Observation of Disability Insurance Awareness Month is coordinated by the nonprofit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) every May to remind Americans of the need to include disability insurance in their financial plans. Disability insurance protects your single most important asset -- the ability to earn a living -- and provides an income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury.

The LIFE Foundation provides several resources to help you make your DIAM outreach a success:

NAIFA-Texas sent seven representatives to NAIFA's inaugural APIC Political Influence Training, held last month in the nation's capital. The training helped participants hone their grassroots and grasstops techniques in order to maximize NAIFA's impact with lawmakers - NAIFA's #1 priority.

Training session topics included: APIC's Mission, the Current Political Environment, Motivations of Legislators, Hosting Fundraisers, and NAIFA's Legislative & Political Challenges.

 

Jason Talley, NAIFA-Texas Trustee and Government Relations Chair, shared his own insights and experiences as a panelist during a "Peer to Peer Experience" panel session. He shared with the group that it is important to emphasize the impact that legislation can have on the constituents of the lawmaker, not just the impact on agents. He also reminded trainees to relax, be themselves, and invite members with more experience to their meetings until they feel comfortable on their own.

 
The final day of the summit was reserved for meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The 54 meeting participants delivered the message that 75 million American families rely on the life insurance industry to protect their financial futures.

 

Pictured with Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Dist. 1) March 20 are (left to right) Colin Eddington, Steve Aycock, Wes McKnight, Steve Harris and Jason Talley. Not pictured: Alan Kifer and Mike Steadman. More photos.

 

By sending a completed Association Credit Form with actual time and detailed description of the number of hours in activities that the licensee is reporting for self-study CE credit, NAIFA members can claim up to 4 hours of self-study continuing education credits per two-year reporting period. Self study credit does not count towards the licensee's ethics, classroom or classroom equivalent CE requirements.

Texas Senate Bill 265, passed in 2005 by Texas Senator/NAIFA-Houston member Tommy Williams from the Woodlands, allows the Texas Department of Insurance to grant self study credits for up to:

• 2 hours for reviewing educational materials provided by national or state associations of which the agent is a member; and/or,
• 4 hours for attending educational presentations sponsored by the state or national association of which the agent is a member.

Plan now to earn self-study CE credits by reading your NAIFA Advisor Today magazine and attending qualified NAIFA and NAIFA-Texas programs presented during local association meetings. The NAIFA-Texas Career Conference & 87th Annual Business Meeting to be held in San Marcos in July 2012 will also provide opportunities for self-study CE credits.

This July, NAIFA-Texas is all about connecting at the NAIFA-Texas Career Conference & 87th Annual Business Meeting at the Embassy Suites San Marcos Hotel. This year's conference, chaired by President-Elect Doug Massey, CLU, ChFC, FSS, LUTCF, will feature local leadership training focused on determining your associations' goals and team building concepts. Local Leaders plan now to bring your entire board!

Noon Sunday, July 22 - Noon Monday, July 23 Local Leadership Training Membership, Advocacy and Technology Breakout Sessions included Leadership Reception and Dinner 4 Quality Speakers on Monday and Tuesday!  Commissioner Jerry Patterson, candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2014 Danny Fisher, CLU, ChFC, "Mr. Annuity" Ryan Pinney, CSFP Jim Bob Solsbery Noon Monday, July 23 - Evening Tuesday, July 24 Lunch Buffet and Reception with Exhibitors LILI Commencement YAT Breakfast Legislative Lunch 87th Annual Business Meeting Texas IFAPAC Reception

Visit the NAIFA-Texas Career Conference & 87th Annual Business Meeting site to register, read speaker bio's, and view schedule and hotel information. Marketing and Exhibitor opportunities also available!

Congratulations to the following winners of the March Madne$$ Recruiting Contest:

• NAIFA-Austin: Karen Easterling (2 recruits) and Douglas B. Richards, JD, CLU, ChFC
• NAIFA-Corpus Christi: Jimmy Rivera
• NAIFA-Dallas: Laura L. Biesemeyer, FLMI and Chan N. Le
• NAIFA-Fort Worth: Timothy J. Roels
• NAIFA-Great Southwest: Cecil W. Dolberry, LUTCF and Cheryl Hamilton, LUTCF, FSS
• NAIFA-Houston: Charles A. Calderwood, CLU, ChFC; Karolyn K. Chapman (2 recruits); and Forrest G. Surles, MSFS
• NAIFA-San Antonio: Larry J. Richardson, FIC, LUTCF
• NAIFA-Texoma: D. Lane Boozer, LUTCF

These individuals earned back their local dues - our way of saying "thanks" for spreading the word about NAIFA and recruiting at least one new member in March.

Do you know someone that should be a member of NAIFA? 

Recruit 5 new members between April 1 - June 30, 2012, and your NAIFA-Texas Career Conference registration is on us! (Just be sure your recruits list you as the "Sponsor" on their applications.) Recruit prospects by telling them why "It Pays to Be a Member" of NAIFA. 

This year, nearly 225 NAIFA members attended NAIFA's Leadership in Life Institute (LILI) courses which brought the number of LILI graduates to over 2,000 nationally since the program began 11 years ago.

LILI classes are exclusively for NAIFA members and meet one-day a month for 6 months. LILI can provide the tools needed to move a business to the next level. Graduates return to their practices after crafting their own vision, mission statements and business plans to guide them toward success. 70% of graduates report a measurable increase in the growth of their business after graduating. 

Nine NAIFA-Texas Board of Trustees are LILI graduates: President Stephen Ehlers, President-Elect Doug Massey, Secretary-Treasurer Joey Ussery, Immediate Past President Cylinda Clark and Trustees Jason Talley, Lane Boozer, Stella Castaneda, Michael Kennedy and Eddie Tate.

Applications for the next session (beginning August 2012) will be accepted until May 31, 2012.

Session dates:

• August 20, 2012 - NAIFA-TX Headquarters, Austin, TX
• September 17, 2012 - NAIFA-TX Headquarters, Austin, TX
• October 15, 2012 - NAIFA-TX Headquarters, Austin, TX
• November 19, 2012 - NAIFA-TX Headquarters, Austin, TX
• December 17, 2012 - NAIFA-TX Headquarters, Austin, TX
• January 21, 2013 - Sheraton Hotel, Austin, TX

LILI Application & Information:

• Printable application
• Fillable application
• Curriculum

The tuition fee for the LILI course is $880.00. Scholarships are available (reimbursement provided upon completion of course) from NAIFA-Texas and often available from local NAIFA associations. Click here to download a LILI scholarship application and review the scholarship criteria. 

An agent represented that a client only had to pay premiums for five years and then the life insurance policy would be paid-up and the client would not have to pay any further out-of-pocket premiums. The agent relied on representations made to him by the broker and he misunderstood the illustration provided by the insurer. The client stopped making premium payments after five years and began receiving premium payment due notices. The agent and client attempted to resolve the dispute with the insurer without success. The policy terminated for non-payment of premium. The client is now making a claim against the agent for the amount of the premiums paid into the policy.

Risk Management Tip:

Document! Document! Document! Misunderstandings over the term "paid up" insurance are a recurring theme. Defending yourself against misrepresentation claims starts with making sure there is an understanding between you and your client.  This agent wisely opted to use an illustration provided by the insurer. Documenting the client received a signed copy of the illustration and confirming correspondence to the client on the "paid up" nature of the insurance would provide the best defense.

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

A House panel plans to act on and report out to the House floor soon legislation that would exempt agent commissions from the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) provision of the healthcare reform law.

Reliable sources said the House Energy and Commerce Committee will take up the bill shortly after it returns from its Easter/Passover recess on April 16. Full story.

A sustained resurgence in whole life sales, driven largely by a growing consumer appetite for safer permanent products with premium and cash value guarantees, has been accompanied by stronger sales of emerging life insurance products, such as indexed universal life and term universal life. Full story.

But the industry and the Obama administration are at odds over proposed language in the letter that goes with the checks, as well as who gets notification. The administration may require insurers to send notices about rebate rules even to customers who aren't getting a rebate. Full story.

Insurers say the cost implications are dire if the Supreme Court rules the individual mandate unconstitutional but sustains the Affordable Care Act's requirement that health plans offer coverage to anyone who applies and cannot exclude pre-existing medical conditions. Full story.

The U.S. Labor Department is not going to let push-back from the financial services industry delay its fiduciary rule for advisers who handle retirement plans - but that does not mean the regulation will be out anytime soon. Full story.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its final and interim final rule on Affordable Health Insurance Exchanges March 12. The final HHS rule combines policies from two notices of proposed rulemaking published last summer on July 15 and August 17. Other sections of regulations have been issued as an interim final rule allowing for additional public comment. Full story.