"Get off the Bench & Get in the Game," the 2012 NAIFA IFAPAC theme, sets the tone this year as even more is needed to protect jobs of insurance agents and financial advisors.  Each year, more money is needed to fund government programs.  Each year, the first targets for tax dollars to meet these needs are often the products sold by insurance agents and financial advisors. 
 

PAC Chair Carolyn Watson

The best defense is electing U.S. Senators/Representatives to Congress and Texas Senators/Representatives to the Legislature who understand and listen to the views and needs of insurance agents and financial advisors.  IFAPAC dollars are needed to do this.
 

Texas finished 2011 as the #1 PAC in the NAIFA federation, raising a total of $194,279.18 thanks to 699 NAIFA-Texas contributing members! See who to thank for protecting your job in 2011.

2012 NAIFA-Texas IFAPAC Board Chair, Carolyn Watson, LUTCF has begun raising dollars by vowing to get more non-contributing NAIFA-Texas members off the bench and in the game.  "Plans are underway to add 194 contributors for a total of 893 by year end which is 30% of NAIFA-Texas' membership.  We plan to raise at least $198,000.  Every NAIFA-Texas member should give something.  It could save his or her job!"

Texas is almost alone among the nation's largest states in failing to start work on a key piece of the Affordable Care Act, as legislators and state agencies follow Gov. Rick Perry's dictum to delay action until after a Supreme Court ruling and the November election.

Texas is one of nine states - other than Florida, the others are mostly small, with relatively few uninsured residents - identified by the Kaiser Family Foundation as having made "no significant progress" toward establishing an exchange. A Perry spokeswoman said there are no plans to change that.

"(Perry) feels the health care bill is unconstitutional and misguided," spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said. "There are no plans to implement an exchange."
 
But analysts say the delay makes it more likely Texas will miss a Jan. 1, 2013, deadline for proving a state exchange is on track. If it's not, the federal government will impose its own exchange.

January 29-31, four NAIFA-Texas leaders (Jason Talley & Michael Steadman -San Antonio, Kirk Haworth-Amarillo, and Des Taylor-Austin) took part in a full day of training by the NAIFA Political Action Committee (PAC)/Political Involvement Committee (APIC) followed by "Day on the Hill" meetings with Congressional members in Washington, DC.

Jason Talley, NAIFA-Texas Government Relations Chair; Michael Steadman, Regional Vice-Chair of NAIFA Subcommittee-Political Involvement; and, Des Taylor, NAIFA-Texas CEO & Chief Legislative Officer had appointments with Congressmen and/or staff members Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands)-Lori Harju, Sr. Policy Advisor; and Kenny Marchant (R-Coppell)-John Deoudes, staff member, who both serve on the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee, and Al Green (D-Houston)-Amena Ross, Sr. Legislative Officer, who serves on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.
 
Each Congressional office cordially received the NAIFA-Texas group and discussed issues of importance to agents:  tax expenditures, healthcare law/medical loss ratios, fiduciary standards and annuities.

L-R: Regional Vice-Chair of NAIFA Subcommittee-Political Involvement Mike Steadman, State GR Chair Jason Talley, Rep. Al Green's (D-TX) Senior Legislative Assistant Amena Ross, and CEO/CLO Des Taylor.

L-R: Regional Vice-Chair of NAIFA Subcommittee-Political Involvement Mike Steadman, CEO/CLO Des Taylor, Rep. Kenny Marchant's (R-TX) Staff Assistant John Deoudes, and State GR Chair Jason Talley.

The State Delegate Council of NAIFA-Texas will elect Officers and Trustees to the NAIFA-Texas Board on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 during the Business Session of the NAIFA-Texas Career Conference and 87th Annual Business Meeting in San Marcos, Texas.

Any NAIFA-Texas local association may recommend a candidate for consideration.

The following positions will be elected:

• President Elect-1 year term
• Secretary-Treasurer-1 year term
• Three (3) Trustee positions-2 year terms

If you or someone in your local association are interested in running for a position, please complete the following nomination form and return to the NAIFA-Texas offices by May 2. For more information, click here.

Twenty-five Texas LILI Alumni convened January 26-27 for the 4th annual Texas LILI Summit.  The meetings were held in the historic Texas Capitol Building in beautiful downtown Austin.

The summit, co-chaired by Lane Boozer and Doug Massey, consisted of two sessions, which used relevant books and movies to facilitate discussion of LILI principles. Boozer opened the first session, followed by a national update from National LILI Chair Chris Hatton and a Texas update from Texas LILI Chair, Karen Easterling. Other presenters included 2011 LILI Graduate Tom Posey, Texas LILI Moderator Ken Quach, 2010 LILI graduate Ted Erck, and 2011 Summit Chair Doug Richard. 

Summit participants enjoyed an amazing Texas-style dinner the first night at the luxurious Lieutenant Governor's Reception Room in the Capitol Building, directly behind the Senate Chambers. 

 

Next year's summit will be held January 22-23, 2013 in Austin, immediately following the NAIFA-Texas Legislative Day.    

 

Front Row (L-R): Frank Correa, Wes McKnight, Sonia Martinez, Ken Quach, Stella Casteneda, Lel Arandela, Christie Bonczek, Randy Robertson, Tracey Lumpkin, Joey Ussery, Karen Easterling. Middle Row: Doug Jackson, Eddie Tate, Joshua Hernandez, Michael Kennedy, Doug Massey, Lane Boozer, Robin Johnston, Ted Erck, Chris Hatton, Cheri Stanwix. Back Row: Janella Matias, Tom Posey, Doug Richards, Lance Kroesch.

 

The 2012 LILI Class met for its first session February 6 in Austin. The leadership development course consists of six day-long sessions over the span of six months.

Although the Securities & Exchange Commission recommended a universal fiduciary duty for retail investment advice nearly a year ago, it has yet to propose a rule. A public request for information next month should provide the information needed to begin the rule-making process which could easily take a year or more. The 2012 elections in addition to the need to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for the rule could lengthen the process even more.

The National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors (NAIFA) likes the longer process, saying there is concern that a universal fiduciary duty would raise compliance and litigations costs and curtail services to middle-market investors. "It should take a long time to do this properly," said NAIFA President Robert Miller. 

An agent performed a 1035 exchange for his client from a whole life insurance policy to a single premium universal life insurance policy. Before performing the exchange, the agent received incorrect advice from a life company representative and advised the client to take a loan from his whole life insurance policy before the agent completed the 1035 exchange.  The agent failed to document his discussion with the life company representative.  This resulted in a taxable gain to the client in the amount of $20,000 and additional taxes in the amount of $6,200.

Risk Management Tip:
Seek tax advice from a qualified tax professional before performing a transaction that could have tax consequences.  In this scenario, because the advice provided was from the participating life company, a properly documented file may have created an opportunity to share this loss with the life company.

For more information about CalSurance and/or to apply online, visit www.naifaeo.com or call 888-833-2304. 

Early registration begins March 14 for the NAIFA-Texas 2012 CONNECT Career Conference & 87th Annual Meeting.  Chaired by NAIFA-Texas President-Elect Doug Massey, the conference will be held Sunday, July 22 through Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Marcos, Texas.

Every attendee will experience this year's theme:  2012 CONNECT - with networking, local leadership training, family fun and continuing education.

Networking:

• Exhibitors and sponsors will be available for 4 hours of exclusive condensed exhibition time to network and develop relationships with NAIFA-Texas attendees interested in their products and services.

Training with Industry Leaders:

• Ryan Pinney, an online marketing guru, will share his expertise about selling more than 16,000 policies last year direct-to-consumers over the internet.
• Danny Fisher, known as "Mr. Annuity," will talk about being the founder and publisher of the Fisher Annuity Index, which tracks over 700 annuities from 70 insurance companies.
• Jim Bob Solsbery will share insightful stories from his 30+ years experience as a business owner, entrepreneur, and educator. 

Local Leadership Training:

• Local leadership training will be provided by peers who have served in NAIFA-Texas leadership positions on the local, state, and national levels.
• The presentation of nominees for the NAIFA-Texas Board of Trustees will allow for questions from attendees about their experience and how they will seek to improve NAIFA-Texas.
• The 2012 LILI Commencement will honor the graduates and allow them to talk about their LILI training experience.

Family Fun:

• The San Marcos Embassy Suites Hotel is a favorite NAIFA-Texas location because of its close proximity to family-focused entertainment and the San Marcos Outlet Mall, as well as the city's beautiful and historic location on the San Marcos River. 

Thank you to the following members that participated in the NAIFA-Texas Member Recruiter Contest from November 1-December 31, recruiting at least one new financial services professional to NAIFA.

You all embody the NAIFA Code of Ethics and NAIFA-Texas is proud to count you among our members.