Dakota Advisor
Spring 2009
 Presidents
Message
by Ted Haugan, CFP, LUTCF
Welcome to the Spring edition of Dakota
Advisor. What a winter we’re experiencing, well into this spring
season. Our hearts and prayers go to those members fighting
floodwaters to save their homes and properties.
I want to thank all the members that
made our first ever state convention while the state legislature
was in session early in February in Bismarck such a success.
This was a great convention and the personal contacts with our
respective legislators proved to be very beneficial to the
legislative needs of our members and our industry. Grass root
advocacy was at work and our legislature has delivered all that
we’ve asked for this year. Norbert Mayer has done an outstanding
job of monitoring, lobbying and testifying for our association
this year. Some of these hearings were brutal but Norbert was
always there before, during and after each hearing to see that
the final vote was cast in our favor. Norbert, we all thank you
for your tireless efforts. We need to thank Nancy also for
keeping us abreast of the issues, hearing dates and legislators
involved in industry issues. We thank Terry Weis for his help
during this legislature.
Our congratulations go to Jason Middaugh
from the F/M association as the recipient of the “Advisor of the
Year” for 2008. Keep up the good work Jason.
Membership recruitment and retention
appears to be our immediate need that requires an “all out”
effort at this time. The Minot Association, through the efforts
of President Rick Wallace and membership chair Elaine Shilla, is
the only association exhibiting increased membership. The Minot
association has increased their membership by seven members in
addition to replacing members that did not renew since this
association year began on 7-1-08. This success is attributable
to implementing the membership plan outlined on our state site,
committing to following every detail and finally holding each
committee member accountable. National asked every association
for a 4% membership increase this year and Minot association has
delivered an 11%+ membership increase.
The best part of this issue is; this
process is can be duplicated in each local if the leadership of each
association makes increased membership a priority.
Our next LILI class has not yet begun so
if you are considering growing your business, improving the
person you want to become and looking for a challenge that you
will really enjoy, contact either Jeff Case or Jason Middaugh.
Jason will be the moderator and your group will meet when and
where your group chooses. This is a program developed by
National that will improve your life more than you can imagine.
This has been an exciting year as we
struggle to improve communications, develop teams of leaders
that can work together beneficially and develop leaders for the
future. Streamlining the duties of members and staff can improve
our communications, provide access to information as needed and
improve our results is a time efficient manner.
I want to thank the executive committee,
the state chairpersons, the leaders of each local and Nancy for
their commitment and support this year. Should you have
questions or concerns, please contact me.
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[Sponsor]
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NAIFA-ND 2009 State Convention
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Local
Association Reports
NAIFA-Minot Report
by Rick Wallace, President
NAIFA-Minot continues to build strong
relationships with its legislators by our members attending the
weekly legislative forums that are held throughout the
legislative session. Those of us local members that attend the
forums get a first hand opportunity to talk with our legislators
on upcoming bills that affect our clients and are important to
us as an association. These meetings allow us to further
develop our working relationships with the legislators.
In our March membership meeting, we
presented the “Ethics Plaques” to our new members. Since July
2008, we have signed up nine new members and as of March 30th,
we currently have 69 members. We started the fiscal year with
62 members and our overall net growth as of this fiscal year is
11.3% through March 30, 2009. Our goal for the remainder of the
year is a net growth of 20% over last year. This growth can be
attributed to consistent marketing to prospective members and
regular follow-ups asking to meet and present the NAIFA story to
them. Use of the membership presentation booklet has been
extremely valuable to stay focused on advocacy
In addition to our presentation of plaques
to new members in March, we also held an orientation program for
our new members after the meeting. During the orientation
program, we covered the highlights of advocacy, leadership, and
professional development. Those in attendance found the
information to be useful and informative.
NAIFA
- North Valley
by Gregg Webster,
President
We invited legislators to our meetings last
quarter. This quarter with the Legislature in session, we have
focused on contacting legislators regarding Insurance issues.
Personal invitations were sent to
legislators from NE North Dakota for the Legislator Reception
hosted by NAIFA in Bismarck. Two of our members were present
and also participated in the NAIFA day at the Capitol.
Several legislative forums have taken place
on weekends. Various members have attended.
We have also had several members participate in writing letters
to their Senators and Representatives.
NAIFA -
Roughrider
by LeeAnn Galster,
President
Like all of North
Dakota this year, we have had an overwhelming abundance of snow!
(This is coming from someone who's license plate says "SNO4ME"
on it).
The weather has
given us some challenges getting around but we were able to have
regular January and February meetings. We held a new member
orientation at our February meeting -Sam Pasicznyk and Cliff
Weiler did a wonderful job giving us some history lessons on how
our local began over 30 years ago. Our March meeting got
canceled due to March blizzard #1 and so did the Limo Trip to
Deadwood. We have gained one more new member for the year and
are actively recruiting.
We had a great
turnout at State Convention (Cliff Weiler, Dee Stroh, Todd Otto,
LeeAnn Galster, Rick Tabert, Lyle Berndt, Sam Pasicznyk, Frank
Greff and Monty Zins) and had a wonderful time.
We got to meet and greet lots of state legislators, spend time
with fellow members and do a little shopping.
Great Job Convention Committee!
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AHIA
by Pat Saltsman, Chair
What
a year we have had. I don't think I need to mention the BC/BS
issue as the papers have covered it quite well. "Let the
sleeping dog lie" I think is the saying. It will be
interesting to see how the issue is resolved though. I
know BC/BS wants to work "with " the insurance department from
now on, so I see that as a very positive thing.
The
Long Term Care Bill 1209 has passed both the House and
Senate. This will give a $250 tax
credit to those policyholders who have a Partnership Long Term
Care Policy. The fiscal note being smaller than the last
attempts to get this credit passed was a big plus. Jonathan Spilde, Norbert Mayer and Nancy Buechler have spent numerous
hours at the capitol testifying, so a big thanks goes to them
for all the time they have dedicated to get this bill passed.
Those
of you who have not joined AHIA really need to think about
joining as AHIA takes a lead role within the NAIFA federation
with the NAIC on federal issues which impact members concerned
with employee benefits, health, disability or long-term care
insurance as well as Section 125 Plans and COBRA
administration. If any agent is involved in those areas,
your membership is needed. In the state of ND we only have 35
members. 35!! I bet there are more than that who are invovled
in the areas mentioned above. With Health Care Reform being on
the top of Obama's Agenda, now is the time to get involved and
lead the way.
Dues
are $120/yr. to support your career, industry and be a leader.
My goal is to have 43 members by the time my term of state AHIA
chair is over in June. If every association would get ONE agent
to sign up between now and then we would be very close to that
goal. Missouri Slope signed a new one up last month, so to the
other associations the challenge is on!!!!
APIC
by Jim Simons, Chair
I am still missing some of the APIC
reports. If you haven’t turned yours in, please do so ASAP. I
have sent out a list of Legislative Forums from the City
Chambers of Commerce who replied to my request. Make sure that
your members take advantage of speaking to their legislators
when they return home for the weekends. We have been very
active in Minot. We have had 3-5 members at each of the five
meetings that have been held in Minot. If your community is not
sponsoring these Forums or only one or two, talk to them about
sponsoring more. I hope everyone has started building stronger
relationships with their Legislators. Let’s keep up the good
work of advocating for our citizens of North Dakota. I believe
we as a State Organization have been very effective this
season. We only have a few weeks to go. MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!
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Government
Relations
by Norbert Mayer, Chair
The 2009 ND Legislative Session was a very
successful session for NAIFA-ND. I will report on the six bills
on which we took official positions at the February 2nd
State Board Meeting.
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HB 1209 providing a $250 tax credit on the ND 1 Tax Form
for every individual who pays at least a $250 yearly premium on
a Partnership Qualified Long Term Care Insurance plan purchased
after January 1, 2007, passed the House on a 68 to 25 vote and
then received a unanimous 45 to 0 vote in the Senate.
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HB 1284, intending to replace the Stranger Originated
Life Insurance (STOLI) legislation adopted in 2007 and modeled
after the National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL)
model bill, was amended to include our positions from HB 1397.
With those amendments we supported the bill and it passed the
House unanimously. The Senate made some additional amendments
and passed it unanimously. At this time the House has not acted
on the Senate amendments but we feel confident that it will
again be approved in the House.
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HB 1397 introduced by Representative Kasper to amend and
strengthen the STOLI bill was ultimately amended into HB 1284
and then defeated in the House because it was no longer a
necessary piece of legislation.
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SB 2276 mandating that the anticipated loss ratios for
health insurance plans be disclosed to the consumer at the
initial policy application and at any time the plan’s premium
changes thereafter was defeated in the Senate on a vote of
18-27.
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SB 2306 introduced by Blue Cross/Blue Shield would have
placed severe limitations on the Insurance Commissioner’s
authority to regulate premium rates. This bill passed 36 to 11
in the Senate and then requested to be defeated by the sponsors
before a hearing on the House side and ultimately failed on a
1-91 vote.
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SB 2330 would have prohibited the use of credit scores in
connection with insurance underwriting. This bill was defeated
in the Senate on a 16 to 29 vote.
Other bills which will affect our insurance
business are:
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HB 1068 would have increased the amount of required
liability coverage for proof of financial responsibility for
motor vehicles and motor cycles. The bill passed the House on a
51 – 43 vote and was ultimately defeated in the Senate on a 16
to 31 vote.
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HB 1136 permits the Insurance Commissioner to adopt rules
for filing required documents electronically and to charge a
filing fee not to exceed $20.00 or the actual fee charged by the
processor. None of the filing fees are retained by the
Department. The House passed this bill unanimously and the
Senate approved it 45 to 1.
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HB 1142 eliminates the Rule of 85 which exempted
insurance agents whose age and years of service equaled or
exceeded 85 from the continuing education requirements. Agents
meeting the Rule of 85 requirements by January 1, 2010 are
grandfathered under the old rule. Both the House and Senate
approved this bill unanimously.
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HB 1192 changes the due date of the current biennial
continuing education reporting requirement from January 31st
to your birth month. Additional rules to implement this
legislation will be put forth by the Department. This bill
passed the house on a 85 to 4 vote and passed the Senate
unanimously.
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HB 1477 increases the designated pre-need funeral service
contract from a $5000 maximum to $6000 when an individual is
being considered for Medicaid eligibility. The House amended
the bill from $7,000 down to $6,000 and passed the bill 88 to
4. The Senate passed the amended bill unanimously.
These results have been achieved through a
great deal of team efforts. Thank you to all who were part of
this effort.
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Representative Jim Kasper for sponsoring HB 1397, working
with Representative Keiser to craft the most comprehensive STOLI
Legislation and for his constant advise and guidance with the
legislative process.
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Association Exec., Nancy Buechler and her staff for
tracking and reporting progress on the bills, assistance in
preparing testimony, and keeping the process moving forward.
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Our NAIFA-ND Exec. Committee for their input with regard
to the bills we needed to track and helping to better understand
the issues.
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The ND Insurance, Human Services and Tax Departments.
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Shelly Peterson and the ND Long Term Care Assn. for
excellent testimony in support of the long term care issue.
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Jonathan Spilde and Gene Schmidt from SIA Marketing for
their testimony on the long term care issues and getting their
agents to contact legislators
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The ND Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) for their
support of our common interests.
All of our NAIFA-ND members who sat in on committee hearings
and/or contacted their Senator and Representatives to solicit
their support of our issues. When the issues get heated and
fiercely debated, our Senators and Representatives look for and
accept guidance from their constituents.
A Note from Representative Kasper
The effort to pass both the LTC bill and
the STOLI update bill, --HB 1284, was a joint effort, with you
and your colleagues with NDAIFA playing a key role. I am happy
that I have the position of ND Legislator, to be able to work in
the Legislature as one of the Legislators, to help pass
important legislation such as these two bills.
With the passage of HB 1284, ND now has
the distinction of having the most comprehensive, best bill in
the nation that deals with STOLI regulation, as well as all Life
Settlement regulation.
Rep. Jim Kasper
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Membership
Report
by Jason Middaugh, Chair
Regardless what part of North Dakota you’re
in it has been an interesting month or so. It looks like the
end is near for those of us up and down the valley. Hopefully
it will end well. I hope everyone will come out or came out of
the flooding alright. As the end of the NAIFA year ends we
still have a ways to go to meet our membership goals.
Currently we have 459 members within the
state. Our goal is 511. We have 52 members to go. Membership
is not limited to your local membership chair, or your local
board. It includes all of us who are members. If you know
someone who isn’t a member invite him/her to your local lunch
meeting. Or give their name to your local board so they can
contact them.
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Afghanistan Relief
(Loading packages to be shipped to Afghanistan)
Dear NAIFA Members,
I am happy to report that after 8 months my husband is home
from Afghanistan. Running this program provided us great topics
for discussion. The common bond helped us while he was gone. He
continues to give me advice in matters and help with the
project. Recently he helped organize a volunteer day when Airmen
from his Maintenance Group, 91MXG will volunteer sorting and
packing donated items. We are hoping to make this a bi-monthly
event. The Airman’s Attic continues to provide me with
storage space and materials. Many of their volunteers helped me
with my last shipment when they had some free time. They have
been a real blessing. I was very excited about our last
shipment. It was filling a request from an Airman from Minot.
His wife (who had previously deployed to Afghanistan) helped
with planning and shipping. He is in an area the VCR does
not serve (Kandahar). The aid we sent will be given out at a
special party they are planning for the local residents. It
included school supplies, clothing and toys. The village is made
up of the Afghan police force (and their families) working with
our military. They live in this area (not their homes) to be
protected from the Taliban. This made me especially grateful
that we could help. We all too often forget others who have
their lives put at risk (and not just soldiers, but family
members). In all, we sent over 27 boxes ranging from 3-30 lbs.
It was extremely exciting to have a very generous donation from
our Minot Scheel’s Store sent with this shipment. They
donated 10 soccer balls and a soccer net. I know the children
will be thrilled. A big “THANK YOU” goes out to Don
Doescher (Fargo) and Kelly Bossert (Minot) of Scheel’s Sporting
Goods for their generous donation. Their donation and yours,
allowed me to send a shipment far beyond the Airman’s
expectations. I am promised that their will be pictures! I
hope everyone has a great holiday and thank you once again for
allowing me to have this amazing opportunity.
Cindi Bair
(Lt Col Bair separating boxes from North Dakota at Camp
Eggers, Afghanistan)
Trustee Corner
Trustee Corner
Even in the Dead of
Winter….The “Grass” Needs to be Tended
Juli McNeely, LUTCF, CFP, CLU
It has been said
that preparation is half the battle and that is exactly what
NAIFA and several other industry groups are doing…proactively
preparing for the potential tax battle. A coalition of industry
groups have joined together and created a website (www.securefamily.org)
that will be used in educating Congress as to the impact of any
potential change in the tax status of insurance products. They
will be implementing a targeted ad campaign “inside the beltway”
so that they attempt to reach anyone who might be in a position
to influence or make a decision regarding the tax advantages of
the products we sell. Check out this site today!
So how can each of
us be proactive? How can we help? There is no better time to
make sure that NAIFA’s “grass” is tended!!! According to
Wikipedia, “a grassroots movement (often referenced in
the context of a
political movement)
is one driven by the
constituents
of a community. The term implies that the creation of the
movement and the group supporting it is natural and spontaneous,
highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is
orchestrated by traditional power structures.” This is not the
time to assume that someone else will do it for you. We need
every single member (and perhaps even every one of our clients)
to be ready to defend the benefits of insurance products. Our
“grass” needs to be well manicured and we must get prepared
immediately.
So what can
you do TODAY to get prepared?
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Respond to NAIFA Action Alerts
on legislation affecting your business. It is essential that
every member participates. Let your voice be heard!
Our legislators listen!
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Sign up as a legislative
contact for NAIFA (if you personally know a member of
Congress). See the current
Legislative Contact List.
Sign up online
Download the
printable sign up form
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Serve as a Federal Senate or
House Coordinator and hold regular meetings in the district
with your legislator.
No question,
we are much stronger if we all work together. I am excited to
be your Trustee Liaison for 2008/09. Please feel free to
contact me at 715.659.4255 or
juli@mcneelyfinancial.com
with any comments or concerns. Here’s to a great year for NAIFA
and for each of you in your practices!
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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NAIFA-North Dakota - 1811 East Thayer Avenue - PO
Box 5010 - Bismarck, ND 58502 (701) 258-9525
info@naifa-nd.org
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