New Year, New York, New Product! Now Available: Lincoln MoneyGuard® II NY
Effective January 13, 2020, the Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York is pleased to announce the newest linked-benefit product in the Lincoln MoneyGuard® Solutions suite, Lincoln MoneyGuard® II NY. Lincoln MoneyGuard® II NY is a single or flexible premium, universal life insurance product that provides a death benefit and long-term care (LTC) coverage through policy riders.
Below are just SOME of the highlights of the new product:
• 0-day deductible for ALL services (previously 90 day facility wait)
• Couples Discount added to LTC Extension of Benefits Rider (not available on previous version)
• Eliminated tobacco classes—tobacco users now get the same non-tobacco rates
• No age restriction on single-premium business (previously restricted to age 69)
• Return of Premium added for flex-pay cases (previously on single pay only)
• Pay to 65 option added in addition to 1-10 year designs
• More competitive plan designs for clients under 50
• Benefits now available internationally
• Enhanced Submission Process to align with MG offerings in other states
Additional information can be found HERE.
Important! Complete Your Required Training Now
If you do business in NY, I wanted to be sure you saw this important announcement regarding product training from Protective Life.
The SECURE Act Has Passed!
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) was passed into law on December 20, 2019. This is the first major retirement-related legislation since the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
This SECURE Act Overview from Prudential provides a high-level synopsis of the key provisions of the law and can help you start important planning conversations with your clients.
Important: Upcoming Mutual of Omaha Product Changes
Effective January 1, 2020, Mutual of Omaha will be making a number of product changes, including the discontinuation of their Guaranteed Universal Life (GUL) product. For a complete list of the upcoming changes, please click HERE.
REMINDER: Prudential Term Essential and Elite Reprice
As a reminder, here’s a link to the transition rules for Prudential’s updated term products.
Trendsetter Super Term No Longer Available in NY
From Transamerica: “Effective Nov. 15, 2019, Trendsetter® Super term life insurance in New York and the Virgin Islands will no longer be available for sale in those markets. We will reenter the term insurance markets in the state of New York when financial and regulatory conditions allow us to do so.”
More HERE.
AIG Secure Lifetime GUL 3 Rates – Increasing in all States
From AIG: “Starting December 7, 2019, the premiums on Secure Lifetime GUL 3 (GUL 3) will be increasing an average of 4% on level pay, and 9% on single or 10 pay scenarios. While we strive to hold the prices of all of our products steady, the long-standing low interest rate environment continues to put pressure on our industry. To ensure we stay laser focused on our commitment to deliver higher value to both you and your clients, a rate change is necessary.”
More available HERE.
Changes to Prudential’s Term Portfolio
Effective November 11, 2019, the overall average increase for Term Essential is 1.9%. Term Elite will also experience some increases. This includes terms for 15, 20, and 30 years; there is no increase for 10-year terms. Pru term products remain competitive and aren’t expected to experience changes for the remainder of the year.
Transition rules can be found HERE.
Important: Annuity Product Changes from North American
A series of year-end product moves will help make it easier to position the North American fixed index annuity line-up.
Effective Jan. 1, 2020 the following will be discontinued:
- NAC BenefitSolutions® 14 (10-year still available)
- Performance Choice® 12 and 12 Plus (8 and 8 Plus still available)
REMINDER: As of Sept. 24, Performance Choice 8 and 8 plus minimum premium is $20,000 (qualified and non-qualified) - NAC RetireChoice® 10 (NAC VersaChoice® 10 still available)
- Income Pay® Plus (Income Pay® in Pennsylvania), optional guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) rider
More information available HERE.
eCig and Vaping Underwriting Changes at Prudential
From the underwriting department at Prudential:
“Underwriting Communication – E-cigarettes:
The purpose of this note is to give everyone a heads up that we will be changing our position on e-cigarette users.
As you are aware, vaping has been at the center of the news over the past few months and linked to a few deaths and multiple illnesses. There have been warnings from the FDA, federal government and some states banning the use of flavored e-cigarettes.
We took a stand a few years ago when e-cigarettes started gaining popularity to treat them similar to the way we assess the use of cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, etc………………treat them as non-smokers and offer NSP as our best class. We received some pushback from our reinsurers at the time but stood by our decision and wanted to keep a close eye on it.
I truly believe it is time for us to change and classify vaping as a smoker and reduce the overall risk exposure to the company. Our reinsurers also have been asking us when we will make the change so obviously support this action.
I wanted to get advance notice out to all of you so you are aware and can start communicating the change to your external partners. We are looking to make a quick system change to reflect users of e-cigarettes as smokers on applications dated 10/21/2019 and later. We will honor any application that has already been written prior to that date and will continue to consider those applicants as non-smokers.”
Please call our office for more details.