February 2010
Commitments and Communities
Even though the announcement of rate changes is not a part of our Annuity News, I am sure at least some of you are questioning our recent rate reduction effective January 25. No one likes to see a reduction in interest crediting rates and cap rates, however, when yields drop The Standard needs to respond accordingly. Prudent financial management is a fundamental, core value of The Standard. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t. Hopefully we will soon see a sustainable uptick in yields and react accordingly with a rate increase.
Another core value of The Standard is our commitment to serving our communities. The Standard encourages employees to support local, national and international nonprofit organizations. For example, employees raised over $1.3 million in the 2009 Employee Giving Campaign. Employees are not only encouraged to open up their pocketbooks, but to also volunteer time to various organizations throughout the year. I am proud to say that The Standard, within 48 hours of the initial earthquake in Haiti, donated $10,000 to three prominent disaster relief agencies. We invite you to join our efforts.
We know you share our commitment to serving customers and our communities. We appreciate your partnership.
Sincerely,
Rich Lane
Director, Sales & Marketing
New Business Rate Hold Procedures: A Quick Review
It's always a good idea to revisit business practices from time to time. In our current rate environment, let's take a minute to review our new business rate hold procedures.
Selling Fixed Index Annuities to Loss-Averse Clients: How-To's and Reasons Why
By John Williams, Regional Sales Director
Let’s face it, with the average annualized return of the S&P 500 for the 10 years ended December 31, 2009 at 0.84% and the current average yield for five-year CDs at 2.07%, prudent savers don’t have many options to earn inflation-beating rates of return while safely compounding – especially in an account which allows them to sleep at night without fear of losing money.
Forecast for 2010: Cautious Optimism.
By Jennifer C. Rankin and Ron Clark
Most companies are predicting 2010 sales growth, premium growth and profitability to be modest to flat compared to 2009. Insurers are slowly emerging from the financial crisis and recession and are cautiously optimistic about the year ahead.
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