CAL Advisor

February 21, 2008

E- Newsletter Volume 1, Number 8

In This Issue

· Career Protection For About $40 a Month

· Legislative Update

· Member Benefits

· Monthly Business Sales Idea

NAIFA-California
1425 River Park Drive
Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95815
(800) 298-1025
(916) 646-8600
(916) 646-8130 FAX
office@naifacalifornia.org
www.naifacalifornia.org

Mark Your Calendars!

Monday, May 19, 2008
Annual Meeting

Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Day On The Hill

Registration Form

Association Leadership Conferences (ALC)

North: Wed., July 9,2008 South: Thurs., July 10,2008

“Mad Dash” for Membership Contest
2/15/08 through 4/30/08
See Flyer for Details

Career Protection For About $40 a Month

By Dennis P. Sunderman
NAIFA-California President 2007-2008

I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am to be in the insurance business. By most standards, I would say that my family enjoys the “American Dream” and then some! We are fortunate to have a nice home, new cars, private school, and loads of extra curricular activities like “cheer leading competitions” and “music lessons” for our daughter Kathryn. We also enjoy amazing vacations and spend quality time with the friends we have made along the way. Of equal importance, I appreciate the ability to control my own time, to be compensated based on my efforts, and to help provide security to families and businesses in a multitude of ways. We really enjoy life and helping others, and my guess is that your life is very much the same. We are in a great business!

As an agent and advisor, you constantly discuss “what if” scenarios with clients and present sound recommendations to protect against uncertainty. Personally, I know we buy insurance for everything, including the house, cars, medical insurance, life insurance, long term care insurance, errors and omissions, and even vacation protection!

What about our career? What do we do to protect our business?

What if legislation changed the landscape to reduce or eliminate tax favored treatment of our products or worse yet, removed us from the delivery system altogether? It could happen! Just read the Government Relations columns in the CAL Advisor, NAIFA GovWatch (frontline@naifa.org), any major newspaper, or the evening news. We are constantly at risk! The national election is pushing change, the national deficit is threatening our tax favored products, and unethical planners who financially abuse consumers are big news.

I, for one, couldn’t sleep at night without knowing that something bigger, much bigger is protecting my interests.

I never want to lose my ability to protect my family or to protect consumer’s rights!

I always want the products that provide retirement security for our clients!

I never want to be removed from the delivery system and I don’t believe our clients do either! Don’t you feel the same?

I know that NAIFA is protecting my Career!

When I joined the Mass Mutual general agency system in December of 1980, I was told to join the Life Underwriters (now NAIFA) and to attend monthly meetings. The meetings were educational, provided a forum to learn about sales ideas, legislation, and even how to build my business. They were great then and…. they are great now. We all know that the general agency and product delivery system has changed. But there are not less agents, there are just more independents. We have lost the system where a new agent is automatically introduced to the association. And to make things worse, we have lost an entire generation of managers who don’t know what NAIFA is, or what we stand for.

Very Exciting Membership News!

I am happy to announce that NAIFA-California is offering two new programs that should dramatically increase membership in all of our Local Associations!

1. “Mad Dash” for Membership - See Flyer for Details

2. NAIFA Corporate Outreach Program - See Flyer for Details

In conclusion

Just out of curiosity, ask you physician, attorney, and CPA what their professional dues costs. I’m sure that you will agree that our dues are a real bargain for Career Protection!

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Legislative Update

By Michael Ables, LUTCF Chair, Government Relations Committee	Shari McHugh Legislative Advocate

Click on the link and get the details from the Monthly Legislative Update!
http://www.naifacalifornia.org/Advocacy/PDFdocs/LegUpdates/2008/Legislative%20Update%202-08.pdf

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Member Benefits

By Michael K. Fiamingo, LUTCF
Chair Member Benefits

Planning ahead helps to achieve our personal and association goals. We have our annual National Membership Week coming up on March 3-7, 2008, and we have some exciting contests to help each local as they look for new members, and work on retention of existing members. NAIFA California is launching the “Mad Dash” for Membership and the contest will run from February 15th to April 30th.

For each new member you earn 2 points and for every lapsed member (over 90 days) you earn 1 point. This can allow you to earn a waiver of Annual Meeting and Day On The Hill fees or cash back on your renewal dues. You can see all the prize details at the http://www.naifacalifornia.org home page. This is a great way to increase membership at these two very important state meetings, and a great way to gain members and pay for expenses.

The NAIFA-California annual meeting will be held on May 19th and the Day on the Hill will be on May 20th in Sacramento, CA. This makes it one trip for both events. Plan to attend both of these great events. There will be lots of valuable information for you to share with your local.

We have the Association Leadership Conference (ALC) coming up on July 9th for the North and July 10th for the South, with locations for the meeting TBD. Each local association should plan to have the leadership Board team attend this valuable training session.

For those local members who still need to take ethics CE's for their license renewal, you can visit the http://www.naifacalifornia.org website for who is offering this required class. If you aren't sure if you have taken the class already, visit the continuing education site under Member Benefits and click on Agents and Brokers-License Status Inquiry, which takes you to the California DOI website and you can look up your CE's taken and any outstanding CE units still needed prior to license renewal.

In September, we have a great opportunity since the National NAIFA meeting is being held in San Diego, CA which makes attending more affordable since it is in our own home state. Don't miss the opportunity to learn more about our National Association and how we are progressing toward the goals to bring the organization into the 21st Century. Remember there is strength in numbers. Be there to share ideas and have your voice heard. There will be CE's, great speakers, and numerous vendors at the NAIFA National Convention in San Diego.

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Monthly Business Sales Idea

By John A. Davidson, LUTCF, FSS
NAIFA Past President and San Fernando Valley Member
President and Founder of Davidson Insurance and Financial Services

I Won’t Need Insurance When I’m Older
(That’s Why I Want Term Insurance)

THE SCENARIO

Many people in their 20’s and 30’s make a mistake in thinking they will need less insurance when they get older. The reality is that 20 years from now, they’ll probably need more insurance, not less. Their mortgage will not be paid down from where it is now – they’ll have a bigger mortgage, on a bigger house. They may have estate-planning needs.

PROPOSED SOLUTION

Have people think back 20 years. What size policies were people buying? What size policies are people buying, today? What size policy do they think we’ll be buying 20 years from now?

THE RESULT

Buying term insurance makes the assumption that they will be in the same financial position in the future – instead of a better situation. It’s an expectation of future failure!

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