Here’s a roundup of recent staff changes in the industry.

Cash balance plans are becoming increasingly popular with small businesses as well as Fortune 500 companies, says Dan Kravitz, president and CEO of Kravitz, Inc., an independent firm of retirement consultants headquartered in Southern California.

In order for states to self-fund their exchanges, beginning in 2015, they may tack a surcharge fee onto the income stream of agents and brokers, says Charles “Chip” Kerby III, owner and attorney of Washington-based Liberte Group, LLC.

A white paper from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners affirms the need for a key role for producers in the coming state health insurance exchanges and the appropriateness of compensating them in several ways for their services.

Regulations on PPACA’s state exchanges are expected in June, according to Mark C. Nielsen, an attorney with Washington-based Groom Law Group.

Brokers must work with employers to focus on engaging employees in wellness programs, advised speakers at a recent webcast from MIT.

U.S. health insurers will have to justify big premium rate hikes under new rules issued by the U.S. Health and Human Service Department last week.

Here’s a roundup of recent promotions and staff changes in the industry.

Willis Re created a new group to provide those in the life insurance and annuity market with advice on risk mitigation and financial leverage, the reinsurance unit of the London insurance brokerage Willis Group Holdings P.L.C.

Allstate Corp., already the second-largest U.S. auto insurer, said on Wednesday it would expand into online sales by buying Esurance from White Mountains Insurance Group for about $1 billion.

The Council for Disability Awareness has developed the Disability Counter on their website. This new tool graphically illustrates the growing number of working-age Americans who experience a disabling illness or injury lasting for 30 days or longer.

As employers shift to an employee-driven benefits model, plan participants’ perceived value and satisfaction in their benefits are declining, according to Prudential’s fifth annual “Study of Employee Benefits: Today & Beyond.”

American Westbrook Insurance Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Hendricks Holding Company, Inc., has acquired substantially all of the assets of The American Worker Plans, Inc., expanding the services available through its benefit wholesale division.

GreenWood International Insurance Services, Inc., a Massachusetts based managing general underwriter, announced they have been acquired by Pan-American Life Insurance Group, a leading provider of life and health insurance in Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market.

Employee Benefit Adviser magazine is now accepting nominations for four annual awards: Employee Benefit Adviser of the Year Health Plan Adviser of the Year Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year Voluntary Benefits Adviser of the Year

AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company has introduced a structured investment option for its EQUI-VEST® series of variable deferred annuities available to employer-sponsored retirement savings plans.

The future of the investment advisory industry depends on reducing the cost of doing business, said Mark Casady, Chairman and CEO of LPL Financial, in the opening keynote at the Money Management Institute’s 2011 annual convention, held last week in Boston.

Kansas lawmakers early on Friday passed a bill prohibiting women from receiving general medical insurance coverage for abortions, except when the mother's life is at risk.

Ternian Insurance Group has introduced HealthBasic, a limited medical plan for small employers with as few as five lives. The plan features different levels of coverage for different classes of employees: a mid-level plan for owners and two affordable limited medical plans for salaried and hourly employees.

Here’s a roundup of recent promotions and staff changes in the industry.