
American General
- Underwriting Changes, Updated Field, Underwriting Guide. AIG is making substantial changes to give YOU and YOUR CUSTOMERS a better underwriting experience and more competitive offers-in less time. We've heard your feedback and are taking the following actions.
- Compensation Update for AG Select-a-Term in New York. AG Select-a-Term (issued by US Life) compensation was repositioned slightly with the recent reprice.
- New Lower Term Rates. New, lower, market-leading prices. 17 tactical term periods. Lower rate-case pricing.
Athene
- Veterans Administration Benefits Programs - all states. Athene has been informed that there are programs under which producers are selling insurance products to assist clients with qualifying for VA benefits. Please be advised that Athene will not accept business written in conjunction with marketing programs that promote qualification for Veterans Administration (VA) benefits. While it may be acceptable to assist veterans in obtaining government benefits for which they qualify and that were previously unknown to them, state regulators have identified a number of potential problems with these practices. As a result, we will not accept the risk associated with these programs.
AXA Equitable
- Term Conversion Requesting Long-Term Care Services Rider (LTCSR). AXA renews its Term Conversion LTCSR underwriting program. This program will now operate on an ongoing basis in all jurisdictions and will automatically continue in the state of California beyond the current June 30 expiration date. All guidelines previously announced, remain the same. This program allows the addition of the Long-Term Care Services Rider (LTCSR) on single life permanent policies if the term policy being converted is within five years of the policy register date and rated Standard or better. The chart below outlines the maximum ages and face amounts that are eligible within the 5 year register date period of the term policy.
Lincoln
- Coming soon - Lincoln AssetEdge VUL. Effective June 15, 2015, subject to state availability, Lincoln will introduce the latest update to its variable universal life portfolio, Lincoln AssetEdge® VUL (2015). This product and its Exec version, Lincoln AssetEdge® Exec VUL (2015), will represent a refresh of the current versions and are highlighted by the addition of several new product features and enhancements:
- The Lincoln Elite Series of Funds will continue to provide access to over 80 Separate Account investment options across all asset-classes to maximize potential returns during the accumulation phase.
- The introduction of new indexed account investment options will also offer downside protection in combination with participating loans during the distribution phase.
- Lincoln AssetEdge® VUL (2015) will replace Lincoln AssetEdge® VUL (2009).
Mutual of Omaha
- Children's Whole Life: New Issue Ages. Effective July 1, 2015, Mutual of Omaha will be lowering the maximum issue ages for Children's Whole Life from 25 to 17. Children's Whole Life is a great option for parents and grandparents who want to protect their children and grandchildren and is guaranteed to age 100 as long as the premium is paid. Additional coverage may be purchased in the future without evidence of insurability and there are limited health questions and no medical exam. The age changes provide you a great opportunity to explore Guaranteed Universal Life Express for your clients above the age of 17. GUL Express offers very competitive rates for your clients that would have fit into the Children's Whole Life product.
- Changes to Guaranteed Universal Life Express Face Amounts. Effective July 1, 2015, the maximum face amounts for Guaranteed Universal Life Express (GULE) will be raised to $300,000 for ages 18 to 50. The maximum of $250,000 will still be in place for ages 51-65. GUL Express is a great option for your clients who are seeking guaranteed death benefit protection with a simplified application process.
- Term Life Express Adds 10- Year Term Product. Effective July 1, 2015, a new 10-year term will be added to the Term Life Express portfolio. This new addition will round out the already robust simplified issue term portfolio and give you one more option for your client's term life insurance needs. And similar to the existing Term Life Express products, the new term product can be converted into another simplified issue permanent policy. The 10-year term product is available in all states except New York. It will only be available on the paper application on July 1, 2015, and will be added to the iGO e-app at a later date. Also, don't forget about the Term Life Express enhancements that were made on May 1, 2015.
- Rate Increase Implementation on In-Force LTCi Business. Long-Term Care insurance (LTCi) is a core product for Mutual of Omaha and we intend to remain a key player in this market for years to come. In order to fulfill this commitment, we actively monitor emerging industry trends as well as our own experience so we can make the adjustments necessary that will allow us to keep our promises to policyholders and remain competitive in the marketplace.
Symetra
- Updated Reinsurance and Retention Limits for Classic UL and SUL-G. Updated retention and automatic binding limits are now available for Symetra's Classic UL and SUL-G products. Our automatic binding limits increased from $25 million to $35 million for ages 0-80. With these new limits, we can provide even more underwriting flexibility and competitive positioning in the guaranteed universal life space. Refer to our Classic UL and SUL-G Retention and Automatic Reinsurance Guides for more details on our policy limits.
Transamerica
- Error: Multiple Letters Regarding Transamerica MD Increase on Some Inforce Polices. On June 8, we advised you that we would be sending a hard-copy letter to producers on record as having sold policies affected by an increase in monthly deductions. Our goal was to be transparent in our communications. However, we inadvertently generated and mailed a separate agent letter for every policy. Inundating you (and producers) with paper was not our intention, and we apologize. Having said that, more paper is coming. As we mail the letters to policy owners, we will be sending copies of these letters to the servicing agents. The first wave of these letters was sent on June 15 for the August anniversary dates. If you have additional questions or concerns, please call the Product Specialist Center at (844) 987-0897.
- Transamerica to Increase MDs on Some Inforce Policies. Effective June 8, the Life & Protection Division of Transamerica will begin mailing the following notice to producers who are on record as having sold one or more of a block of selected inforce universal life policies. The notice will include a sample of the policy-owner letter, which is available via the link below. The product specialist center will be contacting affected General Agencies starting June 8. In the meantime, please direct any questions to the center at 1-844-987-0897 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Central Time.
