NAIFA-TX eNewsletter

Collectively Creating Value for Texas' Insurance Agents and Financial Advisors October 2007
In This Issue
LILI 2008
Did you Know?
Advocacy in Action
NAIFA-TX Board Holds Quarterly Meeting
LILI Applications Due November 2

 

The November 2 deadline to submit applications for the 2008 Leadership in Life Institute is quickly approaching.  Beginning in February 2008, a select group of NAIFA-Texas members will gather in Dallas for six intensive sessions of leadership growth and development.  Leadership in Life students represent a committed stock of NAIFA-Texas members who are willing to serve in their local associations using the leadership tools they receive through the LILI program. 

 

If you are interested in representing your local association in the Leadership in Life Program, please visit the LILI section of the NAIFA-Texas website or download an application today. 

 
Did You Know?
Membership News from Across the State

Did you know that National Membership Day is October 25, 2007? 
 
Did you know that members who pay their dues in full before December 31 can write off a portion of their dues on their 2007 Tax Return?
 
Did you know that new members who sign up and pay in full before December 31 can avoid the increased dues that take effect January 1, 2008?
 
Did you know that everyone who sponsors a new member will be entered into a drawing to win a free year of membership? 
 
Strategic Partner
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
by Chip Heath by Random House
Hardcover ~ Release Date: 2007-01-02
 
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Advocacy in Action
 

AHIA Responds to Hillary Care '08

The Association of Health Insurance Advisors (AHIA), the health and employee benefits advocate for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, has issued a response to Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's American Health Choices Plan.  Among the issues that AHIA identified as concerns is the elimination of the role of the agent in the health insurance market.  In defense of the involvement of health insurance agents, AHIA president Thomas J. Vander Wal said, "Licensed, regulated, fairly compensated insurance agents offer a cost effective means of achieving personal and professional assistance in the selection of insurance coverage for individuals and employers of all sizes in all markets."

 

In response to Clinton's plan, AHIA has issued it's own statement for reform in Rx for Health Care - the Advisor's Perspective, which focuses on a set of principles that will "help lower costs and ensure coverage is available to all citizens without resorting to new government programs or jeopardizing the high quality of care we enjoy and expect as American consumers." 

 

AHIA believes reform efforts should include the following key elements:

  • Provide Tax Incentives and Deductibility of Premiums
  • Consider the Demographics of the Uninsured 
  • Voluntary Coverage Preferred, Modified Mandatory May be Acceptable
  • Remove Legislative and Regulatory Barriers that Limit Insurance Options 
  • Provide Assistance to those who can't afford insurance
  • Establish State Risk Pools
  • Allow affordable coverage
  • Eliminate cost shifting
  • Establish Comparative Effectiveness Research
  • Increase Consumer Education

NAIFA-Texas Joins Fight Against Unfair Taxation

The NAIFA-Texas Board of Directors voted unanimously to support an amendment to the Texas Constitution that would end the insidious fee called mixed-use vehicle taxation that targets insurance agents, financial advisors and many other independent contractors.   The amendment, which must be ratified by Texas voters on November 6, 2007, may save Texas agents and financial advisors $600 or more in additional taxes per year. 

 

In its support, NAIFA-TX joins the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, the Texas Association of REALTORS, Texas Farm Bureau and several other organizations in Texans for Tax Relief.  If Proposition 6 fails to be ratified, it will be a green light for central appraisal districts to target insurance agents, financial advisors and other independent contractors who drive their personally owned vehicle for business purposes. 

 

All NAIFA-Texas members are encouraged to vote for Proposition 6 on November 6. 

 

For more information, please visit

http://www.voteforprop6.org or download these resources to help contribute to the campaign:
 
Use these remarks for speaking opportunities with your members (Word doc)
 

NAIFA-Texas Files Comments on Suitability/Replacement Rules

In response to the Texas Department of Insurance's (TDI) request, NAIFA-TX has filed comments on the upcoming rules put forth for the implementation of HB 1261 and 1262, relating to suitability requirements in the sale or replacement of life insurance products and annuities. 

 

In a letter sent to TDI, NAIFA-Texas CEO/CLO Des Taylor noted that "companies, and the agents who sell their products, have adopted many of the practices to put them in compliance with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) regulations".  Taylor, on behalf of NAIFA-Texas members, further called upon the department to follow the NAIC model regulations "as closely as possible," while allowing for the possibility that the Commissioner might add a Texas-specific warning to investors regarding the sale and replacement of these products.

 

In the coming weeks, TDI will consider formal comments on the published rule.  Check back in the coming NAIFA-Texas eNewsletter for more information as the process continues. 

 
NAIFA Board Votes to Support Federal Legislation to Address Designation Concerns
In response to action taken by the Policy Formation Subcommittee, the NAIFA Board of Directors voted to support federal legislation to address concerns regarding the designations used by agents and financial advisors.  In a motion filed by the board, NAIFA leaders acknowledged "recent allegations that agents, advisors and registered representatives of broker/dealers are using designations that may convey an expertise in senior matters where such expertise does not, in fact, exist."
 
Further, the motion called upon the Congress to work with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the North American Security Administrators Association to draft model legislation determining which designations should receive "safe harbor" status "from claims brought against a producer based upon misleading use of a designation."
 
Finally, the NAIFA Board pledged the support of NAIFA members in the cause of educating consumers on the meaning and validity of approved designations.

NAIFA-Texas Board Holds Quarterly Meeting

The NAIFA-Texas Board of Directors gathered in Austin October 11-12 to discuss the issues facing the association in the coming months.  Additionally, the Board was joined by special guests including Texas Association of Health Underwriters President-Elect Ron Buffam, Former TALU CEO Ken Tooley, Building Feasibility Task Force Chairman Tyson Payne, NAIFA Secretary Tom Currey and Political/Regulatory Affairs consultant Doug Aycock. 

 

During the two day meeting, the board:

  • Received the 2006-2007 FY Review from accountant John Cantwell.  In his review Cantwell praised the board for their prudent management of the association, noting that seventy-seven cents of every dollar is put back into member benefits, while only twenty-three cents goes to administrative costs;
  • Discussed the earnest money contract received on the NAIFA-Texas building and the development of the Legacy Endowment Fund as a reallocation of the asset upon the sale of the building;
  • Established a formal policy for selection of the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient;
  • Discussed Proposition 6, agreeing to join the Texans for Fair Taxation Coalition;
  • Received a report from NAIFA Secretary Tom Currey on the status of the NAIFA 21 initiatives and the next steps being taken towards their implementation; and
  • Discussed the format and schedule of the 2008 President-Elects' Meeting/Team Texas Forum, and the 2008 TLRT Roundup/NAIFA-Texas Annual Meeting.