Wyoming

Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule and Impartial Conduct Standards (PTE84-24)

Beginning February 16, 2021, the provisions of the DOL’s new Fiduciary Rule became effective, including the expanded definition of fiduciary and Impartial Conduct Standards under new and amended prohibited transaction exemptions. The DOL provided a non-enforcement grace period that will expire on February 1, 2022. This Rule represents the most significant change to retirement investment […]

Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule and Impartial Conduct Standards (PTE84-24) Read More »

Is it a good idea to name the insured’s estate as a beneficiary of a Life Insurance Policy?

No. When the policyowner names their estate as beneficiary, it opens the doors for creditors to make a claim on the proceeds.   All estates go through a legal process called probate.  The courts appoints an administrator or executor for the estate after an attorney files the paperwork.  The executor is responsible for gathering assets and

Is it a good idea to name the insured’s estate as a beneficiary of a Life Insurance Policy? Read More »

Are insureds entitled to interest on delayed claims?

Almost all states have statues dealing with this issue.  In each state, the requirement is for the company to pay claims promptly (within 30 days) once their liability is clear.  Interest rates vary from state to state.  A common issue found in market conduct examination by the state regulators is lack of notice of the

Are insureds entitled to interest on delayed claims? Read More »

Finding Your National Producer Number (NPN)

An easy way is to go to https://nipr.com/help/look-up-your-npn. Background: The insurance regulators saw a need to identify problem producers.  In the past, individuals could move from a state where they had problems to a new state and apply for a resident license there.  When they got in trouble there, they moved on.  National Producer Number

Finding Your National Producer Number (NPN) Read More »

Beneficiary Designations

Primary: The individual named in the policy to receive death benefits if living.  The primary beneficiary’s right at the time of the insured’s death and owner’s rights end. Policy owner has the right to change beneficiaries at anytime as long as the beneficiary is not irrevocable.  Irrevocable beneficiaries must agree to change.  If the irrevocable

Beneficiary Designations Read More »

How do you find a insurance company that is no longer in business?

First step is to contact the Department of Insurance in the state where you bought the policy. They keep track of that information and will know what happened to the original company. It could have been purchased by another company and in that case they can provide the name, address and phone number of the

How do you find a insurance company that is no longer in business? Read More »

DOL Fiduciary Rule Update on Rollovers Postponed to January 31, 2020

Under the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new policies, all producers (agents) that rollover funds from a  Individual Retirement Account (IRA), Pension or other similar plans to an IRA annuity or other Defined Contribution/Benefit plans must meet the 5-part test under the Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE).  Those requirements can be found in PTE84-24 put out by

DOL Fiduciary Rule Update on Rollovers Postponed to January 31, 2020 Read More »

Business Entity License

Any organization or individual can apply for a Business Entity License provided they have named a “Designated Responsible Licensed Producer”.  This individual is held responsible for the activities of others working for the Business Entity to insure insurance laws and regulations are followed.  When an individual is listed under a Business Entity, that producer can

Business Entity License Read More »

Lost Policy Locator

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has established a search engine to find lost policies for families of a deceased love one.  That website is:   https://eapps.naic.org/life-policy-locator/#/welcome.   This website shares the information with all life insurers in the country.  It is recommended to have a copy of the death certificate and information on prior

Lost Policy Locator Read More »

Changes in Required Minimum Distributions to Age 73

The SECURE Act 2.0 was part of the Deficit Reduction Act  signed by President Biden made a major change in Required Minimum Distributions(RMD) for all pensions plans including IRA. Those individuals with the Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) who turned 73  in 2023, can delay their first RMD until next April 1 of the year

Changes in Required Minimum Distributions to Age 73 Read More »