·       Best Practice of the Month –  

·       What’s Up at the Kenneth J. Kalis Company

October 8 Social Networking Summary

The IMSA/AARP Summit on Social Networking was great. There were about 50 people attending, split just about equally between IMSA member companies and regulators.  Please be sure to read the detailed summary from IMSA Today, below.

Here are some of the interesting facts and take aways:

·      ●  IBM has placed a $588 revenue value on each social networking connection

·      ●  Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) will become the email of tomorrow.

·      ●  Velocity and Impact of Social Networking is exponential; one presenter’s 1800 Twitter connections translate into 5 million secondary contacts.

·         Advertisers and direct marketers are already moving past not only printed media but computers as well targeting new apps directly to mobile phones.

·         While about 70% of life companies currently have restrictions on use of Social Networking, those ahead of the curve are already taking action to liberalize or step back from these.                     

·         Speed of technology has greatly outdistanced regulatory ability to keep pace.

·         Google’s Sidewiki allows any one to post a comment to any web site that cannot be removed.

·         One company anticipates needing 5 or 6 staff to handle the impact of Sidewiki and other impacts from Social Networking.

IMSA played a key role in bringing all of this together and will no doubt continue to be a champion of providing its member companies with the tools necessary to serve the public and to meet emerging compliance issues.  I thought Brian Atchinson’s observations were very much on target.  Building on the presenters’ view that social networking is the preferred means of communication by the younger generations, Brian pointed out that the huge marketing potential demands creative compliance solutions, and that we avoid “building a dirt road to nowhere while the Jetsons zoom by us overhead.”

2.0

Look for IMSA to lead in the months ahead, and prepare your organizations for the challenges social networking presents.  Are you active in LinkedIn?  If not, you may want to get started and plug into our network as well.

News from IMSA Today                            October 16, 2009

 “This event blew my mind. I learned an extraordinary amount.”

 “Good early exposure to issues for the industry.”

 “This event is a real value-add, and the fact you took such a new and emerging issue and got such a diverse group together to discuss was great.”

 “This Summit was extremely relevant – great input from the critical players.

A lot of information to take back and share with business and legal.” 

These are just some of the comments IMSA received from participants at the recent IMSA-AARP Social Networking Summit in Washington, D.C. IMSA is extremely pleased that this social networking event – the first of its kind in our industry - not only exceeded attendee expectations, but also that it served as a springboard for the pro-active next steps already in motion that will lead the industry in sound market conduct practices both online and off, including:

 A follow-up Social Media Webinar, (tentatively) scheduled for Wednesday, December 2, 2009, from 2:00-3:30 pm EST, where updated expert intelligence will be shared exclusively with IMSA-qualified companies.

At the request of attendees, IMSA has begun to convene an IMSA Social Media Task Force comprised of marketing, technology and compliance executives. In conjunction with IMSA’s Standards Development and Standards Advisory Committees, IMSA’s Social Media Task Force will be a critical part of the industry’s solution to these marketplace challenges as IMSA develops a range of leading practices to guide companies as they develop strategies, policies and procedures regarding social networking (as was requested by both Summit attendees and respondents to IMSA’s benchmarking survey in late August).

The Summit in Summary

Last Thursday, IMSA and AARP convened national thought leaders from both the social networking industry and state and federal regulators including representatives from state insurance departments, the SEC, FINRA, and the CFTC to explore the escalating consumer protection and compliance-related challenges in the life insurance and financial services industries caused by social media. Numerous distributors and IMSA-qualified company representatives also joined in this unique interaction between key industry stakeholders to identify challenges resulting from the increasing use of websites such as Linked In, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking vehicles to begin to discuss and craft needed solutions.

 Given the wide complexity of issues, IMSA called on industry leadership to help decipher how social media can and should be used which led to an enlightening exchange between regulators, companies, distributors and consumer representatives. As just one result of this robust dialogue, FINRA is reportedly reexamining the scope of its review of social networking issues.

 Industry Intelligence Update

FINRA Senior Vice President Joe Price, who serves as Chairman of FINRA’s Social Networking Task Force, provided a comprehensive inside-look into the Task Force’s objectives and activities. “Investor protection is our first filter on all of these issues,” said Price. “We are looking for a way to work this out, not to eliminate the use of social networking tools.” Leveraging its reputation as the industry’s “honest broker,” IMSA is in regular communication with both federal and state regulators to help obtain concrete direction and specific boundaries from regulators to guide companies as they craft their social media policies.

 Kip Gregory, (photo left, used by permission) a specialist in teaching agents and advisers how to leverage technology effectively, explained how social networking websites work in the insurance and financial services sectors, and how they are currently being used to attract new customers. “Support, don’t stifle,” advised Gregory. How can companies support producer marketing efforts while still protecting their brand and reputation? Log onto the Member section at www.IMSAethics.org to learn the recommended approach.

 Mark Senak, J.D., Senior Vice President & Partner at Fleishman-Hillard and an expert in social media, helped attendees understand not only the current social media landscape but also how it is changing by the day. Want to know the biggest mistake your company may be making when it comes to social media policy? Log onto the Member section at www.IMSAethics.org for the answer.

IMSA?……..we can help!     

 October 14 Webinar on Attestation Summary

IMSA  hosted a very informative webinar on October 14, 2009 on the attestation approach to requalification and the simplified process for former member companies to reinstate their membership.  

Maureen Closson (pictured below) of AVIVA USA and Cynthia Eichelberger of Great American Life walked through their company’s approach to the requalification attestation process.  Both highlighted the resource efficiencies and cost savings of this process, while confirming that the rigors of complying with IMSA standards are still in place.  Of particular interest were these points:

·         Both companies completed the 25 IMSA Templates and found them very useful tools.

·         Both companies spent “5 or 6 months” going through the attestation process with much of the heavy focus occurring in a three-month span.

·         Both companies felt the process was very helpful, some comments being:

o   It helped drive compliance down through the organization

o   It helped us set up a “living system” of monitoring that we can update quarterly.

o   In some respects the attestation had “more rigor than an Independent Assessment.”

·         One company used an outside project manager and one 100% committed compliance staff person to complete the attestation work.

·         CEO was very demanding in requiring evidence of compliance.

·         Each business unit had one person dedicated to IMSA.

·         DOI was pleased with the information shared in the templates,

IMSA companies can listen to the entire Webinar and view all the presentation materials in the members section of the IMSA web site AT www.imsaethics.org..

There you can also see an update on the streamlined requalification steps for former member companies including a side by side comparison of the traditional process and the new streamlined process.  An important highlight of this approach is the need for less resources and a limited review by a QIA.

For an outline of the key elements in both approaches, please see the latest edition of our Excelsior newsletter or visit our web site at www.kkalis.com where it is shown on the home page.  We are always pleased to hear from you on 352-505-0705.

Cailie on the Road!

Qualified Independent Assessor Cailie Currin,JD and President of Currin Compliance Services, LLC of Greenwich, NY and West Des Moines, IA, has been traveling a lot lately supporting industry events and spreading the good word about the wide variety of product broader compliance services, as well as sharing information about our IMSA services.  Cailie enjoyed meeting with many of you at the AICP's 22nd Annual Conference October 4-7, 2009 also  at the LHCA fall meeting in Des Moines, later in the month.  We are so pleased to be working with Cailie on IMSA and hope that you’ll get to meet her when you work with us on IMSA issues.

 Best Practice of the Month – Attestations

At the October Webinar on Attestation, we heard the two companies who have requalified for IMSA membership using this alternative approach testify to the helpfulness and utility of the 25 Templates posted on the IMSA website.  Now required all new IMSA members, the Templates serve as a guide and format for the display of key evidence supporting the IMSA standards for self-assessments and for attestations as well. Companies who have used our KP4 IMSA will find the Templates very similar to our software in terms of content and format (we served on the IMSA Committee that created these Templates).  If you are considering the alternative attestation approach for renewing your membership, a good place to start is updating your KP4 IMSA materials from last time.  Regulators have responded very favorably to this material in the past, and, from what we have heard so far, seem to like the Templates as well.  Either way, you have the structure for a solid ongoing system of monitoring that will assure you that you are meeting the IMSA standards throughout the membership period.   

What We’re Up to at the Kenneth J. Kalis Company

We’ve added some new content to our web site at www.kkalis.com including some Frequently Asked Questions.  Be sure to send us any questions you may have so that we can keep this up to date.   We are working right now to complete an independent assessment as well as working on several other IMSA/Compliance projects.  One is a presentation promoting ethical market conduct and another setting up a compliance department. 

We continue to work on the Standards Development Committee, and, of course, to continue our updates and marketing efforts.  In case you don’t know, we offer these services:

1.    1.  Independent Assessments; We offer low cost independent assessments to companies looking to join IMSA for the first time.  We’ve helped over 40 companies gain membership and offer a tried and true methodology that is easy to follow and user-friendly.  We have also done over 100 independent assessments for companies renewing their IMSA membership and provide with this service our KP4 IMSA software, a Microsoft Word tool that puts everything IMSA all in one place, including evidence that can be easily updated to conform with IMSA’s ongoing system of monitoring requirement.

2.    2.  Facilitation of Self-Assessments and Attestations: Our coaching and training approach combined with our expertise and easy to use tools will take hours off your company efforts and focus business people’s involvement on what’s absolutely essential.  We also document and project manage so that your Self-Assessment or Attestation is strong and demonstrates clearly how you meet or exceed the IMSA Standards.

3.    Sharing of Best Practices;  Over the twelve years we’ve been leaders in providing IMSA services, we’ve learned a great deal about the policies and procedures use to meet the IMSA standards.  We’ll be happy to share our expertise with you in creating strong policies and procedures or forms or systems to support them.

4.    Helping to Communicate the IMSA Standards:  As you know from reading these Updates, we have been spreading the IMSA Gospel for years.  We will also help you with you communications efforts be they presentations, newsletters, advertising or customer communications.

Call 352-505-0705 or email us at kkalis@aol.com with any questions you have or ideas on how we can improve our services.