I don't know who the clueless people are who write these lists. Mother's Day is not about getting expensive gifts. The whole holiday, along with Valentine's Day, has turned into an excuse to get into more debt for millions of American families without knowing how to mange it, instead of enjoying the beauty of the holiday.

Gary Hirschkron has been appointed President of AXA Partners, the life insurance business unit of AXA Distributors, LLC. based in Farmington, CT. The announcement was made today by Jamie Shepherdson, Executive Vice President of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company and President of AXA Distributors, LLC., the company's proprietary life insurance and annuity wholesale distribution organization.

Today AXA Equitable unveiled its new Athena Survivorship Universal Life(SM) III (Athena SUL III) insurance product, designed to deliver cost-effective death benefit protection to couples and business partners for their estate, business and charitable planning needs. By providing a death benefit upon the death of the surviving insured, Athena SUL III can be used to pay sizeable estate taxes and other expenses.

For the second consecutive year, John Hancock led the industry in total individual life insurance sales in 2007, according to a recent survey of 78 major life insurers by LIMRA International (LIMRA).

North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance declined -2.0% in November year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Index(SM). Year-to-date (YTD) U.S. and Canadian application activity was off -2.8% compared to the same period last year.

Recent increases in our longevity could have disturbing implications for the government, pension companies and life insurance industries.

To remain competitive in the life and annuity industry, insurers should exploit technology to create more innovative products and introduce them faster, according to insurance industry analysts speaking at CSC’s Life and Annuity Users’ Forum, an annual conference hosted by Computer Sciences Corporation.

Computer Sciences Corporation announced that for the fourth consecutive year, global financial services research and advisory firm Celent, LLC, has recognized CSC as a leading life insurance policy administration vendor based on the number of agreements the company closed.

U.S. insurance company Prudential Financial Inc. said on Wednesday that it will shut down its institutional stock research and trading business, Prudential Equity Group, ending a rocky 26-year stay on Wall Street, reported Reuters.

Private insurer Tata AIG Life Insurance Company said on May 26th, it planned to expand its footprint in the country by increasing its offices and focus on small towns which offered higher growth prospects.