Annuity FYI Blog

MassMutual has introduced a new product in the world of fixed annuities, according to a company press release entitled “New Fixed Annuity Introduced: MassMutual Stable Voyage(SM).”  This single premium deferred fixed annuity offers many benefits to investors, including interest rate guarantees and protection on part of their investment.  They advertise guarantees in an economic climate where they are hard to find.  There is also stability on a portion of the investment, good for those investors who are more tolerant of risk.  One of the benefits of fixed annuities is the option to receive a guaranteed stream of income to last your lifetime.  The fixed rate of growth with MassMutual’s Stable Voyage also gives investors cash to access when necessary.

There are many benefits with the Stable Benefits fixed annuity.  Interest rates are guaranteed for a certain period of five, seven or nine years.  With a banded interest rate structure, certain customers can earn a higher interest rate.  An annuity rates comparison will prove this fixed annuity beneficial to many investors.  Another benefit is a choice of renewal options once the initial guarantee period is over.  Investors will also have a 30-day period in which to make decisions at the end of every guarantee period.  They can decide between a new period of five, seven or nine years, a one-year guarantee, or beginning their annuity payments.  There is more access to your contract value than other fixed annuities and investors have guaranteed lifetime income options.  More information is available for MassMutual’s fixed annuities.

Despite closing the MassMutual Retirement Income (MMRI) unit, MassMutual will continue to sell annuities and other retirement products.  Bill Kenealy, of Insurance Networking News, discusses this development in “MassMutual Axes Retirement Unit.”  The MMRI was created in April of 2007 to focus on solutions for advisers looking to meet the guaranteed lifetime income needs of their customers.  This unit had been created as a separate entity to MassMutual’s U.S. Insurance Group to closely monitor investment behaviors and risk issues, but its demise will not stop the sale of annuities and other retirement products for the company.

Guaranteed lifetime income products like annuities will now be sold through other divisions of MassMutual.  The closing of the MMRI unit happened a week after a new platform was introduced by MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division.  The RetireSmartSM platform will be begin in the second quarter of next year.  It is a plan to get important materials to both plan participants and sponsors, allowing them the best possible experience in the marketplace.  All participants will get information in an easy to understand and visually appealing format which is great for often dry or confusing material.  A similar format will be used for the plan sponsors allowing both them and their participants to take necessary actions easily.

According to “New York Life revamps sales team” by Jessica Toonkel Marquez of Investment News, New York Life Insurance Co. has added specialists and reorganized its management team to help wholesalers.  They want to make it simpler for the wholesalers to sell the best annuities, mutual funds and other guaranteed-income products to financial advisers.  Each of the product categories has new specialists supporting the sales teams.  New York Life has also made the switch to have their relationship management teams organized by client instead of product.

Having only one person as a company contact throughout the “entire product solution suite” will make the process easier for wholesalers and their advisers.  It avoids sales representatives in the same company competing for clients as well.  Annuity research company Annuity Insight says that New York Life is a top player in the annuity marketplace and they see them excelling into the future.  The addition of a new position as the head of business development for retirement income security products was given to Tom Johnson, formerly an executive at Mass Mutual.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company has a new President and CEO, according to Insurance News Net‘s article “Mass Mutual’s Incoming CEO Will Draw on Experience to Lead Through Crisis.”  Roger W. Crandall has been with the company in many different capacities since 1988, so he has seen his fair share of economic and financial turmoil.  Mass Mutual, founded in 1851, was the 13th largest U.S. life insurer in 2008 according to A.M. Best Company.  Unfortunately they had a net loss of $1 billion last year after experiencing what Crandall calls “the worst financial market crisis since the Great Depression.”  The fee income that Mass Mutual generates from managing assets fell dramatically with the equity markets.  After changing its portfolio around in the last year by adding investment-grade corporate bonds and reducing some of their other holdings, the company is happy with their turnaround.

Overall the financial markets affecting Mass Mutual are doing well this year so there is no plan to change the strategy of the company.  They are a mutual life insurance company that is run for their participating policyholders benefit and they will stay that way.  Crandall begins as CEO January 1 of next year.  His experience in life insurance and annuities will help him lead the company in a positive direction.  Like some other writers of variable annuities, Mass Mutual stopped selling many of the “living benefit” riders in 2008 because the risks and costs were not aligned in a difficult capital market.  Hopefully, as the markets continue to improve, consumers making a 401k annuity transfer and purchasing variable annuities will be able to find exactly what they are looking for with Mass Mutual.

MassMutual tied for The Best in Class Call Center award (for under 200 staff) from the International Quality and Productivity Center(IQPC) for the second year in a row.  According to a press release from PRNewswire, MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division’s Call Center and Debbie Cote, who is in charge of the center, received top awards for their excellent customer service.  The IQPC established the Call Center Excellence Awards to honor the industry’s best.

Whole life insurance is the foundation of MassMutual, which also provides customers annuities, retirement and 401(k) services, and other types of insurance.  They pride themselves on quality, personalized assistance and top notch services for their customers’ retirement needs.

The IQPC award was based on employees working together to successfully care for their customers, how they manage in a difficult economic climate, and the team’s motivation and togetherness.  In addition to this award, MassMutual won a handful of other customer service awards in the past few months.  Their professional staff focuses on finding solutions to customers’ retirement needs through education and conflict resolution.