The 7 biggest announcements from life and health insurers this week

Brokers’ Service Marketing Group, a life insurance, annuity and long-term care insurance brokerage general agency, is excited to announce the re-branding of their proprietary online term life insurance platform from tioTERM to Vive. The rebrand brings to life the innovative impact that Vive has made on the way term life insurance is transacted as well as its revitalized energy and enthusiasm. “We recognized that the tioTERM brand did not articulate the game-changing effects that it has on the way term insurance is sold. We wanted the brand to be lively and the name to stand out as unique, the way Vive truly is different from any other drop ticket system on the market today,” said Corrie Freudenstein, director of marketing and communications. Financial service professionals can now log on to www.getvive.com to quote, compare, select and submit an order for term life insurance in 10 minutes or less, according to a press release.

As Global Atlantic Financial Group Limited (Global Atlantic) experiences continued growth, the company has appointed Peter Cai, Ph.D., as Chief Risk Officer (CRO). This senior level appointment enhances risk management functions throughout the enterprise. Dr. Cai has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Most recently he was managing director for Morgan Stanley, where he led a global team responsible for measuring, stress testing and reporting risk across all business segments. Dr. Cai also worked as a fixed income risk strategist for Lehman Brothers and was head of consulting for Askari. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University.

Lincoln Financial Network (LFN), the retail wealth management affiliate of Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE:LNC), announced the appointment of Nicole Spinelli as director of The WISE Group (Women Inspiring, Supporting, and Educating), a new enterprise-wide initiative designed to better support the unique needs of female financial advisors and clients. In her role, Spinelli will provide overall strategic leadership for WISE initiatives to drive the group’s core objectives, which center on inspiring women to pursue opportunities in financial services in order to increase the overall number of female advisors within the industry; supporting LFN female advisors in the growth and development of their practice through strategic partnerships and mentoring; and educating female clients on the importance of comprehensive financial planning so they are better prepared to take charge of their financial lives.
The appointment of Spinelli comes just weeks after The WISE Group held its inaugural annual meeting, joined by nearly 100 female advisors across LFN. During the event, which covered practice management strategies and industry trends, WISE announced the appointment of its 2015 board members consisting of vice president and chief counsel of Lincoln Financial Group Distribution, Carrie Chelko; managing director of Lincoln Financial Advisors, Celeste Gurulé; and LFN affiliated advisors: Linda Corujo Ramsey, Cindy Deavel, Karen DeRose, S. Diane Davis, Dawn Gordon, Kelly Kennedy, Elizabeth Liechty, Dianna Parker, Lucila Williams, and Bridget Yeung.

Standard Insurance Company (“The Standard”) announced that Brian Lenius has been promoted to second vice president and associate actuary. Lenius has been with The Standard for 23 years, working in actuarial positions in The Standard’s Retirement Plans and Employee Benefits divisions, as a portfolio manager in Investments Division and most recently as an actuarial leader in The Standard’s Corporate Actuarial Department. In his new role, Brian will be a key member of The Standard’s asset/liability management team and will provide leadership in the strategy, architecture and implementation for market risk management solutions.