Menu

AINEssentials

About AINEssentials

http://www.advantageinsurance.com

Posts by Jeff Reed:

AIN Events: Introducing the Global Atlantic Consulting Group

Providing high quality, timely and relevant education and training is a foundational element of a successful marketing communication plan. Sourcing the content for that type of strategy can be a challenge, particularly when there is a need for corresponding consumer facing materials that can be delivered by the advisor. That’s where the Global Atlantic Consulting Group can help. Their exhaustive research and development has resulted in a series of educational workshops ready to be conducted with your advisors either in person or virtually with a goal of helping them take their practice to the next level. Listen in as we introduce you to this powerful resource and the Head of Global Atlantic Consulting, Jeannie Underwood-Kotner.

Ready to dig into the content library curated by the Global Atlantic Consulting Group? Check out these three pieces on the Fragile Decade as discussed in the session with Jeannie Underwood-Kotner or head over to the Global Atlantic Consulting Group website to review the entire library.

  • [wpfilebase tag=file id=6353 tpl=filebrowser /]
  • [wpfilebase tag=file id=6352 tpl=filebrowser /]
  • [wpfilebase tag=file id=6351 tpl=filebrowser /]

Symetra’s SwiftTerm Takes Home Another Insuretech Award

FROM SYMETRA…

Symetra is the recipient of a 2022 Celent Model Insurer Award, winning in the Innovation Execution category for its Symetra SwiftTerm® digital term life insurance platform. Celent, a global research and advisory firm for the financial services industry, announced the awards at their annual Innovation & Insight Week.

Celent Model Insurer Award nominations undergo a rigorous evaluation process by Celent analysts, who assess insurer submissions on three core criteria: demonstrable business benefits of live initiatives; the degree of innovation relative to the industry; and the technology or implementation excellence.

“The Celent Model Insurer Awards recognize how insurers are using technology to change the face of insurance. Achieving operational excellence requires transforming processes and systems into competitive advantages by making them leaner, faster, more flexible and of higher quality,” said Andrew Schwartz, analyst at Celent. “Our 2022 Model Insurer Award honorees should serve as an inspiration to others looking for strong examples of best practice implementation that will have a truly meaningful impact on business results and the industry overall.”

The SwiftTerm platform is modeled as a microservices-based event-driven architecture. It includes more than 80 auto-scaling RESTful API’s, a centralized API plane for all transactions. The platform can ingest and publish millions of events and is built using a fully automated CI/CD platform that includes DNS, domains, and certificates. The real-time distributed system is powered by 16+ SaaS providers, utilizing best-in-breed technology from some of the top vendors in the market today.

Please see the full press release from Symetra for more and give the SwiftTerm platform part of your agency’s 2022 strategy.

The 2022 AIN Idea Lab Series is Here!

The AIN Idea Lab series returns in 2022 with a robust slate of meetings with the AIN Core Carriers. These sessions combine the unique expertise of the sponsoring Core Carrier, attendees from the AIN Member Services Team and, most importantly, attendance and contributions from the AIN Member Firms. Pre-registration is now open! Please use the form below to pre-register for up to four sessions and pencil the dates out in your calendar. Important: Your attendance at any of the 2022 Idea Lab sessions will be confirmed by the sponsoring carrier prior to the event. Do not make any travel arrangements or the like until your attendance is confirmed.

2019 AIN Idea Lab Pre-Registration

  • Select up to four of the Idea Lab sessions shown below, in order of preference.
 

Sample Cybersecurity RFI Questions

As discussed in a recent message from Jeff Reed, AIN’s Chief Information Security Officer, multiple Member Firms have been asked to complete Cybersecurity RFI’s detailing policy and procedure inside the agency. To help you prepare for that potential eventuality, please see the following list of the types of questions that could be included in an RFI.

  1. Does the firm maintain a documented information security and privacy policy (or policies)?
  2. Does the firm have incident response procedures designed to promptly respond to and recover from information security and privacy incidents, including required notifications to stakeholders?
  3. Does the firm ensure all employees and contractors receive periodic information security and privacy training?
  4. Does the firm require authentication (e.g., complex password) prior to accessing private information and multi-factor authentication for telework or remote access to private information?
  5. Does the firm have established and implemented procedures to authorize and manage access to private information and remove access when it is no longer required?
  6. Does the firm implement and manage anti-malware and anti-virus tools to detect and block malware from infecting its network and endpoints?
  7. Does the firm identify all applicable patches and updates to technology and software assets and apply the patches within an appropriate time frame?
  8. Does the firm have procedures to ensure non-public information is encrypted at rest?
  9. Does the firm ensure private information is encrypted any time the information is being transferred or transmitted outside the firm’s network?
  10. If the firm has subcontractors with access to non-public data, does the firm have established and implemented procedures to assess the security controls of subcontractors and track information security, privacy, or data breach issues?
  11. Has the firm implemented a data loss prevention (DLP) security solution/program to identify and address data leakage via email, print, or web activity?
  12. Does the firm conduct annual or more frequent penetration tests (performed by either an internal security group or a recognized third-party) against the network and application environment that stores, processes, or transfers private information?

Any agency seeking to learn more about any of the above can pursue a number of paths forward:

  • Talk to an expert: AIN has a relationship with one of the true experts in the field with specific cybersecurity expertise in the financial services and insurance verticals. Their suite of services can address both the technical controls and policy and procedure elements of an effective cybersecurity program. Please send me an email to set up an initial consultation at no charge.
  • Have a chat with AIN’s Chief Information Security Officer: I’m happy to schedule a time to talk about any of these topics in more detail.

Prudential Updates Position on BGA Licensing Requirements

Don’t forfeit your Pru override compensation! Please review these important details from Prudential.

Prudential has updated its position and similar to many other Core Carriers has identified additional states that require IMOs and BGAs to be licensed and appointed in order to receive override compensation payments (referred to as “override states”). The list of states is expanding from three (MS, NY, and VA) to 16. This change impacts all BGA partners. AIN requires that Member Firms hold a non-resident state license in all states in which their business is written.

As a result, effective April 11, 2022, BGAs will need to be licensed and appointed for any policy placed in the following states in order to receive override compensation from Prudential: CA, FL, GA, Guam, KS, KY, LA, MS, NM, NY, PA, SD, TX, VA, WV, and WI.

All applications received will go through license validation checks. The first check will occur at the time of application submission and the second check will occur at time of policy issue. If the first check identifies a qualification deficiency, the BGA will be notified via a task labeled “BGA Licensing Alert” with the following message and will need to acknowledge this message in order to continue processing the application:

State law requires the BGA to be licensed and appointed to receive compensation on any policy placed in connection with this application. Please work promptly to obtain the necessary license and appointment. Failure to do so by time of policy issue will result in forfeited compensation for the BGA. As the BGA, you must acknowledge that you have received and understand this requirement and the resulting impact. Once you acknowledge, we will continue to process the application. If you need time to get appointed and licensed, do NOT acknowledge this until you are properly appointed and licensed and you are in receipt of an Appointment Confirmation Letter from Prudential.

Prudential’s Licensing, Appointment, and Registration Services team will be processing state appointments for all override states BGAs are currently licensed in. For any new licenses, please complete the “BGA Appointment Cover Sheet” and submit it to brokerage.appointment@prudential.com for processing.

AdminUpdate: Lincoln to Launch a New, Unified Life Application

FROM LINCOLN FINANCIAL…

Beginning March 28, 2022, Underwriting & New Business will implement an updated application package for all life insurance products and submission methods.

This updated application package has been designed, based on feedback from our partners and consumers, to enhance the user experience of completing and applying for a policy, improve clarity and readability of the forms, and reduce overall turnaround times by increasing efficiencies within case processing and underwriting.

What you need to know

The updated application package will be used for:

  • All Term, Universal Life (UL), Indexed UL (IUL) and Variable UL (VUL) products (Not for use in New York or with Lincoln MoneyGuard® products)
  • All ages and all face amounts
  • All submission methods (traditional full application and ticket, eTicket and eApps)
  • The application package will automatically update on the Lincoln Forms Tool, or wherever you access Lincoln’s forms
  • eApp and eTicket submissions and eInterview will automatically update to the new application questions
  • Lincoln TermAccel® will remain a fully electronic process with eTicket submissions only and required eDelivery

Find out more about these changes from Lincoln Financial…

ProdMod: The Next Generation of SecureCare is Here

FROM SECURIAN FINANCIAL…

Give your LTC clients a boost!

We heard you. And built the long-term care (LTC) solution you want: SecureCare™ III, a hybrid LTC plan built on a nonparticipating whole life insurance policy.

It has all the things you love about its predecessor — a cash indemnity benefit for LTC with no fine print or restrictions about how it can be used — plus more flexibility.

Now clients can choose the protection that matters most to them:

  • Maximize protection on their premium dollars with full return of premium
  • Maximize leverage on their premium dollars with LTC Boost
Transition Rules
  • Monday, March 14, 2022: Illustration software will be updated to include SecureCare III.
  • Friday, March 25, 2022: Applications for SecureCare Universal Life must be signed, in good order and received by Securian Financial’s home office or submitted via eApp by 3 p.m. CST.
  • Saturday, March 26, 2022: SecureCare III will be available in all states except AZ, CA, CT, DC, DE, IN, MT, ND, NY and SD on eApp. Collect all required eSignatures for SecureCare Universal Life and submit your eApp to Securian Financial before 3 p.m. CST March 25 to avoid impact.
  • Monday, March 28, 2022: SecureCare III will be available in all states except AZ, CA, CT, DC, DE, IN, MT, ND, NY and SD. To accommodate SecureCare III’s product changes, we will offer a new application.
Curious about what the new version of SecureCare looks like? Register for the SecureCare III webinar coming up on March 30th!

AdminUpdate: Legal & General Implements Horizon AU Process Enhancement

FROM LEGAL & GENERAL…

More Clients Protected in Less Time

We’ve expanded eligibility for exam-free approvals to get your clients covered even faster when using our digital application. And with our built-in accelerated underwriting, we’ve made it faster than ever for them to obtain coverage.

Lab Lift Exam Substitution Program

We’re currently expanding our accelerated underwriting process with the addition of our new exam/lab substitution program, Lab Lift — giving customers a better-than-ever chance of experiencing an exam-free approval process.

With Lab Lift, clients who are not initially approved exam-free now have the option to substitute recent electronic health records (EHR), if available, or an attending physician statement (APS) for a paramedical exam. The best part? Eligible clients ages 20-60 can enjoy up to $2 million in coverage, at the same competitive price. Exam-free has never been this easy.

Learn more about the Lab Lift Program here.

Find out more about these changes from Legal & General…

ProdMod: North American to Reduce Cap Rates Effective April 1st

FROM NORTH AMERICAN…

Updated: Cap, participation, spread, and illustrated rates for indexed universal life products

Please be advised that we are making changes to the cap, participation, illustrated, and spread rates (if applicable) for the following currently marketed products: Builder Plus IUL® 3, Protection Builder IUL®, and Smart Builder® IUL 2.

For these products to receive the current rates, ALL monies must be placed into the index accounts with an effective date ON OR BEFORE March 31, 2022. All monies with an effective date ON OR AFTER April 1, 2022, will receive the new rates.

Transition Rules

The following criteria must be met for monies to be placed into the index accounts with an effective date on or before March 31, 2022:

  • For applications in New Business:
    • Policy Anniversary Date of 3/28/22 or earlier
    • Money received and applied by 3/30/22
    • All requirements received in good order by 3/30/22
    • Policy placed in force by 3/30/22
  • For applications in Policy Change:
    • Policy Anniversary Date of 3/28/22 or earlier
    • Money received and applied by 3/29/22
    • All requirements received in good order by 3/29/22
    • Policy placed in force by 3/29/22

Find out more about these changes from North American…

AdminUpdate: Foresters to Cease Accepting Business in New York

FROM FORESTERS FINANCIAL…

Important notice on new business applications for the State of New York

On March 31, 2022, Foresters Financial™ will stop accepting new life insurance applications in the state of New York. This decision does not impact our business in any other state.

Foresters remains committed to providing the highest level of service to our existing New York customers and will continue to honor all contractual obligations on in-force certificates in the state of New York. Foresters Members will continue to have access to member benefits.

As of March 31, 2022, the following products will no longer be offered for sale:

  • Advantage Plus II
  • SMART UL
  • Your Term
  • PlanRight

Transition Details

In preparation for the March 31, 2022, cut off please review the following transition rules and important dates for both iPipeline e-App and paper applications.

  • For iPipeline e-App submissions (based on application lock date)
    • Applications must be signed and submitted on or before March 31, 2022, to be accepted.
    • Applications locked on or before March 31, 2022, but not signed and submitted until on or after April 1, 2022, will not be accepted.
  • For paper application submissions (based on application signed date)
    • Applications signed on or before March 31, 2022, must be received on or before April 15, 2022, to be accepted.
    • Applications signed on or before March 31, 2022, and received after April 15, 2022, will be returned/cancelled/not accepted.
    • Applications signed on or after April 1, 2022, will not be accepted.
Please see the formal announcement from Foresters Financial for additional details.

Find out more about these changes from Foresters Financial…

Load More