Even investors who understand that the stock market is volatile did not feel good about the losses stocks posted during 2022. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped by nearly 20% and the average workplace retirement plan balance fell from $144,280 at the start of that year to $111,210 by year’s end. Here’s a breakdown of how much money retirement savers lost from these defined contribution plans.
A financial advisor can help you create a financial plan to protect your retirement nest egg.
Alight’s 2023 Universe Benchmarks Report looked at data from almost three million eligible participants spread across 100 retirement plans. The median plan balance fell to $23,818 — the lowest in a decade. The median annual return was -14.7% during 2022.
Other findings from the study were similarly downbeat: The average participation rate in workplace savings plans dropped slightly, from 84% in 2021 to 83% in 2022, while the average contribution rate slipped from 8.6% to 8.3%.
When considering former employees, the rate of those who kept their money invested in the workplace plan dropped from 61% in 2021 to 55% in 2022. Such withdrawals may indicate workers rolled money from their previous employer’s plan to that of a new employer, or into an individual retirement account; it also can include workers cashing out their accounts to keep money on the sidelines, or used it to meet financial obligations.
Despite Challenges, Workers Focused on Long-Term Savings
Still, most workers saving in 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored plans stayed the course, despite being hit by increased living expenses that resulted from high inflation.
“Most people did not make drastic, knee-jerk reactions to their investments,” Rob Austin, head of research at Alight Solutions, said in a statement. “Only 3% of people stopped contributing, and the number of people who increased contribution rates was more than twice the number who decreased their savings.”
And, the percentage of workers eligible for workplace plans with fewer than two years of service increased by 30% during 2022 – an indication that automatic enrollment plans seem to be getting more workers to save for retirement
So far for 2023, markets have been more encouraging, with the broad S&P 500 index up more than 14% by the end of June. Similarly, balances for defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, are up for the year, according to the Investment Company Institute, which reported that plan assets were $9.8 trillion at the end of the first quarter, up 5% percent from the end of 2022.
Bottom Line
A tough year for the stock market was difficult for participants in workplace retirement accounts such as 401(k)s, where they contribute money toward retirement. Because of the long time horizon most workers have before retirement, plan participants tend to invest much or all of their contributions in stocks to achieve long-term growth after inflation. But that means they also have to weather the inevitable downturns in the market.
Retirement Planning Tips
A financial advisor can help protect your retirement savings. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Knowing how much you will need to pay for retirement is crucial to make your plan sustainable. Our retirement calculator can help you get an estimate for how much you will be able to save over time.
It’s been a particularly bad twister season this year—and not just for those living in “Tornado Alley.”
The preliminary count of twisters between January and March, when tornado season began ramping up, means 2023 will be one of the most active first quarters on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And it could end up being the worst ever seen.
This all has us wondering about tornado risks for homeowners across the country and how much climate change is affecting the frequency, severity, and locations of these unstoppable storms that remind us of how small we are. So we analyzed climate risk data from CoreLogic, a real estate data supplier, to figure out how much tornado damages are likely to cost homeowners each year, depending on where they live—and what sort of bills they could be facing in the future as tornadoes become more dangerous.
While tornadoes mostly affect the Eastern swath of the country, this year places not normally associated with tornado risk have been touched by them. A 140-mph tornado struck Delaware (measured as the widest on record for the state) on April 1, the same day an “outbreak” of tornadoes touched down in New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. That followed a tornado that hit Los Angeles on March 22 and where a set of “twin tornadoes” hit again on May 4.
For a homeowner living in an area where tornadoes are a possibility, this is a reminder that although the chance a tornado affects you is small, it can still happen. But the science on how a changing climate affects tornadoes is far from settled.
“There’s no agreement, and there’s good reason for that,” says Howard Bluestein, a professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma.
Bluestein says there are far too many factors to predict with accuracy the changes in tornado frequency or intensity, from wind shears to soil moisture.
“We don’t understand why some supercell storms produce tornadoes and others don’t,” he adds.
CoreLogic’s predictions, which rely on widely used greenhouse gas modeling, show that damage costs resulting from severe convective storms—the kind that causes tornadoes and also other damaging wind, rain, and hail—could rise by more than 10% by 2040 and more than 25% by 2050, depending on the location, and that’s without adjusting for whatever future inflation occurs.
One caveat: The possibility exists of observation bias, where the count of tornadoes might have increased in part because the tools we use to observe these storms have gotten better. In addition, as more homes go up and areas become more populated, damages are likely to become more widespread. That’s not because there are more tornadoes, necessarily, only that there are more homes in their way.
According to CoreLogic’s data, in a place like Tarrant County, TX, severe convective storms currently cause around $411 million in residential damage in any given year. That translates into a risk of about $690 per homeowner each year. That, in turn, is worked into insurance premiums.
But by 2040, CoreLogic expects those costs to rise by 10%, to about $436 million across the county, or about $729 per homeowner, using the most extreme model (RCP85, which is based on increasing fossil fuel use). By 2050, those costs could rise by almost 20%, to about $522 million, or about $872 per homeowner—and that’s before accounting for inflation or the effects of population growth.
That’s where the science hits homeowners’ wallets. As the risks increase, homeowners are likely to spend more on their insurance premiums.
We plotted CoreLogic’s data on a map, to show where in the country tornado damage costs are expected to increase, and by how much.
For each of the 2,610 counties where there’s enough past tornado data to make predictions about the future (about three-quarters of all counties), CoreLogic’s data shows the current estimated average annual cost to a homeowner from severe convective storms, as well as the amount that figure is expected to rise under the RCP85 scenario. You can explore the data using the map below.
Though predictions about the effects of climate change are still not an exact science, says Harold Brooks, a senior research scientist at the NOAA’s severe storms laboratory, improvements in home construction techniques can be used to help mitigate these risks.
“The bottom line is we aren’t completely sure what climate change will do,” he says. “But we know enough to know the bounds of what climate change might do.”
And that’s enough to prompt him to take measures in his own home, where Brooks recently had an in-residence tornado bunker installed.
“It’s a walk-in closet, with 6-inch concrete walls and a steel-reinforced door. FEMA has plans online for these,” he says. “The guy who poured the concrete said it was relatively simple, and when he was done, he asked if he could come over if there’s a bad storm.”
The tornado fortification doesn’t stop there, though.
“Historically, roofs have been nailed on, but really held in place by gravity,” Brooks says. “What happens in most home failures in a tornado is the roof gets lifted off. You have pressure on the walls, there’s no place for it to go, you get upward pressure, and the roof goes.”
But builders are now using hurricane clips to protect against severe weather events that threaten to tear roofs from buildings. These clips secure roof rafters to the walls with inexpensive metal fittings.
“The buzzword in the community is ‘continuous load path,’” Brooks says. “These can add an order of magnitude to the pressure the roof can take.”
Bolts that more securely hold walls to a structure’s foundation are another of the “relatively inexpensive things that can reduce the risk for this kind of damage,” Brooks adds.
President Donald Trump’s proposal to reform the National Environmental Policy Act has won the backing of the National Association of Realtors.
NAR President Vince Malta (pictured) said the proposed changes should help to modernize environmental standards while also helping to alleviate housing shortages.
The NEPA changes would be the first serious amendment to the Act in more than 40 years.
The
White House said the Act needs to be reformed in order to streamline
the approval of new infrastructure and housing projects, as well as
highways and energy pipelines. The proposed changes are still subject
to public hearings before being approved, but Malta said they should
help to reduce regulatory burdens will still retaining strong
environmental quality standards.
“The
NAR has long advocated for common-sense reforms to promote
infrastructure development and streamline review processes without
compromising on critical environmental protections,” Malta said in
a statement. “Since NEPA was last updated nearly four decades ago,
the housing industry has seen countless infrastructure modernization
projects paralyzed by arbitrary delays and unreasonable cost
increases.”
The
NAR has in recent months intensified its calls for major reforms of
the nation’s infrastructure.
“The
National Association of Realtors is confident that the reforms will
remove the barriers standing in the way of infrastructure
improvements that stimulate economic growth and create jobs,” Malta
said. “We look forward to partnering with the White House as it
works to implement these changes in the most responsible and
effective way possible.”
The
NAR’s sentiments were echoed by other housing groups, including the
National Association of Home Builders, which said the NEPA reforms
could help spur new-home construction.
“This
proposal to modernize and reform the NEPA review process will
streamline the permitting process and reduce unnecessary costs and
delays for vital infrastructure projects that are needed to support
residential land development projects,” said NAHB CEO Jerry Howard.
“For the housing industry, those uncertainties and delays create
challenges for communities, businesses, and builders, and further
exacerbate the current housing affordability crisis. We welcome the
latest action by the administration to remove regulatory barriers
that hinder housing and economic growth.”
Mike Wheatley is the senior editor at Realty Biz News. Got a real estate related news article you wish to share, contact Mike at [email protected]
Want to master your real estate market fast? Listen to today’s podcast with Geoff Zahler and learn how to become a well-rounded Realtor in record time. Geoff also shares a stat that every real estate agent should know, what clients really care about, and how to make sales without selling. Don’t miss it!
Listen to today’s show and learn:
The Las Vegas real estate market [2:30]
About Zahler Properties [7:28]
The best way to learn a new market [12:45]
Zillow leads back in 2014 [19:18]
Accepting the need to pivot [25:44]
Baby steps toward building a real estate business [28:00]
Buyers accepting the new mortgage rates [32:00]
The different types of leads [36:09]
Staying top of mind with previous clients [37:55]
A stat that every real estate agent should be aware of [39:32]
Selling without selling [41:34]
What potential clients really care about [44:12]
A mental shift that will help you become a better salesperson [46:47]
The real estate journey [50:04]
Where to find and follow Geoff Zahler [51:42]
Geoff Zahler
A loving Husband, doting Father, dedicated Real Estate Broker, and community volunteer that absolutely loves giving back to his city. Geoff is passionate about his family, watching his three children (2 girls and a baby boy) grow, cooking, traveling both in the US and abroad, growing vegetables in his garden, and being present in the lives of friends, family, and clients.
Geoff cheers passionately for his favorite Sports teams, laughs to tears at funny movies (and the occasional stupid internet video), and will forever love 90’s Hip-Hop.
He believes in a giving mentality, realizing that personal and business growth are all about putting others in front of his own goals. By putting others first, he is able to provide an amazing life for his family and live life one laugh at a time.
He is the Broker | Founder and Team Leader for his family at work, Zahler Properties.
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(Bloomberg) –Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated her optimism about the U.S. economy, saying inflation can slow down without a slump in employment, even if growth cools.
“Our economy has proven more resilient than many had thought,” amid forecasts of recession, Yellen said in excerpts of remarks due to be delivered later Friday in New Orleans. “I continue to believe that there is a path to reducing inflation while maintaining a healthy labor market. Without downplaying the significant risks ahead, the evidence that we’ve seen so far suggests that we are on that path.”
Yellen said in an interview last week that she sees diminishing risk for the U.S. to fall into recession, and suggested that a slowdown in consumer spending may be the price to pay for finishing the campaign to contain inflation.
“While there are parts of our economy that are slowing down, households are spending at a robust pace and businesses continue to invest,” Yellen said in the excerpts, released by the Treasury Department. “Going forward, I expect the current strength of the labor market and robust household and business balance sheets to serve as a source of economic strength, even if our economy does cool a bit more as inflation falls.”
Federal Reserve officials have raised interest rates by 500 basis points in little more than a year and have signaled more tightening will be needed to rein in an inflation rate that’s running higher than the Fed’s 2% target.
They’ve warned that returning inflation to the goal will likely require a period of below-trend growth and some softening of labor-market conditions.
Yellen touted President Joe Biden’s legislative achievements that stepped up investment in infrastructure, semiconductors and the green-energy transition.
She is the latest administration official to do so, two days after the president delivered what the White House called a “cornerstone” address on his economic policy, “Bidenomics,” with his office seeking to improve perceptions about his job performance before the 2024 election campaign gets into full swing.
Yellen said the policies of Bidenomics are rooted in what she laid out early last year as “modern supply-side economics.”
The idea is to “prioritize investments in our workforce and its productivity – in order to raise the ceiling for what our economy can produce,” Yellen said, highlighting how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act constitute “one of the most important economic investments” the U.S. has made to date.
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Mortgage rates dropped modestly throughout June, but a spike at the end of the month put them back near where they were at the start of the month. Average 30-year mortgage rates ended June at 6.71%, just eight basis points below their June 1 level, according to Freddie Mac.
In spite of this recent volatility, rates could start trending down more permanently in July. But it all depends on how the latest economic data shakes out.
The still-overheated economy needs to slow somewhat for mortgage rates to come down. Though inflation has been decelerating for the past 11 months, it’s still above the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%. If inflation slows significantly this month and the labor market shows signs of cooling, mortgage rates could drop.
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Mortgage Calculator
Use our free mortgage calculator to see how today’s mortgage rates would impact your monthly payments. By plugging in different rates and term lengths, you’ll also understand how much you’ll pay over the entire length of your mortgage.
Mortgage Calculator
$1,161 Your estimated monthly payment
Total paid$418,177
Principal paid$275,520
Interest paid$42,657
Paying a 25% higher down payment would save you $8,916.08 on interest charges
Lowering the interest rate by 1% would save you $51,562.03
Paying an additional $500 each month would reduce the loan length by 146 months
Click “More details” for tips on how to save money on your mortgage in the long run.
30-year Fixed Mortgage Rates
The current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.71%, according to Freddie Mac. This is a slight increase from the previous week.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is the most common type of home loan. With this type of mortgage, you’ll pay back what you borrowed over 30 years, and your interest rate won’t change for the life of the loan.
The lengthy 30-year term allows you to spread out your payments over a long period of time, meaning you can keep your monthly payments lower and more manageable. The trade-off is that you’ll have a higher rate than you would with shorter terms or adjustable rates.
15-year Fixed Mortgage Rates
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.06%, up three basis points from the prior week, according to Freddie Mac data.
If you want the predictability that comes with a fixed rate but are looking to spend less on interest over the life of your loan, a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage might be a good fit for you. Because these terms are shorter and have lower rates than 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, you could potentially save tens of thousands of dollars in interest. However, you’ll have a higher monthly payment than you would with a longer term.
When Will Mortgage Rates Go Down?
Mortgage rates started ticking up from historic lows in the second half of 2021 and increased over three percentage points in 2022. Though rates had initially been trending down this year, they’ve since ticked back up.
As inflation starts to come down, mortgage rates will recede somewhat as well. If we experience a recession, rates may drop a little faster. But average 30-year fixed rates will likely remain somewhere in the 6% to 7% range throughout 2023.
For homeowners looking to leverage their home’s value to cover a big purchase — such as a home renovation — a home equity line of credit (HELOC) may be a good option while we wait for mortgage rates to ease. Check out some of our best HELOC lenders to start your search for the right loan for you.
A HELOC is a line of credit that lets you borrow against the equity in your home. It works similarly to a credit card in that you borrow what you need rather than getting the full amount you’re borrowing in a lump sum. It also lets you tap into the money you have in your home without replacing your entire mortgage, like you’d do with a cash-out refinance.
Current HELOC rates are relatively low compared to other loan options, including credit cards and personal loans.
How Do Fed Rate Hikes Affect Mortgages?
The Federal Reserve has been increasing the federal funds rate this year to try to slow economic growth and get inflation under control. So far, inflation has slowed, but it’s still above the Fed’s 2% target rate.
Mortgage rates aren’t directly impacted by changes to the federal funds rate, but they often trend up or down ahead of Fed policy moves. This is because mortgage rates change based on investor demand for mortgage-backed securities, and this demand is often impacted by how investors expect Fed hikes to affect the broader economy.
As inflation starts to come down, mortgage rates should, too. But the Fed has indicated that it’s watching for sustained signs of slowing inflation.
Housing inventory finally broke under 2022 levels last week. To give you an idea how different this year is from last year, last week in 2022, active listings grew 30,940 while this year they only grew 5,848. Mortgage rates rose last week after the better-than-anticipated jobless claims data but even with higher rates, we also had a third week of positive purchase application data.
Here’s a quick rundown of last week:
Active inventory grew by a disappointing 5,848 weekly
Mortgage rates went above 7% again after better labor data
Purchase application data showed 3% growth week to week
Weekly housing inventory
On May 15, I went on CNBC and talked about how inventory growth in 2023 resembled a zombie from the show The Walking Dead, slowly trying to rise from the grave. Since May 15, that trend has continued to the point that inventory in America is now negative year over year.
We have often discussed that the housing market dynamics changed starting Nov. 9, 2022, and today you can see the final result of that dynamic shift as inventory is now negative versus the 2022 data — all before July 4th. I recently recapped this crazy period on the HousingWire Daily podcast, going into detail about what happened in housing over the last year.
Weekly inventory change (June 23-30): Inventory rose from 459,907-465,755
Same week last year (June 24-July 1): Inventory rose from 441,106 to 472,046
The inventory bottom for 2022 was 240,194
The inventory peak for 2023 so far is 472,688
For context, active listings for this week in 2015 were 1,183,390
Seeing negative year-over-year inventory before July 4 would be a big deal if last year wasn’t so crazy. However, I need to put some context into what happened in 2022. In March of 2022 we had the lowest inventory levels ever recorded in history. Then in a short amount time, we had the biggest and fastest mortgage rate spike in history, which facilitated the biggest one-year crash in home sales in history, which helped inventory grow faster than normal in 2022.
So the fact that housing demand stabilized and inventory is now negative year over year needs the context that 2022 was a once-in-a-lifetime event. As you can see in the chart below, 2023 inventory growth is very slow compared to 2022.
The other big story with housing inventory is that new listing data has been trending negative year over year since the end of June 2022. A traditional seller is also a traditional buyer, and certain homeowners have refused to buy their next home with mortgage rates above 6%.
We had new listings growth from 2021 to 2022, but that’s not the case this year. This is another variable contributing to slow inventory growth, which has now turned negative in the weekly listings.
Compare the new listings data last week to the same week in recent years:
2023: 62,466
2022: 91,530
2021: 80,289
My concern lately is that we have seen four straight weeks of mild declines and are about to head into the seasonal decline period of new listings. This is one data line I will track like a hawk because it will be a negative for the housing market if this data line makes a noticeable year-over-year decline trend in the second half of 2023.
The 10-year yield and mortgage rates
For those who have followed the weekly Housing Market Tracker articles, I always focus on jobless claims data as it’s the critical data line at this point of the economic cycle for me and my forecast in 2023 for mortgage rates.
Last week we had a big move in the 10-year yield because jobless claims came in better than anticipated, and bond traders were caught off guard selling bonds on the news and sending mortgage rates above 7% again. As you can see in the chart below, that big spike was really about jobless claims getting better.
The following day, the PCE inflation data showed a cooling down in headline inflation year over year. Core PCE inflation is a bit more sticky than headline inflation, however, bond yields fell after that report and bounced back at the end of the day.
In my 2023 forecast, I wrote that if the economy stays firm, the 10-year yield range should be between 3.21% and 4.25%, equating tomortgage rates between 5.75% and 7.25%. As long as jobless claims trend below 323,000 on the four-week moving average, the labor market stays firm, which means the economy remains healthy. Jobless claims have stayed below this range all year, and job openings are still at 10 million.
I have also stressed that the 10-year level between 3.37% and 3.42% would be hard to break lower. I call it theGandalf line in the sand: You shall not pass. The setup for the 10-year yield to stay in the range is intact.
The counter to my 10-year yield range would be if the economy here or worldwide starts to accelerate higher; that would be a valid premise to get the 10-year yield above 4.25%. Considering our economy this year, the 10-year yield and mortgage rates look about right to me.
Now the one thing that has changed in 2023 is that since the banking crisis, the spreads between the 10-year and mortgage rates have worsened, making mortgage rates higher than I anticipated versus the 10-year yield, which is not a positive for the housing market.
We haven’t seen anything in the data showing that it’s been improving recently. This is a big deal as we have seen housing inventory not get much traction with higher rates and hopefully in the future, lower rates can entice some sellers to move.
On jobless claims data, I always stress using the four-week moving average with this data line because we do have times when this data line can get hectic week to week. Therefore, I only believe the low jobless claims print once I see weeks of this data line improving. So, it will be critical over the next two weeks to see if this decline was a one-time blip in the data, which we have seen from time to time. As you can see below, that was a significant drop week to week, which looks abnormal to me.
Purchase application data
Purchase application data has surprised people with three weeks in a row of growth, while mortgage rates have been near 7% during this period. This now makes the positive count since Nov. 9, 2022, 20 positive prints vs. 11 negative prints. The year-to-date numbers are 13 positive vs. 11 negatives after making some holiday adjustments to the data line.
What do these numbers mean? They just mean that housing data has stabilized; nothing in the data shows decent growth after that first good move from November to February. However, the fact that housing demand has stabilized is a big deal because last year, we did have a waterfall collapse in the data, as shown in the chart below. The only downside to this is that we haven’t had the housing inventory growth I would like.
Now the year-over-year decline was down to -21%, which was the lowest since Aug. 24, 2022. However, we all have to remember that the second half of 2023 will have much easier comps, so even if demand stayed the same the rest of the year we will have some positive year-over-year data at some point.
Be careful in reading too much into the better year-over-year data we will see in the future. The most recent pending home sales print came in as a miss from estimates, but the existing home sales data is still trending in the range I thought it would be in since I believed that first big print we had a few months ago was going to be the peak for year. When demand is coming back in a big way, purchase apps will be positive for a majority of the weeks as we are working from such low levels today historically.
The week ahead: Jobs, jobs and jobs data
Yes, it’s jobs week once again and with four labor reports coming up on this short holiday week, we’ll be able to see if the Federal Reserve is getting what it wants — a softer labor market. Recently, Fed Chair Powell once again stressed that the labor market is too tight and that softer labor is the way to get inflation down to the Fed’s 2% core PCE target.
Well, we have four reports this week: the job openings data (JOLTS), the ADP jobs report, jobless claims and the big one on Friday — the BLS job report — so we’ll see what happens.
So much of my COVID-19 recovery model was based on the labor dynamics being much different now, since I was the only person talking about job openings getting to 10 million in this recovery. Today as I write this, we are still at 10 million job openings, as the chart below shows.
I have a firm belief that the Fed doesn’t fear a big job-loss recession as long as job openings are this high. What they have enjoyed seeing is wage growth cooling down, as shown in the BLS job reports for 18 months now. So, for this week, we always focus on jobless claims data over everything else, but be mindful of the job openings data since the Fed wants to see this go down, and the wage growth in the BLS jobs report data.
The purchase of life insurance is an important piece of nearly anyone’s overall financial portfolio. Even though it’s important, doesn’t mean everyone has a plan.
Why is life insurance so important?
One reason is because this essential financial tool can help to protect the ones you love from having to spend other assets on things such as final expenses, paying off debt, and / or living expenses in the case of the unexpected. The proceeds from a life insurance policy can also help to keep those you care about from falling into drastic financial hardship and changing their lives at a time that is already emotionally difficult for them.
At the time you are buying a policy, there are several key factors to keep in mind. One, certainly, is to ensure that you obtain proper protection so that your survivors will have plenty of cash to go on. Another is to be mindful of purchasing coverage through one of the most financially stable life insurance companies.
This is because you will want to know that the underlying insurer is strong and stable financially and that it will be there in the future, if and when a claim needs to be made. With that in mind, it is important to do some research on the insurer that you are considering before moving forward.
One insurance carrier that is somewhat newer in the industry is Accordia Life and Annuity Company. This company, a subsidiary of Global Atlantic, provides security and income products to its customers.
Unlike some other companies, like Allstate or Progressive, Accordia isn’t a household name, but that doesn’t mean they are any less valuable.
Table of Contents
History of Accordia Life Insurance Company
Accordia Life and Annuity Company is located in Des Moines, Iowa.
It began with more than 200 agents who were already well-versed in the life insurance business.
In just the past decade, Global Atlantic has become known in the insurance and financial industry as a provider of insurance commodities, as it has grown to more than thirty billion dollars in assets. One reason for this company’s success is due to its long-term focus on its policyholders, as well as its emphasis on teamwork that is driven by its experienced leadership from the top.
Accordia Life Insurance Company Ratings and Better Business Bureau Grade
Thought to be a solid and steady company from an economic standpoint, Accordia is rated as an A- from A.M. Best. This is rated as “Excellent” and is 4th out of a possible total 16 overall ratings.
Accordia Life Insurance Company is not an accredited company by the Better Business Bureau, nor has it been given a grade by the BBB. There have, however, been forty objections filed given to the BBB about Accordia over the past three years, and all forty have been closed.
Of these 40 complaints that were filed, 18 centered on the company’s billing/collection issues, 17 centered on problems with the company’s product and/or services, four had to do with advertising and/or sales issues, and one focused on other issues. There are also three negative reviews posted by customers about Accordia Life Insurance Company on the Better Business Bureau’s website.
Life Insurance Products Offered By Accordia
The products that are offered by Accordia Life and Annuity Company are well designed, and they are focused on meeting the protection, wealth transfer, and small business needs of customers across the country.
The primary products that are provided by Accordia include term insurance, as well as universal life and indexed universal life insurance coverage. These offerings can help its policyholders to prepare for both short and longer needs.
Accordia Life offers various kinds of life insurance protection to its customers. Doing so allows for its policyholders to create the protection that works the best for them, as well as to revise support as their requirements evolve over time.
Coverage that is provided via Accordia includes:
Term Life Insurance
One of the primary products that is offered through Accordia is term life insurance coverage. This product gives pure death benefit protection only, without any cash value or savings component. Due to this, term can be pretty decently priced – and a good way for those who need a large quantity of protection such as a $1 million dollar life insurance policy to obtain it at a lower rate. This is especially the case for people who might be young and in great health at the time of application.
Term life insurance is often thought of as being temporary coverage because it is purchased for a certain length of time such as for ten, twenty, or thirty years. There is also a 1-year annual renewable term life option. Typically, the premium rate for this will remain level within the policy’s “term” and then the policyholder will either need to re-qualify for coverage or the policy will naturally expire.
In some cases, a term life insurance policy will provide the option to convert over into a permanent form of coverage such as a universal life insurance policy. This way, the insured will not need to worry about the policy expiring at any certain time in the future (unless they stop paying the policy’s premium).
Universal Life Insurance
Accordia Life also offers universal life insurance coverage. This is a form of permanent life insurance protection, so in addition to death benefit coverage, there is also a cash value component in these policies.
The cash in the policy is allowed to grow on a tax-deferred basis. This means that the policyholder will not need to pay taxes on the gain or growth of the funds in this account unless or until the time of withdrawal. This can allow these funds to build and increase exponentially over time.
Universal life insurance coverage is thought to be a more flexible form of permanent life insurance than whole life insurance. This is because the policyholder may choose (within certain parameters) how much of their premium dollars will go into the cash value, and how much will go towards the death benefit of the policy. They may also be able to change their premium due date, based on their needs.
Accordia Life Insurance Company offers some different additional riders to their universal life insurance policies. These include the following:
Accelerated Access Rider
Wellness for Life Rider
Return of Premium Rider
Terminal Illness Accelerated Death Benefit Rider
Accidental Death Benefit Rider
Children’s Insurance Rider
Primary Insured Rider
Overloan Protection Rider
Waiver of Premium Rider
Waiver of Monthly Deductions Rider
Indexed Universal Life (IUL) Insurance
Another form of permanent life insurance coverage that is offered by Accordia is indexed universal life. With this type of universal life, the growth in the cash value component is based on the production of an underlying market index such as the S&P 500.
While the policyholder has the chance to increase his or her funds significantly based upon market performance if the market should decline, the principal in the account is preserved.
There are numerous choices for indexed universal life insurance that can be chosen through Accordia Life Insurance Company. These incorporate the:
Lifetime Builder IUL
Survivorship Builder IUL
Accordia Life Provider IUL
Get Best Life Insurance rates from Accordia
When looking for top quotes, work with multiple insurers. This is true not only for life insurance but for auto insurance and health insurance as well. That way, you will be able to compare benefits and from there you can determine which will work the best for you.
When seeking life insurance protection – along with policy quotes – we can help. We work with many of the best life insurance companies in the market today, and we can assist you with obtaining all of the important details that you require.
We understand that finding the best life insurance plan for your needs can sometimes feel overwhelming. There are many things to contend with – and you want to ensure that you are getting the right coverage for your specific requirements. But now you have an ally on your side. So, contact us today – we are here to help.
The residential mortgage-backed securitization includes a portfolio of 606 non-QM loans with a scheduled principal balance of $284.5 million. The loans have a weighted average loan coupon of 4.5%, a weighted average original loan-to-value ratio of 71.3%, and a weighted average original FICO score of 734. Read more: Angel Oak Mortgage REIT posts full-year financial … [Read more…]
Deepak Parekh on Friday announced his decision to step down as HDFC chairperson. “It is my time to hang my boots with both anticipations and hopes for the future. While this will be my last communication to shareholders of HDFC, rest assured we now stride tall into a very exciting future of growth and prosperity”, Parekh said in his last message to shareholders on the eve of HDFC and HDFC Bank merger. The reverse merger of parent HDFC Ltd with HDFC Bank is expected to be effective from July 1.
Hindustan Times’ sister website Livemint accessed Parekh’s last statement to his shareholders as HDFC chairperson. Read here.
Dear Shareholders,
When I wrote to you last year, we had just commenced our journey of working towards the merger of HDFC and HDFC Bank. Financial year 2023 marked a year of many happenings. We have been working relentlessly on the merger, whilst continuing to focus on ‘business as usual’ in a global macro-economic environment that has been exceptionally volatile.
The optimism on India continues with renewed vigour. The country has demonstrated resilience with its broad-based recovery. India’s position has been further strengthened with cyclical and structural tailwinds. The country’s GDP growth rate is likely to be more than double that of global growth. We are extremely confident that the runway for housing finance in India will remain immense for several years to come.
During the year, we have made substantial progress on the merger. Personally, if I were to summarise the year in one word, it would be ‘gratitude’.
When we announced the merger, we knew we had hard deadlines to meet and a maze of complex transactions to navigate through. Being one of the world’s largest merger announcements in recent times, each milestone has been closely followed by all stakeholders. We have been unwavering in our commitment of being transparent throughout this process and have engaged deeply with our stakeholders to keep them abreast of the progress of the merger.
Working on a merger of this scale has been challenging and rewarding. Encountering hurdles is par for the course in such transactions. Yet, what amazed us the most has been the immense goodwill and strong relationships that HDFC as a group has. Whenever and wherever we reached out for guidance, doors opened and help was at hand instantly. We have worked with possibly the country’s best legal teams, chartered accountants, valuers, bankers, advisors and other specialised professionals. The collective knowledge and experience of all these parties is unparalleled.
The approvals by the Competition Commission of India, the National Company Law Tribunal, the shareholders and the regulators were important merger milestones. In all our dealings pertaining to the merger, the HDFC group has been treated in a fair and just manner. We stand committed to adhering to the prerequisites as stipulated by the regulators, respecting the fact that these decisions are made keeping in mind the best interests of the Indian financial ecosystem.
As we approach the tail end of the merger process, the effectiveness of the preparatory work undertaken will be tested. For over ten months, the Integration Committee has been labouring on ensuring a seamless transition. This is a painstaking exercise given the many moving parts of this complex merger. Cross functional teams are hard at work to ensure that the execution plan and strategic objectives are upheld in the merged entity.
Working towards the common goal of executing the merger has helped both sides get to know each other better. It has been a phase of working jointly to tackle issues on hand, but more importantly, it has enabled HDFC Bank to have a deeper understanding of the underlying dynamics of the home loan business.
Over the course of the year, both HDFC and HDFC Bank have gone to great lengths to explain the rationale of the merger, which has been well received by our stakeholders. An oft-repeated question is what happens to the culture of HDFC? My answer to this is that mergers are inherently about change. The work culture will be an amalgamation of the best of both organisations.
Culture at the workplace is always a shared responsibility. It needs daily reinforcement through the demonstration effect with the tone set at the top. What remains steadfast is the underlying ethics and value systems of both entities.
The confidence I derive is the agreed tenet of this integration — preserving the fabric of the ‘HDFC way of working’. This has also been publicly articulated by the leadership at HDFC Bank.
No institution in India has the richness of 46 years of understanding the needs of a home loan customer. Home loans are always different from other financial products. It is the single largest investment a person makes in his or her lifetime. Home loans as a financial product evokes a strong emotional quotient.
No doubt, the housing finance industry is a competitive one today. Yet, HDFC will always have the distinction of being the institution that introduced retail housing finance to the country. Over the years, we have, in no small measure, helped chart the course for housing finance to be recognised as an integral part of development of the country.
‘HDFC home loans’ is an invaluable intangible. Since inception, HDFC has been committed to building a customer centric organisation. We pride ourselves on our deep expertise in understanding real estate markets at the micro level, the relationships we have nurtured with developers and our ability to provide value added services such as legal and technical appraisals in-house.
Our experience has taught us that every home loan customer has their own story and it is the empathy factor that is the key differentiator between housing finance providers. Dealing with home loan customers requires immense patience. It is about understanding the needs and feelings of a home loan customer, assuaging their anxiety during this complex transaction, customising solutions, explaining financial implications of a mortgage product and lending responsibly to ensure a customer is not over stretched.
Home loans will now be complemented with HDFC Bank’s core strengths — its sales engine, execution capabilities at scale and deep insights on consumer behaviour. For HDFC Bank, a home loan customer marks the beginning of a journey of having a customer in perpetuity. HDFC Bank is excited at the prospect of cross selling an array of asset and liability products to home loan customers. This will be done seamlessly on their digitalisation platforms — all through a one click experience. HDFC Bank’s vast distribution network will be better harnessed for both home loans and the group companies. As a natural progression, the synergies between HDFC Bank and the group companies will deepen with HDFC Bank taking on the mantle of ownership.
What the future holds, only time will tell. The biggest risk organisations face today is staying with the status quo, believing what worked well yesterday will continue in the future. Change takes courage as it displaces one from the cocoon of comfort and familiarity. Yet, with change comes the power of adaptability, growth and new aspirations. The orchestration of this merger is to ensure that the future is not constrained for any of our stakeholders.
As HDFC hands the baton, my wish is that our core founding values of kindness, fairness, efficiency and effectiveness gets woven deeper into the fabric of the HDFC group.
To all our employees transitioning to HDFC Bank, know that you will always carry the indelible mark of ‘HDFC’ with you. This is your era of new possibilities. Embrace change, continue to work as close-knit teams, be kind and have each other’s back. The future is yours to grasp.
Our senior management and leadership team over the years have been the torchbearers and crusaders, ensuring that our core values percolate down to every level within the organisation. More importantly, to all our employees, past and present, I personally salute each and all of you who built the foundation, the walls and then the floors brick by brick with solid mortar. Some have been true HDFC lifers, others have dispersed, but none will be forgotten. They are the fulcrum upon which this institution has stood on.
Governance has been the cornerstone of HDFC and for that, I am grateful to all our directors who have supported and guided us through the decades.
To all our shareholders, thank you for your trust and belief in us. HDFC’s new home is about strategising and building for the long-term.
I deeply acknowledge the pivotal role and contribution of the Chairman of HDFC Bank, Mr. Atanu Chakraborty along with the other board members during this merger process.
With the proven execution capabilities of HDFC Bank, we are confident that Sashi, together with the leadership team will forge an era of new opportunities for the combined entity.
It is my time to hang my boots with both anticipation and hope for the future. While this will be my last communication to shareholders of HDFC, rest assured we now stride tall into a very exciting future of growth and prosperity.
The HDFC experience is invaluable. Our history cannot be erased and our legacy will be taken forward.
Deepak Parekh
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