THE LATEST NEWS FROM NAIFA-WEST VIRGINIA ~ JANUARY 2015
|
|
|
OFFICIAL FAMILY:
Click HERE for NAIFA-West Virginia's Officers and Board of Directors
|
 President's Message
Gary W. Kelley, CLU, LUTCF 2014-2015 NAIFA-WV President
This month's message is one of reflection and expectations. Sometimes it is difficult to separate those events that have occurred and the anticipation of the future.
Looking back on this past year we lost a very strong leader of NAIFA with the passing of CEO Dr. Susan Waters. I have been a member of this organization for many years, I have met several of our past leaders and I do believe that Dr. Waters embodied the soul and spirit of NAIFA with her ability to communicate at the level needed to lead us during some very tough times. She will be missed. I ask that you keep her family in your thoughts and prayers. The loss never goes away for them. This week I received word that a fellow agent lost his 27-year-old son the day before Christmas, how does a parent deal with that?
I bring these sad truths up to make a point. Everyone's time is limited, we don't know the exact date, but it will happen. We as insurance professionals know we provide financial support to families with the policies we sell. I hope we also know that as trusted advisors we have a responsibility to be there when a client needs moral support and a firm hand to help however we can. I have delivered many death claim checks, attended many of those funerals, but letting the family know we are there to support and guide is appreciated more than can be expressed.
Now for the New Year: My hope for each is that you are refreshed and ready to tackle the normal prospecting activities and have the flexibility to adapt and adjust when life throws you that curve ball. As was told to me long ago: If the job was easy, everyone would want to do it!
Plan your year and work your plan. Remember that NAIFA has many online tools that will help you be more successful.
One last item: If called on this year to contact your legislators about items on their agenda that may have an effect on our business and our customers, please take time to make those calls and be involved.
Until next time, take care and let me know how I may be of service.
Gary W. Kelley, CLU, LUTCF

|
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
We would like to thank the following companies for their continued support of NAIFA-West Virginia and our dedication to the industry.
The Brokers Source, Ltd. Raymond S. Phillips, CLU, LTCP 412-847-0770
Hildebrand Insurance Services Ed Hildebrand, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC 304-422-5500
OneAmerica Michelle Prather 800-275-5101
Ameritas DI Joe Noca 724-834-3206
For information about sponsorship opportunities with NAIFA-West Virginia, please contact John Pauley at (304) 345-4343 or email johnpauley@ft.newyorklife.com.
|
|
|
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
|
GOLD SPONSOR
For information on
sponsorship opportunities
with NAIFA-WV, please
contact John Pauley
at (304) 345-4343.
|
|

YOU'RE INVITED!
Next NAIFA-Charleston Membership Luncheon:
Tuesday, January 13, 2015 Edgewood Country Club, 1600 Edgewood Dr., Charleston, WV 25302
DIRECTIONS "Advising Your Clients in Uncertain Markets"
Plus an Economic Outlook for 2015
GUEST SPEAKER Marc D. Arnold, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, CDFA™, CMFC®
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
There is NO CHARGE for NAIFA-Charleston and NAIFA-West Virginia members and $20.00 for non-members.
Lunch and CE Filing Fees Included! RSVP REQUIRED!
For more information and to RSVP, call or e-mail Executive Director John E. Pauley, CLU, ChFC, CLTC at (304) 345-4343 or johnpauley@ft.newyorklife.com.
Special Thanks to our Sponsor!
Bill Law Assurant Employee Benefits Voluntary & Worksite Sales Executive Cell 724 771 1333 - Fax 412 921 7343 bill.law@assurant.com
|
NAIFA News Briefs
NAIFA Registration for the New LUTCF opens in January 2015
Classes for the LUTCF Designation Program will begin July 2015. NAIFA's LUTCF designation was developed for NAIFA by the College for Financial Planning. For more details about the updated LUTCF designation program, please click HERE. If you have any questions, please contact Diane Powers, NAIFA Vice President - Professional Development and Education at 703.770.8226 or dpowers@naifa.org.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
NAIFA's leaders and staff are looking forward to seeing and working with you in the coming year. We appreciate the opportunity to visit with many of you at your home offices and to participating in your company events and annual meetings. If you would like to schedule a NAIFA meeting or exhibit, please feel free to contact NAIFA anytime.
Many of you are beginning to think about ways to assist your agents and advisors with productivity and sales in 2015. NAIFA provides many resources and more than 50 programs that benefit members. Many of them are free on a 24-7 basis and can be accessed on NAIFA's webpage at www.naifa.org.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Constituents Lobby Best
A Congressional Management Foundation survey of staffers found the best way to influence an undecided lawmaker is a constituent visit to the Washington, D.C. office. NAIFA's annual Congressional Conference is the insurance industry's opportunity to be influential. So far, over 300 members from across the nation have registered for the May 19-20, 2015 event in Washington, DC. If you have questions about NAIFA's 2015 Congressional Conference or wish to discuss how your company can get involved, please contact Diane Boyle, NAIFA Vice President - Federal Government Relations, at dboyle@naifa.org or 703.770.8252.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Upon 125th anniversary, NAIFA member ponders a 'fellowship' of like-minded professionals
In a post by NAIFA member David Allen, ChFC, LUTCF of Austin, Texas, Allen reflects on the earlier days of his career when, in 1982, the success rate for those who embarked on a career in life insurance hovered at around 12 percent. "Early on in my career I had learned that most small businesses fail because they had too little fellowship with like-minded professionals. I had to find a group of like-minded professionals gathering to share ideas on how to succeed. NAIFA proved to be invaluable," Allen writes. "Our Communities and our Society are better because of NALU/NAIFA. Happy 125th!" Read the post, and share your story. Content can be submitted via the home page, or by sending an email to naifanational@yahoo.com.
|

NAIFA Policy on Recruiting and Association Activities (Proselytizing)
I'm reaching out to my fellow NAIFA leaders because concerns have been raised recently about agent recruiting at association meetings. Whether or not you're one of those who make New Year's resolutions, I'd like us all to resolve to make an extra effort in the coming year to prevent inappropriate agent recruiting from playing any role in our association activities.
One of NAIFA's unique strengths is that it brings together new and experienced agents and advisors who represent many different companies, as career agents or independent advisors, and who offer the public a wide variety of products and services to protect the financial security of American families and businesses. Our diverse community of insurance and financial professionals makes NAIFA meetings a perfect forum for creative idea sharing, motivation, and mentoring, and is the powerful base for NAIFA's impactful government relations programs that protect our businesses and the promises we make to our clients.
But coming together as NAIFA members from our respective offices also creates a challenge when members or prospective members have the misimpression that attendance at NAIFA meetings may result in an agent being recruited away to another agency, company, or firm. As NAIFA leaders we must ensure that members never view attendance at association meetings as a threat to their business. This perception, right or wrong, can arise in many ways, such as inappropriate agent recruiting at an association luncheon or aggressive company-specific product promotion by a meeting speaker, and can discourage association participation.
Of course, NAIFA prohibits the use of official association activities as a forum or means for members to recruit other members to their companies or agencies. Proselytizing at association meetings is not consistent with the NAIFA mission and is not appropriate association business. (You can read the NAIFA Policy on Recruiting and Association Activities in the Association Leaders/Governance section on the NAIFA website.) Instead, all NAIFA activities should support our mission: to protect our business through political advocacy, enhance our professional skills, and promote ethical conduct. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact NAIFA General Counsel Michael Gerber, at mgerber@naifa.org. Please be on the lookout for inappropriate recruiting activity at your state or local association and feel free to share this letter and NAIFA's policy with anyone who might benefit from its message.
If our goals as NAIFA leaders in 2015 have anything to do with recruiting, they should be laser-focused in only two areas. First, we must recruit more members to the NAIFA family, who can benefit from our first-class professional development and education programming and participate in our essential grassroots political advocacy campaigns. Second, we should recruit more talented young people to join our wonderful profession so that a new generation of insurance and financial advisors can help the American public secure financial independence in the years to come. There is no more fitting way for us to celebrate NAIFA's 125th anniversary year than to re-commit ourselves to building our association and our industry.
Working together to further our mission, we'll have a great NAIFA year!
Best Wishes,
Juli Y. McNeely, LUTCF, CFP, CLU 2014-2015 NAIFA President Proud Member of NAIFA
|
REGISTER TODAY!
Registration for the May 19-20, 2015 NAIFA Congressional Conference is now open! Please remember that the first 600 registrants for the NAIFA Congressional Conference will be eligible for a reimbursement of up to $350 to cover their travel and lodging expenses, if they meet the eligibility requirements, which include staying at one of the official NAIFA Congressional Conference hotels. You can view the full reimbursement guidelines when you register. Don't wait! Click HERE to register now! NAIFA's Congressional Conference will bring NAIFA members together to learn about the legislative issues that matter to people in our industry, and most importantly, our clients. You will then take that knowledge to Capitol Hill when you meet with your Members of Congress to discuss these issues. For additional information about the Conference, view the FAQs. The November elections has brought many new elected officials and the looming threat to the tax status of many insurance products is very real. NAIFA needs you to attend this Conference to ensure laws and regulations are designed to enhance, not restrict, the ability of middle market families to have access to products and services offered by our members. Please register and join us in May where together, we can make a difference!
|
Your Support of IFAPAC is Necessary and Appreciated!
NAIFA strives to keep members and lawmakers informed about where we stand on important issues. By clicking HERE, you can find NAIFA's stances on the issues that matter most to the business of insurance and financial advising. Check regularly for updates and additional information.
Please consider a contribution to YOUR Political Action Committee!
The Insurance and Financial Advisors Political Action Committee (IFAPAC) is a term used to describe collectively the PAC sponsored by NAIFA at the federal level and the PACs sponsored by each state association. Each PAC is a fund that supports the campaigns of candidates for public office who understand issues important to insurance agents and financial advisors. IFAPAC's goal is to help the associations advance the legislative and regulatory interests of the members of NAIFA. While any U.S. citizen can contribute to IFAPAC, only members of local NAIFA associations may be solicited to do so. Contributions must be voluntary. Contributions are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.
Of approximately 4,600 political action committees registered with the Federal Election Commission, IFAPAC ranks in the top tier. IFAPAC is the largest insurance PAC in the country. In the last election cycle, the national IFAPAC contributed approximately $1.1 million to federal candidates and committees.
For more information about IFAPAC and to contribute securely online, please click HERE.
|
Health Care Highlights
Hi, I'm Thom Stevens, NAIFA-West Virginia Lobbyist and Editor of Health Care Highlights.
Click HERE for our 17th issue in 2014. We are celebrating the 26th anniversary of our unique health care publication and again welcome communications expert Andy Wessels to our team.
Our newsletter reaches more than 5,000 health professionals and health policy makers, and recently won the coveted Crystal Award for publications from the WV Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
Health Care Highlights is your best source for West Virginia Legislative and Governmental health information! For more information, contact Thomas J. Stevens, President, Government Relations Specialists, LLC at 304-344-8466 or email StevensGRS@aol.com.
|

 Member Benefit of the Month
Hot Insurance Leads and Mailing Lists to grow your businessInsurance leads are the lifeblood of any financial or insurance business, but most lead generation companies charge up to .50¢ for one lead. Infofree.com is revolutionizing the way that businesses find customized, targeted prospects by offering an affordable option for financial and insurance agencies both large and small. For the discounted price of $42.95 per month, NAIFA members will have access to over 15 million business and 220 million consumer leads. Subscribers to infofree.com get:
- Unlimited search, select, and view of insurance leads
- Unlimited mapping of leads on Google maps
- Print and download of leads and mailing lists
- Over 200 quality databases to choose from
To take advantage of the exclusive NAIFA discount, call 877-448-0101 or visit www.infofree.com/NAIFA.
For a complete and comprehensive list of all the exclusive benefits of NAIFA membership, please click HERE.
Ask a non-member to join NAIFA today.
NAIFA is the largest financial services membership association in the United States, comprised of more than 700 state and local associations representing the interests of 200,000 members and their associates nationwide. NAIFA's goal is to protect your livelihood and your clients' financial security.
|
For more information about the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors - West Virginia, contact John Pauley, CLU, ChFC, CLTC at (304) 345-4343 or e-mail johnpauley@ft.newyorklife.com.
|
|
|