An Independent Assessor’s IMSA Journey
(Reprint from NAILBA, 1998) Kenneth J. Kalis, CLU, certified IMSA assessor and President of KJKC

IMSA, like life, is what you make it. Some see it as a bunch of hoops to jump through to stay competitive with the pack. Others see it as means of cleaning up the image of life insurers, recently tarnished by scandals. Still others see it as a golden opportunity to strengthen the ethical and marketing culture of their company and solidify customer relationships.

Of course, there is truth in each one of these. Most of us come to see IMSA in one light and then proceed to deeper understandings. I came to IMSA after a 21-year career with Prudential, then, the nation’s largest life insurer. My career was spent entirely working in individual insurance operations, and was capped by 5-year stint looking at process-improvement as a way of building customer relationships.

It was from this context that I first began focusing on ethical market conduct in the insurance industry in 1994. At that time I had the opportunity to give some recommendations to the ACLI’s CEO panel charged with looking at the ethical market conduct situation. I felt that the approach was sound but recommended some changes. One was a "live" field test of the questionnaire with some willing companies. Another was a greater sensitivity to the different types of distribution systems companies used.

I was then asked to participate in the field test for three of the companies. This involved visiting the companies and asking how they would answer the questions. This was a great exercise in diversity. The first company I visited was a direct marketer. For them, the question dealing with sales illustrations was too narrow. It had to be broadened to include all sales materials not simply illustrations.

The second company marketed its products through over 100,000 independent agents and brokers. Here it became clear that the communication with and the monitoring of such a large and independent field force required methods and policies that were significantly different from those that would be used with a career agency distribution system.

The third company was primarily a career agency company. In fact, it operated through a good number of independent agents as well. This meant that there would be need to be different assessment standards within the same company when there were different distribution channels. This, of course, is how many companies do operate, and it added another dimension to the process in terms of assessment criteria.

The recommendations to the ACLI from the field pilot were that changes needed to be made to the questionnaire to broaden it and include indicators that would be appropriate for these different marketing systems. The concept of continuous improvement was also strongly endorsed, so that IMSA would not just serve as a one-time crisis management tool but become a vehicle for building public trust and a tool for fostering ethical marketing. Virtually all of these recommendations were accepted, and I thought my IMSA journey was nearly over. Actually, it had just begun.

Support for IMSA (as yet un-named) was building, and I went to work developing an IMSA Self-Assessment seminar for delivery on-site to companies. I first delivered this one-day seminar to 18 people from a group of midwestern companies in June of 1996, launching the companies’ IMSA team training and my IMSA consulting career.

That was around the same time that I created a quarterly newsletter devoted exclusively to IMSA issues. Soon after I began relationships with two large eastern mutuals, and it became clear that IMSA was going to grow.

These were exciting days for me, and I was learning more and more about how different companies approached and managed ethical market conduct issues. Fortunately, I was able to put some of these experiences to good use on IMSA’s Assessment Handbook and Training teams. I was pleased that there was some representation on these teams of companies that marketed through brokers and independent agents. Two or three very large brokerage companies have been supporting IMSA from its earliest stages, and they continue to be outspoken proponents in the public arena of this approach to strengthen ethical market conduct within the brokerage community.

While I had some experience with brokerage and direct response marketing, most of my experience had been with career agents. I felt the need to create a widespread team of life insurance and annuity professionals to help conduct the IMSA assessments. Through a national recruitment drive, I identified only people who had the life insurance experience necessary to become IMSA certified assessors. Then I trained them in how to do an assessment with an eye towards continuous improvement and worked with them in three or four person teams to conduct independent assessments.

But there was also a need to work with companies on their self-assessments. One great opportunity arose in March of 1997 when a large southern company asked me to facilitate the self-assessment of their independent marketing organizations’ distribution channel. In a very concentrated time, I was able to help them complete their self-assessment for this distribution channel and use it as a model for five of its other distribution systems.

Here was a real opportunity to look at the key differences between the independent marketing organizations and the career operations. Of course, the first major distinction is in the area of training. Career agency operations must provide training for their agents while brokerage operations must make training available to their distributors. This is fairly straight forward, but the sticky questions come in defining just what criteria will satisfy the "make-available" definition, and, stickier still is how to determine adequate deployment and monitoring.

The second major distinction comes under the supervision, where companies distributing through independents are given specific criteria to satisfy the supervision requirement. These are clearly set forth in the IMSA questionnaire and include distributor selection, licensing, contracting and training criteria and, of course, monitoring. While this should give great comfort to brokerage people, there is no stipulation as to whose responsibility it is to oversee all of these, the company’s or the General Agents’. Different companies have taken different approaches, and I have worked with companies who followed each approach to satisfy the "approach, deployment and monitoring" indicators that lead to IMSA membership.

Communicating these provisions for independents has not always been easy. While there are some brokerage companies who are strongly on board, some times sparks really flew. At one large company where I was presenting our "Orientation to Self-Assessment" seminar to 25 people, someone stood up and shouted, "But you don’t understand! This just doesn’t apply to Brokerage operations!" There was a very strong perception in that company that IMSA was trying to squeeze brokerage companies into a career agency mold and threatening the independence that is the keystone of the brokerage concept.

I found this again at other brokerage companies. But as I worked with the people, explaining the provisions IMSA had intentionally established for companies marketing through independent intermediaries, the resistance changed into a new understanding of the IMSA assessment process, and people who had been animated against IMSA now become IMSA proponents.

Just after mid-year, the independent assessments began. I was pleased to be a part of the IMSA team that admitted the first two IMSA members, both brokerage companies. Using a team-assessment approach, we put together team members with expertise in the company’s distribution system and drew them, whenever possible, from the company’s geographical region. The team approach also enabled us to conduct an independent assessment in one week per distribution channel.

The last half of 1997 was filled with independent assessments for some 15 companies, some with multiple distribution systems. At the same time, I continued to work with 10 companies on their self-assessments and provided training for 12 companies just beginning their self-assessments. I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to work with so many fine companies, representing over 35 distribution systems. My conviction is that their management sees IMSA not just as a series of hoops to jump through, but as a real opportunity for improvement – improvement of their ethical market culture and strengthening of their relationships with their customers.

But our work is not done. IMSA is not a one-shot deal. Although many major companies are now IMSA members, many companies are still not there. Some have decided to wait and see, other have stronger reservations. In particular, there continue to be some reservations from people in the brokerage community. There is apprehension on their part that IMSA does not address itself specifically to their unique needs.

Some of this apprehension will be relieved when there is a fuller understanding that IMSA does indeed recognize the uniqueness of brokerage distribution. This will become clearer as more brokerage companies join IMSA. IMSA is NOT trying to force brokerage people into a relationship that would jeopardize the brokers’ status as independents. Distinct training and supervision approaches to address the unique brokerage situation are prominent in the Assessment Handbook and other IMSA materials, as I have mentioned above. But, they are prominent there because people from brokerage companies made sure they were, by giving of their time to the process so that all brokerage companies would benefit.

There are countless other opportunities for involvement for people from companies who see IMSA as an opportunity to improve their companies and the industry’s image. We can do this by working together, by continuously improving as the IMSA journey goes on.

I trust that the readers of this article will move forward on two fronts to improve ethical market conduct. First, that you will get more involved in the industry efforts to encourage IMSA membership by raising your concerns with IMSA, offering to take part in the on-going discussions to address the specific needs of your distribution system and of your customers. Second, that you will encourage your company to move ahead on the IMSA journey to strengthen the ethical market conduct culture of your company and of our industry – to rebuild the trust that is at the heart of our business.

 

The Kenneth J. Kalis Company, Inc.
With associates in:

Boston, MA Charlotte, NC Chicago, IL Denver, CO
Hartford, CT Houston, TX Kansas City, MO Minneapolis, MN
New Orleans, LA New York, NY Orlando, FL Philadelphia, PA
Portland, ME San Diego, CA Springfield, IL Tampa, FL
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Push

As you all know by now, we like to close with a non-IMSA human-interest item, inspirational or amusing or both. I appreciate the excellent materials that some of you have sent me and publish most that are "publishable" (some are not!). It is unusual that two of you send me the same thing, but that happened with the following piece, called PUSH

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and the Savior appeared.The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.

The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day.

For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Since the man was showing signs of discouragement, the Adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary mind: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it."

Thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough."

And that is what he planned to do, until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed.

But is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back is sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him.... By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong ... just P.U.S.H.!

When the job gets you down ... just P.U.S.H.!

When people don't react the way you think they should ... just P.U.S.H.!

When your money looks "gone" and the bills are due ... just P.U.S.H.!

When people just don't understand you... Just P.U.S.H.!

P.U.S.H - Pray Until Something Happens!!!!!

Pass this on to all the loved ones and friends who may need it-they may get it just in time!!! " Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

My thanks to the two people who sent in the thought-provoking PUSH article. Thank you all for your continuing interest in IMSA and in promoting a culture that encourages ethical market conduct in your company and our industry. Ken Kalis

 

 


Isn't it time?

Did you know that 211 life and annuity companies have already attained IMSA membership? These companies account for over 70% of the market share for both ordinary life and individual annuities. Here's a more detailed picture of . . .continue

 

 


Telephone: 386-462-1074
Fax:
386-462-1075
Email:
kenkalis@gmail.com
17220 NW 78th Avenue,
Alachua, FL 32615
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