Members of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting elected new officers and three new directors for 2013-14 during the association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

AALU members are currently attending the 2013 Annual Meeting in the nation’s capital, where they are learning from each other, building new relationships, and reinforcing to Congress the value of the life insurance products they sell to their clients.

About 1,000 NAIFA members are taking advantage of the opportunity to be part of an important history-making event: NAIFA’s Congressional Conference. The meeting, currently under way in Washington, D.C., was organized by NAIFA to give members a platform to educate their lawmakers about the important role insurance plays in the lives of millions of Americans, and why it is imperative that tax reform does not make it more expensive or more difficult for Americans to purchase this valuable product.

Financial advisors say women and individuals under the age of 45 are much less knowledgeable about personal finance than male and older investors. This is according to the first financial literacy flash survey conducted by AdviceIQ, in recognition of Financial Literacy Month, currently under way.

Late last year, kasina, a strategy consulting firm in the financial-services industry, conducted its biannual Financial Advisor Vision survey of 2,521 advisors. The study revealed many interesting findings, including the fact that many Americans’ retirement nest eggs have been detrimentally impacted during the past few years, and quite a few middle-class Americans should expect to work well into their Golden Years. Advisor Today Blog recently interviewed kasina CEO Steven Miyao to discuss the findings in greater detail and to get some insights into how advisors should work with their asset managers to successfully meet the investing needs of their clients.

NAIFA member Ed Barrett, ChFC, has been appointed general manager of National Life Group’s northern New Jersey region.

LIFE has appointed four new officers and two new members to its Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2013. They are:

Projected cost increases for all types of medical plans are anticipated to be down by between 0.2 and 0.6 percent through the first half of 2013, according to a survey by Buck Consultants. This is the first time since 2001 that Buck's survey has indicated projected cost increases that are less than 10 percent for any plan type, a trend that will continue into 2013.

According to the annual New Year’s Resolution Survey from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, a staggering 84 percent of Americans surveyed said that they will not include financial planning in their resolutions this year. This lack of financial focus is at the highest level in the survey’s four-year history, exceeding the 80 percent of respondents who ignored financial planning when making resolutions for 2012 and 67 percent from the inaugural 2009 survey.