Cincinnati, Ohio-based mutual insurer, Ohio National Life Insurance Company, has announced that it will be laying off 300 employees, mostly associated with the sales and servicing of annunity policies. The company is dropping its annuity lines to concentrate on its life and disability products.
The company said that the decision was made following a "comprehensive strategic review of Ohio National’s businesses, taking into account the continuously changing regulatory landscape, the sustained low interest rate environment, and the increasing cost of doing business, as well as growth opportunities and the company’s competitive strengths.”
According to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Huffman…
“As part of our strategic planning process, we have completed a comprehensive evaluation of our entire business to determine the best path forward to deliver the long-term growth and financial strength necessary to support our policyholders, customers, business partners, associates and the communities in which we operate Based on this evaluation, we will be focusing Ohio National to build on our strengths in life and disability income insurance. We will also continue to grow our Latin American operations. Making these changes enables us to enhance our unique value proposition as we continue building trusted relationships with our network of financial professionals and offering the highest quality products with the benefits and protection our customers need. This value proposition has allowed Ohio National to grow our life insurance business at rates well above industry averages. Along with our strong growth in disability insurance, we are confident that our long-term prospects are bright.”
The newly-elected President and Chief Operating Officer, Christopher Carlson, added, “We strongly believe this strategy will provide us with greater long-term financial flexibility to invest in product, technology and services that provide value to our policyholders and customers.”
Employees who are working for insurers are being impacted by automation which allows an individual to enter much of the data needed for underwriting and the automation of formerly manual processes like credit checks, insurance checks, and premium scoring to produce underwriting decisions in minutes without the need for hands-on personnel.
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