Indie B-Ds cast wary eye on insurers

Smaller firms find it difficult to judge the financial situation of carriers

Seeking to assess the strength of the insurance carriers they do business with, many smaller independent broker-dealers — flummoxed by the insurers' opaque balance sheets and arcane accounting practices — are relying on a time-tested tool: their own observations.

They have noticed with alarm a rash of recent departures by insurance wholesalers, either due to the elimination of their jobs or through voluntary resignations, from some major carriers, including John Hancock Financial Services Inc. of Boston and The Hartford (Conn.) Financial Services Group...

InvestmentNews: Indie B-Ds cast wary eye on insurers