Richard (Rick) Demko is a licensed life insurance agent who speaks nationally to associations, consumers, and producer groups regarding proper life insurance planning strategies. He holds the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP), Life Underwriting Training Council Fellowship (LUTCF), Life and Annuity Certified Professional (LACP), and is currently challenging the CFP. Rick was Texas’ fourth Advisor Today national 4 Under 40 recipient, inaugural Texas Young Advisor of the Year, past NAIFA Houston President, and current State Director. 

NAIFA has not been sitting idle as the Department of Labor made moves to propose a new fiduciary rule. In anticipation of the rulemaking, NAIFA helped the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) draft a resolution that opposes the DOL's new fiduciary rule as unnecessary and likely harmful to consumers. The resolution, which NCOIL adopted in July after NAIFA testified at the Conference's 2023 Summer Meeting, states: "NCOIL urges the DOL to refrain from further rulemaking that would revive all or parts of the 2016 Fiduciary Rule" and "...urges state legislators and other interested stakeholders to join in opposition to any further rulemaking by DOL reviving the 2016 Fiduciary Rule."

NAIFA Nation is saddened to learn that David J. Reedy, a Past President of NAIFA-New York, has passed away. Reedy joined NAIFA in 1978 and was also a Past President of NAIFA-Buffalo. He was a longtime member of Buffalo Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Million Dollar Round Table.

NAIFA encourages everyone to vote. Our elected officials make decisions that impact everyone's financial security, so it is important for everyone who is eligible to participate in selecting who they are.

NAIFA encourages all insurance and financial professionals to vote in local, state, and federal elections and to encourage others to follow their example. Approximately 63 million Americans who are eligible are not even registered to vote. Encouraging your colleagues, team, and clients to register is a great first step and a way to show your dedication to participating in the democratic process.

Every salesperson has wrestled with the age-old question, “What’s the best way to get referrals?” Depending on how you’ve been trained, you might have a few different ways to answer. Many say “ask” or “ask the right way" or “make sure you’re planting referral seeds along the way to make it easier for someone to provide them to you” but I beg to differ. I have always found that the best way to get referrals is to be referrable. To me, there is only one way to be referrable in our industry: by creating a superior client experience that fosters stark raving fans.

NAIFA Live is back this month, scheduled for September 21st, 2023. This time, we turn our focus to the core pillars of financial planning – professional and personal growth, and achieving unimaginable success. Led by Joey Davenport, CLU, CLF, President & Co-Founder of the Hoopis Performance Network, this event promises to be a game-changer for financial professionals seeking to excel in their careers and lives.

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, a 20-year tradition created and coordinated by NAIFA partner Life Happens and commemorated by the entire life insurance industry, elected officials, and consumers across the country. The goal of LIAM is to put the importance of life insurance front-of-mind for a greater number of Americans and help more people get the coverage they need so their loved ones are protected financially.

NAIFA is saddened to learn that member William John Kalmer of Wauwatosa, WI, passed away August 22, 2023. 

After graduating from Marquette University and serving as a medic in both the Army and Air Force, Kalmer began his 51-year career in the insurance and financial service industry. He was a highly successful agent for Connecticut Mutual, MassMutual, and Partners Financial.

Laurie Adams is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), helping people create financial plans to achieve financial security through investment management, retirement, trust, and planning services. She spent 21 years as a professional education instructor creating and teaching courses to CFP professionals, bank trust officers, CPAs, and insurance license holders. Laurie is a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF), Life and Annuity Certified Professional (LACP), and a long-time NAIFA member and top producer.