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 Summer Of Discontent
7/7/2008
BY STEVE PIONTEK
Sorry, Will, to pull a change of seasons on you, but right before the 4th of July it really looks like this is going to be the summer of our discontent.
Read articleTargets Of Opportunity7/7/2008
BY JACK BOBO
When WWII pilots were sent on a mission over enemy territory and their primary target was not accessible, usually because of weather, they would be directed to an alternate target. If that was not clear then often they were free to look for targets of opportunity. Sometimes the optional targets would be more important than the original primary target.
Read articleBloviators6/23/2008
BY STEVE PIONTEK
Flash to regulators and legislators, state and federal: You need to do a reality check and try as hard as you can to get some sense of proportion about the various malfeasances at which you are—or should be—taking aim.
Read articleLabels Should Always Reflect Reality6/23/2008
BY JACK BOBO
Lawyers, it seems, have always been the butt of jokes: some funny, some cruel. They have also been referred to in unflattering terms such as ‘shyster’ and ‘ambulance chaser.’ I don’t know where this practice began; perhaps with Shakespeare when, in his play Henry VI, he penned his famous quote, “the first thing we do is kill all the lawyers.”
Read articleMicrosoft And IBM: Empire Building At ACORD LOMA Forum?6/16/2008
BY ARA C. TREMBLY
Competition to sell technology in the insurance industry is fiercely intensifying, as more players enter the fray and the specter of recession-induced cuts in IT budgets looms on the horizon.
Read articleDutch Boy Blues6/16/2008
BY JIM CONNOLLY
Regulators trying to oversee the suitability of annuity sales no doubt understand the dilemma of the Dutch boy trying to plug the dike who stuck his finger in one hole only to see another leak spring.
Read articleLTCI For The Wealthy? No6/16/2008
BY SEAN MAHER
Emotionally, long term care insurance is a very compelling financial product. No one wants to be dependent upon future generations or to spend their beneficiaries’ inheritance on medical bills.
Read articleGas Pains6/9/2008
BY STEVE PIONTEK
The arrival of $4 per gallon gasoline, not to mention other skyrocketing energy costs, seems likely to bring a whole new branch of mathematics to retirement planning equations.
Read articleMore On Gobbledygook6/9/2008
BY JACK BOBO
I have been a bit surprised at some of the feedback that I have received regarding my May 12 column in National Underwriter. The article, titled “Alphabet Soup and Gobbledygook,” dealt with the proliferation of designations of doubtful value and the spread of misinformation regarding financial products (gobbledygook). From the comments that have been made, both verbal and written, it appears that gobbledygook is a much larger problem than I had realized.
Read articleEstate Tax Reform: It’s Time for Action6/2/2008
BY BOB KERZNER
The discussion of the estate tax—or as some have labeled it the “death tax”—stirs up strong feelings, especially in our business. I loved Warren Buffett’s comment testifying before the House when he said the term “death tax” showed “intellectual dishonesty.” He explained, “It’s clever, it’s Orwellian and it is, if you will pardon the expression, dead wrong.” Those who know its history recognize the truth in his comments.
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