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>ORLANDO, FL — (MARKET WIRE) — 07/22/10 — Today the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) both released large studies of the Life Settlement Industry, on which they had each worked for the last year, recognizing the growth of the life settlement market and, importantly, that life settlements are a valuable alternative to the lapse or surrender of a life insurance policy for American consumers.

The 120-page GAO report released today documents the emergence of the life settlement market, and the concomitant growth of regulation of the market.

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>Bereaved Receive Non-Insured “Checkbooks” That Accrue Tiny Interest; Insurance Companies Keep Policy Money in Their Own Corporate Accounts and Reap Millions in Profits

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Millions of Americans are being duped by life insurance companies that have figured out a way to hold onto death benefits owed to families, according to a six-month investigation appearing in the September 2010 issue of BLOOMBERG MARKETS® magazine, on newsstands worldwide starting August 16, 2010.

MetLife and Prudential lead the way in making hundreds of millions of dollars in secret profits every year on money that belongs to relatives of those who die. Amon

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>In newly disclosed correspondence with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Hartford Life Insurance Co. was questioned about an unrealized loss of $1.5 billion in securities on its books.

The unrealized loss — initially described in the company’s 10-K filing for the end of 2009 — stemmed from securities that cost $2.1 billion but are currently worth $1.5 billion less. That represents a 71% long-term unrealized loss — “an unrealized loss position of more than 50% for more than 12 months,” as SEC Senior Assistant Chief Accountant Jim B. Rosenberg described in correspondence with Glenn D. Lammey, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Hartford (NYSE: HIG).

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By Tim Duy,
Oregon Economic Forum
sponsor, KeyBank.

The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators™ fell 0.6% to 87.5 (1997=100) from a revised May figure of 88.0.  This is the second consecutive decline.  Further declines in Oregon employment services payrolls and the interest rate spread drove June’s decline, with other indicators generally stronger.

Highlights of the report include:

•    Labor market weakness persisted in June. Initial unemployment claims drifted down, but remain above this year’s low in March and continue to hover near a level consistent with weak job growth at best.  Similarly, employment services payrolls – largely temporary hiring – dropped for a second month to the lowest level since the cyclical low last October.  This drop is discouraging as it suggests deterioration in hiring demand, which should be strengthening at this stage of the recovery.

• Residential building permits (smoothed) fell again in June, although the pace of the decline moderated compared to the previous month.  Housing activity simply remains anemic in the face of tighter credit conditions for home mortgages and persistently weak job markets.

•    New orders for nondefense nonaircraft capital goods rose for a second month, sustaining the upward trend typically consistent with improving economic conditions and stands out against the generally softer tone of the UO Index in recent months. Likewise, the Oregon weigh

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 30, 2010) — The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has released a request for proposal (RFP) for a consulting actuary to assist in a possible study of the impact of principles-based reserving (PBR) on the life insurance industry.

“As we near completion of the NAIC Valuation Manual, it seems prudent to consider studying its impact on all major lines of life insurance to avoid different sets of rules among insurers writing different lines of products,” said Adam Hamm, Chair of the NAIC Principles-Based Reserving Working Group and North Dakota Insurance Commissioner. “

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 29, 2010) — NAIC President and West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane L. Cline issued the following statement today in response to media reports regarding Retained Asset Accounts:

“Retained Asset Accounts (RAA) are a life insurance claims settlement mechanism that have been available to consumers for at least two decades. The accounts were initially created at the request of consumers to provide options for receiving benefits from a life insurance policy, and with proper disclosure, consumers have generally been happy with this flexibility. T

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