Nationwide adds subaccounts to VA series

Nationwide Financial is giving advisors some diversification options for their clients' retirement income needs with three actively managed subaccounts within the America's marketFLEX Variable Annuity Series.

The three new subaccounts include:

Lazard NVIT Flexible Opportunistic Strategies Fund – a forward-looking, actively managed portfolio completion strategy that invests in nontraditional assets to provide long-term capital appreciation and returns;
NVIT Flexible Moderate Growth Fund– a total portfolio solution for long-term growth through a broad and flexible allocation in stocks, bonds and other asset classes; and
NVIT Flexible Fixed Income Fund – a total portfolio solution, built primarily to provide income but gives the manager the ability to actively pursue income by dynamically adjusting the asset allocation.

The new investments are immediately available to all current and new America's marketFLEX Variable Annuity policyholders.

In other news:

The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company launched its Inflation Protector Withdrawal Benefit, available with the Smart Foundation Variable Annuities.

Highlights of the Inflation Protector Withdrawal Benefit include:

Guaranteed retirement income that will grow by at least the rate of inflation, up to 6 percent (4 percent in New York) and will never be less than zero;
The freedom to choose from any of Penn Mutual's 29 investment options during the accumulation phase and 14 investment options in the withdrawal phase;
A choice of withdrawal options, allowing clients to take income based on individual needs;
The opportunity for annual step-ups that can help increase long-term income potential; and
Available to add with Smart Foundation, Smart Foundation Flex and Smart Foundation Plus variable annuities.

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) named Eric Butler as vice president and head of the Global Healthcare practice for its global employee benefits business.

In this position, Butler is responsible for leading MetLife's global healthcare practice, including medical and wellness products and programs. As part of the Global Employee Benefits business unit, Butler will work with regional and country teams to advance MetLife's data collection and analysis capabilities and deploy best practices across the company's 20 healthcare businesses outside of the U.S.

Butler most recently served as global director of Health Insurance for Generali Employee Benefits, based in Brussels, Belgium, where he led the healthcare business unit and was responsible for developing innovative comparative and population-based health data reporting for multinational clients. He also served as the company's spokesperson on global healthcare by both writing and speaking at international conferences, presenting capabilities and market insights.

Butler brings more than 25 years of experience in private medical insurance, including 19 years focused exclusively in the international sector, working in numerous countries spanning five continents. In addition to holding senior employee benefits roles at Generali, he spent much of the early part of his career at United Healthcare.

Gregg Secor joined The Phoenix Companies, Inc. (NYSE:PNX) as assistant vice president and chief underwriter. Secor reports to Scott Schuetz, vice president, Growth Delivery and Operations, and will be responsible for all facets of underwriting, mortality, risk selection, and underwriting philosophy.

Secor was previously president and CEO of APEX Underwriting Solutions, an independent contracting firm providing outsourced underwriting solutions to independent producers and general agencies. He was an underwriter for Phoenix earlier in his career.

Secor has a bachelor's degree in economics and psychology from Drew University and is a member of the Association of Home Office Underwriters.

See also: The new LTCI underwriting standards

Burnham Benefits Insurance Services Inc. has outgrown its current Los Angeles office space and is upgrading to a larger location at 724 S. Spring Street, Suite 1104, Los Angeles, Calif. 90015.

Burnham Benefits plans to hire as many as 10 additional employees for the new, larger LA location throughout 2014.

Myles Boulter joined First American Insurance Underwriters, Inc. as vice president of Business Development after 19 years as sales vice president in the Boston office of Crump Life Insurance Services (formerly BISYS).

Boulter is taking a leadership role in the growth of the company, according to Kenneth A. Shapiro, president. "He will be working with me to expand our distribution focusing on corporate and strategic accounts," Shapiro says.

Boulter is a graduate of Elmira College in New York.

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) promoted Kari Emter, Jenny Guldseth, Nathan Pommeranz and Darcy Weldy to directors in human resources (HR).

Kari Emter, promoted to HR director, provides HR support and counsel to the company's Information Technology and Investment divisions. In addition to these core responsibilities, she will continue to lead the company's employee engagement strategy program, ensuring all the major engagement-related initiatives across the company remain connected and in alignment throughout the year. Prior to joining Allianz Life in 2004, Emter began her HR career with the Target Corporation in 2002, working in its employee benefits and training departments.

Jenny Guldseth's promotion to employee benefits director brings her back to leading employee benefits programs after a three-year role providing HR counsel and support to the company's Distribution and HR departments as an HR manager. In her new role with the benefits team, Guldseth leads the development and implementation of the company's healthcare and financial literacy programs, manages the relationship with the company's key benefit administrator and provides direction on many key strategic priorities. Guldseth joined Allianz Life in 2005, where she was responsible for the design and administration of the company's health plans. Prior to joining Allianz Life, she gained extensive experience in employee benefits programs in her work at G&K Services, Inc. and Express Scripts Inc.

Nathan Pommeranz, promoted to HR director, provides HR support and consulting to the Operations and Organizational Sourcing and Business Re-engineering departments. In addition to these responsibilities, Pommeranz leads the company's Diversity and Inclusion strategy. He played a key role in launching two employee resource groups (ERGs) for LGBT employees and employees who have either served or have family members serving in the military. Pommeranz joined Allianz in 2011 and has a long tenure in providing HR support and leadership at companies including Wells Fargo Bank, Mesaba Airlines, and U.S. Bank.

Darcy Weldy, promoted to HR director, provides HR consulting and support to three Allianz Life departments within the Distribution division, including the company's field marketing organizations that are based throughout the country. Reporting to Jill Rogers, senior HR director, Weldy will continue leading the company's well-being initiative, which includes identifying, designing and implementing new opportunities that help keep Allianz Life as a top workplace. Weldy joined Allianz in 2009 from Syngenta Seeds, Inc. and has held similar roles as an HR consultant and advisor with companies including the Star Tribune Company and Wells Fargo, Inc.

LifeMark Partners named Mark Rosen as new chairman of its board of directors. Rosen, a founding member of LifeMark, is president of Underwriters Brokerage Service in Pittsburgh.

Rosen replaces Malcolm Sklar who, after 12 years as chairman, was elected chairman emeritus. He will continue to serve the LifeMark board in a consultative role.

Sexias G. "Chad" Milner III, vice president of The Milner Group in Lawrenceville, Ga.; and William Conwell, president of Dixon Wells Inc. of Birmingham, Ala. Were added as new LifeMark board members.

Kelli Grass has been promoted to senior vice president of LifeMark.

She served as vice president of operations since 2004, and worked with partners and carriers to improve communication and reporting, and to identify opportunities for increasing operational efficiencies.

She holds a degree in business administration from Tennessee Technological University and is a licensed agent.

Nationwide adds subaccounts to VA series

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