President's Message

Sponsors

Local Reports

2009 State Convention
 

APIC

AHIA

Government Relations

Membership

IFAPAC

Volunteers Wanted

Presidents Message
by Ted Haugan, CFP, LUTCF

 Welcome to the most colorful season of the year. As the leaves turn color and fall off the trees we need to be mindful that 25% of our association year is already past. Hopefully every association has a plan for this year and is working their plan to improve their association, provide advocacy for our clients and provide capital to strengthen the U.S. economy.

   Our next state board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 14^th in Jamestown at a location to be announced.

   This is the perfect time to be meeting, helping and funding local candidates in preparation of the November election. The candidates we elect are representing the citizens of North Dakota so it is in our best interest to get to know these people as well as we can so we can call upon them when we have an issue that we want them to support.

   Speaking of candidates, the legislature will begin debating the future of our fine state. I am told the STOLI bill will be again examined as I am told that two new versions will be introduced and we may again be called upon to uphold the honor of our products against abuses.

   This year on February 2^nd we will begin our first ever winter state convention starting that evening by hosting a legislative reception at the Radisson Hotel in Bismarck. The convention begins at noon on February 2^nd and ends at noon on February 4^th. If you expect your legislators to represent you, your business and your clients best interest, you need to be at this legislative reception.

   As you know membership is the lifeblood and future of our association and Industry. We have five new members so far this year thanks to the Grand Forks and Fargo association members. Membership recruitment and retention is every members responsibility and we need to get this done before the state convention in February.

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[Sponsor]

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NAIFA-ND 2009 State Convention Update
by Al Fabricius

 This is the first of many communications dealing with the 2009 NAIFA-ND Annual convention.  As the details of the convention are being identified there are a few VERY IMPORTANT things to remember.

 First      "THE DATES"    THE DATES ARE FEBRUARY 2,3,4

            "THE WHERE"  BISMARCK  THE RADISSON

            "THE WHY"  FUN, PROFESSIONAL GROWTH, CE, AND, NAIFA-ND ON THE HILL

 Now here is the deal:

 Monday, February 2^nd
            Afternoon registration
            Legislation Update (CE)

            Legislative Reception

 Tuesday, February 3^rd
                        Morning - State of Economy  Local, State, Federal
                        Legislator Panel   (pending bills)
                        CE hour
                        Afternoon  NAIFA-ND on the Hill  (what an education)  with the help of
                         certain Legislators,  this is going to be a fantastic experience for one and all.
                        Evening - IFAPAC/Freedom Builders Fun Night  (details later)

 Wednesday, February 4^th
                        Morning - Annual meetings (NAIFA-ND/ FIC/ FC)

                        Lunch - Annual Awards Banquet
                        Afternoon  Go Home

 Obviously there will be many more details coming including registration fees etc but rest assured, this will be an experience you cannot afford to miss

 MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW!!!!

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Local Association Reports

NAIFA - Fargo Moorhead
by Traver Silbernagel, President

 The Fargo/Moorhead assoc. is off to a fantastic start to our year. We are moving forward with a very aggressive membership goal. In our first full meeting we had our luncheon sponsored by John Hancock. Our guest speaker was NPL candidate for insurance commissioner Jasper Schneider. Since our last article the Natl. convention was held in San Diego and Fargo/Moorhead has 4 members that sit on National boards. Dave Middaugh, Julie Phillips, Elaine Fremling, and Keith Phillips represent North Dakota on National level and FMAIFA is very proud of these members.

NAIFA-Lake Region Report
by Kim Zinke, President

Lake Region resumed their monthly meetings on Tues. Sept. 9th. Monthly meetings are not held during the summer months.  The September meeting began with an one hour Ethics course that was led by Judge Foughty.

 NAIFA-Minot Report
by Rick Wallace, President

 We have gotten off to a good start for 2008-2009 with having all committee chairs filled and a “Plan of Activities” for the year completed.  Our main focus for the upcoming year will be “Advocacy” and “Membership” recruitment and retention.  NAIFA-Minot has created a membership presentation booklet that was presented at the September board meeting and a booklet passed out to each board and committee member.  At the October meeting, a presentation will be made on how to use the presentation booklet in an actual recruitment presentation.  In addition, October has been designated as “Membership Recruitment” month and our efforts will be directed at signing up new members during the month of October.  Also, we have invited the local legislatures to our October membership meeting and will host our annual legislative forum during this meeting. Our local goal for members this year is 70 and we hope to have this goal completed by the end of December 2008.

 NAIFA - Missouri Slope
by Michael Baron, President

2008-2009 will be a dynamic year for Missouri Slope NAIFA. Education and Advocacy will become top priorities for our association.

 Members who have not been actively participating in meetings will be encouraged to attend by visits or phone calls.

 We will make certain all of our meetings are of the highest quality and importance for our members. In addition to high quality speakers and education, special attention will be given to teaching our members the value of being involved with IFAPAC, Freedom Builders and other advocacy methods.

 Last but not least, we will be raising our membership with different recruiting methods with special emphasis on getting top managers or agents from various agencies that are not now involved with NAIFA. By raising the quality of the product we deliver to our membership, by increasing the awareness of our members regarding our political clout via advocacy, and by increasing our overall numbers, we will make great strides towards becoming a model association. Hard work and dedication will be required to make this a reality.

 NAIFA - North Valley
by Gregg Webster, President

We had a presentation at the beginning of the Insurance Commissioners Forum and a NAIFA Social following.  A financial incentive was offered for those who joined that evening.

We are planning to include local Legislators at both our October and December meeting.

NAIFA - Roughrider
by LeeAnn Galster, President

Roughrider Association has been granted a magnificent reward.  For every member recruited, the recruiter shall receive a $50 reward. If the new recruit donates more than $25 to IFAPAC and $25 Freedom Builders then the recruiter receives another $50 reward. We encourage our current members to bring new recruits into our CE hour and lunch.  We look forward to our members reaping some extra benefits by recruiting new members this year.

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AHIA
by Pat Saltsman, Chair

 As the new state AHIA chair, it is my responsibility to  be a liaison between the local association AHIA chairs and the state board, to promote AHIA's objectives on the state and local level, be a legislative and Public Relations Advocate and help local associations in educational programming and Professional development.  With that said, I will be contacting all local AHIA chairs  and Professional Development chair on a quarterly basis to address any issues within this framework and keep them informed on current events.

 ’08 Health Care Debate

Both presidential nominees have proposed tax policy changes that significantly redesign the health care landscape. Their proposals are categorized into the good, the bad and the vague below:

First the good:

Obama

1. Maintains traditional group coverage
2. Increases health technology
3. Calls for chronic disease management & wellness programs
4. Malpractice reform

McCain

1. Retains same tax exclusion for employers
2. Promotes Guaranteed Access Plan (GAP) similar to 34 existing state high risk pools
3. Expands HSAs
4. Increases health technology
5. Calls for chronic disease management & wellness programs
6. Malpractice reform

Now for the not so good and the vague:

Obama

1. Prohibits coverage denial due to pre-existing conditions
2. Creates new public insurance program
3. Creates a “Play or Pay” mandate
4. Does not support HSAs
5. Expands coverage options for children, including raising the national dependent age to 25
6. Imposes “strict” limits on loss ratios
7. Gives states flexibility to experiment with reform

McCain

1. Replaces existing tax exemptions for employer-sponsored health care with a refundable health care tax credit - $2500/individuals, $5,000/families
2. Allows Association Health Plans
3. Cross-state selling
4. Gives states flexibility to experiment with reform

Both candidates’ proposals will present significant challenges, but Sen. McCain’s approach seems less dangerous — at least at this point. Primarily because many of the concerning elements of his proposal will not likely be acceptable to the democratically controlled Congress. 

Additional information can be found in the freshly minted Democrat and Republican policy platforms.

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Political Involvement Committee
by Jim Simons, Chair

The Elections are only a month away.  I hope people are out supporting their favorite candidates.  I was not able to accomplish the conference call I had planned for my local APIC Chairs, but I was able to send them an email listing the districts that each local is responsible for.  I am asking that they start updating the ND Legislative Contact List that can be found on the naifa-nd.org web site.  We can update the Odd numbered districts now, as they are not up for election.  I ask that the Even numbered districts be updated and forwarded to Nancy by 11 November 2008.  I hope your associations are scheduling legislative days between your members and your local representatives.  Thanks in advance your updating your Legislative Contact List.

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 Government Relations
by Norbert Mayer, Chair

President Ted Haugan, Nancy, Jonathan Spilde, Gene Schmidt and I met with Representative Todd Porter, Senator Dwight Cook and representatives of the ND Insurance and Human Services Departments to discuss a bill draft proposal to establish a tax credit for Long Term Care Insurance (LTC) premiums on the ND short Tax Form.

Legislative action in 1993 provided for a $100 tax credit for LTC insurance premiums on the long tax form. Since then, numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made to get that credit moved over to the short form. The major obstacles for approval have been the fiscal note (7.8 million dollars in 2007) and a great deal of reluctance to add additional credits to the short form.

 Representative Porter will have a bill drafted to request a $250 tax credit on the short form for “Qualified Partnership Plans.” These are the LTC plans issued after January 1, 2007 and including the proper inflation options. For additional information, I refer you to the ND Department of Human Services memo of March 18, 2008. You can find this memo by going to:  http://www.nd.gov/ndins/pdf/714/im-5031-long-term-care-partnership.pdf

 I urge you to meet with your ND State Senator and Representatives to make them aware of these plan provisions and urge them to support this legislation as an incentive for more North Dakotans to purchase LTC insurance and save Medicaid dollars in the future.

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 Membership Report
by Jason Middaugh, Chair

We are just starting our state membership drive.  We are lucky enough to have to Co-State Membership Chairs, Todd Otto of Dickinson and Bonnie Baglien of Grand Forks.  Our state is going to have good membership year.

 I’ve contacted all the local membership chairs and feel very confident in the ones that are in place.  We still need membership chairs for Grand Forks and Bismarck and hopefully will fill them shortly.  In talking to the local membership chairs it became obvious to me that they are motivated and they will have successful years.  I look forward to assisting them anyway I can.

 Recruiting and retaining members has always been one of the most important aspects of NAIFA, this year is no different.  If we don’t have members we decrease our ability to have influence on legislation both on a state and national level.  We need that now more than ever.  If you look at what is happening in Washington, D.C. right now you can see that they are going to need to find sources of revenue to offset the massive spending that is happening.  We need to make sure that revenue doesn’t come from the products we sell our clients.  We owe it to our clients to protect the products we sold them.

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Volunteers Wanted - No Experience Necessary

Volunteers are at the heart of NAIFA-ND’s existence. The only way we can fulfill our promise to provide exceptional value and service is because of the time and knowledge volunteered by members like you to serve your colleagues and to further the insurance and financial services profession.

 Volunteer opportunities with NAIFA-ND exist within many different areas of interest and on varying levels of commitment: from participation with short term projects, to our highest level of commitment as an active member of a NAIFA-ND state committee or state officer.

 If you would like to see what opportunities we have available, please visit our web to learn about committees and other organizational activities to which you can volunteer your time, or visit with a current officer of the association.

 We would welcome your expertise and enthusiasm and hope you will take the time to participate as a volunteer - you will discover the many rewards of volunteering. If you would like someone to contact you, please complete this form

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 IFAPAC

Dear NAIFA Member:

 With the change of power in the House and Senate in 2007,our industry is under attack. Our new enemy is the “Paygo Rule”. If spending is to increase then new revenue must be found. Our industry has a big target on its back. These are figures from the October 15, 2007 issue of Frontline, “ A Chilling Read: Tax Expenditures List”.  This will show you the amount of revenue the Federal government is not getting from our industry from 2007 to 2011. The total is 2 trillion 700.8 billion dollars or 675 billion per year loss in tax revenue. Please look at the totals by category and think about how this would effect the way you do business today. 

 NAIFA and IFAPAC continue the battle against the Tax Reform Plan or Paygo for the taxation of cash value in life insurance, annuities and other issues including the “death tax. This fight requires dollars and these dollars come from your IFAPAC contributions. In the political process, we can be a “Player” or the “Victim”. Remember your contribution to the PAC is your insurance premium for job security. We must continue to call, send faxes, letters or emails. Most important are your dollars to IFAPAC. Dollars win elections and influence the political process on a national and state level. Political candidates will be looking for election funds and our PAC must be a “Player”. As a member of NAIFA, you must also be a “Player”. Being a “Player” means contributing to the PAC. Sitting on the sidelines might make us a “Victim”.

 What do you like most about your profession? How would the taxation of cash values affect the way you do business? Would $8.50, $10, or $20 a month make a difference in their life style? Please complete the Three Ways to Give to IFAPAC form and mail your check, credit card or bank draft to the address shown on the bottom of the form.

 Thank you,

Walt Trammell & Diane Kelly, NAIFA-SC IFAPAC Co- Chairs 

 Members and colleagues,
 
It is time that those of you that are not members or current members of IFAPAC contribute to our cause. I thought the above letter from our friends from Greenville was important enough to share with you.  I take it serious and I know that you will too.
 
Please help in our efforts in protecting the contracts, promises, that our clients have and hopefully will continue to buy.
 
Sincerely,
 
Jaford Burgad
State IFAPAC Chair
 

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