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.

Questions about your membership renewal? Contact Kathy Allison, Director of Membership and the Foundation, at kallison@nailba.org or 703.383.3072.

WIFS Survey
In order to support the advancement of women, it is important that we understand the career paths of female financial professionals. Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS) has developed a survey  to collect information about what makes women successful in our industry.  With the information collected, they intend to develop programs to attract new female associates as well as develop and advance women as a whole.

The survey has been designed to be completely anonymous. All of the information compiled will be used in future publications to promote women in the insurance and financial services industry. WIFS appreciates your support and commitment to the advancement of women of in the industry.

Deadline for survey completion is April 20.

Wanted: New Members
Now that you’ve renewed your membership, can you think of others in the BGA community who would benefit from NAILBA membership?  Now is a great time to invite them to join!

A letter of recommendation from a current NAILBA member agency principal accompanying a new membership application is recommended, not mandatory, but it sure goes a long way to smooth out the review and approval process. Who better than you to recommend a fellow BGA to get the NAILBA advantage? It’s as easy as forwarding  this link to someone you think would benefit from membership and offering to write a letter of recommendation.

If you have recommended NAILBA membership to someone, please contact Kathy Allison, Director of Membership and the Foundation at kallison@nailba.org or 703.383.3072, so that she can follow up.

Honors and Achievements
The Atlanta chapter of the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors (NAIFA-Atlanta) has again recognized Seixas G. “Chad” Milner III of NAILBA member agency The Milner Group with its “Top Advisors Under 40” award. This award recognizes excellence and achievement in the Insurance and Financial Services field measuring business production, years in business, and community involvement for professionals 40 years of age and younger. 

Candidates consisted of insurance and financial professionals throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area, nominated by their peers or business associates.  Final recipients were chosen by a panel of NAIFA-Atlanta board members and will be honored at a luncheon on Wednesday, April 11, 2012.

Congratulations, Chad!

Legislative Update
Capitol Hill Update
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Republican Caucus’ FY2013 Budget Proposal by a 228-191 vote, mostly along party lines.  The Republican budget proposal includes $5.3 trillion in spending cuts, including cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, in addition to some tax cuts and increases in defense spending.  Ten Republicans voted in the negative, believing the Republican budget proposal does not go far enough in cutting Federal spending.  The bill is not expected to pass, as both the Obama Administration and Senate Democrats are against the bill due to the proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

Congress is currently in recess for the Easter holiday and will reconvene the week of April 16.

Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI) Convenes for First Time
The FACI, tasked with advising the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) on insurance regulatory matters, convened for the first time in Washington, DC on Friday, March 30.  The Committee appointed Brian Duperreault, President and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies as its Chairman.  The FACI will convene a few times per year to help provide direction to the FIO’s mission.

To learn more about the FIO and FACI, visit the U.S. Treasury’s website.

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.

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!

LIFE Foundation:  Disability Insurance Awareness Month in May
To help you and your producers prepare for Disability Insurance Awareness Month in May, LIFE is sponsoring the free, hour-long webinar “Take Your DI Sales to the Next Level” on April 12 at 1 p.m. EDT. Top disability insurance producers and experts in the field will help you:

• Learn how not to leave business on the table by helping clients find the money, with DIAM spokesperson Sarah Rieger, CFP, CLU, CHFC, of Fulcrum Financial Group.
• Start using three sure-fire ways to begin the DI conversation—pick the one that best fits your client, with John Nichols, president of Disability Resource Group and NAIFA secretary.
• Connect the dots with clients about their true risk of disability and have them answer the important question, “Where would the money come from?” with Barry Lundquist, president of The Council for Disability Awareness.
• Help small-business owners get the disability insurance  coverage they need, with Brent Kimball, CFP, ChFC, CLU, of A1 Freedom Financial.

Plus: Learn about the free turnkey tools and resources that the LIFE Foundation has for producers to quickly pull together an effective DIAM campaign (without too much effort!).

Register at www.lifehappens.org/diamwebinar  or contact Maggie Leyes at mleyes@lifehappens.org for more information.

Advertiser/Exhibitor/Sponsor Corner
Coming Soon: Exhibitor Newsletters
Starting this month, NAILBA will be sending monthly updates 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. Exhibitor newsletters will also be archived on the NAILBA 31 web site.

NAILBA 31 Exhibitors: Second Payment Due for Exhibit Space
April 20 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 at www.nailba.org/nailba31 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.