After Congress passed—and President Bush signed—the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, many observers wondered what would happen to Medicaid planning and to the sale of “Medicaid friendly” insurance products. If you took a hard line on this issue—either viewing DRA as a death knell or as no big deal—it’s time to take another look. Read more...

If you have an industry designation, you need to be careful how you represent those letters to your prospects and clients.  That’s the lesson learned from the recent spate of bad publicity about “senior specialist” designations. Read more...

The life settlement business is growing fast.  According to Conning Research and Consulting, the business of selling unneeded life policies grew to $5.5 billion in face amounts in 2005, up from $3.3 billion in 2004. Bernstein Research cites higher in-force numbers ($13 billion in 2005), with potential growth to $160 billion. Read more...

If “free lunch” senior seminars are part of your marketing effort, watch out.   Federal and state regulators are cracking down on seminars targeting Florida seniors.  And this initiative may expand to other states as part of a broad effort to shut down inappropriate sales practices in the senior marketplace. Read more...