Membership Renewals: Deadline Passed
Membership renewals were due by March 31. A final renewal mailing was sent last month to those member agencies whose renewals had not yet been received.  This will be your last NAILBA Now if your renewal application with payment is not received this week.

Renewal is not automatic - renewal applications must be completed and approved each year. Late renewals may incur a $300 fee. To download a renewal application, click here.

It’s not too late to correct this oversight and continue to receive all of the benefits of NAILBA membership! Questions about the status of your membership renewal?  Contact Kathy Allison, Director of Membership and the Foundation, at kallison@nailba.org or 703.383.3072.

Congress Returns to Washington
Congress will return to work this week after a two-week hiatus in recognition of the Easter holiday.

The House of Representatives is expected to bring up HR1206, the Access to Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act of 2011.  Sponsored by Reps. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and John Barrow (D-GA), the legislation exempts insurance producer commissions from the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) that is being implemented under the Patient Protection Act.  The MLR as currently calculated limits administrative costs of a health care plan to 15% of large group plans and 20% of small group plans, with the remainder of costs applied toward expenses related to medical provider care.

Producer commissions are currently considered part of administrative costs.  Proponents of HR1206 argue the MLR has forced carriers to cut agent commissions by half and that removing agent commissions from the MLR formula would increase consumer access to health insurance agents.

Similar MLR legislation was introduced in the Senate, but no action has been taken.  Should HR1206 pass the House, it remains uncertain whether the Senate will take action on the House version.

NAILBA Government Affairs is keeping track of legislative and regulatory issues important to independent wholesale distribution during this critical election year.  Contact Mark Valentini, NAILBA’s Director of Government Affairs, at 703.383.3073 or mvalentini@nailba.org for more information or to get involved.

Passings
It is with sadness that we share with you that Tim Herr passed peacefully last week.  A celebration of Tim’s life was held on April 12. Condolences may be directed to the Herr family at 1 Bedford Court, Farmington, CT 06032. More information about ways you can support the family, including the creation of a memory book for his sons, can be found here: http://www.teamtimothyherr.com.

Honors and Achievements
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) has announced that Brian H. Ashe, CLU, president of Brian Ashe and Associates of Lisle, Ill., and an AXA Advisor, is the recipient of the 2012 John Newton Russell Memorial Award. Mr. Ashe will receive the award September 11, 2012, at the NAIFA Career Conference and Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.

“The committee evaluated many strong nominees this year, and I am pleased that Brian is our selection as the 2012 John Newton Russell Memorial Award recipient,” said Cliff F. Wilson, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, CLF, chair of the 2012 John Newton Russell Award Committee. “It is fitting that he should join this very prestigious group of individuals at the pinnacle of their profession who have demonstrated exemplary service to the institution of life insurance and related financial services.”

Mr. Ashe is a past president of the Million Dollar Round Table, which he first joined in 1972. He holds 14 Court of the Table and Top of the Table honors with MDRT, has served on 34 MDRT committees and is a Platinum-Level Knight of the MDRT Foundation.

In 2001, Mr. Ashe joined the LIFE Foundation board and two years later was selected to join its Executive Committee. He was elected in 2005 to serve as Chairman of the Board until his term expired in 2006. He currently serves as LIFE’s treasurer and as a spokesperson for the organization. He has been a NAIFA member for 40 years and served in local and state leadership positions.

“Brian’s leadership within NAIFA, the LIFE Foundation and MDRT has served to strengthen our industry and provides an excellent example for other insurance and financial professionals,” said NAIFA President Robert Miller. “Whether he is speaking, giving media interviews or writing about our industry, Brian is truly the type of ambassador the John Newton Russell Memorial Award is meant to recognize.”

John Henry Russell created the John Newton Russell Award in 1942 as a tribute to his father, an influential leader in the life insurance industry and an early advocate of agent education. John Newton Russell served as NAIFA (then NALU) president from 1916 to 1917 and was a contributing founder of LIMRA International, The American College and the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation.

Attend the MDRT Annual Meeting
An Exclusive, Complimentary Session for Independent Channel Attendees:  Growing Your Business: An Intro to MDRT

• Learn how to grow your business through Sales &      Marketing and Technology

• Choose from discussion topics at the Ideas Exchange, such      as:

-          Success & Failure
-          Business Development
-          Business Planning
-          Customer Service
-          Telephone Techniques

• Experience what MDRT has to offer in an intimate setting before engaging in MDRT’s Annual Meeting!

Hilton Anaheim
Sunday, June 10, 2012
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Room: California A/B
Doors open at 1:30 p.m.

Full Offer Details of the MDRT Brokerage General Agency program:

• Bring three or four producers, and you and your producers pay $695 each to attend the 2012 Annual Meeting in Anaheim.
• Bring five or more producers, and you can attend the meeting for FREE; your producers pay $695 each.
• Your producers may be MDRT members or nonmembers.

This opportunity is only available to NAILBA members, and is not to be missed. It is your chance to expose your producers to the wonder, energy and entrepreneurial spirit that is MDRT. It is your chance to strengthen your relationships with those producers and leverage the value you give by introducing them to MDRT. This is your chance to set yourself apart from the rest.

Last year, several of your colleagues had the opportunity to attend the MDRT Annual Meeting and were able to experience first-hand what many members have called a “career changer” and “life-changing.” To see what they are saying about their experience at last year’s MDRT meeting, watch this video.

The MDRT Annual Meeting will be held in Anaheim, California, June 10–13, 2012. You can read more about the Annual Meeting and see a highlights video from the 2011 Annual Meeting here. 

For more information, visit the NAILBA Member Benefits page or www.mdrt.org.  Specific information about the process for this special opportunity is available here.  The pre-registration deadline is May 18 – start making your plans today!

Former NAILBA Chairman Releases New Publication
Former NAILBA Chairman Jack Dewald, CLU, RHU, president and principal of Agency Services, Inc., in Memphis, Tennessee, has just released Ten Sales Concepts to Relish, Remember & Repeat, a booklet describing how to use life insurance to provide security for your clients while securing a relationship with them. Jack’s humor is evident throughout this collection of the most effective ideas that have fueled his successful career.

Seasoned veterans as well as newcomers to the industry will find value in the lessons to be learned here. It’s a great read for home office (and BGA) staff to help them understand what life insurance does (not what it is). Everybody in your contact list will enjoy this book and find something useful to take away to improve their business and business relationships. Multiple copies are available for $15 each.

The best news of all? Jack has generously offered all sales proceeds to benefit the NAILBA Charitable Foundation.

Everybody wins! Click here to download an order form to order your copies today!

LIFE Foundation:  Disability Insurance Awareness Month in May
During Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM), LIFE’s goal is to get Americans thinking about their disability insurance needs and to motivate them to do something to address those needs. LIFE’s efforts include a turnkey planning kit for agents, a microsite (www.protectyourpaycheck.org), web site and blog updates focusing on DI, Disability e-Cards, as well as media and social media outreach. 

For more information, visit www.lifehappens.org/disability-insurance-awareness-month/ or contact Maggie Leyes at mleyes@lifehappens.org.

Advertiser/Exhibitor/Sponsor Corner
Now Out: Exhibitor Newsletters 
On Thursday, April 12 the first issue of the monthly NAILBA newsletter was sent out.  If you did NOT receive this email please contact Sarah O’Hanley at the address below to obtain your copy. Monthly updates will be sent out about NAILBA 31 deadlines, opportunities and changes via email to the main contact only, for each exhibiting and sponsoring company.

If your main contact changes or leaves your organization, please notify Sarah O’Hanley, NAILBA’s Manager of Exhibits, Sponsorships and Advertising, at sohanley@nailba.org as soon as possible so that there is no interruption in communication. Archived newsletters can be found here.

NAILBA 31 Exhibitors: Second Payment Due for Exhibit Space
April 20, this coming Friday, is the deadline to receive the second 25% payment of exhibit rental fee. For questions about your payment status or to receive a copy of your invoice, contact Sarah O’Hanley, Manager of Exhibits, Sponsorships and Advertising at sohanley@nailba.org.

NAILBA 31: Affiliate Meeting Space Requests and Sleeping Room Blocks
Confirmed exhibitors and sponsors at NAILBA 31 are eligible to conduct meetings during NAILBA 31, in the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes. To apply for space, please review the guidelines outlined on the Affiliate Meeting Space/Sleeping Rooms/Suite Request Form.

Click here for suite floor plans and information on the suites available to our group with specifications and pricing.

Please send your completed Affiliate Request form to Rachel Marineau by email (rmarineau@nailba.org) or fax (703.383.6942) as soon as possible. Space is limited and the priority assignment deadline has passed. Notification of approved requests received before the priority deadline will be sent out no later than April 17, 2012. Approved requests will receive an email noting what has been approved, as well as the contact information for the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes so companies may begin their planning process. Please do not contact the hotel directly – the hotel will not honor any requests that have not first been approved by NAILBA.

All requests received after the deadline date will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis pending availability of space. Forms received from non-confirmed and contracted exhibitors and sponsors will not be reviewed.

Questions? Please contact Rachel Marineau, CMP, Manager of Meetings and Education at rmarineau@nailba.org or 703.383.3069 or visit the NAILBA 31 web site for details.

Advertising – ONLINE!
The annual meeting website is available and currently being viewed by prospects interested in NAILBA 31. Place an online advertisement in this area of the NAILBA website AND the main NAILBA.org website for double the exposure and get your message seen by hundreds of prospects repeated times prior to the annual meeting event. Combine your online purchase with a print purchase (Currently selling the July/Aug through Nov/Dec issues) and package discounts can be applied.

To view the full 2012 Online and Print opportunities, please review our 2012 Media Kit.

NAILBA 31 Exhibitor/Sponsor Logos
We are currently updating our files and need a copy of the most current logo for each confirmed exhibitor and sponsor for NAILBA 31! Please send both a JPEG and EPS version of your company logo to Sarah O’Hanley by May 1. We will use this logo in our print and online materials, so the highest resolution image you can provide will result in a more attractive display of your company’s brand.

If you have sent us your updated logo since January 1, 2012, please disregard this outreach. If your logo changes before the NAILBA 31 Annual Meeting, please send us an updated version as soon as possible so we can properly update your records and our files.

Please remit these logos to sohanley@nailba.org or for questions please call 703.383.3076.

NAILBA 31 Exhibit Space
Exhibit space for NAILBA 31 is now available for sale on a first contracted-first sold basis, without regard to past exhibit history. Contact Susan Haning to inquire about available exhibit spaces or visit the NAILBA 31 web site for more information and an exhibit application.

Sponsorships for NAILBA 31 Available
Sponsor opportunities are available now to current exhibitors who were not past sponsors. If you have been eyeing a sponsorship opportunity, now is your chance to book it, before other prospective sponsors have committed to sponsorships. Check out the complete Promotional Opportunities Guide, which includes unique-to-venue sponsorship opportunities for NAILBA 31.

All exhibitors and sponsors were provided with a print version of our consolidated 2012 Promotional Opportunities Guide, which features advertising, exhibits and sponsorship opportunities for the entire calendar year. As always, we are willing and eager to work with you to customize a sponsorship / advertising / exhibit package that maximizes your brand exposure and ensures that your support of the independent wholesale brokerage community is clear and unquestionable.

Attendee Email List 
All exhibitors and sponsors from NAILBA 30 were provided with a final attendee email list. As you know, this list is offered as a benefit to contracted exhibitors and sponsors for one outreach before and one outreach after the meeting.

The one-use policy is designed to provide you, the exhibitor/sponsor, with exposure to all attendees; conversely, it provides attendees with exposure to each exhibitor, but on a controlled scale. In addition, recent email traffic indicates that current exhibitors and sponsors are sharing the list with non-contracted exhibitors and sponsors. This de-values the exhibiting experience for all contracted exhibitors and sponsors, and most especially for attendees who are being contacted by individuals who are not committed to supporting the event.

Please be advised that continued abuse of the list may result in an organizational decision by NAILBA not to provide the list, except for purchase (for an additional fee) by contracted exhibitors and sponsors. As always, thank you for your continued support of NAILBA. We appreciate your commitment to maintaining both the integrity of our meeting and the confidentiality of our attendee contact information.

Referrals: Earn Priority Points 
Would you like to see a certain vendor, Life Settlement Carrier or Life Insurance Carrier at NAILBA 31? Send us their company and contact information and we’ll contact them for possible partnership opportunities with NAILBA. Each lead that you provide, that we don’t already have on our prospect list, will earn one (1) priority point for your company. Leads that turn into contracted sales will be rewarded with five (5) priority points.

Please contact Susan Haning at shaning@nailba.org or 703.383.3068 to discuss any sponsorship, advertising or exhibit questions.