2003 Excelsior Award Winners!

The 2003 Excelsior Awards were presented to the winning Companies at the ACLI Compliance Section Meeting at the Sheraton Chicago. The Awards recognize best practices in the industry and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Below are the recipients of the 2001 - Third Annual Excelsior Awards presentation. We hope you enjoy it, and we welcome your suggestions for improvement. Just e-mail us at kkalis.com or give us a call at (352) 505-0705

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Representatives from 17 companies gathered in New York City on July 11 for the Excelsior Awards Dinner. The Excelsior Awards are given to companies who have been admitted to IMSA membership. They are awarded by the Kenneth J. Kalis Company, a leading IMSA assessment company that has worked with a significant portion of IMSA member companies.

The Awards are given because we see reward and recognition as essential stages in the continuous improvement process. They are awarded on the basis of the documentation and other evidence reviewed by the independent assessor during assessments. Based loosely on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards Standards, an Excelsior Award is indicative that:

• A company process is in place that exceeds industry norms
• The company is carefully monitoring and improving the process
• The process is customer-focused and/or concerned with excellent ethical market conduct
• The process is worthy of being benchmarked by competitors and contributes to industry improvement.
• The company is willing to share its best practices with others.

HERE ARE THE WINNERS AND THEIR PHOTOS!
Excelsior Awards for Excellence

Guests pose as the dinner begins: Barry Glennon, Jefferson-Pilot; John Pavey, husband of Ann Buffie; Rick Stange, Jefferson-Pilot, Ken Kalis, Maureen Buckley, IDS Life of New York, and Paul Bruce, IDS Life.

Best Practices – 2001

IDS Life Insurance Company

1. Monitoring the quality of financial plans.
2. Rigorous Client-ready standard for new representatives.
3. Field Compliance Director to supervise supervisors in field
4. Company network of compliance officers in business units.
5. Compliance rating factored into compensation plan.

IDS Life Insurance Company of New York

1. Monitoring the quality of financial plans.
2. Rigorous Client-ready standard for new representatives.
3. Field Compliance Director to supervise supervisors in field
4. Company network of compliance officers in business units.
5. Compliance rating factored into compensation plan.

Inter-State Assurance Company

OPUS/PDM system for assuring regulatory compliance.

Dan Kohn of the Irish Life of North America Companies listens to Dick Weber

Jefferson Pilot Financial Companies

1. Compliance Committee of senior people guiding policy decisions.
2. “Premier Partners” strategy for highly qualified professional agents.
3. Ambassador program for home office and field people communications.
4. CE delivered and tracked on Internet with “certificate” of completion.
5. Customer sign-off on outgoing 1035’s.
6. Monitoring checkpoint system specifically covering the 24 IMSA questions.

Sun Life of Canada

1. Audits on marketing partners completed on a random basis and for cause.
2. Detailed Compliance plan addresses key issues and plans for testing proactively.

Sun Life of Canada (U.S.)

1. Excellent Sales Agreement commitment to ethical market conduct. 2. Detailed Compliance plan addresses key issues and plans for testing proactively.
3. “RPS Standards Guide for Written Communications.”

Horace Mann Life Insurance Company

1. PIRS/Client Advisor customer data gathering tool.
2. Compliance & Market Conduct Manual, Attestation and Training. 3. Continuing Education support and incentives.
4. New Agent mentoring program and incentives.
5. Blueprint best practices, training and monitoring tool.

Allstate Direct

1. 30-day right to review provision.
2. $250 waiver power for customer service people.
3. Onsite audits of telemarketing partners.

Allstate Life Insurance Companies

1. Mobile Office technology providing all required forms.
2. Business leader accountability for controls and procedures.
3. Agent and client satisfaction.
4. Field Compliance Professional visits to each new Registered Rep. 5. Suitability Analysists review 100% of applications.
6. Focus groups are used to develop sales material
7. 5-day complaint resolution standard (hit 85% of the time).
8. Non-compliance reporting plan.

American Heritage Life

1. CEO frequent contact with employees.
2. Chicken Soup For The Soul – to cancer patients

Glenbrook/Northbrook Companies

1. Satisfaction surveys of producers and clients and analysis of trends.
2. CE coupon incentive for up to free eight hours of additional CE credits.
3. Companies share replacement data with marketing partners.
4. Focus groups used for feedback on sales materials.
5. Excellent non-compliance reporting plan.

Lincoln Benefit Life

1. Excellent monthly newsletter for all 119,000 brokers.
2. Easy accessibility to the senior officers by the distributors.
3. Customer Surveys on new business and follow-up on negatives.
4. Active conservation effort saving over $100 million of replacements last year.
5. Quarterly complaint analysis with a follow-up audit by Director of Compliance.
6. President and senior management quarterly review of sales/compliance issues.

The Excelsior Award