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Broker World is the only national insurance magazine founded, focused and edited to specifically address the brokerage marketplace and the unique informational needs of independent life and health producers who select the products best suited to their clients' needs from a variety of companies and marketers. The primary service is to provide a channel of communication between life and health companies and marketers and the 28,600+ proven producers of substantial amounts of brokerage business that constitute Broker World's readership.

Integrity Marketing Group

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Integrity Marketing Group

Integrity Marketing Group, LLC (“Integrity”), a leading distributor of life and health insurance, and provider of wealth management and retirement planning solutions, announced the launch of its third annual “Integrity Gives Back” Toy Drive to benefit children-focused hospitals and organizations across the nation. The company has set an impressive goal of donating more than 20,000 toys to make a powerful impact in the communities they serve.

The mission of the “Integrity Gives Back” Toy Drive is to provide individual toys, stuffed animals, games and books to children who need it most through organizations such as Children’s Health in Dallas and other charities and children’s hospitals across the country. Integrity is inviting the public to join them in supporting their impactful toy drive by visiting http://IntegrityGivesBack.com and shopping the Amazon Wish List curated by Children’s Health or by making a toy donation to a local children’s based organization of their choice.

“The ‘Integrity Gives Back’ Toy Drive is an effort that was founded with deep personal meaning to me and my family,” shared Bryan W. Adams, co-founder and CEO of Integrity. “A few years ago, while my son was receiving treatment at Children’s Health, I was able to witness the transformative power a simple gifted toy had on improving his morale—bringing him an unexpected moment of joy! After this experience, my son came up with the idea to collect more toys for other patients and I saw the potential for engaging our Integrity family and truly put into action our core value of Service. This year, we are honored to invite our broader community to join us in making an even greater impact. We know that as we unite in purpose, we have an opportunity to surprise thousands of children and their families with happiness and delight.”

In 2021, the initiative’s original goal was to collect a few hundred toys for pediatric patients at Children’s Health. Due to the passionate efforts of Integrity’s Dallas-based employees, the toys and stuffed animals donated totaled more than 3,000 that first year. Integrity employees had such a heartwarming experience that the decision was made to expand efforts to its business units and employees nationwide with thousands of employees across 250 partner offices collecting over 16,000 toys. This year, Integrity is inviting the public to join their efforts to expand the Toy Drive’s impact with the goal of raising 20,000 toys to help children and their families have greater hope and bring them a treasured moment of joy during treatment or hospital stays.

“Oftentimes, it is small and simple acts of kindness that can have the greatest impact,” explained Mary Elyse Farah, president of the Integrity Foundation. “With the ‘Integrity Gives Back’ Toy Drive, our team has rallied around the opportunity to make a big difference through small collective donations. By coming together, aligned in purpose, we are able to significantly impact the lives of thousands of children. We are so grateful for gifts of all sizes, from packs of stickers to Lego sets. A wide variety of donations allow hospitals to impact the lives of so many more patients in the diverse support needs they have, from validating bravery during a shot to alleviating boredom during long hospital stays.”

“Two of Integrity’s core values are Service and Family. The ‘Integrity Gives Back’ Toy Drive is just one of many examples of Integrity’s commitment to putting these values into action,” stated Steve Young, Integrity’s chairman of the board. “Serving the communities they live and work in is incredibly important to everyone at Integrity. We are honored to invite others to join us in brightening the days of children receiving medical care and can’t wait to see how great an impact we can make by coming together.”

For more information on Integrity’s charitable initiatives or to shop the “Integrity Gives Back” Toy Drive donation list, visit http://.integritygivesback.com.

iPipeline

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iPipeline

iPipeline, a leading global provider of comprehensive and integrated digital solutions for the life insurance and financial services industry, announced that Pat O’Donnell, a technology industry veteran with more than three decades of experience, has been appointed chief executive officer.

O’Donnell will replace Deane S. Price, who has served as the company’s interim CEO since February 2022. Price joined iPipeline after more than 10 years with fellow Roper Technologies business, Aderant, where she held the role of CEO. O’Donnell’s appointment is effective immediately and Price will remain with the organization as an advisor, assisting with the transition. O’Donnell will be responsible for the global iPipeline organization and will report to Satish Maripuri, group executive, at Roper Technologies.

“Pat is a proven leader with a growth mindset in the technology sector, with robust experience and proven success in the industry. We are excited to welcome him to iPipeline and Roper Technologies,” said Maripuri. “Pat’s focus on customer intimacy, innovation, driving M&A, and building high performance cultures is key to iPipeline’s ongoing commitment to innovate and strategically transform the global industry—life insurance, protection, financial services, and pensions—through the company’s innovative technology solutions. We look for Pat to build upon the strong and solid foundation iPipeline has built and I want to thank Deane for her leadership at iPipeline during this interim period.”

O’Donnell brings extensive industry knowledge and experience to this role, having most recently served as CEO of Ministry Brands, the leading provider of software and services for faith-based, non-profit, and other purpose-driven organizations. During more than three years in his role with the organization, O’Donnell played a key role in the company’s success and oversaw a period of transformation and growth.

His experience includes serving as senior vice president, and later as president, of FLEETCOR, an Atlanta-based leading global business payments company. O’Donnell also held roles of increasing responsibility, including serving as senior division vice president and division vice president of Major Accounts during his nearly 24 years with ADP, a member of the Fortune 500 and a global technology company providing human capital management solutions. O’Donnell is a graduate of West Chester University with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Additionally, he earned the Six Sigma designation and the Project Management Profession (PMP®) certification.

“I am honored to be appointed to lead iPipeline, a company that not only is a pioneer in the industry but one that continues to be a leader, with a global footprint, a strong portfolio of innovative technology solutions, and a talented and driven team of Pipers,” said O’Donnell. “I look forward to working with the team to collaboratively build upon the foundational success of iPipeline as we advance our strategy to the next level.”

For more information about iPipeline, please visit http://ipipeline.com.

iPipeline is a leading global provider of comprehensive and integrated digital solutions for the life insurance and financial services industries in North America, and life insurance and pensions industries in the UK. iPipeline couples one of the most expansive digital and automated platforms with one of the industry’s largest data libraries to accelerate, automate, and simplify various applications, processes, and workflows—from quote to commission—with seamless integration. The company’s vision is to help everyone achieve lasting financial security by delivering innovative solutions that connect, simplify, and transform the industry.

Since its establishment in 1995, iPipeline has helped protect more than 49 million people, and today is trusted around the world by more than 100 insurance carriers, and providers, and more than 2,500 broker-dealers, financial institutions, brokerage general agencies (BGAs), independent marketing organizations (IMOs), and managing general agents (MGAs). Connected to more than 500,000 agents and advisers, the company collected more than $33 billion in premium in life insurance and $55 billion in annuities in 2022. iPipeline operates as a business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), a constituent of the S&P 500® and Fortune 1000® indices. For more information, please visit ipipeline.com and select your country of origin.

Allianz

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Allianz

As present fears about a big market crash or recession persist, Americans also are increasingly worried about taxes on retirement income from 401(k)s and IRAs increasing in the future, according to the 2023 Q3 Quarterly Market Perceptions Study from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life).

Seven in 10 Americans (72 percent) worry that higher taxes in the future will impact their retirement income from tax-deferred accounts such as a 401(k) or IRA.

“While paying taxes is inevitable, how much we pay in taxes will change,” said Kelly LaVigne, VP of Consumer Insights, Allianz Life. “And, a change in taxes can have a significant effect on your portfolio if you have not incorporated tax strategies into your financial plan and diversified across tax categories. For a goal like retirement, you want to diversify your assets across a spectrum of long term capital gains, regular income and non-taxable income. This strategy, along with incorporating strategic tax deferral will help achieve some control over the amount or timing of taxes you will pay.”

Americans want help to reduce tax risk with 73 percent saying they would stop using their current financial advisor if they didn’t help effectively manage taxes on retirement income. More Gen Xers (84 percent) than boomers (67 percent) or millennials (77 percent) said they would stop using an advisor if they didn’t help effectively manage taxes on retirement income.

At the same time, many Americans worry about retirement income from tax-advantaged sources like Social Security. The majority (72 percent) of Americans say they can’t count on Social Security benefits when planning retirement income. Even more (79 percent), worry about the future of Medicare and Social Security.

Majority of Americans fear another big market crash
While Americans are concerned about the taxes they will have to pay in the future, right now, they worry that a big market crash is coming.
Fewer Americans now worry that a major recession is coming than all of last year. While 55 percent worry a major recession is right around the corner in Q3, 64 percent of Americans said the same in Q2. At the same time, 53 percent of Americans worry that another big market crash is on the horizon.

Still, this ongoing worry is leading Americans to hold more money in cash. Most Americans (54 percent) say they are keeping more money than they should in cash because they’re worried about a recession.

“While you might not feel like you’re losing money by holding it in cash, over the long term you will lose out,” said LaVigne. “Money kept in cash, or in low-interest bearing accounts, isn’t keeping up with the rising cost of living. The idea is to incorporate risk management strategies that may also lower volatility into your financial strategy so that you can invest more confidently and weather market downturns over the long term.”

Millennials are most concerned about an economic downturn affecting their personal finances than Gen Xers or boomers. More than half (52 percent) of millennials are concerned they will be laid off because of an economic downturn in 2023, compared to 29 percent of Gen Xers and 25 percent of boomers. And, 57 percent of millennials say they are keeping more money that they should in cash because they’re worried about a recession, compared to 52 percent of Gen Xers and 46 percent of boomers.

Concerns about inflation are lower than they have been in a year with 70 percent expecting that inflation will get worse in the next 12 months. This is down from 77 percent last quarter.

*Allianz Life conducted an online survey, the 2023 Q3 Quarterly Market Perceptions Study in August 2023 with a nationally representative sample of 1,005 Respondents age 18+.

MDRT Center

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MDRT Center

MDRT Global Services announced that, as of November 1, the association will officially be known as the MDRT Center for Field Leadership (MDRT Center). The new name, along with updated branding, more closely reflects the association’s mission: Helping field and home office leaders across the globe grow as leaders of financial services organizations and propelling their teams to success.

MDRT Center members are field and home office leaders who continually work to broaden their leadership skills, establish an MDRT culture of excellence within their agencies and advance themselves professionally and personally.

MDRT Center members will have access to all the benefits that were available prior to the rebranding, including key leadership content on the Center’s website like toolkits, videos and articles, and access to Harvard ManageMentor® learning application. Members can also partake in regular webcasts, attend study groups with fellow members and one global MDRT event per year, and apply for an MDRT Culture of Excellence Award.

“The MDRT Center for Field Leadership creates a community of financial services leaders committed to excellence in the profession,” said Gregory Gagne, ChFC, 2024 MDRT president. “Undergoing this rebranding highlights the association’s dedication to amplifying members’ ability to incite growth and empower their teams to become the best.”

MDRT Center membership is granted for one year and must be renewed annually. The open enrollment period for membership is November 1-April 1. Annual membership dues are $600, but applicants may apply for membership after April 1 with a $200 late fee.

As the newest association under the global MDRT Family of Brands, MDRT Center for Field Leadership (MDRT Center) was created exclusively for financial services field and home office leaders. As a separate, individual membership association, MDRT Center provides its members with exceptional value and leadership growth opportunities. MDRT Center membership allows increased engagement within the MDRT community while providing leaders with strategies to develop a culture of excellence within their respective organizations. To learn more visit http://mdrtcenter.org.

American National

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American National

iPipeline® announced that American National has launched iGO®, the technology company’s digital e-App solution within its end-to-end ecosystem, to enable the insurance carrier to streamline its distribution and further improve the ease of doing business for insurance agents and brokerage general agencies (BGAs). Supporting multiple product lines, iGO has been successfully adopted by dozens of insurance carriers, hundreds of distributors, and tens of thousands of agents.

iPipeline’s iGO—one of the industry’s leading e-Application tools—will help American National to strengthen its long term plan for continued growth and expansion within the BGAs market as it strives to build one of the most successful insurance companies in the U.S.
With iPipeline’s iGO e-App solution, you can:

  • Complete an online e-Application, including e-signature—in person with your client or remotely.
  • Ensure the proper and most current applications and forms are used through iGO’s standardized, rule-based platform.
  • Simplify the process for completing forms through its automated data gathering.
  • Ensure that applications are “in good order” while eliminating those that are NiGO (not in good order).
  • Reduce cycle times and increase placement ratios.
  • And accelerate the overall application process.

“For more than a century, American National has developed an outstanding reputation for helping millions of Americans to secure the financial futures of their families. We are honored to partner with them to create an easy, efficient, and end-to-end digital experience for their agents, BGAs, and customers,” said Bill Hunter, senior vice president of Sales for iPipeline. “iPipeline has a proven track record of empowering life insurance organizations to grow and thrive. Through this partnership, we can help American National bring peace of mind to even more people in the communities they serve.”

“At American National, we are dedicated to serving our distributors and BGAs,” said Traie Franklin, vice president of Marketing Operations at American National. “Through the collaboration with iPipeline, we believe we can further streamline our business processes and create a much better experience for them.”

To learn more about how iPipeline can simplify business processes and experiences for insurance agents, BGAs, and customers, please visit: https://ipipeline.com/solutions/lifeannuities/.

iPipeline is a leading global provider of comprehensive and integrated digital solutions for the life insurance and financial services industries in North America, and life insurance and pensions industries in the UK. iPipeline couples one of the most expansive digital and automated platforms with one of the industry’s largest data libraries to accelerate, automate, and simplify various applications, processes, and workflows—from quote to commission—with seamless integration. The company’s vision is to help everyone achieve lasting financial security by delivering innovative solutions that connect, simplify, and transform the industry.

Since its establishment in 1995, iPipeline has helped protect more than 49 million people, and today is trusted around the world by more than 100 insurance carriers, and providers, and more than 2,500 broker-dealers, financial institutions, brokerage general agencies (BGAs), independent marketing organizations (IMOs), and managing general agents (MGAs). Connected to more than 500,000 agents and advisers, the company collected more than $33 billion in premium in life insurance and $55 billion in annuities in 2022. iPipeline operates as a business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), a constituent of the S&P 500® and Fortune 1000® indices. For more information, please visit ipipeline.com/ and select your country of origin.

American National is the brand name for the direct and indirect insurance company subsidiaries and affiliates of American National Group, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. American National Insurance Company, Galveston, TX, was founded in 1905 and is licensed in all states except New York. American National established a dedicated property and casualty division in 1973 with American National Property and Casualty Company, Springfield, MO. This company serves 38 states, not including New York. To better serve the unique insurance needs of the agricultural market, in 2001 American National acquired the Farm Family group of insurance companies based in Glenmont, NY.
American National offers a broad line of products and services, which include life insurance, annuities, health insurance, credit insurance, pension products, and property and casualty insurance for personal lines, agribusiness, and certain commercial exposures. The American National companies operate in all 50 states. In New York, business is conducted by New York licensed affiliates. Each company has financial responsibility for its own products and services. For more information, please visit www.AmericanNational.com.

Swiss Re

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Swiss Re

Appian (Nasdaq: APPN) recently announced the availability of the Connected Underwriting Life Workbench to help insurers unify workflows and data in an automated, end-to-end process. The solution makes underwriters’ lives easier by giving them a single interface to evaluate and classify risk, handle exceptions, and make case decisions.

The Connected Underwriting Life Workbench is a streamlined underwriting solution that is prebuilt on the Appian Platform. It is designed to drive speed to market with reduced IT effort for implementation. Its data fabric capabilities enable quick data and integration connectivity, coupled with AI-led automation that supports change management and optimized processes. Appian’s AI architecture, which includes generative AI capabilities, allows insurers to process content at scale and automate repetitive tasks, such as classifying emails and extracting data from documents. This allows Appian customers to facilitate faster benefit realization and enhance their competitiveness with a better underwriting experience. Life Workbench improves the quality, consistency and procedural adherence of cases. Additionally, the system allows 24/7 real-time monitoring and data extraction from various sources, seamless integration with third-party tools, and augmented decision-making with a complete audit trail.

Life Workbench offers a prebuilt integration with Swiss Re’s Magnum Pure, an influential automated underwriting solution powered by Swiss Re’s Life Guide. This integration empowers underwriters to overcome the complexities of multiple systems used to underwrite a case by bringing together all the relevant data, images, and human system interactions. Underwriters can better evaluate and classify risk, handle exceptions, and make critical case decisions rather than focusing on the procedural and administrative steps, transactions, and keystrokes. This partnership combines Appian’s expertise in AI, automation, data fabric, and case management with Swiss Re’s industry-leading automated underwriting engine, Magnum Pure, to simplify the underwriting process. The Swiss Re Magnum Pure solution must be purchased separately from the Appian Platform to enable the integration.

Key Benefits of Appian Connected Underwriting Life Workbench include:

  • Easier, more complete access to data. With Appian and Swiss Re’s Magnum Pure, underwriters have access to a best-in-class underwriting experience that provides a comprehensive, single-pane-of-glass view by surfacing relevant data from dispersed systems.
  • More efficient exception handling. Case management capabilities allow underwriters to spend less time collecting information and reduce the time it takes to handle exceptions, minimizing and in some cases eliminating manual processes and paperwork.
  • Process monitoring and optimization. Dashboards and KPIs help individuals, teams, and managers monitor underwriting processes and provide valuable insights about performance that can be used to optimize and improve case workflow, including initial review, case priority, and logic-based auto-assignment.

“Today’s customers demand seamless digital experiences, and insurers can’t afford to be held back by sluggish underwriting processes and data silos. Appian Connected Underwriting Life Workbench is a game-changer. It combines automation, data fabric, and plug-and-play integrations to accelerate underwriting, helping insurers avoid unprofitable risks and ensuring a superior experience for both customers and underwriters,” said Jacob Sloan, industry vice president, Global Insurance, Appian.

“This offering is powered by Magnum, Swiss Re’s automated underwriting solution and allows business users to render point of sale underwriting decisions faster and more seamlessly, ultimately improving the experience for the end consumer. We are delighted to utilize our product innovation expertise to help bring this offering to market,” said Jason Render, head Magnum Americas, Life & Health Solutions, Swiss Re.

The Appian Platform modernizes underwriting with generative AI to minimize risk, increase efficiency, improve auditability, and ensure a positive customer experience. Key architectural components make it easy to leverage AI, including Appian’s data fabric architecture, Automated APS draft, Open AI natural language correspondence through AI Copilot, and private AI strategy for faster delivery of powerful and secure end-to-end process automation solutions.

Appian is trusted by leading insurance organizations such as Aon, Aviva, and Pacific Life to connect and automate data, equipping insurers to make informed, data-backed decisions. To learn more, visit https://appian.com/insurance.

Appian is a software company that automates business processes. The Appian AI Process Platform includes everything you need to design, automate, and optimize even the most complex processes, from start to finish. The world’s most innovative organizations trust Appian to improve their workflows, unify data, and optimize operations—resulting in better growth and superior customer experiences. For more information, visit http://appian.com. [Nasdaq: APPN]

The Swiss Re Group is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. It anticipates and manages risk—from natural catastrophes to climate change, from aging populations to cyber crime. The aim of the Swiss Re Group is to enable society to thrive and progress, creating new opportunities and solutions for its clients. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1863, the Swiss Re Group operates through a network of around 80 offices globally.

Haven Life News

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Haven Life News

Suriance Partnership
Haven Life, a leading digital life insurance agency backed and wholly owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), announced a strategic partnership with Suriance, a veteran founded and led agency based in Franklin, TN, focused on helping more Americans secure financial peace of mind with insurance products.

“Suriance puts service to their fellow veterans, service members and civilians at the heart of their business with specialized licensed advocates taking the time to fully understand the financial pictures and needs of their customers,” says Wade Seward, head of Distribution Strategy, Haven Life. “Our Haven Life products provide quick, easy and affordable options that will help Suriance customers find the ideal fit for themselves and their loved ones.”

With this partnership, Suriance can now enable their fellow veterans and customers to apply online for Haven Simple, a fully digital simplified issue product, and Haven Term, which offers up to $3 million in coverage for up to 30 years. The new partnership will assist Haven Life in continuing its mission of making life insurance more accessible and affordable for all U.S. households, including the 57 percent of Americans who don’t work with a financial advisor.

“Our mission is to secure safety and peace of mind for all our customers and their loved ones so that they can feel confident and assured that their household is financially secure,” says Robin H. McVey, founder and chairman of the board at Suriance. “Backed by C.M. Life, whose parent company MassMutual has over 170 years of financial stability, Haven Life products are an excellent option for Americans who are looking to protect children, homes and legacies with insurance products that are completely reliable and trusted.”

Today’s digital tools enable consumers to conduct research quickly and easily with streamlined processes allowing online applications to be completed when and where it is most convenient. Through easily accessible digital online solutions, Haven Life is committed to driving innovation and efficiency to simplify the life insurance process and ensure more affordable options for consumers. Combined with a dedicated Suriance team of licensed insurance agents knowledgeable about the service and ready to answer any questions live, there is no better time to be looking for life insurance than right now.

Haven Life and Nolo Partner
Haven Life is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Nolo, a leading provider of consumer-friendly legal products and products for consumers and businesses and a wholly owned subsidiary of MH Sub I, LLC. This collaboration helps expose more consumers to the important benefits of life insurance at pivotal times in their lives where they may be seeking legal resources and relevant expertise.

“Nolo is committed to ensuring that traditionally complicated business documents like wills, trusts and life insurance are accessible and easy to execute. Haven Life is committed to making life insurance more convenient for how consumers want to do business today,” says Seward. “Partnering with Nolo gives us the ability to reach consumers and business owners at the same time they are securing their legal matters.” This news follows a number of recently announced partnerships for Haven Life, including with cloud-banking services provider Blend and online insurance marketplace Policygenius, now part of Zinnia.

With over 50 years of legal experience and a network of 30,000 local attorneys, Nolo is a leading provider of do-it-yourself legal services. The partnership will assist Haven Life in continuing its mission of making life insurance more accessible and affordable for all U.S. households, including those consumers who are tapping into Nolo’s extensive library of free, consumer-friendly legal information—all through the power and convenience of digital and online solutions.

“We are thrilled to partner with Haven Life to bring an all digital life insurance experience to our consumers seeking online legal services,” said Matt Kanaly, director at Nolo. “Haven Life’s commitment to simple, fast and customer-centric solutions aligns with our mission to equip consumers with straightforward solutions to complicated problems. Together, we are delivering legal and financial solutions in a way that resonates with today’s self-service consumers.”

Haven Life Announces Partnership with Origin8
Haven Life announced a new partnership with Origin8cares (“Origin8”), a fully online insurance agency and network of licensed agents, to help Americans confidently protect the financial security of their loved ones more simply and efficiently by harnessing the power of digital solutions and human expertise.

“The Origin8 team’s experience and attention to detail during the insurance buying process is a huge compliment to our innovative platform and products. Haven Life is committed to making life insurance more convenient for how consumers want to do business today,” said Seward. “Origin8 is full of good people doing good things, and we are proud to call them partners in our shared vision of making life insurance simpler, more accessible and more affordable for millions of Americans.”

This partnership will further Haven Life’s commitment to simplifying the life insurance journey and helping customers protect the financial security of their loved ones. Origin8’s similarly customer-centric approach matches people with insurers and advocates who are licensed insurance agents. Customers enjoy the convenience of a fully online application and purchasing process, as well as one-on-one human support throughout their life insurance journey.

“Our partnership with Haven Life is one that makes sense on many different levels,” said Randy O’Connor, founder and CEO of Origin8cares. “We’re on a mission to make the life insurance journey simple and accessible for as many individuals and families as possible, and providing an enjoyable purchasing experience for our customers is a key part of delivering on that promise.”

Among Americans of all ages, a top barrier to purchasing life insurance is that they simply “haven’t gotten around to it.” Digital solutions are key in bridging the insurance coverage gap, making it faster, easier and offering the instant gratification that customers expect in other aspects of their lives.

Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC (Haven Life) is a life insurance agency that gives partners the flexibility of a start-up backed by MassMutual with the strength and stability of a 170+ year-old life insurance company. They offer an end-to-end digital platform that delivers high-quality, affordable, instant-decision life insurance. Haven Life is re-thinking how people financially protect the ones they love. Haven Life is committed to delivering exceptional products, delightful purchasing experiences, and meaningful moments of service to the modern life insurance customer.

Suriance LLC is driven by the vision of simplifying insurance for their customers by their team of dedicated advocate agents. The company is rooted in three core values: Faith, Family, and Service. Many of the Suriance advocates are Veterans dedicated to serving Veterans, First Responders and Community Heroes. Suriance donates a portion of every policy to their charity of choice, Next Response Foundation, a 501c3 that serves Veterans, First Responders, and Community Heroes.

Nolo, a wholly owned subsidiary of MH Sub I, LLC, is the integration of some of the Internet’s first legal sites, including Nolo.com, Divorcenet.com, WillMaker and AllLaw.com. These sites were combined with the ExpertHub technology platform in 2011 to form the Nolo Network. Nolo began publishing do-it-yourself legal guides in 1971. In the 40 years since its founding, Nolo has evolved with technology, developing do-it-yourself software and building Nolo.com into one of the Internet’s leading legal websites.

At Origin8cares, they believe that life insurance should be easy, fast and human. Their mission is to help Americans confidently protect their loved ones from financial distress and do it in 15 minutes or less. Their behind-the-scenes technology matches people with life insurance plans. Simple, right? Then our advocates guide people through the online paperwork over a video call. Novel? No, but it’s about time insurance adapts to technology for a modern insurance experience.

Hexure, Paperclip and Vive News

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Hexure, Paperclip and Vive News

Hexure, a provider of sales and regulatory automation solutions for the life and annuity industry, today announced a partnership with Paperclip, an innovative content management and data security company. This partnership will enhance application data workflows and streamline operations through the integration of Hexure’s sales automation platform FireLight and Paperclip Mojo, Paperclip VCF and Paperclip SAFE®.

“We’re excited to partner with Paperclip and offer our clients options on data transmission, transcription and storage that have a transformative impact on their daily operations and content management,” said Kevin Pohmer, chief product officer of Hexure. “By integrating FireLight with Paperclip, distribution firms will be able to quickly and securely send application data and documents from FireLight to their agency management systems removing manual friction.”

The FireLight and Paperclip integration eliminates the manual data entry processes and increases data integrity by digitizing applications and transmitting data securely and accurately. Additionally, the integration offers the ability for FireLight applications and documents to be stored and indexed for clients to quickly access, improving document management processes and the overall sales experience.

“Hexure clients can now seamlessly harness the power of Paperclip solutions to streamline their document supply chain,” said Suzy Tuck, SVP of Sales at Paperclip. “From Mojo and VCF to SAFE searchable encryption, our solutions are going to transform how the Hexure community manages and secures their data. We’re excited to see this partnership grow.”

This news comes on the heels of Hexure acquiring Vive, a quote and e-submission platform for life insurance, to create a single, best-in-class distribution platform for the life and annuity industries.

With a focus on delivering a modern enrollment experience for carrier, producer and client, the Vive multi-carrier platform enables a seamless quote-to-submission workflow with many of the industry’s largest term life carriers. More than 20,000 registered advisors affiliated with more than 55 BGAs use Vive to quote and submit business to these top term life insurance carriers. The platform also offers differentiated agent tools, including step-by-step case status tracking for applications and the proprietary Vive Score that helps agents and clients to compare product criteria across carriers.

“The future of this industry will be built on interoperability and the enablement of a smooth sales workflow. Our focus is and always has been to enable this vision with modern technology,” said Hexure’s Chief Executive Officer Laird Rixford. “Vive started, like many insurtech companies, out of a desire to make the industry better with a consistent, complete experience. With Hexure and Vive together, the industry will be able to sell term life, permanent life, and annuity products in a single platform and take a big step towards that future.”

This acquisition builds upon Hexure’s core quoting and e-application capabilities, extending its carrier connectivity and distribution network. The Hexure and Vive teams are committed to building a unified platform that continues to support and power leading agencies already using Vive as well as Hexure’s existing FireLight clients. The combined technology will be available to every carrier and broker in the industry.

“Vive began with a focus on creating positive disruption by building the industry’s best platform, and we’ve seen more than 20,000 producers provide a more positive sales experience thanks to our technology,” said Vive’s Chief Executive Officer Jason Lea. “Hexure is the right partner for us because of their history and deep expertise in annuity and permanent products. Bringing together our technologies will help us create that positive disruption across the entire industry and achieve our collective vision of a better future powered by first-class technology.”


Founded in 1995, Hexure provides digital sales solutions to the insurance and financial services industry across various lines of life insurance, annuities, retirement, and wealth management products. Carriers and distributors use its solutions to build customer-centric sales experiences, accelerate submissions, reduce paper processes, meet regulatory requirements, and improve in-good-order sales. Visit http://hexure.com.

Paperclip is a proven technology partner that continues to revolutionize data security, and content and document management for Fortune 1,000 companies worldwide. Every second of every day, their innovative solutions are securely processing, transcribing, storing, and communicating sensitive content across the internet. Paperclip has a decades-long reputation for maximizing efficiency to save millions annually, while maintaining absolute security and compliance. For more information, visit http://paperclip.com.

Vive is an industry leading quoting and e-submission platform for term life insurance that has partnered with the industry’s top term insurance carriers, more than 55 BGAs and 20,000 advisors. Vive’s platform includes agent tools like automated case status tracking and the industry’s first consumer value score for term life, the Vive Score. For more information, visit http://.GetVive.com.

Life Happens News

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Life Happens News

Life Happens, a national nonprofit committed to educating people about the importance of life insurance, celebrated the 20th anniversary of Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM) this September. This annual initiative helps people understand the key role life insurance plays in a financially secure future and that it is both affordable and easy to get for most. This year, one of Life Happens’ focuses is on the financial needs of single parents. The challenges these households face are stark. Seven in 10 single parents said becoming a parent is a significant financial burden and, on average, single parents think about their child’s financial future five times per day, according to the new survey Single Parents and the Financial Future by Life Happens.

“For the last 20 years, LIAM has spotlighted how life insurance matters for all Americans, single parents included. With our new survey saying that 42 percent of single parents report having gone into debt for their children, the financial concerns facing these households deserve our attention,” said Barbara A. Pietrangelo, chair of Life Happens. “We hope this year’s LIAM efforts will provide single parents with peace of mind, beginning with a better understanding of life insurance as the foundation of any strong financial plan.”

Shining a spotlight with influencers
In addition to showcasing two decades’ worth of life insurance education, Life Happens will also launch an all-encompassing campaign for the 20th year of LIAM. This includes simple actions people can take each weekday, from taking a pledge to get life insurance to an Instagram giveaway to wearing green in support of life insurance.

LIAM will also feature a robust influencer program to help both spread awareness of the financial hardships single parents face and provide their communities with advice for achieving financial security. Bachelor in Paradise star Michael Allio, author and entrepreneur Brandon Janous, and podcast host and community builder Kim Williams will support Life Happens as 2023 LIAM partners, shining a spotlight on the single-parent experience. All three are single parents with unique personal experiences with life insurance—Michael and Brandon as widowers, and Kim as a single mom.

To stay up-to-date on LIAM activities, the new survey and influencer partnerships, visit http://LifeHappens.org and follow Life Happens on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

“Single Parents and the Financial Future” is a random double-opt-in survey of single parents (1,000 moms and 1,000 dads) that was commissioned by Life Happens in July, 2023. It was conducted by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).

Life Happens is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consumers take personal financial responsibility through the ownership of life insurance and related products. The organization does not endorse any product, company or insurance advisor. Since its inception in 1994, Life Happens has provided the highest quality, independent and objective information for people seeking help with their insurance buying decisions. The organization supports the insurance industry by providing marketing tools and resources and convening the industry each September for Life Insurance Awareness Month. Life Happens is supported by many of the nation’s leading insurance companies and financial services organizations. To learn more, visit http://.lifehappens.org.

Allianz News

Broker World
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Allianz News

The Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) 2023 annual consumer survey of Americans’ views on retirement planning found that diverse Americans are re-engaging with professional financial advisors in 2023, rebounding from a drop reported in 2022. Allianz Life found that 36 percent of Black Americans reported having a professional financial advisor in 2023, up from 24 percent in 2022. This is a reversal of the previous year, which saw Black usage of professional financial advisors decline from 38 percent in 2021, to 24 percent in 2022. Hispanic investors report similar shifts in working with a professional financial advisor, rising from 35 percent in 2022 to 42 percent in 2023, after falling from 44 percent in 2021.

The increased engagement of Black and Hispanic Americans’ with professional financial advisors tracks with a corresponding increase in confidence. When asked, “Right now, how confident do you feel about being able to financially support all the things you want to do going forward in your life, Black, Hispanic and White Americans all reported an 80 percent confidence level (a nine point year-over-year increase for Black Americans and a five point increase for Hispanic Americans).

Working with a professional financial advisor on a written plan that maps out how to achieve a successful retirement can be one of the most important steps anyone can take in seeking to secure their financial future. And while the uptick in investors of color working with professionals is encouraging, all groups are still behind white Americans, 47 percent of whom currently work with one.

“It’s great to see an increase in diverse populations working with financial professionals and gaining confidence,” said Travis Walker, business solutions and diversity consultant, Allianz Life. “But clearly the industry has more work to do. We have to really listen to what our clients and potential clients are telling us about what they want, and don’t want, in a financial professional.”

Why not work with an advisor?
Americans who don’t currently work with a professional financial advisor gave varying reasons. And, when those who have a professional financial advisor were asked why they don’t discuss certain important issues with their advisor, diverse investor groups often reported they were using other resources to find solutions to these issues (38 percent of Black Americans, 32 percent of Hispanic Americans and 30 percent of Asian Americans).

These feelings may be due, in part, to some Americans of color having different financial concerns than others. For example:

  • 38 percent of Black and Hispanic Americans list “Paying off credit card debt” as one of their top three financial goals, compared to 30 percent of the total population.
  • While 45 percent of the total population say “Saving enough and making plans to live a comfortable retirement,” is one of their top three financial goals, only 36 percent of Black Americans say the same.
  • 31 percent of Black Americans say “Leaving a legacy for my family” is one of their top three financial goals, compared to 23 percent of the total population.
ReasonWhiteBlackHispanicAsian
I don’t have enough money to have a financial advisor30%26%32%33%
It costs too much to work with a financial advisor32%32%34%46%
I don’t trust financial advisors13%16%12%15%

“The data are telling us that one size does not fit all when it comes to what people are looking for in financial advice,” said Walker. “Now more than ever, it’s critical for financial professionals to approach their clients with an open mind and really listen to their concerns. That’s how we help make financial guidance work for everyone.”

When asked about topics they have not discussed with a financial advisor, but would like to, there are also significant differences among people of color compared to the overall population:

  • 78 percent of Black, 77 percent of Hispanic and 69 percent of Asian Americans would like to discuss the possibility of “Unexpected, large expenses to pay for (e.g. damage to home, replace major appliance, need a new car),” as compared to 56 percent of the total population.
  • 77 percent of Black, 73 percent of Hispanic and 70 percent of Asian Americans would like to discuss “The rising cost of living will prevent me from enjoying my retirement,” as opposed to 59 percent of the total population.
  • 77 percent of Black, 79 percent of Hispanic and 62 percent of Asian Americans would like to discuss “Navigating Medicare and health insurance and making the right choices for my healthcare,” compared to 54 percent of the total population.

“These results show the need for a more holistic approach to providing financial planning strategies,” said Walker. “By definition, that means getting to know your clients better, and using a planning process that takes into account life needs that might fall outside the realm of traditional retirement strategies.”

Diverse populations of Americans, just like all Americans, can benefit from professional financial advice. When asked what might make them more likely to work with a particular financial professional, 23 percent of Black Americans said they would like to work with an advisor who has “similar characteristics to me such as similar age, gender or race.”

“One of the ways we bring more people of color into our client population is to bring more people of color into the career of financial professional,” says Walker. “There are a variety of industry-wide efforts to do so, and our success in these efforts will go a long way toward creating a more inclusive market for financial guidance.”

*Allianz Life conducted the Allianz 2023 Annual Retirement Study online in February and March 2023 with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 individuals age 25+ in the contiguous U.S. with an annual household income of $50k+ (single) / $75k+ (married/partnered) or investable assets of $150k.

Neither Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America nor Allianz Life Financial Services, LLC provide advice or financial planning services.

Products are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and distributed by its affiliate, Allianz Life Financial Services, LLC, member FINRA, 5701 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416-1297. 800.542.5427 http://.allianzlife.com.

This content does not apply to the state of New York.

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, one of the Ethisphere World’s Most Ethical Companies,® has been keeping its promises since 1896 by helping Americans achieve their retirement income and protection goals with a variety of annuity and life insurance products. In 2022, Allianz Life provided additional value to its policyholders via distributions of more than $7.7 billion. As a leading provider of fixed index annuities, registered index-linked annuities and fixed index universal life insurance, Allianz Life is part of Allianz SE, a global leader in the financial services industry with approximately 150,000 employees in more than 70 countries.

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