Given the threat of a significant repricing across multiple asset classes, investors are looking for fresh ideas. The current bout of market volatility has not spared many categories of investment, as equities and fixed...more
Older Americans with a life insurance policy that they no longer need have the option to sell the policy to investors. These transactions, called "life settlements," can bring in needed cash, but are they a good idea? ...more
Starting in 2015 and continuing into 2016, a number of insurance carriers raised the cost of insurance ("COI") rates on universal life insurance policies, resulting in dramatic increases to the premiums required to keep the...more
Overview - I have always been a film fan. Growing up in the Panama Canal Zone, one of my Mother’s jobs for the Panama Canal Company was serving as the manager of the Balboa Theater. We used to watch initial screenings of...more
The Supreme Court of Rhode Island recently considered two questions of first impression: (i) whether an insurable interest requirement applies to an annuity with a death benefit, and (ii) whether an immediate incontestability...more
Western Reserve Life Assurance Co. of Ohio v. ADM Associates, LLC, 116 A.3d 794 (R.I. 2015) - Case at a Glance - In a case of first impression, the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that a particular variable annuity...more
The SEC filed another offering fraud action, a staple of Enforcement. This action centers on two recidivist radio talk show hosts selling interest in life settlements based on enhancements of their investment credentials,...more
Makers and Users of Smart Devices Beware: You May Have a Critical and Costly Gap in Your Insurance Coverage - The drumbeat of high-profile data breaches has led to rapid growth in the number of companies purchasing or...more