The Hartford is hoping to parlay its success at selling fixed universal life policies through banks and wirehouses to the independent agent distribution channel.

Companies appear to have a new hunger for insurance industry mergers and acquisitions, according to an industry expert with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A licensed producer for Banc of America Investment Services will spend 18 months in state prison after a judge convicted him of transferring $60,000 from two annuity accounts into his personal bank account.

Dietrich & Associates, a terminal funding annuity services firm, has developed the (k) Annuity, what it bills as “the first true annuity option” for 401(k) and profit-sharing plans where income for life annuity benefits are purchased throughout the career life of the employee.

Richmond, Va.-based Genworth Financial announced that its life insurance subsidiary is underwriting a new product that it says provides a flexible way to link the tax-deferred growth of an annuity with long-term care benefits.

A new battleground between insurance and regulators will be formally drawn May 20 in Washington, D.C., when the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) holds a public hearing to explore the growing practice of stranger owned/originated annuities.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners plans to hold a public hearing May 20 in Washington, D.C., to explore the emergence of stranger originated or stranger owned annuities.

AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. paid a $1.9 million fine for violating New York’s insurance laws between 2001 and 2006, regulators said.

Five industry groups have co-authored a letter to Washington, D.C., urging congressional leadership to reconsider a provision in the new health reform reconciliation package that would enact a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on annuities.

American National Insurance Co., based in Galveston, Texas, has formed a new subsidiary to serve New York, part of its expanded marketing operations.