American Business
Articles of Interest
Week of June 5th, 2017

I found a few of these articles to be quite thought provoking. I also encourage you to visit our new website. We have made a lot of changes, with more to come. I would appreciate your thoughts and comments on how to make it even better.

New Gene Tests Pose a Threat to Insurers
The New York Times , Gina Kolata, May 12th, 2017

This far reaching article continues the discussion of advanced medical testing.
 
In this example a potential applicant utilized testing to possibly adversely affect long term care underwriting from the carrier.
 
Will insurers try to start using gene testing info to underwrite?
 
Do applicants need to disclose results from prior personal test?
 
What are the ethical issues of gene testing? Can't it discriminate again certain sectors of the population based upon religion, geographical origin, etc.? How is this different from asking family medical history on insurance applications? Will analytics and other underwriting measurements usurp the traditional underwriting process in the future?

How the Wealthy Talk to Their Children About Money
The New York Times , Paul Sullivan, May 19th, 2017

Discussions of money and inheritance with children is a sensitive issue. There is not a single answer here. Children are different, even from the same parents, as we all know.
When is the right time? How much to disclose? Why are we disclosing? Does disclosing inherited wealth in monetary terms diminish the family and societal importance of the family values? I found this article bringing back a childhood memory of interaction with a family mentioned in the piece.

Estate Tax: It Could Be Worse
Barrons , Robert Napier, May 27th, 2017

An interesting article from Barron's that puts the current estate tax in a positive perspective relative to historical levels and possible future changes under the Trump proposal. Highlighting the limited number of actual yearly taxpayers (5,000) and the various planning techniques available to minimize those taxes, the author feels family pressure and frailties are more dangerous than taxes.