July Update

It was great to see so many of you at the ACLI Compliance Section Meeting in Toronto.  I drove all the way up there from Florida, and had a wonderful time.   This was the 10th year we supported the meeting by having a booth at the Exhibitor Marketplace.  We saw many old friends there and began some new relationships. 

From Toronto, I drove to Brant Lake, NY where most of the photos you see in this edition were taken.

It’s good to be back home in Florida where we are keeping very busy with assessments, updating software and publications and keeping involved with IMSA via committee work.  We do have some open time in the next few months to help new customers with IMSA issues, so give us a call
at 386-462-1074 with any questions you may have. 

That’s my son Jonathan and I atop Paradise Mountain
looking down on Lake George, NY.  What a view!

Tennis Anyone? 

Are you signed up for the IMSA Best Practices Workshop in Scottsdale?  Be sure to come, and you’ll get a free copy of the Wall Street Journal courtesy of the Kenneth J Kalis Company.  I plan on arriving on Tuesday afternoon with my tennis racquet.  If anyone is up for a set or two please let me know.

Are you signed up for the IMSA Best Practices Workshop in Scottsdale?  Be sure to come, and you’ll get a free copy of the Wall Street Journal courtesy of the Kenneth J Kalis Company.  I plan on arriving on Tuesday afternoon with my tennis racquet.  If anyone is up for a set or two please let me know. 

 Kalis Among Sponsors of IMSA Workshop

 

The Kenneth J. Kalis Company is proud to continue its ongoing support for and commitment to IMSA and its standards and ideals.  We join these other fine sponsors in encouraging you to come to this great event!

 

2008 Compliance Best Practices Workshop Senior Protection

Date / Time:            September 10-12, 2008

Duration:                 3 Days

Location:                Camelback Inn, Scottsdale, AZ


Join us as we explore senior suitability, designations, seminar sales, agent training and sales practices with the valued senior consumer in mind.

Ready to take home real solutions that you can implement immediately? Beyond senior protection, we will also share best practices in other life insurance arenas that will provide multiple solutions to your compliance challenges. 

Don’t miss this unique forum where you can interact with your industry colleagues and regulators, and exchange ideas on the current compliance issues life insurance companies must face in today’s marketplace.


 * * Just Added * *                                                                                                                       
Re-Qualification Training – This training is for members that plan to take advantage of the new Re-qualification Process. 
(Please see General Information Sheet for more details.)


Cost:
Attendee Type:     By 7/18/2008       After 7/18/2008

IMSA Member           $695                       $750

IMSA Assessor         $695                       $750

Nonmember              $895                       $950


General Information                      Preliminary Agenda                Fax Registration Form


Sponsorship Opportunities            Sponsorship Fax Form
 


Visit www.IMSAethics.org for an updated Agenda, hotel information or to register online. Note that our room block at the Camelback Inn expires on August 8th, 2008, so we recommend that you contact the hotel today in order to secure your accommodations.

Excerpts from:
IMSA
Today
                                                     July 24, 2008 

IMSA Annuity Supervision & Monitoring Initiative Nears Completion

Demonstrating compliance requires a clear understanding between companies and regulators about which practices may be deemed "compliant." To that end, at the request of seven states, IMSA is undertaking a review of annuity suitability supervision and monitoring practices which is nearing its September, 2008 completion date. Recent highlights include: 

  • On Monday, July 14th, IMSA staff met with representatives of the requesting states at the offices of the Illinois Division of Insurance in Chicago.  
  • On Thursday, July 17th, the IMSA Annuity Suitability Supervision & Monitoring Working Group reviewed the regulators' feedback, and met via conference call on Wednesday, July 23rd, to discuss additional refinements that will be incorporated into a fourth draft of the report.  
  • The report is scheduled for dissemination for comment by all IMSA-qualified companies during the month of August.
  • A complete and final report is targeted for completion in September, 2008.

 Annuity Clearinghouse Distributor Enrollment Rolls Forward

Although it's only been a few months since the Annuity Suitability Certification Clearinghouse launch, more than 650 third party distributors have enrolled at no cost to them. System functionality has also been enhanced in recent weeks, making the Clearinghouse system even easier to use.

 Don't miss our advertisements in the July issues of Best Review and Broker World magazines this month, and be sure to visit the Clearinghouse Quick Start at www.IMSAethics.org.  

IMSA Addresses NAIC Annuity Suitability Working Group

On July 21st, Don Walters was invited to offer remarks about IMSA's review of supervision and monitoring practices during a conference call of the NAIC Suitability of Annuity Sales Working Group. Since the draft report remains a work in progress, Don shared recent activities pertaining to development of the report, including the fact that it describes supervision and monitoring practices applicable to fixed, indexed and variable annuities as well as several distribution channel types. 

He emphasized that supervision and monitoring systems must be tailored to meet the unique size, organizational structure, product mix and distribution system characteristics of each company. The NAIC Working Group is monitoring IMSA's progress with regard to its review of supervision and monitoring practices and awaits the issuance of its final report. 

IMSA on the Road

  • At the August, 2008 Annual IRES Career Development Seminar in St. Louis, Missouri, Brian Atchinson will serve on a panel with Iowa Department of Insurance Deputy Jim Mumford and IMSA Board member and AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company Executive Vice President and General Counsel Richard Silver regarding annuity suitability entitled Suitability - A Conundrum for Enforcement and Compliance.

Upcoming Meetings

August 10-12           2008 Annual IRES Career Development Seminar

The Gateway to Regulator Excellence in St. Louis, MO

 August 19               In the Flow Joint Working Group Conference Call

September 6-10      NAIFA Annual Convention in San Diego, CA

September 10          Requalification & Reinstatement Training Session in Scottsdale, AZ

September 10-12    IMSA Best Practices Workshop in Scottsdale, AZ

October 17               IMSA Communications & Outreach Working Group Meeting in Washington, D.C.

October 21               IMSA Board of Directors Annual Meeting in Boston, MA 

Did You Know….. 

The Kenneth J Kalis Company website is home to all the best practices and updates since September 2001 and Excelsior newsletters going back to the first quarter of 2001?

‘Tis true, as the Irish would say.  You can find a wealth of information about IMSA and our company and its services at the site.   http://kkalis.com/ 

Best Practice of the Month - July 

Making sure independent agents have the product knowledge necessary to meet IMSA’s needs analysis and suitability standards is always a topic of interest.  Back in May of 2006, we reported a best practice from a company that required agents to study and pass a test with a 100% grade before selling is competitive and complex product.   That was a best practice then (and probably still is), but part of continuous improvement is, of course, continuous improvement, and this company has taken this training to the next level, requiring agents to repeat it on an annual basis.  The bar always get higher, but the rewards are greater and the instances of noncompliance fewer and fewer.

 

***************************************************************

  
Have a wonderful summer, and thank you all for your continuing interest in IMSA, ethical market conduct and the Kenneth J. Kalis Company.
 
Ken Kalis
386-462-1074
Be Kind. Ephesians 4:32

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

ANTITRUST NOTICE

The Kenneth J. Kalis Company (KJKC) is committed to adhering strictly to the letter and spirit of the antitrust laws. Our communications and flash surveys are designed solely to provide a forum for the expression of various points of view on topics described in the communications or surveys. Under no circumstances shall these tools be used as a means for competing companies or firms to reach any understanding - expressed or implied - which restricts competition or in any way impairs the ability of any organization to exercise independent business judgment regarding matters affecting competition. Accordingly, we ask for and appreciate any observations or sensitivities you may have to any aspect of our communications or surveys that presents a risk from the standpoint of the antitrust laws.

.
 

Past Updates


IMSA Links

 

 
My daughter Patricia and I overlooking
Lake George
.

 

I appreciate your continuing interest in and support of ethical market conduct and integrity in our business.  Have a great summer.  Hope to see many of you soon.


You got me up here.  Now how do I get down
from here, son?


 

 

Telephone: 386-462-1074
Fax: 386-462-1075

Email:
kenkalis@gmail.com
17220 NW 78th Avenue,
Alachua, FL 32615
.


Two dinner fish from beautiful Brant Lake, NY.


You can see 100 miles from here


Now for our non-IMSA close.  On my drive to Toronto (and back) I listened to a biography of William Shakespeare.  Here is one of my favorite poems that fits very well into a summer edition of our update:

 

Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.


Thank you all for your continuing interest in IMSA, ethical market conduct and the Kenneth J. Kalis Company.  Here’s to you from the whole Kalis family.

Claudia, Jonathan, Dad and Patricia enjoying
some root beers.

Ken Kalis
386-462-1074
Only Believe. Mark 5:36

 

 
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