Insurance Pro Blog

IPB 081: The Death of the Life Insurance Medical Exam
IPB 081: The Death of the Life Insurance Medical Exam

  In episode 81, we're talking about the newest trend emerging in the world of life insurance underwriting and that is… The end of paramedical exams and lab tests. Now, the exams aren't going away completely. However, after talking with several peopl...

Posted: Aug 31, 2017

IPB 080: Black Box Baloney
IPB 080: Black Box Baloney

  Whole life insurance is often maligned by the rest of the financial services world (those who sell registered investment products) as lacking transparency. It’s referred to as a “black box” for its lack of disclosure. Opponents say that it's not so...

Posted: Aug 23, 2017

Five-Year Whole Life Insurance Company Investment Yield Trend: 2016 Edition
Five-Year Whole Life Insurance Company Investment Yield Trend: 2016 Edition

  For five years, we have tracked the investment yield trend of whole life insurance companies and we continue to analyze this data every year because investment income is a primary driver of dividends paid to participating insurance policy holders....

Posted: Aug 17, 2017

IPB 078: The Bondex v2.6.4.3
IPB 078: The Bondex v2.6.4.3

  To continue on with the discussion of potentially rising interest rates… We actually get into what it might mean for life insurance companies and for your life insurance policy–whether it happens to be participating whole life or universal life. Ma...

Posted: Aug 10, 2017

IPB 077: The Perilous Bondex
IPB 077: The Perilous Bondex

  Former Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan, believes the next bubble to burst will not be in the equity markets…it will be a normalizing of yields in the bond market as inflation ticks up. During a Bloomberg interview, Greenspan said… “By any...

Posted: Aug 03, 2017

IPB 076: The Consequences of Outliving Your Life Insurance
IPB 076: The Consequences of Outliving Your Life Insurance

  Did you know that it's possible to outlive your permanent life insurance? That entire sentence is discombobulating. When does permanent not really mean permanent? Recently, a pending court case was brought to our attention on Joseph Belth's blog (f...

Posted: Jul 27, 2017

IPB 075: Stay for the 401k?
IPB 075: Stay for the 401k?

In episode 75, our discussion revolves around a suggestion that comes from this article over at Fox Business. In particular, the article points out that many larger and well-known employers are aggressively raising their matching contributions for th...

Posted: Jul 20, 2017

IPB 074: Whole Life Insurance Litigation
IPB 074: Whole Life Insurance Litigation

  Recent settlements have been reached between policyholders and a couple of mutual life insurance companies. Turns out an obscure bit of insurance regulation from 100 years ago might get you an extra $22 that you weren't expecting. We've been asked...

Posted: Jul 06, 2017

IPB 073: Don’t Worry About the Economy…We Got This
IPB 073: Don’t Worry About the Economy…We Got This

Recent comments from Fed Chairman, Janet Yellen, indicate that she thinks we'll never see another financial crisis like we saw in 2008. She's probably right but is that really a profound observation? Recent comments from Fed Chairman, Janet Yellen, i...

Posted: Jun 29, 2017

IPB 072: How Do You Define “Best Interest”?
IPB 072: How Do You Define “Best Interest”?

Well, the day of reckoning has come and gone. The new Department of Labor's new Fiduciary Rule is largely in effect across the financial services industry. Discussion over the rule and its implications have been debated over the last couple of years...

Posted: Jun 22, 2017