Nominees for Secretary and the Board of Trustees to stand for election later this year at NAIFA’s annual business meeting.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors’ Committee on Governance has nominated Bryon Holz, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, CASL, LACP, President of Bryon Holz & Associates in Brandon, FL, for the position of 2021 NAIFA Secretary. A former member of NAIFA’s Board of Trustees, he has been a proud NAIFA member since 1987.

The Committee has also nominated five members to serve two-year terms on the NAIFA Board of Trustees. The nominees are: Wes Booker, LUTCF, Owner of the Wes Booker Agency in Maumelle, AR, (NAIFA member since 2004); Aprilyn Chavez Geissler, LACP, First Executive Vice President with Gateway Financial Advisors in Albuquerque, NM, (NAIFA member since 2005); Dennis Cuccinelli, LACP, an Independent Financial Representative in Edison, NJ, (NAIFA member since 1986); Doug Massey, CLU, ChFC, FSS, Owner of Doug Massey Financial Services in San Angelo, TX, (NAIFA member since 1987); and Brian Wilson, Sales Manager with Mutual of Omaha Advisors in Lexington, KY, (NAIFA member since 2000).

Thomas O. Michel, LACP, Managing Director of Michel Financial Group in Los Angeles (NAIFA member since 1986) is slated to serve as 2020 President; Larry Holzberg, Director of Insurance and Advance Sales, at Fortis Lux Financial, in New York (NAIFA member since 1990) as President-Elect; and Brock Jolly, CFP, CLU, ChFC, CLTC, CASL, CFBS, of Veritas Financial LLC/MassMutual Financial Group in McLean, VA, (NAIFA member since 2001) as Treasurer. Cammie Scott, MSIE, ChHC, CLTC, LUCF, REBC, RHU, SHRM-SCP, President of CK Harp & Associates in Springdale, AR, (NAIFA member since 1998) will serve as Immediate Past President.

The nominees will stand for election during the NAIFA’s annual business meeting, to be held in November. The Governance Committee consists of 12 NAIFA members and is chaired by NAIFA Past President Keith Gillies, CFP, CLU, ChFC.

Industry groups unite the insurance and financial services industry to promote financial literacy and encourage a new generation of agents and advisors.

Hybrid life insurance policies with long-term-care benefits can be an important part of a limited and extended care plan for many consumers, Jon Voegele, MBA, ChFC, CLU, chair of Life Happens and a long-time NAIFA member told journalist Cameron Huddleston for an article in Forbes magazine.

An industry pulse survey of insurance and financial services professionals released today by NAIFA, LIMRA, the Insured Retirement Institute and Oliver Wyman found that the COVID-19 outbreak has made it challenging for agents and advisors to connect with new clients. More than three-quarters said that either all or a higher proportion of their insurance, annuities and investment sales have been to existing clients. Only 17% said new clients have accounted for a higher proportion of sales, while 5% said new clients accounted for all of their sales.

Long before the COVID-19 outbreak, Brian Heckert, founder of FSM Wealth and a NAIFA member since 1986, embraced virtual client meetings as part of a strategy to grow his firm beyond his hometown of Nashville, IL, (population 3,200). InsuranceNewsNet profiles Heckert, who is also the immediate past president of NAIFA’s Illinois chapter, in its July 2020 issue.

Broker-dealers that have approved NAIFA’s Life and Annuities Certified Professional (LACP) certification for use by their representatives rank among the top B-D firms in the country. Mass Mutual’s MML Investors Services, Cambridge Investment Research, Royal Alliance Associates, SagePoint Financial, Woodbury Financial Services, FSC Securities, and Principal Securities are all among the leaders in Financial Advisor magazine’s B-D ranking and Think Advisor’s Broker-Dealer Reference Guide. Combined, the firms have more than 20,000 producing representatives eligible to apply for LACP certification.

As leaders in the insurance and financial services industry undertake efforts to improve diversity and inclusion among producers and corporate leadership, a Forbes article has cited NAIFA’s Diversity Symposium as program producing relevant thought leadership. In particular, the article references the recent NAIFA Nation Impact Week session “The Tone At The Top: How Companies are Moving the Diversity and Inclusion Needle.”

“Are you an adrenaline junkie?” asked NAIFA President Cammie Scott, during NAIFA’s Town Hall, “The State of NAIFA on Our 130th Anniversary.” “Do you crave the rush? Have a need for speed or the drive to dive?”

NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE, opened the NAIFA Town Hall “The State of NAIFA on Our 130^th Anniversary” by marking the occasion of NAIFA’s formation on June 18, 1890, in Boston. Then as now, NAIFA members joined together to promote the interests of an industry crucial to providing financial security to Main Street Americans.

(NAIFA) will celebrate its 130th anniversary Thursday, June 18, with an online Town Hall meeting “The State of NAIFA on Our 130th Anniversary Celebration.”