Trio of record-breaking dividend payouts unveiled by largest mutual insurers

[Brian Anderson]

Brian Anderson submitted a new article

Trio of record-breaking dividend payouts unveiled by largest mutual insurers

The industry’s largest mutual insurers all recently announced their expected 2019 dividend payouts – and all three say the amounts will break their own company records.

Continue reading the Original Article.

 

[scagnt83]

I have real issues with the way WL carriers "promote" their Dividends. It is completely misleading and distorts the actual benefit to consumers!!

This article kind of perpetuates that distortion. Total dollar payouts do not matter to consumers, all that matters to consumers is the actual Dividend Rate. And that is not record setting at all for 2019.


- NYL might be paying more dollars in Dividends vs. previous years.... but their clients receiving a lower % return on their WL policy vs. previous years.

- Mass is exactly the same. Mass clients will see no extra benefit vs. last year.

- NYM is basically the same. Only a 0.1% increase in benefit on their policy vs. last year.


What matters to consumers is the Dividend Rate. Not the dollar amount of Dividends paid.

This is not news... it's carrier propaganda designed to distort the truth and make these carriers seem stronger than they actually are... carriers have been doing this forever, they make a Dividend Announcement and they fail to include the actual Dividend Rate in the announcement.

 

[Bill Boersma]

What concerns me is that consumers believe this is good news rather than the same tired propaganda. They have no understanding of what this means and can misconstrue it to make decisions what are not in their best interest.

Leaning on the technicality of what "largest ever dividends" means is nothing short of the same misrepresentation too many agents perpetuate in the field. I see it all day long and am called in to clean up the messes. With teachers like this it's no wonder policy owners are being misled. The institutional indoctrination is shameful.

If I had $1,000,000 last year and it grew at 8% to $1,080,000 and this year it grows at 7.5% and I have a press release about the biggest growth ever ($81,000) wouldn't I appropriately be taken to task? Isn't it actually a lie in every meaningful sense?

I'm not anti-whole life. I'm anti-lying. Since there is so much good about life insurance, why the need to resort to these tactics? These are biggest and "best" of insurance carriers and consumers assume regulators are doing their jobs and not allowing these companies to intentionally mislead them.

Anyone who writes to perpetuate these misrepresentations is a part of the problem and should be held accountable.

 

[DHK]

Just another positive for IUL - better transparency and disclosures (if properly structured).

 

[Allen Trent]

What concerns me is that consumers believe this is good news rather than the same tired propaganda. They have no understanding of what this means and can misconstrue it to make decisions what are not in their best interest.

Leaning on the technicality of what "largest ever dividends" means is nothing short of the same misrepresentation too many agents perpetuate in the field. I see it all day long and am called in to clean up the messes. With teachers like this it's no wonder policy owners are being misled. The institutional indoctrination is shameful.

If I had $1,000,000 last year and it grew at 8% to $1,080,000 and this year it grows at 7.5% and I have a press release about the biggest growth ever ($81,000) wouldn't I appropriately be taken to task? Isn't it actually a lie in every meaningful sense?

I'm not anti-whole life. I'm anti-lying. Since there is so much good about life insurance, why the need to resort to these tactics? These are biggest and "best" of insurance carriers and consumers assume regulators are doing their jobs and not allowing these companies to intentionally mislead them.

Anyone who writes to perpetuate these misrepresentations is a part of the problem and should be held accountable.

Couldn't agree more. Cant believe how many agents cant do basic math or understand a big carrier promoting that the pay an 8% dividend doesn't mean CV will grow by 8% at all. on top of that, many of the agents then don't factor in the client is paying the premium & that is also what grew the CV of the current year. an IRR year over year comparison with the premium removed likely is closer to 3.5% to 4.5%. I have no problem with that fact, just a problem with how it is portrayed as something more. Still a great tax diversification play for future income in many cases & comparable to a bond portion of some overall portfolio. just never understood the need to overhype it & then have most agents & consumers not be able to realize the real math.