Lara: Divest in Russia

March 16, 2022 Calbroker Admin

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a Notice to all insurance companies doing business in California to review financial holdings and take immediate steps to identify and divest from any direct investments in Russian assets or property that could support the Russian regime in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. Lara says California stands with the world in rejecting Russia’s invasion. The legislative leaders of the California Senate and Assembly Insurance Committees joined Commissioner Lara in calling on insurance companies to take immediate action. In the Notice, Lara alerted insurance companies that he’ll use all remedies available under California insurance law to push the industry to demonstrate that they are aligning with the global community to hold Russia accountable.

HEALTH

Join LAAHU in Pasadena
We like the stampede graphic, LAAHU!

LIFE

Pandemic Silver Lining (kind of): Life Sales Soar

Life is so strange — and life insurance is too. It seems that COVID-19 made more people aware of the fragility of life and more interested in financially protecting their families. From LIMRA:

Propelled by 26% fourth quarter premium growth, total life insurance new annualized premium grew 20% in 2021, representing the highest annual growth since 1983, according to LIMRA’s Fourth Quarter U.S. Retail Life Insurance Sales Survey.

According to David Levenson, president and CEO, LIMRA, LOMA and LL Global, the organization’s research shows that the pandemic raised consumer awareness and demand for life insurance protection. Three in 10 Americans told LIMRA researchers that they are more likely to purchase coverage due to COVID-19. Nearly two thirds of carriers reported significant positive gains, including nine of the top 10 carriers.”

LEGISLATION

Register Now for Capitol Summit in Sacramento!

CAHIP’s Capitol Summit is back in person. Join colleagues May 9-11 at the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in Sacramento. At this event, you’ll get a chance to:
  • Meet with state legislators
  • Hear from industry thought leaders
  • Stay up to date on federal and state efforts
  • Share ideas with colleagues

Registration info here. Sponsorship info here.

SELF INSURANCE

Top Companies Show Their Support for Key SIIA Initiative
The Self-Insurance Institute of America, Inc. (SIIA) announced an impressive list of sponsors for the association’s upcoming Future Leaders Forum. Sponsors for the April 11-12 event in Indianapolis so far include Amerihealth, Aon, BPS, Everlong, HMA, Lucent, OneDigital, Roundstone and Spectrum, a division of Campion Life. This is the first in-person SIIA event created exclusively for younger industry professionals (under 40).  More details at www.siia.org. For sponsorship information, contact Justin Miller at jmiller@siia.org.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

AllianceHCM Launches Employee Navigator Integration

AllianceHCM, a large privately-held human capital management (HCM) software provider, announced its latest benefits integration partner, Employee Navigator, a software used by more than 60,000 companies and 10 million employees to help manage benefits administration, onboarding and compliance

The technology and service benefits of AllianceHCM and Employee Navigator helps brokers:

  • Manage benefit election changes for the employee in Employee Navigator and automatically sync to AllianceHCM’s payroll
  • Keep employee demographic data changes in AllianceHCM’s payroll updated in Employee Navigator
  • Decrease the workload during benefit open enrollments elections or as life changes are made
  • Get support from designated partner success managers to guide the implementation and provide ongoing support

The company says the tech integration has the potential to save benefit brokers an average of 21 hours of manual entry per month.  More info here.

COVID

Masks Off! But Be Aware

The mask mandates have lifted and infection rates are mostly quite low. CDC wastewater data, however, indicates we *may* see some spikes ahead. Researchers say that Europe has experienced spikes. Of course, what’s happened in Europe has mostly been a harbinger for what will happen in the United States. Read all about it here.

FINANCIAL PLANNING

Healthcare Costs in Retirement: The Long-Term Impact of Short-Term Inflation

Inflation is currently at a 40-year high. New research from HealthView Services says even a short period of high inflation will significantly impact retirement healthcare costs and budgets.
The report, The Long-Term Impact of Short-Term Inflation, draws upon the last four decades of inflation data, 530 million medical cases and Medicare data to provide cost projections for retirement healthcare based on current inflation data. It assumes that healthcare inflation will continue at a historical average of 1.5 to two times the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over a one-to-two-year period, before returning to an average normalized inflation rate of around 5.9%.
“Even when adjusted for higher Social Security COLAs, the portion of retirement budgets required to cover healthcare will be significantly higher than most expect: A 45-year-old couple will need to invest an additional $27,000 today just to cover the increase in future expenses resulting from higher inflation,” said Ron Mastrogiovanni, founder & CEO of HealthView Services. “Unlike other consumer goods and services, such as gasoline, healthcare costs historically do not increase and decrease – they only go up.”

HealthView Services has developed a consumer-facing calculator that enables users to calculate the impact of inflation on their potential healthcare expenses. Click here to run a range of inflation scenarios and download the report.

DENTAL

Nearly 9 in 10 U.S. Adults Say Maintaining Oral Health Essential to Overall Health

According to the new Delta Dental Oral Health and Wellness Survey, 94% of U.S. adults plan to visit the dentist in 2022.
  • Nearly all adults in the United States will be prioritizing their dental care in 2022, with an overwhelming number of adults (94%) planning to visit the dentist this year.
  • About 3 in 4 (74%) adults in the United States credit the pandemic with making them even more aware of their health.
  • In fact, almost 9 in 10 (86%) adults would agree that throughout the pandemic, maintaining their oral health is essential to protecting their overall health.
  • Despite their good oral health practices, according to this year’s survey, more adults faced dental issues compared to findings from last year. Cavities (86%) topped the list, up 6%. The majority of adults also had to overcome pain or toothache (74%) and teeth sensitivity (67%). These dental issues increased 7% and 6%, respectively.

Okay, now go sell some dental insurance!

EVENTS

  • LAAHU Annual Symposium, in person, April 26, Pasadena Convention Center. Info here.
  • CAHIP’s Capitol Summit, in person, May 9-11, Kimpton Sawyer Hotel, Sacramento. Registration info here. Sponsorship info here.
  • BenefitsPro Broker Expo, in person, May 23-25, 2022, Austin, TX. Request more info here. Register here.

 

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