Like we said last week in the Insurance Blog Wrap-Up, "No one likes to picture themselves as old...and wearing adult diapers."

And though we were talking about long-term care (LTC) insurance in that particular video, the same points can be made, I think, about its cousin, disability insurance (DI).

Registered Health Underwriter (RHU) Ron Cohen seems to agree, saying:

Most Americans would go bankrupt within 90 days of a disability. We just do not save any money and thus find ourselves without an out. [...] Being disabled is a living hell that disables more than just the individual. It takes the whole family down, as well as friends, employees and businesses.

So, like LTC, DI is obviously a primary need. A need that many people don't think about or prepare for (present company included). Why? Cohen chalks it up to perception. Between the myriad of late-night attorney advertisements telling people to sue their insurance companies over disability coverage and the lack of public education, Cohen says that consumers and insurers alike are getting the shaft—and changes need to be made.

That change is starting with the formation of the Council for Disability Awareness, as well as more concentrated efforts by the International DI Society and the American College. The goal: to educate the public about the benefits of DI coverage and create a more "favorable image" of the DI industry.

But Cohen says education needs to extend further than the general public and challenges insurers and financial planners to educate themselves on the need for DI, and, in turn, to teach their clients about those needs—thereby circumventing the impossible financial situation of a "living death."

Change, Cohen adds, must start from within the industry, which is how it should be.

It's up to us to spread the word to our own first and for our own to relay it to the public. I suggest that if you want to learn about disability insurance, you consider joining the International DI Society. Agents/brokers, regulators, administrators, human resources, actuaries, claims people, legislators, you name it, are all welcomed.

As someone who's harped (somewhat repeatedly) on changing the image of the insurance industry, I applaud Cohen for his efforts and for pushing industry peers to take responsibility and accountability for their part. Check out Cohen's full article couresty of the Insurance News Network here—and get inspired.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Whew. It's true what they say about walking a mile in someone else's shoes. Our video editor James is out of the office, so I had the pleasure of editing this week's InsureMe Insurance Blog Wrap-Up (in tandem with the brilliant Peter D.)

It came together pretty well (considering), so be sure to head over to the InsureMe Insurance Blog tomorrow to check it out.

I'll be out of the office tomorrow, so, until next time, let your peers know they're appreciated. :)

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

[image courtesy of gapingvoid.com]

I suspect that most people would say this cartoon doesn't apply to the insurance industry. I suspect that most of those people would say it's because insurance is dry, complicated and one of life's necessities that no one likes to talk about or spend money on.

I say these things because it's what I first thought when I saw it.

But then I remembered a conversation I had earlier this summer with a friend of mine. We hadn't seen each other in a couple years, and somehow, at three in the morning, we were talking to each other about the benefits at our respective jobs. And after ten or fifteen minutes we paused, looked at each other, and I said:

"I can't believe we're talking to each other about 401k."

Then, this morning as I met with my insurance agent, he talked to me about a variable universal life insurance policy. I'm young and healthy now, and could lock in a great premium rate while building cash value for the future.

Clearly, these are two products that I will talk to my friends about. And no, life insurance isn't as sexy, as say, my new digital camera, but when the marketing has been done and the benefits [to me] are made clear, I'll talk about it. And that, my friends, is good news for you.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Alright. I'm back, as promised, with renewed vigor for yesterday's lost post.

Creating Passionate Users is safely one of my favorite blogs of all time. And, while its focus rests predominately on web design and usability, it often addresses topics that apply to all areas of business.

Case in point: this week, CPU blogger Kathy Sierra wrote a stellar post about the importance of strong beginnings. Namely the beginnings of presentations, but I'll expand the definition of "presentations" to include small seminars, small group lunch-and-learns and sales calls.

Because, as Sierra points out, if you don't grab your audience from the first moment, your chances of recovery are slim to none; there are few phoenixes that rise from the proverbial presentation ashes.

And while it's really a disservice to paraphrase said post, I will leave you with a couple of Sierra's tips for strong beginnings:

Don't start at the beginning.

Start where the action begins, says Sierra.

"Advice for first-time novelists is often, 'Take the first chapter and throw it away. Chances are, chapter 2 is where it just starts to get interesting, so start THERE.'"

Show, don't tell.

"If you have to TELL your audience that they should care, you're screwed," says Sierra.

Amen and amen.

Don't waste time trying to prove your credibility.

This can be particularly painful for all involved parties, Sierra points out.

How many talks do you see where the speaker has multiple bullet points and slides just on their background? I did it once [...] and it did NOT go over well because:

A) Nobody cares
B) Bullet points do not equal credibility
C) Nobody cares
D) You already HAVE credibility going in... you don't have to earn it, you just have to make sure you don't lose it.
E) Nobody cares

Whether you've been invited to speak at a large event or to the HR folks at a small business, remember that you've already established your credibility—you wouldn't have been invited to speak otherwise. Your job is not to gain more credibility with the audience—your job is not to lose it.

Head over to Creating Passionate Users to check out the full post. Sierra includes a great list of ideas for beginnings that will both enlighten and inspire.

[Bonus aesthetic material]:

I had the extremely good fortune of attending the Future of Web Apps in San Francisco last month. And while the place was chocked full of tech geeks, I can tell you that nearly all of the presenters had mastered not only the beginning, middle, and end of their presentations, but they had also mastered the fine art of Power Point.

Take a look at Yahoo's Tom Coates to see how he used Power Point to enhance his presentation, to gently lead the audience along—not to drag it forcefully by elbow.

And, if you ask him really nicely, I bet James Omdahl of the InsureMe Affiliate Blog will share some of his speaking and Power Point tips. One speaking gig under his belt, and already a pro. :)

[UPDATE 10.25.2006]: My apologies to Internet Explorer users who got an ugly version of this post yesterday. That'll remind me to make sure the blog looks okay in various browsers before going home for the night. :) (Big thanks to April H. for letting me know things were askew!)

Posted by Megan Mahan at 02:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
 

Well. I just lost my entire (heartfelt, and rather lengthy) blog entry for today. For as much as I boast about the wonderment of technology, it sure makes me miserable sometimes.

Since I now lack the intestinal and emotional fortitude to retype the whole thing, I'll leave you with this update of earthquake costs in Hawaii.

I'll be back tomorrow with a smile and today's original blog post in tow. :)

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Insurance professionals are busy people. I should know; I spent longer than desired yesterday trying to set up an appointment with my auto insurance agent.

So when I read about time boxing today on David Cheong's blog, I thought of you guys and gals.

What's time boxing?

Cheong describes time boxing as a time management technique which involves delegating a certain period of time—say, 30 minutes—for a specific task or project, and doing the best you can on that task in the time allotted. Then, the project is either marked as “done” at the end of the time period, or you commit another 30 minutes to the task on another day.

Cheong points out that time boxing is so efficient because there are always numerous things competing for our time.

Accordingly, time boxing works because:

1. By being time-conscious, you can focus on the projects that matter most
2. It shows you how much time you’re spending on open-ended tasks
3. The time constraints ward off procrastination
4. It allows you to work on things during the free gaps between other commitments and appointments

Starting Monday (since we’re nearing closing time here on this Friday afternoon), I’ll be giving this time boxing thing a try.

In our creative marketing group, we find that we have so much going on that we have a hard time prioritizing important and urgent projects. As a result, some of the really important stuff—including our passion projects—gets left behind. And that’s not good for anyone.

Take a look at Cheong’s posts about time boxing here and here. Give it a shot and let me know if and how it helps you manage your busy days.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Oh, and if you want to watch a man eat ten hamburgers in one sitting, check out this week's InsureMe Insurance Blog Wrap-Up here.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

My auto insurance policy is up for renewal next month, and in light of some rather unpleasant circumstances related to my current policy, I'm shopping again. Using nothing other than InsureMe.com, of course. :)

So, of course, because I work here, I understand how things work. Intimately. And aside from learning and writing about all facets of insurance, I also have the extreme pleasure of authoring this blog and other informational sales articles for insurance professionals.

So when I filled out the InsureMe online quote form, I illustrated clearly in the comments section that I worked for InsureMe and asked for my insurance matches to email me preliminary quotes and then we'd go from there.

And, because I know that the agent who makes the first contact with a lead has the best opportunity to make the sale, I expected a couple people to call me. True to form, and despite my email-only request, I received two phone calls within ten minutes. I get it; I wasn't going to complain.

But this afternoon, four more of my matches emailed me, complete with preliminary quotes. And I was elated. Why? Because they took the time to read the notes and see that I preferred to be contact by email first. They all presented me with fast, accurate quotes. And then they left the ball in my court.

As a result, I felt genuinely respected by these agents. And I'll be in touch with the four of them, by phone, tomorrow, to give them the information they need to firm up my quotes. Then I'll see who can give me the best rate. :)

The point here is that people have varying preferences. And if a prospect or client lets you know how he or she prefers to be contacted, or where they'd like to meet, or when...do your best to respect it.

You'll get that respect right back.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

As you've probably noticed, we've been making a fair amount of videos here at InsureMe. Of course, when you're making videos, you end up watching quite a few, too.

The following video has quickly become a favorite here at the office:

What's this have to do with insurance sales? Well...everything, really.

Just remember that clients and prospects are people, too. And while I'm not necessarily suggesting that you hug every contact in your address book, treating someone with love is not only a great way to build a strong working relationship, but it affirms in others the importance of paying it forward.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
 

The blog is being a tad finicky this afternoon, so I'll post a couple links to the stories I spent some time on today:

Crop Insurers Piling Up Record Profits [Washington Post]

Hawaiian Earthquake Could Be a Taste of What's to Come [Insurance News Net]

Portable Seatbelts Promise Safety While Traveling Abroad [Insurance Journal]

California Leads Nation in Hybrid Ownership; Travelers Offers Discount [Insurance Journal]

Big hat tip to the Insurance Coverage Blog, which got me reading about crop insurance today. I hope to post more about that later this week.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

I was flipping through an old issue of the Agent's Sales Journal (August 2006 to be exact) and really enjoyed Jay B. Lipe's piece about paying attention to your product packaging. The package, after all, can determine whether or not a customer buys the product.

Insurance is an intangible product, you might be thinking, so what kind of package are we talking about?

The package, my fine friend, is you.

Though we've all been told not to judge a book by its cover, many of us still do. Especially when it comes to purchasing something like insurance, where we need to like and trust our agent.

Lipe makes quite a few apt points, but I most enjoyed his thoughts on clothing, briefcases and notepads.

On clothing:

Lipe quotes author Sue Morem when he gives this rule of thumb: "Always dress better than you need to." It's always better to be overdressed than underdressed. So trade the concert tee for a tie, even if you're walking into a casual meeting with a prospect or client.

On the briefcase:

"I've seen people use briefcases that looked like they carried the first batch of Pony Express mail," says Lipe. This is equal parts hilarious and true. Lipe suggets investing in a good briefcase from a "reputable luggage store". I concur.

On the notebook:

When you pull out some paper to take notes, do you unsheath a nice, sturdy notepad or the $.99 Office Max special? "This item, which sits on the table throughout the meeting, may go unnoticed by many of your buyers. But then again, it may not," Lipe points out.

I'll couch on Lipe's point here and throw in that what's in the briefcase matters, too. My last insurance agent once showed up to an appointment with papers for me to sign and didn't bother to bring a pen. The fact that I had to go find a pen of my own wasn't the issue—his ill-preparedness was.

Lipe also highlights the importance of punctuality, politeness, voicemail greetings, etc., all of which are important to consider when it comes to insurance prospecting and sales. But I would add one more caveat to the packaging issue.

Act like you've got some sense:

I had an agent who (having botched something concerning my auto insurance policy) stopped by my office to straighten out the issue.

Being on the fourth floor here at InsureMe, we have a perfect view of the parking lot. Which means that my office mates and I had a great view of my agent parking his car, getting out, practicing his schpeal, anxiously circling the car—even trying to make friends with a wild rabbit in the lawn. (It must have upset him when the bunny declined the invite for companionship and ran away, leaving my agent standing, palms to the sky, wondering what he'd done to upset it.)

Funny for us watching from above? Sure. Sad for my then-agent? Definitely.

In sum, Lipe says, pay attention to every facet of your packaging. Your prospects and clients will.

Don't have a copy of last Augusts’ Agent's Sales Journal on hand? You're in luck—I found a copy of Jay Lipe's article courtesy of B2B Marketing Trends here.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
 

An exclusive Insurance Journal survey reported that errors and omissions (E&O) policies have increased for more than three-quarters of US insurance agencies. Furthermore, almost 58 percent of agencies expect their premiums to go up again in 2007.

Ouch.

According to David Duncan of David C. Duncan Insurance Services, his E&O policy was his "first or second highest" startup cost. He reported paying around $2,500 per year to maintain his policy.

IJ surveyed nearly 460 agency principals in 43 states; of those respondents, over 77 percent said their E&O premium had risen in the last three years. The hikes are pretty notable according to IJ, whose survey showed one quarter of respondents experiencing rate increases of more than 20 percent. 16 percent said their E&O rates increased between 6 and 10 percent.

The good news, according to Assistant VP of E&O Operations, is that the E&O market seems to be "softening."

"There are some new players coming in; there are some players being aggressive. Pricing seems to be softening. I think what you're seeing right now is availability is going to increase and pricing is going to decrease."

So if you're currently feeling the pinch of E&O coverage...hang on. Relief may soon be on the way.

[Related articles]:

Starting Your Own Insurance Agency [InsureMe Agent Resource Center]
Legal Issues Facing Insurance Agents [InsureMe Agent Resource Center]

*Bonus link: The InsureMe Insurance Blog Wrap-Up for 10.13.2006
[video]

Posted by Megan Mahan at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

My life is a musical one. Which is why I absolutely loved this recent post on Seeds of Growth: Everything I Know about Business I Learned from Rock-n-Roll.

The post, in turn, got me to thinking...what are some good theme songs for the insurance industry?

Here are the first couple songs that came to mind:

Get A Haircut [And Get A Real Job]—George Thorogood and the Destroyers
Bad Reputation—Freedy Johnston (sadly)
Shake It Up—The Cars
Let Me Down Easy—Chris Isaak (because sometimes the prospect goes with the competition)
Objects It The Rearview Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear—Meatloaf (for our property-casualty friends)

So, I have a good feeling we can add to this. Fire away via 'comments'! I guarantee I'll have more to add in the morning. :)

[UPDATE 10.25.2006]: Take a look at Escape from Cubicle Nation's Top 10 business playlist here.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Are homeowners looking down the barrel at yet another home insurance rate increase?

It's looking that way, according to this article featured today by the Insurance Journal. A recent analysis by reinsurance firm Aon Re, shows that previous rate hikes have not yielded an adequate return on equity (ROE) for home insurance—meaning rates will need to go up.

Aon Re pegs this year's ROE for home insurance to land around 5.7 percent; the 2005 ROE for home insurance was 9.3 percent...quite a deviation from the 14 percent ROE most insurers aim for.

President and CEO of Aon Re, Bryan G. Ehrhart, admitted that insurers are stuck between a rock and a hard place but defended rate hikes as a way to offset meteorologist predictions for stronger hurricane seasons going forward. He also pointed out that home insurers need to have more capital on hand to "meet industry standards" than was necessary in previous years.

Not surprisingly, hurricane-prone states stand bear the brunt of rate increases:

Aon Re's prospective return on equity is 3.5 percent for hurricane- affected states viewed as a group, 8.1 percent for the non-hurricane-affected states. To reach a prospective return on equity of 14 percent, an estimated average rate increase of 43.3 percent would be required for the hurricane-affected states, 11.1 percent for the non-hurricane-affected states.

Discouraging news for homeowners and their subsequent insurers who have to break the news when premiums increase. But what can you do? Increased risk = higher premiums. It's textbook.

So what do you say to commenters like "Bulldogg" who want to know, "Where are all the hurricanes?"

Take a look at the story courtesy of IJ here, and make sure to check out the reader comments. Feel free to post your own thoughts on the matter right here on the Agent Blog.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

We have thousands of insurance professionals across the country that work with InsureMe to find hot prospects. We even have a few agents who've been with InsureMe since the very beginning. And that made our article, Tips for Success: How Good Agents Become Great, pretty cool to write.

Take a look and let us know what you think...and don't hesitate to share your success stories in insurance sales. We love to hear them.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
 

Telemarketing, like exotic dance, isn't something people exactly plan on getting into. But jobs in phone sales are fairly easy to find, and if you're good at it you can make pretty good money. Or so I learned during my junior year of college.

Now, I learned a lot during my stint as a telemarketer. Sales skills I never knew I possessed. Patience with the public I thought I was born without.

But I'd never do it again. Especially not in the here and now, in 2006, where buzz words like Web 2.0 and permission marketing run rampant and threaten to bring traditional marketing to its knees.

So I was surprised, recently, to see many sales and marketing blogs addressing the benefits of telemarketing. Most of these blogs were inspired by this B-to-B Marketing article from earlier last month.

The article details Xerox's use of telemarketing, and in conjunction with other marketing mediums, the company's efforts are paying off. And while the article deals with Xerox's B-to-B marketing success (as the source publication might suggest), I think it also opens up similar can of worms for B-to-C sales professionals: is telemarketing worth it?

Most sales professionals are aware that, done correctly, teleprospecting (a horrible new buzz word, in my opinion) can be a pretty viable tool. In fact, Brian Caroll of the B2B Lead Generation Blog says that the phone is a necessary lead generation tool when it comes to issues like initial prospecting and qualification, appending data and information, centralizing leads for profiling and scoring, validating direct marketing lists, and following up on direct mail campaigns—to name a few.

Now, I don't wish to negate the success that sales professionals have achieved through cold-calling and telemarketing—especially the old-schoolers who've been doing this longer than I've been alive. But I would make a few counterpoints.

1. Today, telemarketing probably works best for B-to-B businesses.
My boss, who is director of marketing, expects to receive phone calls during the day from people who want to pitch her a new lead generation software or print services. That's the nature of the beast. But Joe Homeowner won't be expecting to hear about your insurance or financial services at 9 AM while he's cooking eggs in his bathrobe.

2. Cold-calling is annoying.
To whom, you ask? To everybody. For you, there's the collecting of the data, gathering the intestinal fortitude to call people you don't know, and ask said strangers for their business. And to be sure, it's almost always annoying to the 'prospect'. There's a reason why people conjure up stories and shticks when they get a salesperson on the line. Once I had this woman on my contact list that I had to call back every day for a week. And every time I called, she put her little kid on the phone, who started reciting what he wanted on his pizza. Every. Time. Of course, they were being creative in telling me to get lost. Most people used shorter, more colorful words.

3. There are more cost-effective, less invasive, and greater ROI-bringing methods available.
Above, blogger Brian Caroll said telemarketing was a great way to follow up on direct mail campaigns. I can't lie to you; reading about telemarketing and direct mail in the same sentence sort of made me want to gnaw off the same fingers with which I'm now typing.

Why?

For starters, unless you've got a pretty innovative direct mail campaign, your flier is more likely to go out with the evening trash than generate a sales lead. And just think of all that wasted postage money.

Secondly, most traditional direct mail and telemarketing campaigns solicit people who've expressed little or no interest in what you have to offer. Talk about throwing a wad of money in the fire.

Of course, the alternatives are sitting right in front of you as you read: on the web.

Aside from letting lead aggregation services [plug: InsureMe] bring interested prospects to you, you can step away from traditional prospecting techniques and use the power of search engines to target people who are looking for exactly what you have to offer. Web programs like Google Adwords enable you to target prospects based on their keyword search (and weed out negative search terms like 'pregnancy' and 'HIV') and geographic location.

Now we're talking about cost-effective prospecting that yields a great ROI and is well-aligned with permission-based marketing. Which means you're making money and not pissing people off. Cheers to that.

If you're interested in learning more about online marketing, you're in luck. My article, Online Marketing: Why The Insurance Industry Should Take Advantage, is currently featured in this month's TAAR Report.

Additionally, we have an incredibly talented in-house team here that specializes in online marketing. See what they're up to by visiting the InsureMe Affiliate Blog, and feel free to leave questions or comments there. Of course, we like talking to people too, so give us a call at 800 INSUREME to speak to a human.

We've also got a plethora of information on these topics in our comprehensive Agent Resource Center, so please do stop by and peruse the selection. You'll even find some articles about how to be successful in cold calls and direct mail campaigns.

Hey, just because I think it's a waste of resources doesn't mean that's true for everyone. :)

Posted by Megan Mahan at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
 

It's Friday, and thus ends an arduous, yet very productive week here at InsureMe. And though it's Catmas, a.k.a. Post A Picture of Your Cat Day, I thought I'd leave you with a little Friday link bait to help you slide into your weekend.

I was particularly interested to see that the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on insurers' use of credit scoring in premium calculation. The article below (courtesy of Insurance Journal) is rather short, but I imagine I will post a lengthier update next week as the story unfolds. (And please do check out the reader comments on this article. Good, healthy debate there.)

So without further ado, click away with the Friday links:

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Insurance Credit Score Cases [IJ]
Geo-Risk Mapping [ReRisk]
The InsureMe Insurance Blog Wrap-Up [InsureMe Insurance Blog]

I'm probably a little biased, but that last link is pretty darn cool.

Have a good weekend, everyone. See you Monday!

Posted by Megan Mahan at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

I just caught wind of a story by way of Insurance News Net, detailing praise by the life insurance industry for a new Senate bill that's aimed at helping women save for retirement. The bill could also encourage employers to offer "annuitized distribution options from company-sponsored plans," reports INN.

The CEOs of the American Council for Life Insurers (ACLI) and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) have praised the new bill, with provisions including new tax benefits to retirees who annuitize their defined benefit plan distributions. Additionally, 50 percent of annuitized distributions would be exempt from federal tax, up to $20,000 per year.

How is this good for women? ACLI CEO Frank Keating, and NAIFA CEO David Woods offered this quote in a joint letter:

Annuitization provides the only sure way to convert retirement savings into a guaranteed stream of lifetime income. Women would especially benefit from receiving guaranteed lifetime income in retirement because they typically live longer than men.

Pretty interesting—and encouraging stuff. Take a look at the full article here.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

We're taking care of some housekeeping items with the InsureMe blogs today, so my apologies if things look a little off-kilter. Special Agent Cannata in IT is taking care of things for us and we should be fixed up in no time.

In addition to sweeping out the cobwebs and straightening the curtains, we've also added the capability for you to contact us with your questions tips, directly from the blog. Just click on the giant red question mark to send questions and suggestions right to our inbox!

Posted by Megan Mahan at 09:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

It's a busy day here at InsureMe, so for today I'll send you over to Landing the Deal's latest post about the sales cash cow: referrals.

Get sales guru Bob Burg's take on why referrals make such great leads for sales professionals. The man's got a point. Actually, he's got a few of them. . :)

Posted by Megan Mahan at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Insurance News Net is reporting that on Thursday, that Congressman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) will give due attention to the insurance regulatory system.

The National Insurance Act of 2006 would allow life and property-casualty insurers and their agents to choose whether they want to be regulated by the federal government, or remain in the state system. The concept, reports INN, is known as the "optional federal charter". INN also notes that the bill will likely piggyback on the Senate's own National Insurance Act of 2006, which was introduced by Senators Sununu (R-N.H.) and Johnson (D-S.D.) in April.

NAIFA Chief Executive Officer, David Woods, had this to say about the bill:

The regulation of insurance is an important matter to consumers as well as producers, and deserves the attention it has received by Congress. In many respects the current system is in need of improvement. For years NAIFA has worked closely with states and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners [NAIC] to modernize state laws so consumers can gain access to the latest products in the marketplace, and agents can best serve their clients.

Furthermore, NAIFA continues to work with NAIC to improve and streamline speed-to-market conditions for life insurance products, including annuities, disability and long-term care coverage. Known as the Interstate Compact Commission, the new system establishes a "single point of contact" to review products. Previously, each state had to approve a product before it could be sold in that state. The compact, which had to be adopted by 26 states to become fully operational, took effect in May of this year.

Insurance regulation doesn't exactly rock my socks off, but this is all pretty encouraging stuff if you ask me. We have seen a bit of state/federal discourse on the InsureMe blogs before, both at the Agent blog and the Insurance blog [see comments] in the past.

Pointedly, InsureMe CEO (and insurance agent), Tim McTavish said that he'd like to see all lines of insurance regulated by the federal government. "[T]here seems to be a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy in each state doing similar functions of insurance administration," Tim said.

I'm inclined to agree. It seems there has been a need for some time to streamline the country's insurance regulation without forcing each state to give up complete control. Perhaps this "optional federal charter" will be the solution. Or at least a step in the right direction.

Check out the full, acronym-laden article over at INN here, and let us know what you think about the new bill.

[UPDATE 10.02.2006]: The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America's [The "Big I"] opposition to Royce's proposed bill.

From Thomas Minkler, chairman of the Big I's Government Affairs Committee:

"We are long overdue for change, the existing system is slow, inefficient, unnecessarily complicated and expensive. That said, a one-size-fits-all scheme that creates a new federal bureaucracy is not the answer."

One of the long-standing beliefs of the Big I is that local insurance regulation is better for the consumer—that the level of responsiveness at the federal level just wouldn't be up to snuff. Touché, Big I. Touché.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 05:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)