September 2021 Carrier Updates

September 2021 Carrier Updates

Last Updated: September 30

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

AIG

  • Reminder for Policies with “MGP” Guarantees. Max Accumulator+ products are accumulation-focused IULs which perform the best when overfunded to leverage the cash value growth potential on the product. It also comes with a valuable guarantee feature, the Monthly Guarantee Premium (MGP) provision that is automatically included on all Max Accumulator+ and Max Accumulator+ II policies to help prevent policy lapse from poor index performance during the guarantee period. The MGP premium is the minimum premium to keep the policy inforce during the guaranteed period. In order to keep the MGP provision inforce, total premium paid into the policy less loans and partial surrenders must exceed the cumulative MGP premium needed. MGP premium is shown on the policy schedule and was recently added to Max Accumulator+ II new business and Max Accumulator+ inforce illustrations. Please note if a policy with MGP lapses, the guarantee will terminate and cannot be reinstated. Significant “catch-up” premium would be required as part of the policy reinstatement, assuming reinstatement is available. Please see frequently asked questions for MGP details and reminders.
  • Max Accumulator+ II IUL & 7702 Updates. AIG products have been updated to 7702 compliant. As a reminder all applications for the old product must be issued by September 16, 2021; otherwise, an illustration for the new product will be required.

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.

American National

  • Agent Alert: Training Requirements for Annuity Sales. The Following Training Is Required to Sell Annuities With American National. Find the 1-hour and 4-hour CE courses on the RegEd website under the state you are licensed.
    • American National Annuity Product Training. Newly Appointed producers must take the IMG All-Encompassing Course located in your Learning Plan. Existing Producers who have already taken the IMG All-Encompassing Course satisfy the requirement with the review of the content in this announcement.
    • Continuing Education Training. To ensure all necessary training is completed, please review the Annuity State Suitability Training Guide for individual state requirements.
  • Reminder for Policies with “MGP” Guarantees. Max Accumulator+ products are accumulation-focused IULs which perform the best when overfunded to leverage the cash value growth potential on the product.

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

Equitable

  • A less invasive application process for clients. Equitable is committed to making the purchase of life insurance less invasive for clients. The Easy Underwriting program gives clients the potential to benefit from underwriting that does not include paramedical exams or labs. With the recent expansion of Easy Underwriting, the Accumulation Streamlined Underwriting Program has been eliminated for redundancy. Which cases qualify:
    • Insurance age: Up to and including 60 (recently increased)
    • Face amounts: Up to and including $2 million (recently increased)
    • Risk classifications: All Preferred, Standard, and substandard risk classes are available, subject to product specifications
    • Products: VUL LegacySM, VUL OptimizerSM, BrightLife® Grow, Term 10, Term 15, Term 20, ART

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

  • Conversion UL now Approved In Delaware. John Hancock now offers a Conversion UL product for clients who decide to convert their policy to a permanent life insurance policy during the term conversion period without evidence of insurability. Conversion UL ’20 is approved in all states except Florida & New York.
  • Accumulation VUL Now Approved in South Dakota. For clients who want strong tax-deferred cash value accumulation potential with downside protection, show them the compelling solution our enhanced Accumulation VUL can offer, including:
    • Industry-leading cash value accumulation and retirement income potential for younger-age clients, featuring new 7702 tax rates
    • New cash value enhancement rider that allows higher early cash value potential
    • Expanded range of indexed account allocation options — new Base Two Year Capped Indexed Account with 16% cap and High Capped Indexed Account with 11.25% cap
    • Broad, diversified portfolio offerings, including the Lifestyle and Managed Volatility Portfolios as well as access to TOPS® ETF Portfolios
    • Additional savings and rewards for healthy living with John Hancock Vitality

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 (Banner)

  • 35 and 40-Year OPTerm Is Now Available in New York. Great news! As other carriers discontinue doing business in New York, we want you to know that we've added 35 and 40-year term options to our OPTerm product in New York. OPTerm 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30-year options continue to be available. Click the link above for more info, including marketing materials.
  • LGA Accidental Death Marketing Campaign Launching Later This Month. Since 2017, Legal & General America has been direct marketing accidental death (AD) coverage to inforce policyholders. During these campaigns, select policyholders will receive a direct mail offer to purchase a pre-determined amount of AD coverage on a guaranteed issue basis. Later this month, we will be launching our next campaign and much like previous direct mail programs, policyholders can enroll in this valuable coverage using a self-fulfilling authorization form, which can easily be completed and returned by mail or accepted online.

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

  • Lincoln OptiBlend® fixed indexed annuity – new indexed accounts featuring BlackRock global index. BlackRock Dynamic Allocation Participation accounts now available. The 1 Year and 2 Year BlackRock Dynamic Allocation Participation accounts are now available with new Lincoln OptiBlend® fixed indexed annuity contracts. These two new indexed accounts are tied to the performance of the BlackRock Dynamic Allocation Index. This index seeks to deliver diversified global multi-asset exposure via a combination of strategic and tactical insights, aiming to achieve a stable and consistent return profile.
  • Lincoln OptiBlend® Indexed Accounts Offer Diversification. New BlackRock Dynamic Allocation Index offers global view, other indices also available. The 1 & 2 Year BlackRock Dynamic Allocation Participation accounts available with new Lincoln OptiBlend® fixed indexed annuity contracts reflect performance tied to the BlackRock Dynamic Allocation index. This index provides a global allocation for your client’s portfolio offering an additional opportunity for diversification. The other indices utilized by the indexed accounts within Lincoln OptiBlend annuities reflect a mostly domestic view. To highlight the importance of diversification, our new flier, Global allocation to help diversify your portfolio, takes a look at the cyclical nature of markets, and shows how an asset class that outperforms over a 10-year period might underperform over the next decade.
  • EXTENDED: Lincoln VULONE Suite Enhanced Underwriting Program. Lincoln is excited to announce that we are extending the submission deadline to October 29, 2021 for the enhanced underwriting program for Lincoln VULONE and SVULONE cases. This enhanced underwriting program provides even more value with our suite of Lincoln VULONE product solutions and supports our commitment to helping our partners grow their business and reach new customers. Lincoln VULONE and SVULONE cases received at Lincoln by October 29, 2021, and subject to full underwriting, will receive a one-class underwriting upgrade. Any case placed inforce prior to May 20, 2021 is not eligible.
  • 2021 Life Insurance Year-End Guidelines. Lincoln’s Underwriting & New Business department is committed to helping you meet your year-end goals and objectives. Our focus is to ensure the maximum amount of your business is placed before the close of business on December 31, 2021. We encourage you to submit all outstanding requirements for year-end cases as soon as possible. The following guidelines and key dates should be followed to meet these expectations. Key dates and deadlines:
    • November 1: Suggested 1035 exchange submission deadline. Submit 1035 exchange applications and/or tickets to allow time for underwriting and receipt of 1035 exchange funds. Lincoln will leverage electronic methods to submit 1035 paperwork to surrendering carriers, when available.
    • November 19: Pending 1035 exchanges must be initiated. After the Underwriting offer has been made and all issue-restrictive requirements are in-good-order, the exchange will be initiated and the surrendering carrier will be requested to overnight the check to Lincoln. Completion of the 1035 exchange is subject to losing carrier turn-around times.
    • December 10: Tele-App and Phone PHI case submission deadline. Submit any life insurance tickets or Lincoln MoneyGuard applications in which the client interview/PHI will be conducted over the phone (Tele-App). The completion of the interview is contingent on your client’s scheduling availability. As a reminder, the online interview (eInterview) is flexible and can be completed at any time.
    • December 23: 2021 compensation income placement deadline. All business placed inforce with premium by December 23 will be considered as 2021 income. Any business placed after this date, through December 31, 2021, will count as 2021 production but will be treated as 2022 earnings.
    • December 27: All placement-restrictive requirements, including premium, must be received at Lincoln ingood-order to be guaranteed for placement by December 31, 2021. NOTE: Any case eligible for the Lincoln VULONE Suite Enhanced Underwriting Program (oneclass underwriting upgrade) must be placed inforce, or 1035 exchange initiated, by December 31, 2021.
  • Lincoln MoneyGuard Market Advantage® - New Policy Amendment for LTC Benefit Unlocking. Effective September 13, 2021, all newly issued Lincoln MoneyGuard Market Advantage® life insurance policies will begin including a new Policy Amendment that provides the client the choice at the end of a Long-Term Care (LTC) claim event to keep their LTC benefits “Locked” or “Unlocked.” To facilitate this decision, policyowners of MoneyGuard Market Advantage® will receive correspondence at the conclusion of a LTC claim event, with the agent of record copied, indicating that their LTC claim has ended and they now have the option to Unlock or remained Locked. Potential items for consideration when determining if Unlocking at the conclusion of a LTC claim event is preferable for a client could include, but are not limited to, the following:
    • Attained age
    • Current policy values
    • Views on potential for future market and benefit growth
  • Lincoln MoneyGuard Closed to New Sales in Washington. Effective after September 9, 2021, Lincoln will no longer offer MoneyGuard product solutions for new sales in the state of Washington, including Lincoln MoneyGuard III and Lincoln MoneyGuard Market Advantage. At this time, there is no set date for the future availability of Lincoln MoneyGuard products in Washington, however we will continue to monitor the environment and assess next steps as the situation evolves. No other states or product lines are impacted by this change. All Lincoln MoneyGuard applications and required solicitation forms must be signed, dated and received in-goodorder at Lincoln’s home office by 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021.
  • Now Available in California – Lincoln WealthAccumulate® 2 IUL (2020). Effective August 30,2021, in California, Lincoln is pleased to announce an update to the Lincoln WealthAccumulate® 2 IUL (2020) life insurance product. Lincoln WealthAccumulate® 2 IUL (2020) – 05/10/21 is an innovative Indexed UL built for clients who want death benefit protection plus growth opportunities through indexed accounts and access to cash value for today's and tomorrow's needs. Lincoln WealthAccumulate® 2 IUL (2020) – 05/10/21 now provides the flexibility to allocate to, and move between, six indexed accounts linked to the percentage change in the S&P 500® or Fidelity AIM® Dividend Index, that are designed to provide a balance between return potential and downside protection. This new product update also incorporates the new 7702 assumptions that were effective January 1, 2021.
  • Now Available in California – Lincoln WealthPreserve® 2 IUL (2020). Effective August 30, 2021, in California, Lincoln is pleased to announce an update to the Lincoln WealthPreserve® 2 IUL (2020) life insurance product. This new product update also incorporates the new 7702 assumptions that were effective January 1, 2021. Lincoln WealthPreserve® 2 IUL (2020) – 05/10/21 offers flexibility for growth, access to cash value, and financial protection. Built for clients who want valuable guaranteed protection with flexibility for life’s changing needs.
  • Lincoln MoneyGuard® Submission Guidelines for Washington. Our focus is to ensure the maximum amount of your Lincoln MoneyGuard® cases in Washington are placed before the state’s deadline of November 1, 2021. We encourage you to submit any Washington cases as soon as possible. While we cannot guarantee placement by this date, the following guidelines and key dates should be followed to help you place inforce your case(s) before November 1.
    • September 3: Submit all applications by September 3, 2021 to increase the likelihood of placement before November 1. Utilizing Lincoln’s digital solutions, including eApp and ePolicy Delivery, will help to ensure cases are submitted in-good-order and delivered promptly after policy issue. Policies received after September 3 will be accepted and processed in the order in which they are received. For your 1035 exchange cases, be mindful that the completion of the 1035 exchange is subject to losing carrier turn-around times, and funds must be received at Lincoln before policy placement.
    • October 25-29: To help ensure policy placement before November 1, 2021, all placement-restrictive requirements, including all premium(s), must be received at Lincoln in-good-order by October 25, 2021. Your dedicated MoneyGuard Underwriting & New Business team will be working to place your Washington cases inforce through end-of-day October 29, 2021. For cases in which any final requirements are received after October 25, processing will be handled on a first-in basis and are not guaranteed for placement by October 29.
    • November 1: The state of Washington allows residents to apply for an exemption from the payroll tax for coverage placed in effect prior to November 1, 2021. Any business that is not placed inforce by October 29 will continue to be processed by Lincoln, however it will not qualify for exemption from the payroll tax assessment.

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.

Mass Mutual

  • CareChoice One Applications from Washington State Suspended. MassMutual will suspend the submission of CareChoice One applications from Washington state effective September 24 at 11:59 p.m. ET. After this deadline, no further applications will be accepted. Applications submitted before the deadline will continue to be processed. As a reminder, the minimum premium is $50,000.

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

Nationwide

  • How Nationwide is Working to Address Life Insurance Processing Delays. Nationwide has separated Washington state business from all other states' business to minimize impacts on non-Washington applications. They have completed indexing paper applications received from the state of Washington, but still have more to do in order to move applications to case review. In order to move Washington applications to the next step, they have increased the number of staff and will lessen the number of outgoing communications while processing policies.

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

OneAmerica

  • Annuity Suitability or Annuity Best Interest Training: Where and When. As additional states adopt the new requirements around Best Interest and suitability in annuity transactions, you can now find each state’s training requirements with our state chart. The chart is updated on a rolling basis to show the requirements and deadlines for your state. Find the required training courses on your usual training platform or the OneAmerica Center of Excellence (COE). Select “required annuity training” from the COE home page for states where training is available.
  • New Best Interest State Updates. Additional states have adopted the new requirements around Best Interest and suitability in annuity transactions. Review the details about which states have recently adopted the requirements and when the changes are effective.

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.

Pacific Life

  • Introducing Online Health History. Beginning Monday, September 13, 2021, Pacific Life is excited to announce that the AboutMe Online Health History (OHH) tool is available for PL Promise life insurance products. Convenient, contactless, and confidential, our new OHH tool makes it easier than ever to collect your client’s health information and offers another alternative to the current telephone interview process.

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

Prudential

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

Securian

  • COVID-19 Guidelines Update. The participation limit changes implemented July 1, 2021, will now be extended through December 31, 2021.
  • Psych guideline enhancements lead to fast and competitive underwriting. Securian Financial’s Guideline Enhancement Program delivers enhancements that can result in fewer Attending Physician statements (APS) orders – and more competitive underwriting offers than ever before. With our most recent update, clients with ADHD, anxiety and minor depression categorized as low risk, are now eligible for Preferred Select offers. This will also result in fewer APS orders and quick underwriting decisions. To learn more about our underwriting programs and other competitive underwriting offerings, click the link above.

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

Symetra

  • Symetra COLI Update. Symetra has stopped new sales of corporate owned life insurance (COLI) policies effective today, August 24, 2021. This is part of an ongoing strategic shift in our overall product portfolio. Existing COLI policies remain in-force, and there are no plans to make any changes to these policies at this time. Symetra will continue to serve these policyholders as before, and no action is necessary by the policyholder or you.
  • SwiftTerm Enhancements. Since launching SwiftTerm at the end of June, Symetra has made a number of exciting enhancements to the digital platform:
    • Post-application term length changes and collateral assignments are now available.
    • Symetra has improved communications by including which underwriting path your client will travel through in the “Application Submit” email.
    • SwiftTerm is now available for sale in Virginia.
    • Symetra's dedicated team proactively works with producers and applicants to ensure the best possible experience.

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.

Zurich

  • Update to Retention Limits:
    • Nearest Age Through Age 60: Through Table D: $20,000,000; Table E - H: $10,000,000*; Table I or above: Postpone
    • Nearest Age 61-69: Through Table D: $10,000,000; Table E or above: Postpone
    • Nearest Age 70-75: Through Table B: $5,000,000; Table C or above: Postpone
    • Ages 76+: Postpone
  • Inflation Focus Q3. Key Points:
    • Headline CPI inflation remains elevated, partly reflecting higher energy prices and Covid related effects
    • Core inflation is benign in many regions, with the US an exception, and is not expected to become a problem
    • Wages and inflation expectations are contained, with little evidence of pass-through from higher inflation to wages
    • A hawkish shift among central banks confirms that they retain focus on price stability, limiting prospects for stickier inflation
    • Uncertainty around inflation remains elevated, with rising infections and supply chain disruptions at the fore

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

Need help navigating the ever-increasing selection of products from these carriers? Learn how partnering with us can help you earn more, better serve your clients, and sell more life insurance online.

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