Feds extend Crap Sandwich to life insurers
You know that bank bailout program to buy up toxic assets that morphed into a capital injection plan and then back again? Well, now TARP is going to be expanded to cover life insurers.
Yes, life insurers:
The Treasury Department has decided to extend bailout funds to a number of struggling life-insurance companies, helping an industry that is a lynchpin of the U.S. financial system, people familiar with the matter said.
The department is expected to announce the expansion of the Troubled Asset Relief Program to aid the ailing industry within the next several days, these people said.
The news will come as a relief to a number of iconic American companies that have suffered big losses made worse by generous promises to buyers of some investment products. Shares of life insurers have fallen more than 40% this year. Their troubles led to a string of rating-agency downgrades that, in a vicious cycle, made it more difficult for some insurers to raise funds.
The life-insurance industry is an important piece of the U.S. financial system. Millions of Americans have entrusted their families’ financial safety to these companies, so keeping them on solid footing is crucial to maintaining confidence. If massive numbers of customers sought to redeem their policies, it could cause a cash crunch for some companies. And because insurers invest the premiums they receive from customers into bonds, real estate and other investments, they are major holders of securities. If they needed to sell off holdings to raise cash, it could cause markets to tumble.
The decision by the Treasury Department adds a third industry to the banks and auto companies that have already received bailouts from the government. While American International Group Inc. is a major insurer and is the biggest recipient of government money, its problems weren’t caused by its life-insurance operations, but derivative bets that went bad.
Only insurers that own federally chartered banks will qualify for the program. Treasury had said last year that life insurers could be eligible for TARP funds if they owned bank-holding companies, but it hadn’t officially decided to give funds to these companies as it focused much of its energies on banks and auto makers.
Those insurers better think long and hard before they take TARP money. Be careful what you wish for.
***
The Saturday Night Live skit this weekend ridiculing President CEO-in-Chief picking and choosing which industries to take over was indeed too close for comfort. Not funny at all.
Chilling.
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- I Was Wrong And I Apologize « Vets On The Watch
- TARP and Life Insurance | The window to my world
- Feds extend Crap Sandwich to life insurers - John P. Wiles
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Categories: AIG, Subprime crisis, Tim Geithner
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Does that mean gubmint is planning on killing us off, or does the State Department know something we don’t know now that Obama is back from his World Tour?
I can’t help but think that the money bags on the left who want to see damage to our country, i.e. George Soros, are pulling the strings of the financial morass we are experiencing.
Oh gee, and unfortunately in today’s corrupt government we are forced to ask ourselves, which Senator is married to a lobbyist for the Life Insurance industry?
Doesn’t take too many google searches to find it, Democrat Senator Byron Dorgan’s wife, Kim, is Chief Lobbyist for the American Council of Life Insurers.
Darn straight he is!
And if you refuse the cash, will Geithner come in and sack the CEO, CFO and gut the company. This is unconstitutional 100%
You haven’t been paying attention. That’s what his centralized database of all medical records and bureaucratic approval for all medical care is all about. He has to kill off the elderly to “save” Social Security and Medicare, and he has to kill off the babies to save prenatal and neonatal costs. Naturally, somebody has to provide the insurance companies with money to pay off the current policies. After he takes control of the companies, of course, he’ll have them write in an exception for euthanasia in all new policies (which everyone will need when their old policies are cancelled).
I did not realize life insurance claims were up 75%.
I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Conneticutt is the insurance capital of America…….
OBTW, nice job mngirl on your research.
Pretty much.
Should be interesting to see if insurance companies pay out if the government-mandated health care we’re sure to be stuck with pushes “assisted suicide” or withholds treatment from terminal patients.
Of if the government decides who gets insurance, and who inherits the money after your death…
He’s being a lot more successful than he was when he tried to destroy the British pound. Of course, he didn’t have the government helping him that time.
So, have we decided on whether this is socialism or fascism? Based on Obama’s unilateral declaration that the United States has never been or is no longer a Christian nation, I suppose he’ll treat organized religion like businesses and decide which may continue or which may have to close their doors, or which may have to shake up their leadership structure, sort of like firing a CEO or changing a board of directors. And I know this power resides in the presidency, because its in the revised interpretation of the Constitution, right, the feely-hopey-changey version that has no basis in reality, but in the minds of these radical statists. And the Left thought George Bush was polarizing…doesn’t hold a candle to Obama.
Those that don’t starve to death on Obamas stimulus package (job lose) will be killed off on his health care plan. This will surely cause a problem for the insurance companies.
The government inherits 90% of the money after your death. How else are they going to pay for their socialist programs?
Insurance companies have been underwriting the banks and their contracts and it stands to reason that this is the next domino to fall. If you have been letting your insurance company invest your money inside a policy you should have taken it out long ago and purchased a policy based on coverage only.
Yeah, pretty much. I haven’t a doubt there will be “approved” churches and the rest will be verboten, since Obama and his fellow Democrats have decided we’re all their children and they know what’s best for us.
Given his consistent failure to appoint a suitable person as ambassador to the Vatican (here’s a hint: we don’t want a pro-abortion ambassador and won’t accept one!), my money is that Catholics and Evangelicals, and other conservative Christians will soon see their churches “restructured” by the government. Obama has no use for Christians or the good work we do.
And for more details:
Lawmakers’ Lobbying Spouses Avoid Hill Reforms
By John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 17, 2007; Page A01
Just in case we thought our Senators had enough integrity to not vote on legislation their lobbyist wives were clearly on behalf of; NOT.
When Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) rose to the Senate floor last summer and passionately argued for keeping the federal estate tax, he left one person with an interest in retaining the tax unmentioned.
The multibillion-dollar life-insurance industry, which was fighting to preserve the tax because life insurers have a lucrative business selling policies and annuities to Americans for estate planning, has employed Dorgan’s wife as a lobbyist since 1999.
Oh oh, I better start taking better care of my health-They are From the Government and They Are Here to Help
Government run funeral services?
A big portion of this problem is due to the amount of baby boomers and the annuities that the insurers are being forced to pay or will in the very near future. They have made “guarantees” as to the rates of return on these. As we are living longer, the companies will be forced to pay more. Run to the Mutuals with very high ratings – look at who is NOT taking TARP money and buying up banks. Look at what the reserves and surplus amounts are on the mutual’s balance sheets.
For the time being, you and your money will be safe there.
englishqueen01 said:
Yes, that opens the whole faith-based social welfare can of worms, doesn’t it? Sure we’ll “encourage” organizations that have “compatible” religious views, but you can expect nothing if you don’t toe the line on abortion, same-sex marriage, and a “proper understanding” of America’s proper place in the world as a pariah responsible for social ills from sea to shining sea.
Life insurance companies are NOT ailing. They are the house in Vegas. They set the rules, they set the rates, they set the benefits. Life insurance is the safest bet of any financial instrument.
Usually life insurance isn’t even claimed so the insurance company gets to keep the money. It is a power grab. However I am certain that there are some executives somewhere trying to figure out if it might be worth losing their jobs to get a windfall from the government.
the life portion of the insurance business is probably solid, although it may well have invested it’s cash in those safe fannie backed cdos. but the insurance problems which they probably need money for is the lawsuit insurance and act of god insurance such as forest fires, quakes, and hurricanes.
Way back in the 90’s, Rush coined the term “cradle to grave”. Reckon it’s true, now.
That’s next…or shortly after other take overs!
Do not take your eyes off of the target!
AIG is in the life insurance business.
AIG is now a government supported enterprise.
AIG cannot have uncontrolled competitors.
It is simply NOT possible to pretend that life insurance companies are ’systemic’ risk companies.
There is no end to the amount of power this government desires.
your right MM, “Not funny at all”…in more ways than one. Maybe I’ve lost my sense of humor as I age, I fail to see the humor at our country’s demise.
side note: takes like that confirm why I stopped watching SNL years ago.
How much you wanna bet that they get forced to take the “bailout”?
To answer your question which religions will be the chosen by our esteemed leader, gay marriage will be the gage. Support gay marriage, YES, you may retain your religion, defend traditional marriage, Re-education camp for all of you, furthermore, since you folks are so bigoted, you will be assigned a same sex partner by the state.
Unless your church is a mosque in which case our beloved brethren there will be given an exception for their practice of the religion of peace. After all, we are not at war with Islam since we are not a nation of Christians founded on Christian principles.
Coming for my Bible and my gun? Ohhh so sorry! The survey says WRONG ANSWER!
Now, just WHICH party is the party of the little guy? And which party is extending literally trillions of dollars to BIG BUSINESS?
Hey, Democrats, don’t you begin to get the message here? You’ve been sold out.
{^_^}