January/February 2004 (20 pages; $10)

• Spencer L. Kimball
• Conseco Expands Its Assault on Policyholders
• An Update to Our September 2003 Special Ratings Issue
• From the Mailbag
• A Letter from National Life of Vermont
• Conseco Exaggerates Its RBC Ratios
• Anti-Consumer Regulation from the Illinois Insurance Department
• Appendix A:  Southwestern Life Letter to Policyholder (May 1989)
• Appendix B:  Philadelphia Life Memorandum about the R-factor (1995 or earlier)
• Appendix C:  Massachusetts General Letter to "Policyholder or Agent" (1995 or earlier)
• Appendix D:  Recent Rating Actions Affecting Life-Health Insurance Companies

March/April 2004 (24 pages; $10)

• Secondary Guarantees, Marketers, Actuaries, Regulators, and a Potential Financial Disaster for the Life Insurance Business
• Lesson:  Nonforfeiture Benefits
• Lesson:  The Tontine Concept
• Lesson:  Term to 100 in Canada
• Conseco Adds to the Confusion Surrounding RBC Ratios
• Conseco's Combined RBC Ratios
• My Questions and Conseco's Answers
• TIAA's Surprising Exit from the Long-Term Care Insurance Business
• Statement of Joseph M. Belth on TIAA Transfer to MetLife
• From the Mailbag

May/June 2004 (16 pages; $10)

• Life Insurance:  An Industry Built on Secrecy
• Conseco Further Expands Its Assault on Policyholders
• The Utah Insurance Commissioner Blocks Disclosure of Fractional Premium Charges as Annual Percentage Rates
• Correspondence with an Attorney about Disclosure of Fractional Premium Charges as Annual Percentage Rates
• From the Mailbag

July/August 2004 (20 pages; $10)

• E. J. Moorhead
• Flawed Life Insurance Programs Promoted to Charities
• An Incident Involving Conseco Life's Appointed Actuary
• Personal Reflections about Jack Moorhead
• Executives' Compensation in 2003
• A Request for Readers' Comments
• An Inquiry to the Insurance Commissioner of the District of Columbia about Fractional Premium Charges
• Our Detailed 2002-2003 Index
• Appendix A:  Compensation Data for 2003 from Proxies
• Appendix B:  Compensation Data for 2003 from Nebraska
• Appendix C:  Compensation Data for 2003 from New York

September 2004 (32 pages; $10)

• Financial Strength of Insurance Companies
• Ratings List of Insurance Companies
• Suggested Insurance Companies for Conservative Consumers
• Watch List of Insurance Companies
• Rating Firms' Descriptions of Their Rating Categories
• Distributions of the Ratings of Insurance Companies

October 2004 (4 pages; $10)

• The Magnitude of the Underpricing in Universal Life Policies with No-Lapse Guarantees
• Rating Firms Sound the Alarm

November 2004 (16 pages; $10)

• The Growing Availability of Easy-To-Use Calculators for Annual Percentage Rates Associated with Fractional Premiums
• Executives' Compensation--A Correction
• From the Mailbag
• Risk-Based Capital Ratios
• Surplus Note Usage by Insurance Companies
• Appendix A:  Data on Risk-Based Capital
• Appendix B:  Data on Surplus Notes

December 2004 (4 pages; $10)

• An Investigation of the Secret Dividend Expense Charges in Five Life Insurance Policies

January 2005 (24 pages; $10)

• Eliot Spitzer and the Insurance Industry
• Conflicts of Interest Relating to Compensation in the Distribution Component of the Insurance Industry
• Appendix: Text of Spitzer Complaint against Marsh

February/March 2005 (24 pages; $10)

• John Douglas Long
• The Multistate Settlements Relating to UnumProvident's Disability Insurance Claims Practices
• Northwestern Mutual and the NASD
• An Anonymous Comment about Executive Compensation at Massachusetts Mutual
• Why We Omitted the Weiss Ratings from Our September 2004 Special Ratings Issue
• Response to Comments about the Omission of the Weiss Ratings from Our September 2004 Special Ratings Issue
• An Update to Our September 2004 Special Ratings Issue
• Appendix A:  Statement of Joseph M. Belth about the Multistate Settlements with UnumProvident
• Appendix B:  Letter from Friedman, Rubin & White about the Multistate Settlements with UnumProvident
• Appendix C:  Letter from Bonny G. Rafel about the Multistate Settlements with UnumProvident
• Appendix D:  Excerpt from the NASD Settlement with Northwestern
• Appendix E:  Recent Rating Actions Affecting Insurance Companies

April 2005 (8 pages; $10)

• The Georgia Examination Report on UnumProvident's Disability Insurance Claims Practices
• Appendix:  Excerpts from the Georgia Examination Report

May/June 2005 (28 pages; $10)

• Charles P. Hall, Jr. and Kenneth Black, Jr.
• Northwestern Mutual Fights Back against PPSI/Stinnett
• The Settlement of the Spitzer Complaint against Marsh
• The Unpublicized Spitzer Complaint against Aon
• The A. L. Williams/Primerica Aspect of the Transaction between MetLife and Citigroup
• Wet on Met? (by Alan Press)
• From the Mailbag
• A Conflict of Interest for Actuaries Involved in Both Life Settlements and Universal Life with No-Lapse Guarantees
• A Conflict of Interest for Joseph Petrelli of Demotech
• Appendix A:  Excerpts from Northwestern Mutual's Complaint against PPSI/Stinnett
• Appendix B:  Text of the Spitzer/Marsh Agreement
• Appendix C:  Memorandum about the Internal Investigation at Marsh

July 2005 (20 pages; $10)

• TIAA-CREF's Governance Crisis Caused by the Mishandling of an Auditor Independence Violation
• Executives' Compensation in 2004
• The Governance Crisis at Massachusetts Mutual
• Appendix A:  Compensation Data for 2004 from Proxies
• Appendix B:  Compensation Data for 2004 from Nebraska
• Appendix C:  Compensation Data for 2004 from New York

August 2005 (28 pages; $10)

• The Spitzer/Mills Complaint Against AIG, Greenberg, and Smith
• Willis Incorrectly Portrays Its Agreement with Spitzer and Mills
• The Term-Only License Proposal and the Citigroup/Primerica Culture (by Joseph M. Belth and Alan Press)
• Slavery and Insurance
• A Horrific Event Involving Slaves and Insurance (by Adam Hochschild)
• Appendix A:  Text of Spitzer/Mills Complaint against AIG, Greenberg, and Smith
• Appendix B:  Excerpt from Spitzer/Mills Settlement with Willis

September 2005 (32 pages; $10)

• Financial Strength of Insurance Companies
• Ratings List of Insurance Companies
• Suggested Insurance Companies for Conservative Consumers
• Watch List of Insurance Companies
• Rating Firms' Descriptions of Their Rating Categories
• Distributions of the Ratings of Insurance Companies

October 2005 (16 pages; $10)

• The Disciplinary Body of the U. S. Actuarial Profession Says Joseph Petrelli of Demotech Does Not Have a Conflict of Interest
• Surplus Note Usage by Insurance Companies
• Risk-Based Capital Ratios
• Appendix A: Data on Surplus Notes
• Appendix B:  Data on Risk-Based Capital

November 2005 (8 pages; $10)

• Harry K. Privette
• Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Coast
• The Greenberg Attorneys' Memorandum about AIG's Restatements
• Indictments of Former Marsh Executives
• Appendix:  Preface and Overview in the Greenberg Attorneys' Memorandum

December 2005 (12 pages; $10)

• Prudential, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Taxation of Waiver-of-Premium Disability Benefits
• A Disapproved Reorganization Plan Involving Security Mutual Life of New York and Ohio National Life
• Developments Relating to TIAA's Transfer of Its Long-Term Care Insurance Business to Metropolitan Life

January 2006 (12 pages; $10)

• The California Insurance Department's Settlement with UnumProvident Relating to Disability Insurance Claims Practices
• An Angry Book about UnumProvident's Disability Insurance Claims Practices
• Appendix A:  Allegations in the California Insurance Department's Accusation Concerning UnumProvident's Disability Insurance Claims Practices
• Appendix B:  Excerpts from the Federal Court Decision in the Hangarter Case

February/March 2006 (20 pages; $10)

• Aftermath of the California/UnumProvident Settlement Relating to Disability Income Insurance Claims Practices
• The Disability Insurance Industry's Attack on California's Consumer Protection Initiative (by Mark D. DeBofsky)
• Spitzer, Greenberg, and The Starr Foundation
• More on the Federal Income Taxation of Waiver-of-Premium Disability Benefits
• An Update to Our September 2005 Special Ratings Issue
• From the Mailbag
• Hurricane Katrina and the National Geographic
• Appendix A:  Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's Letter to The Starr Foundation and Related Documents
• Appendix B:  Recent Rating Actions Affecting Insurance Companies

April 2006 (8 pages; $10)

• The Background, Nature, and Causes of the Financial Crisis at The American College

May 2006 (12 pages; $10)

• Criminal and Civil Charges against Individuals Associated with a Discredited AIG/Gen Re Transaction, and Related Developments
• Undervaluation of Life Insurance Protection and a Resulting Improper Reduction in the Tax Revenue of the United States Government
• My Letter to the IRS about the Taxation of Waiver-of-Premium Disability Benefits
• Our Detailed 2004-2005 Index
• Appendix A:  Telephone Conversations Quoted in the SEC Complaint
• Appendix B:  SEC Press Release Announcing the Settlement with AIG
• Appendix C:  DOJ Press Release Announcing the Settlement with AIG

June 2006 (12 pages; $10)

• The Growing Speculation in Human Lives through the Secondary Market for Life Insurance Policies
• A Letter from a UnumProvident Claimant
• Appendix A:  Karl J. Ohrman's Letter to a Charitable Organization
• Appendix B:  New York Insurance Department's Opinion on Certain Speculator-Initiated Life Insurance Transactions

July 2006 (24 pages; $10)

• Hartford's Settlement of the New York and Connecticut Complaints about Secret Commissions on Terminal and Maturity Funding Annuities
• The Ill-Advised ACLI Proposal for an Excise Tax on Speculator-Initiated Life Insurance Transactions
• From the Mailbag
• Executives' Compensation in 2005
• Appendix A:  Excerpts from Spitzer Complaint against Hartford
• Appendix B:  Cross-references for Executive Compensation Data
• Appendix C:  Compensation Data for 2005 from the SEC
• Appendix D:  Compensation Data for 2005 from Nebraska
• Appendix E:  Compensation Data for 2005 from New York

August 2006 (16 pages; $10)

• Life Insurance Companies Should Take Over the Secondary Market for Their Policies
• UnitedHealth Group and the Scandal Surrounding Stock Options
• Insurance Companies' Risk-Based Capital Ratios
• Insurance Companies' Usage of Surplus Notes
• Appendix A:  Risk-Based Capital Data
• Appendix B:  Surplus Note Data

September 2006 (32 pages; $10)

• Financial Strength of Insurance Companies
• Suggested Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Property-Liability Companies
• Watch List of Life-Health Companies
• Descriptions of Rating Categories
• Distributions of Life-Health Ratings

October 2006 (8 pages; $10)

• An Update on Northwestern Mutual's Lawsuit against PPSI/Stinnett
• Disclosure of Executive Compensation Moves Front and Center--Except among State Insurance Regulators
• A Report on Freedom of Information Acts

November/December 2006 (24 pages; $10)

• James C. Hickman
• Amended Criminal Charges over an AIG/Gen Re Transaction and Amended Civil Charges against Greenberg/Smith
• DOJ, SEC, and State Insurance Regulatory Actions against Abusive Practices Directed at Military Personnel
• The NAIC Campaign to Create a Monopoly in the Distribution of Insurance Company Financial Statements
• Oregon's 1996 Repeal of the Gag Rule on Risk-Based Capital Data
• Comdex and the Use of Numbers To Summarize the Ratings of Insurance Companies
• Appendix A:  Text of Spitzer/Mills Amended Complaint against Greenberg/Smith
• Appendix B:  Excerpts from Government Complaints against American-Amicable

January/February 2007 (32 pages; $10)

• A Blistering Report about the Stock Options Scandal at UnitedHealth
• The Stock Options Scandal at HCC
• Spitzer, Coventry, and the Secondary Market for Life Insurance Policies
• A Surprising Arbitration Award in the Dispute between Robert O'Connell and Massachusetts Mutual
• New York/California Settlements with UnumProvident Relating to Undisclosed Compensation Paid to Brokers
• New Hampshire, New York, and NASD Settlements with ING
• Appendix A:  Excerpts from Arbitration Award in the Dispute between Robert O'Connell and Massachusetts Mutual
• Appendix B:  Excerpts from Court Filing by Massachusetts Mutual Relating to the Arbitration Award to Robert O'Connell
• Appendix C:  Excerpts from Spitzer Settlement with UnumProvident
• Appendix D:  Excerpt from Spitzer/ING Assurance of Discontinuance

March/April 2007 (20 pages; $10)

• Mark S. Dorfman and Christopher E. DiPasquale
• A Summary of Eliot Spitzer's Insurance Investigation
• Three State Attorneys General Enforce Agreements with Insurers to Stop Paying Contingent Compensation
• The DiPasquale Disability Case
• The Surplus Note Catastrophe at Atlantic Mutual
• The New York Times Features Spinlife and the Secondary Market for Life Insurance Policies
• More on Life Insurance Policy Buyout Programs
• The Minnesota Complaint against Allianz Life for Selling Unsuitable Deferred Annuities to Seniors
• An Added Dimension of the National Stock Options Scandal
• A Setback for Massachusetts Mutual in Its Bitter Dispute with Robert O'Connell
• A Book about "Hank" Greenberg and AIG
• From the Mailbag

May 2007 (12 pages; $10)

• Fake Reinsurance Obtained by MBIA
• Fake Insurance Promoted by AIG
• Enron-Style Entities Promoted by AIG
• Fake Reinsurance Obtained by RenRe
• Unacceptable Surplus Promoted by Citibank

June 2007 (16 pages; $10)

• The Proposed Class Action Settlement of Conseco's Assault on Universal Life Policyholders
• Metropolitan Life's Flawed Attempt to Take Over TIAA's Obligations Relating to Long-Term Care Insurance Policies

July 2007 (16 pages; $10)

• A Landmark Decision about the Secondary Market for Life Insurance Policies
• Executives' Compensation in 2006
• Appendix A:  Cross-References for Executive Compensation Data
• Appendix B:  Compensation Data for 2006 from the SEC
• Appendix C:  Compensation Data for 2006 from Nebraska
• Appendix D:  Compensation Data for 2006 from New York

August 2007 (16 pages; $10)

• The Expanding Crackdown on Deception in the Sale of Unsuitable Annuities to Seniors
• Insurance Companies' Risk-Based Capital Ratios
• Insurance Companies' Usage of Surplus Notes
• A Major Development in New York Relating to Disclosure of Executive Compensation
• Appendix A:  Risk-Based Capital Data
• Appendix B:  Surplus Note Data

September 2007 (32 pages; $10)

• Financial Strength of Insurance Companies
• Suggested Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Property-Liability Companies
• Watch List of Life-Health Companies
• Descriptions of Rating Categories
• Distributions of Life-Health Ratings

October 2007 (8 pages; $10)

• The New York Insurance Department Changes Its Position on Compensation Disclosure
• A Novel about Viatical Transactions
• The Mounting Legal Problems at Life Partners
• Appendix:  Letter to LICONY from the New York Insurance Department

November 2007 (8 pages; $10)

• A Critical Report by Three Securities Regulatory Organizations about "Free Lunch" Seminars that Target Seniors
• Observations on Reports Filed in Texas by Coventry First and Life Partners
• New York Life's "Access Plus" Program
• Corrections in Our Executive Compensation Tabulations for 2006

December 2007 (8 pages; $10)

• The Minnesota/Allianz Settlement about Sales of Unsuitable Deferred Annuities to Seniors
• The New York Insurance Department’s Procedure in the Promulgation of Regulations
• Recent Developments in New York and Florida Relating to Coventry and the Secondary Market for Life Insurance Policies
• Commission Differentials in Deferred Annuities (by Vincent P. Gallagher)
• From the Mailbag

January 2008 (8 pages; $10)

• Obscene Commissions for Intermediaries in the Secondary Market for Life Insurance Policies
• Larry King's Lawsuit against an Insurance Agent Relating to a Pair of 2004 Transactions in the Secondary Market
• The National Underwriter Magazine and the Secondary Market for Life Insurance Policies
• Another Proposed Alternative to the Secondary Market for Life Insurance Policies
• Warren Buffett's Losing Bet against the Boston Red Sox

February 2008 (8 pages; $10)

• Lincoln National’s Lawsuit Seeking Rescission of $30 Million of Spinlife, and Other Developments Relating to Spinlife

March 2008 (8 pages; $10)

• The Scandalous Failure of the Health Insurance Industry to Assist in Solving the Tragedy of the Uninsured in America (by Alan Press)
• From the Mailbag
• Nationwide's Confidential Method of Determining Dividends on Life Insurance Policies

April 2008 (8 pages; $10)

• Jonathan Blattmachr and the Use of Life Insurance in Aggressive Efforts to Avoid Taxation
• From the Mailbag
• Recent Developments Involving Life Partners
• Taxation of Life Insurance Premiums in Alaska and South Dakota

May 2008 (8 pages; $10)

• The Minnesota Attorney General, American Equity, Aviva, and the Selling of Unsuitable Annuities to Seniors
• The California Commissioner, Allianz, and the Selling of Unsuitable Annuities to Seniors
• The Minnesota Commissioner, American Investors Life, AmerUs Life, and the Selling of Unsuitable Annuities to Seniors
• MBIA's $1 Billion Offering of Surplus Notes
• Correspondence about Our February 2008 Issue

June 2008 (16 pages; $10)

• Julia M. Carson
• More on the Tragedy of the Uninsured in America (by Alan Press)
• The Use of Spinlife to Facilitate Replacement
• "Free Insurance"--What I Tell My Friends (by Stephan R. Leimberg)
• From the Mailbag

July 2008 (16 pages; $10)

• Shortcomings of Private Insurance in Financing Long-Term Care
• Executives' Compensation in 2007
• Appendix A:  Cross-References for Executive Compensation Data
• Appendix B:  Compensation Data for 2007 from the SEC
• Appendix C:  Compensation Data for 2007 from Nebraska
• Appendix D:  Compensation Data for 2007 from New York

August 2008 (16 pages; $10)

• The Unconventional NAIC Settlement with Conseco on Long-Term Care Insurance
• Insurance Companies' Risk-Based Capital Ratios
• Insurance Companies' Usage of Surplus Notes
• From the Mailbag
• Life Insurance Company Statements on Spinlife
• Appendix A:  Risk-Based Capital Data
• Appendix B:  Surplus Note Data

September 2008 (32 pages; $10)

• Financial Strength of Insurance Companies
• Suggested Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Property-Liability Companies
• Watch List of Life-Health Companies
• Descriptions of Rating Categories
• Distributions of Life-Health Ratings

October 2008 (8 pages; $10)

• The Decimation of New York State's Century-Old Compensation Disclosure Law
• The Need for More Transparency in the Actuarial Profession's Disciplinary Procedures
• Recent Developments at Life Partners
• Trans World, Military Sales, and the Georgia Insurance Commissioner

November 2008 (8 pages; $10)

• Conseco's Separation from a Financially Troubled Long-Term Care Insurance Subsidiary
• An Important Court Decision about the Income Taxation of Demutualization Distributions
• Variable Universal Life--Buyer Beware! (by Scott J. Witt)
• From the Mailbag

December 2008 (8 pages; $10)

• Daniel J. McCarthy
• The Nationalization of AIG
• More on Actuarial Disciplinary Procedures
• The Failure of the Automobile Insurance System (by Carl E. Nash)

January 2009 (8 pages; $10)

• Playing the Blame Game
• The Restructured AIG Nationalization Plan
• More on Conseco's Separation from a Troubled Long-Term Care Insurance Subsidiary
• The Business Model of the Bond Insurers

February 2009 (8 pages; $10)

• Capital Infusions into Life Insurance Companies by Weakening Statutory Accounting Rules
• The Importance of Comprehensive, Universal Health Insurance (by Alan Press)
• An Investigation of Long-Term Care Insurance by the Texas Attorney General
• From the Mailbag
• A Defeat for Life Partners in a Dispute with the Colorado Securities Commissioner

March 2009 (8 pages; $10)

• Two Recent Court Decisions Critical of Unum's Disability Insurance Claims Practices
• Another Conseco Assault on Policyholders
• A Surprising Lawsuit Filed by Great American
• More on Life Partners and the Colorado Securities Commissioner
• A Reminder about Electronic Enrollment

April 2009 (8 pages; $10)

• James A. Ballew
• The NAIC's Rejection of the Life Insurance Industry's Request for Capital Relief and the Aftermath of the Rejection
• The Prison Sentences Imposed on Former Executives of AIG and GenRe
• A Lawsuit by American General Seeking Nullification of a Spinlife Policy
• More on Great American's Effort to Invoke Its Excess Liability Policy's Pollution Exclusion After a Fire
• Mailing Lists Used in the Madoff Bankruptcy Court Proceeding Become Public

May 2009 (8 pages; $10)

• The Flurry of Capital Infusions into Insurance Companies through Statutory Accounting Changes Approved by Individual Regulators
• Observations on Financial Ratings of Insurance Companies and the Recent Downgrades (this article contains a partial ratings update to the September 2008 special ratings issue)

June 2009 (8 pages; $10)

• Tardy Disclosure of an Important Element in the Approval of Conseco's Separation from a Troubled Long-Term Care Subsidiary
• Money Laundering through Annuities
• The Minnesota Department's Attack on Spinlife
• Phoenix Life, Steven Lockwood, and Several Lawsuits Relating to Spinlife

July 2009 (20 pages; $10)

• A Host of Allegations about the Activities of a Funeral Trust Fund in Illinois
• Executives' Compensation in 2008
• Appendix A: Compensation Data for 2008 from the SEC
• Appendix B: Compensation Data for 2008 from Nebraska
• Appendix C: Compensation Data for 2008 from New York
• Appendix D: Compensation Data for 2007 from New York

August 2009 (20 pages; $10)

• A. Martin McBirney
• Capital Relief for Insurance Companies through Accounting Changes Approved by Regulators
• Insurance Companies’ Usage of Surplus Notes
• Insurance Companies’ Risk-Based Capital Ratios
• More on the Illinois Funeral Directors
• How Insurance Companies Screen for Spinlife
• Appendix:  Risk-Based Capital Data

September 2009 (32 pages; $10)

• Financial Strength of Insurance Companies
• Suggested Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Property-Liability Companies
• Watch List of Life-Health Companies
• Descriptions of Rating Categories
• Distributions of Life-Health Ratings

October 2009 (8 pages; $10)

• The Need to Disclose to Consumers the Financial Ratings of Insurance Companies
• The Debate over a Public Option in Health Insurance (by Alan Press)
• The Compensation of Top Insurance Executives in the Past Decade
• Appendix: Compensation of Selected Insurance Companies' Top Executives in 1999-2008

November 2009 (8 pages; $10)

• The Greenberg/Smith Settlements with the SEC
• An Indictment in a Preneed Funeral Case
• A Bear Market Bailout for the Life Insurance Industry (by Scott J. Witt)
• More on the 2008 Amendment to New York's Executive Compensation Disclosure Law
• Appendix A: Excerpt from SEC Complaint against Greenberg and Smith
• Appendix B: Excerpt from Indictment of Randall Sutton of National Prearranged Services

December 2009 (8 pages; $10)

• Coventry First's Settlement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo
• The Extraordinary Court Rejection of the Proposed SEC/Bank of America Settlement
• The Need for Disclosure and Due Process in Automobile Liability Insurance Claims
• Alan Press, NAIFA, and the Health Care Crisis
• Lip Service from NAIFA and Its Allies Instead of a Solution to the Health Care Crisis (by Alan Press)
• Health Care Reform the Right Way (by Thomas D. Currey)
• From the Mailbag

January 2010 (8 pages; $10)

• An Unsuitable Life Annuity from TIAA
• A Jury Verdict about Allianz's Deceptive Selling of Annuities to Seniors
• Conseco's Settlement with the California Department on Long-Term Care Claims
• Still More on the Illinois Funeral Directors
• An Appellate Court Ruling on the Taxation of Demutualization Distributions

February 2010 (8 pages; $10)

• An Introductory Note from the Editor
• How Lloyd's Saved Itself (by Richard E. Stewart and Steven E. Sigalow)
• Editor's Postscript

March 2010 (8 pages; $10)

• A New York Life Advertisement Incorporating a Questionable Comparison
• Two Related Lawsuits Illustrating Potential Consequences of Spinlife Arrangements
• Trans World, Military Sales, and Insurance Regulators in Florida and Georgia
• From the Mailbag

April 2010 (8 pages; $10)

• Stranger-Originated Life Annuities
• FINRA’s BrokerCheck Reports
• An Interesting Telephone Call about Spinlife
• How Reliance Standard Writes Letters Instead of Honoring Disability Insurance Claims
• A Legal Dispute Involving Charitable Life Insurance, Oklahoma State University, Boone Pickens, and Lincoln National

May 2010 (8 pages; $10)

• ACLI Seeks a Ban on Securitization of Life Settlements
• Further Developments Relating to Bank of America’s Acquisition of Merrill Lynch
• John Grisham and the Insurance Industry
• Prudential, Disability Claims, and ERISA
• Appendix A: Statement by the ACLI
• Appendix B: ILMA Comments on ACLI Statement
• Appendix C: LISA Comments on ACLI Statement

June 2010 (8 pages; $10)

• Herbert S. Denenberg
• How a Medical Reviewer Helped Reliance Standard Deny Disability Claims
• American Equity Investment Life, the Minnesota Commerce Department, and the SEC
• The U.S. Treasury Department’s Report on Charity-Owned Life Insurance
• Our Detailed 2008-2009 Index
• The Illinois Insurance Department Discusses National Health Insurance Reform
• Appendix: The Illinois Department’s Points

July 2010 (16 pages; $10)

• Deceptive Promotion of Charitable Gift Annuities
• Trans World, Military Sales, and Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine
• Ohio National’s Anti-Spinlife Actions
• The Commission Chargeback Clause in Protective Life’s Contracts with Agents
• A Useful Report on Health Care Reform
• Executives’ Compensation in 2009
• Appendix A: Compensation Data for 2009 from the SEC
• Appendix B: Compensation Data for 2009 from Nebraska
• Appendix C: Compensation Data for 2009 from New York

August 2010 ( 16 pages; $10)

• TIAA and Northwestern Issue Surplus Notes
• Insurance Companies’ Usage of Surplus Notes
• Insurance Companies’ Risk-Based Capital Ratios
• Appendix A: Surplus Note Data
• Appendix B: Risk-Based Capital Data

September 2010 (32 pages; $10)

• Financial Strength of Insurance Companies
• Suggested Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Property-Liability Companies
• Watch List of Life-Health Companies
• Descriptions of Rating Categories
• Distributions of Life-Health Ratings

October 2010 (8 pages; $10)

• Eugene R. Anderson
• The Furor over Retained Asset Accounts
• Conseco's Series of Assaults on Policyholders
• The SEC and GAO Reports on Life Settlements

November 2010 (8 pages; $10)

• Unclaimed Life Insurance Property
• The Primerica Replacement Empire (by Alan Press)

December 2010 (8 pages; $10)

• More about Retained Asset Accounts
• The 1973 Hart Hearings in Retrospect
• A Question about Life Settlements
• John Grisham Strikes Again
• An Important Court Decision Relating to Rights of Participating Policyholders in Canadian Stock Companies (by R. Alastair Rickard)
• The Origin of Retained Asset Accounts (by Gerry H. Goldsholle)
• An Important New Book
• From the Mailbag

January 2011 (12 pages; $10)

• The Hughes-Armstrong Investigation of 1905
• Conflicting Views about Private Social Security Accounts
• Appendix: Excerpts from the Report of the Hughes-Armstrong Investigation of 1905

February 2011 (8 pages; $10)

• Primerica’s Quiet Campaign to Decimate State Agent License Examination Requirements (by Joseph M. Belth and Alan Press)
• The New York Department Halts New Sales of New York Savings Bank Life Insurance
• A Major Indictment in a Preneed Funeral Case

March 2011 (8 pages; $10)

• Retained Asset Accounts, ERISA, and the Analogy to Mortgage Escrow Accounts
• A Recent Example of Class A Deception in Life Insurance
• Legal and Lobbying Expenses of Large Life Insurance Companies
• Appendix: Legal and Lobbying Expenses

April 2011 (8 pages; $10)

• The Vaysman Spinlife Fraud Case
• The Waldhauser/Davis Viatical Fraud Case and Its Grisly Prelude
• The Brasner Spinlife Fraud Case
• The Pacific Capital Indemnity Fraud Case
• The Jenkins Spinlife Fraud Case

May 2011 (8 pages; $10)

• Barbara D. Stewart
• A Court Defeat for Northwestern Mutual
• An Important Book about the Health Insurance Industry’s Deceptive Public Relations
• Coventry First’s Lawsuit against John Hancock
• The Collapse of a Florida Ponzi Scheme
• Prosecutors Go After the Little Guys

June 2011 (8 pages; $10)

• Aviva Seeks To Rescind 119 Church-Originated Life Insurance Policies
• Drawbacks of Life Annuities
• An Empty Offer of Coverage from a Subsidiary of AmTrust Financial Services
• The NAIC’s Weak Response to the Problem of Stranger-Originated Annuities
• An Important Development Involving Life-Settlement-Backed Securities
• From the Mailbag

July 2011 (16 pages; $10)

• More on Northwestern Mutual’s Court Defeat
• Executives’ Compensation in 2010
• Recent Developments at Life Partners
• A Superb Book about the Madoff Scandal
• From the Mailbag
• Appendix A: Compensation Data for 2010 from the SEC
• Appendix B: Compensation Data for 2010 from Nebraska
• Appendix C: Compensation Data for 2010 from New York

August 2011 (16 pages; $10)

• The Secondary Market for Annuities
• Further Developments at Life Partners
• From the Mailbag
• Insurance Companies’ Usage of Surplus Notes
• Insurance Companies’ Risk-Based Capital Ratios
• A Class Action Lawsuit about Northwestern Mutual’s Policy Loan Interest Rates
• Appendix A: Surplus Note Data
• Appendix B: Risk-Based Capital Data

September 2011 (32 pages; $10)

• Financial Strength of Insurance Companies
• Suggested Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Property-Liability Companies
• Watch List of Life-Health Companies
• Descriptions of Rating Categories
• Distributions of Life-Health Ratings

October 2011 (8 pages; $10)

• Recent Important Rating Actions
• More on the Secondary Market for Structured Settlement and Retirement Annuities
• Reversal on Appeal of the Criminal Convictions of Five Former Insurance Executives
• Health Research Group’s Excellent Newsletter
• Still More on Northwestern Mutual’s Court Defeat
• From the Mailbag

November 2011 (8 pages; $10)

• An Investigation by the Texas Securities Board and Other Significant Developments at Life Partners
• The Saga of Shenandoah Life
• Colorado and Minnesota Insurance Regulators Move against Two Bail Bond Companies
• The Proliferation of Lawsuits Relating to Mortgage-Backed Securities
• Legal and Lobbying Expenses of Life Insurance Companies

December 2011 (8 pages; $10)

• Two Landmark Anti-STOLI Decisions by the Delaware Supreme Court
• New York Life’s Deceptive Promotional Piece
• Another Dimension of the Secondary Market for Life Insurance
• Life Insurance Companies’ Comments on Future Policy Dividends

January 2012 (8 pages; $10)

• Gaps in State Regulation of Insurance
• Disciplinary Actions Imposed on Actuaries by Their Professional Organizations
• Ill-Advised State Government Promotions of Private Long-Term Care Insurance
• A Few Words about the Late Andy Rooney

February 2012 (8 pages; $10)

• The Controversy over Reserves for Universal Life Policies with Secondary Guarantees
• More on the Brasner Spinlife Fraud Cases
• Life Partners’ Filing of Its Long-Delayed Financial Reports

March 2012 (8 pages; $10)

• The Victimization of an Elderly Widow through Life Insurance and Annuity Churning
• Recent Civil and Criminal Cases Relating to Stranger-Originated Life Annuities
• Limited Progress in Addressing Deceptive Promotions of Charitable Gift Annuities

April 2012 (8 pages; $10)

• Massachusetts Mutual’s Fractional (Modal) Premium Disclosures in New Policies
• The SEC Complaint against Life Partners and Three of Its Officers
• More on the Saga of Shenandoah Life
• More on the Charges against Provident Capital Indemnity and Its Officers

May 2012 (8 pages; $10)

• Federal Criminal Charges against Three STOLI Promoters
• A Federal Investigation of Premium Financing Operations at Imperial Holdings
• A Lawsuit over Claims Practices at a Former Conseco Long-Term Care Subsidiary

June 2012 (8 pages; $10)

• The Theft Conviction of an Agent Who Sold an Annuity to a Senior with Dementia
• Appendix: Report of Investigation by the California Department of Insurance

July 2012 (16 pages; $10)

• Imperial Holdings Terminates Its Life Insurance Premium Finance Business
• The Federal Jury Verdict in the Sciarretta STOLI Lawsuit against Lincoln
• More on the Dispute between Lincoln and Oklahoma State University
• Executives’ Compensation in 2011
• Appendix A: Compensation Data for 2011 from the SEC
• Appendix B: Compensation Data for 2011 from Nebraska
• Appendix C: Compensation Data for 2011 from New York

August 2012 (16 pages; $10)

• An Alternative to a Life Annuity
• The Pennsylvania Commissioner’s Court Defeat Regarding Penn Treaty’s Long-Term Care Insurance Business
• More on Conseco’s Separation from a Troubled Long-Term Care Insurance Subsidiary
• Liquidation of Executive Life of New York
• Liquidation of the International Workers Order
• Insurance Companies’ Usage of Surplus Notes
• Shenandoah Life’s Surplus Notes
• Insurance Companies’ Risk-Based Capital Ratios
• From the Mailbag
• Appendix A: Surplus Note Data
• Appendix B: Risk-Based Capital Data

September 2012 (32 pages; $10)

• Financial Strength of Insurance Companies
• Suggested Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Property-Liability Companies
• Watch List of Life-Health Companies
• Descriptions of Rating Categories
• Distributions of Life-Health Ratings

October 2012 (8 pages; $10)

• Two Major STOLI Lawsuits against Phoenix
• The Shocking Terms of a Proposed Canadian Demutualization (by Alastair Rickard)
• Deferred Prosecution Agreements for Five Former Insurance Executives
• Robert Caro’s Monumental Biographies

November 2012 (8 pages; $10)

• Texas Moves to Shut Down Life Partners
• More on Systematic Withdrawals as a Viable Alternative to a Life Annuity
• From the Mailbag
• The Continuing Dispute between Lincoln and Oklahoma State University

December 2012 (8 pages; $10)

• More on the Cost-of-Insurance Increases That Phoenix Imposed on Certain Policyowners
• Annual Reports Filed with Insurance Regulators by Life Settlement Companies
• A Brief Update on Life Partners

January 2013 (8 pages; $10)

• The Beginning of Our 40th Year
• More on the Victimization of a Widow through Life Insurance and Annuity Churning
• Disputes between Secondary Market Investors and Life Settlement Companies
• A Shocking Development at the CFP Board

February 2013 (8 pages; $10)

• The IRS Drags Its Feet on the Taxation of Demutualization Distributions
• The Reporting of Disciplinary Actions by the CFP Board of Standards
• A Stunning Guilty Plea During the Criminal Trial of Joseph Caramadre
• The Filing of an Appellate Brief in the Neasham Criminal Case in California

March 2013 (8 pages; $10)

• An Open Letter to Vice President Joe Biden
• A Review of More Than a Century of Efforts to Weaken Life Insurance Reserves
• The Thorny Problem of Outdated Beneficiary Designations and Settlement Agreements in Life Insurance
• Knights of Columbus Takes Forceful Action against an Agent
• Phoenix Life’s Recent Partial Repurchase of Surplus Notes Issued in 2004
• A Lengthy Prison Sentence for the President of Provident Capital Indemnity

April 2013 (8 pages; $10)

• Hank Greenberg Sues the U.S. Government
• A Lawsuit Involving Lax Underwriting of a STOLI Policy by a Phoenix Subsidiary
• Two Important New Books about Contractual Fine Print
• Yet Another Stunning Development in the Caramadre Criminal Case
• More on the Criminal Case against Three STOLI Promoters
• From the Mailbag

May 2013 (8 pages; $10)

• Dan Mays McGill
• An Important Lawsuit Relating to Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Practices
• A Memorial Tribute to Dan Mays McGill

June 2013 (8 pages; $10)

• A Blistering Congressional Report on Credit Derivatives at JPMorgan Chase
• Enforcement of Codes of Ethics of Professional Insurance Organizations
• Developments in the Lawsuit over Northwestern Mutual’s Annuity Dividends
• More on Deceptive Promotions of Charitable Gift Annuities
• From the Mailbag

July 2013 (16 pages; $25)

• A Canadian Judge Slams AIG’s and Zurich’s Claims Practices
• A Questionable Promotional Mailing from Lincoln Heritage Life
• More on Ability Insurance Company
• From the Mailbag
• Executives’ Compensation in 2012
• Appendix A: Compensation Data for 2012 from the SEC
• Appendix B: Compensation Data for 2012 from Nebraska
• Appendix C: Compensation Data for 2012 from New York

August 2013 (16 pages; $25)

• State Farm’s Claims Practices and a Defamation Award against the Company
• Mystery Payments by Insurance Companies to State Governments
• Charges in a Major Alleged Cyber Crime
• New York Challenges “Shadow Insurance”
• Insurance Companies’ Usage of Surplus Notes
• Insurance Companies’ Risk-Based Capital Ratios
• Appendix A: Surplus Note Data
• Appendix B: Risk-Based Capital Data

September 2013 (32 pages; $25)

• Financial Strength of Insurance Companies
• Suggested Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Life-Health Companies
• Ratings of Property-Liability Companies
• Watch List of Life-Health Companies
• Descriptions of Rating Categories
• Distributions of Life-Health Ratings

October 2013 (8 pages; $10)

• Minnesota Life’s “New” and “Unique” Irrevocable Settlement Option
• Three Plea Agreements Related to the Federal Investigation of Imperial Holdings
• A Federal Judge Slams Joseph Caramadre
• A FINRA List of Designations and a CFPB Report to Congress and the SEC
• From the Mailbag

November 2013 (8 pages; $10)

• The Coming End of The Insurance Forum
• The Confidential Settlement that Ended Coventry’s Lawsuit against John Hancock
• Developments Relating to Phoenix’s Cost-of-Insurance Increases on STOLI Policies
• Settlement of a Lawsuit Relating to SHIP’s Long-Term Care Claims Practices
• A State Appellate Court in Texas Hands Life Partners a Major Defeat

December 2013 (8 pages; $10)

• Editor’s Note
• Why the Secondary Market for Life Insurance Will Never Win Full Public Acceptance
• How STOLI Cases Waste Judicial Resources
• Recent Developments at Phoenix
• A Continuing Lawsuit against Northwestern Mutual over Annuity Dividends
• Dismissal of a Lawsuit against Northwestern Mutual over Policy Loan Interest Rates
• Life Partners Discloses the Texas Appellate Court’s Devastating Decision
• More on Mystery Payments by Insurance Companies to State Governments
• A Dilemma for Consumers When an Insurance Company Is Sold