News Update

Dear IMSA Friends: 

Hope you have all had a good summer!   It’s time for the August Update and Best Practice.  No, you didn’t miss the July Update, all the July news is in this one.  There’s been lots going on and there’s lots more coming up!  Please read on. 

Congratulations!

The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and  The Northwestern Long-Term Care Insurance Company have renewed their IMSA membership.  

What We’ve Been Up To at the Kenneth J. Kalis Company

As usual, we gave out our Excelsior Best Practices Plaques at the ACLI Compliance Section Meeting in Ft. Lauderdale on July 12.  Recognition is a very important part of the continuous improvement process, and we were pleased to recognize the 50+ best practices of the nine companies we have assessed in the past year..

5,000!

Yes, 5,000.  That’s the number of hits our website (kkalis.com) reached this month.  Since 2002 we’ve been the place to go all you ever wanted to know about IMSA (and probably more). 

Marketing our updated software.  We now offer the software to all companies as well as our services in transferring your old IMSA data into the new format.

Our 2007 edition is a complete overhaul and representation of the IMSA assessment process in the Topic Based Approach as presented in the September 2006 edition of the IMSA Assessment Manual.  You will notice a number of changes, all of which will facilitate your assessment.  Here are some highlights;

  •          Color coding.  The indicators are presented in the same color coding used in the IMSA Assessment Handbook.

  •          Clear Indicator Addresses.  Again, the program uses the labeling system outlined on page 126 of the 2006 Handbook to eliminate confusion about which P1 indicator you mean!  (There are 20 P1 indicators!).

  •          Old Indicators Shown Beneath The New.   When you wonder what indicator you used last time for new indicator C5 under Topic 1, Subject 1, a glance below will show you 1.1.b.6.

  •          2006 Handbook At A Click. Of course, all indicator addresses shown in KP4IMSA can be clicked to take you right to the full indicator wording shown in the 2006 Handbook.

  •          Easy Directions.  Each column gives clear instructions on exactly what the expectation are as to format and content.

  •          Plenty of Parking Space.  There is lots of space for scanning in as much documentation as you need for each indicator.

  •          Help Button.  We’ve added an “Ask Ken” help button to every page so that you can fire off an email with your question or call the help line number right away.

  • ·        Demo Available Now.  Just send an email to kenkalis@gmail.com or

For those of you who choose us as your independent assessor, we will reformat your previous assessment into the new software at no charge.  If you are interested, please give us a call at 386-462-1074 or email us at kenkalis@gmail.com.

Developing an IMSA Independent Assessment Program for LIC Companies 

At the request of the LIC, we have designed a special package for LIC members. An article with more detail we appear in the September issue of the LIC newsletter.  If you would like more detail, respond to this email or call us at 386-462-1074. 

Actively Promoting IMSA:  We have half a dozen proposals out with prospective IMSA members and are meeting with potential clients regularly.  Let us know if you’d like us to meet with your company decision makers. 

Sponsoring Industry Events:  We are pleased to again be sponsors of: 

 IMSA’s Best Practices Workshop September 19-20, 2007 in Chicago.   

LHCA’s meeting at Greenville, SC September 25-28, 2007. 

Hope to see many of you there! 

Participating In Key Events Impacting IMSA: 

Suitability Summit in Chicago on September 18, 2007 

IMSA Standards Development Meeting in Washington, September 25 

Appless Processins Working Group Conference Call, September 26, 2007

 What IMSA Has Been Doing

IMSA continues to be very active in a number of areas reported in their

IMSA Today                                                               

 Publications.  Some of the headlines have been

IMSA Group to Examine Certification of Supervision of Annuity Suitability Requirements

IMSA Provides NCOIL Testimony on LTC Issues

 LTC Claim Standards Working Group Begins Development Process

IMSA to Host Suitability Summit

Now Available:  Non-Registered Fixed Annuity Suitability Guidelines

Appless Processing Working Group Identify Elements of Electronic Processing

IMSA Looking Toward the Future

The IMSA Board of Directors has formed three Working Groups – Standards Development, Member Value and Qualification Process, and Communication and Outreach -- to refine IMSA’s mission and activities.  The Working Groups are an outgrowth of the recent IMSA Strategic Assessment conducted by McKinsey & Co.  The Working Groups will have preliminary recommendations ready for the October Board of Directors meeting. 

Remember to Register for the Best Practices Workshop!

Have you registered for the Compliance Best Practices Workshop in Chicago on September 19-20?  Don’t miss this unique program that includes such topics as Compliance Reporting to Management, Legislative Tracking Systems, Red Flag Programs for Monitoring, Replacement Review, Compliance Risk Assessments, Privacy Breach Handling and NASD Compliance Updates.  Visit the member section of IMSA’s website for a preliminary agenda and reservation forms.   AEGON, Allstate Financial, Bankers Fidelity, Genworth Financial and The Kenneth J. Kalis Company are sponsoring portions of this event.  Interested in sponsorship opportunities?  Visit the IMSA website or contact John Dohmen, at JohnDohmen@IMSAethics.org. 

Best Practice of the Month

August 2007

Long before there was an IMSA, I developed a confidential “ethics hot line” that was used to give distributors and employees an safe place to share their concerns.  This was a huge success a first with a large volume of calls.  It alerted top management to potential powder kegs before they blew up.  As time went on, usage abated, and there were issues about staffing the hot line, providing the right expertise to answer the questions raised and lots of other things.  Most of the companies we’ve assessed have some sort of confidential hot line, but their experience has been mixed.  The best practice we found this year was with a large company who out sources this function to a company who specializes in taking such calls, providing feedback to the company, and working with the caller and company to find a good answer to the issue.  Because this is all the company does, their expertise is likely to produce a better answer more quickly and a more satisfactory outcome.

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Ken Kalis
Rejoice Evermore! 1 thessalonians 5:16

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Count your blessings this month and always.  I’m thankful for all of you and for the noble work we are all engaged in.  Best regards,

 Ken Kalis
 Only Believe Mark 5:36

The Kenneth J. Kalis Company, Inc.
"Client-Focused IMSA Expertise"
386-462-1074

 

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Non-IMSA close (cont.)

Englishman & Scotsman!

On our trip, one thing we did notice was the friendly rivalry between the English and the Scots.  

Dr. Samuel Johnson (compiler of the great dictionary in the early 18th century, often make his poor opinion of the Scots and Scotland known. 

The one most of us know is his definition of “oats” in his famous Dictionary:

In England given to horses, in Scotland supports the people 

Our guide in Edinburgh pointed out that Johnson had once said of the place:

The climate of Edinburgh is such that the weak succumb young..... and the strong envy them. 

He supplemented this with: The noblest prospect which a Scotchman ever sees is the highroad that leads him to England. 

But the Scots have some great rebuttals. 

What the Englishman Owes the Scot** 

The average Englishman in the home he calls his castle, slips into his national costume ~ a shabby raincoat ~ patented by chemist Charles Macintosh from Glasgow, Scotland.  

En route to his office he strides along the English lane, surfaced by John Macadam of Ayr, Scotland.  

He drives an English car fitted with tyres invented by John Boyd Dunlop of Dreghorn, Scotland. 

At the office he receives the mail bearing adhesive stamps invented by John Chalmers of Dundee, Scotland.  

During the day he uses the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

At home in the evening his daughter pedals her bicycle invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, Blacksmith of Dumfries, Scotland.  

He watches the news on T.V., an invention of John Logie Baird of Helensburgh, Scotland and hears an item about the U.S. Navy, founded by John Paul Jones of Kirkbean, Scotland.  

He has by now been reminded too much of Scotland and in desperation he picks up the Bible, only to find that the first man mentioned in the good book is a Scot ~ King James VI ~ who authorized its translation. 

Nowhere can an Englishman turn to escape the ingenuity of the Scots.

He could take to drink but the Scots make the best in the world. 

He could take a rifle and end it all but the breech~loading rifle was invented by Captain Patrick Ferguson of Pitfours, Scotland. 

If he escaped death, he could find himself on an operating table injected with penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming of Darvel, Scotland, and given an anaesthetic, discovered by Sir James Young Simpson of Bathgate, Scotland.  

Out of the anaesthetic he would find no comfort in learning that he was as safe as the Bank of England, founded by William Paterson of Dumfries, Scotland.  

Perhaps his only remaining hope would be to get a transfusion of guid Scottish blood which would entitle him to ask 

“WHA'S LIKE US ???;DAMN FEW AN' THEYRE AW DIED” 

I wonder what Dr. Johnson would say to all this.  Never at a loss for words, the famous Doctor commented on the accomplishments of a great and famous Scot:  Much may be made of a Scotchman if he be caught young. 

The Kalis family loved both England and Scotland and the people of both lands.  We also enjoyed the cool climate (in the 70’s in the day and 50’s at night) as a welcome respite from the Florida summer. 

**Was created by T Anderson Cairns, born in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire and G M Smith, a graduate of Glasgow's School of Art.  Wha's Like Us?  first came out in 1979 in linen Tea Towel form.  This souvenir became so rapidly successful (at home and over-seas) that the design was launched in Tote Bags, Greeting Cards and Apron forms during the next five years.

http://nykkybanks.net/feed/rss2/ 

http://www.uga.edu/shs/whas.html

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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Past Updates

IMSA Links

 

 

 

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.

 

 

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

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Non-IMSA close:  While in Scotland in August, I ran across some interesting things.

 Yes, that’s the Loch Ness monster, photographed at Loch Ness by Patricia Kalis, my 14 year old daughter.  We had a wonderful time traveling around the United Kingdom.


We flew into London and spent our first morning at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet  Club.  My 17 year-old son is an avid tennis player.  The tour was great, and we learned that tennis was once called “sphairistikč.”  It’s a good thing they changed the name!

 Later we took the double-decker bus tour, went around in the giant London Eye ferris wheel and took a boat tour up and down the Thames.  

 The next day we visited Stonehenge, a wonderfully primitive place.

We then drove to Bradford where we stayed at an old country house and visited Haworth and Skipton.  Haworth was the home of the Bronte sisters, the very accomplished writers and poets of the early 19th century (Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey).  We arrived on Emily’s birthday, July 30 (1818). 

 We visited their parsonage home, their church and the moors where they were so inspired.  The thing that pleased me the most on the trip was that the power of the moors was so evident.  My children were visibly awed as was I at the natural beauty of the landscape that is charged with a spiritual quality.


From here we drove on to York, where we again took the bus tour and climbed the 275 steps up the tower of York Cathedral.  York is a walled city, and its character is still reflective of the days of yore.

Edinburgh is about 150 miles north of York, and here we toured Holyrood Palace, the wonderful quarters of the Queen when she visits the city.  It ws fully refurbished by King Charles II for his wife, although he never actually went there!  It was truly magnificent.  I used to feel sorry for the family of King Louis XVI of France because

the history books all tell us they were “in exile.”  But they were in exile at Holyrood Palace, akin to being exiled at the Waldorf Astoria but with better service!

The next leg of our journey was another 150 miles north to Inverness, where we stayed in an old manor house right on the firth (a long narrow inlet of the sea). 


This was a truly wonderful place, with good food, rolling meadows, and St. Andrews type golf course and access to the sea.  Did I mention wonderful light?  There was still twilight at 10:20 pm.

It was a great trip, made possible, in a way by IMSA.  You see I accumulate the frequent flyer miles and Marriott reward points and use them on these vacations.  Are we had to pay for was our food and admission costs. 

The prices were essentially double what they are in the US, but the trip was well worth it. 

Hope you are all well and having a great summer.  I’m looking forward to seeing most of you at upcoming fall events.  Thank you for your continuing interest in IMSA, ethical market conduct and the Kenneth J. Kalis Company. US

 
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