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March 2006 Update for IMSA
Friends
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Dear IMSA Friends:
March has been a very active month
for us and for IMSA activities in general. It’s great to see
the IMSA efforts to make membership more valuable take off.
We’re pleased to see IMSA’s leadership so active and to have a
small role in helping revise the IMSA Standards for the 2007
assessment cycle.
March is the month of expectation,
The things we do not know,
The Persons of Prognostication
Are coming now.
We try to sham becoming firmness,
But pompous joy
Betrays us, as his first betrothal
Betrays a boy.
-
Emily Dickinson, XLVIII
Ethical Conduct Is Key To Success,
Says Industry Leader In CPCU Address
KANSAS CITY, MO – “Groucho Marx once
said, ‘The secret of life is honesty, and fair dealing. If you
can fake that you’ve got it made.’ Companies and their
distributors are learning that you can’t fake ethical business
practices -- not in today’s insurance industry,” said Brian
Atchinson, President and CEO of the Insurance Marketplace
Standards Association (IMSA) at the recent meeting of the CPCU
Society in Kansas City.
Atchinson addressed the key issues
affecting insurance professionals and consumers, including
needs-based selling, fair and adequate disclosures and the need
for professionalism to meet consumer needs. He also cited
research conducted by Dr. Robert W. Cooper of Drake University
regarding the major ethics problems confronting the insurance
industry.
Atchinson was the featured speaker
and guest for the Society’s recognition of Ethics Awareness
Month in Kansas City. At the center of the country’s focus on
insurance and ethics, the Kansas City chapter hosts numerous
national leaders including many companies in the region and the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
This story appears on
the IMSA website @
www.IMSAethics.org.
Iowa Asks IMSA To Develop Improved
Indexed Product Standards
BETHESDA, MD -- The Iowa Insurance
Division has asked IMSA to work with its Iowa domestic member
companies to explore developing standards for indexed products
sales and marketing practices.
“IMSA is the premier
standards-setting organization for the life insurance
marketplace and its companies demonstrate an extra commitment to
ethical market conduct practices,” said IMSA Chairman and
Genworth Financial Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Leon Roday. “We welcome Iowa’s request to work with our
qualified companies in that state to review marketing and sales
standards and consumer protections for this product.”
“This initiative will look at issues
such as consumer disclosure, training of agents, and making sure
companies have the necessary policies and procedures in place, “
stated Iowa Commissioner Susan Voss. “We welcome IMSA’s
leadership role to help ensure a healthy marketplace where
consumers can make informed choices and be treated fairly.”
IMSA will convene a working group of
Iowa domestic companies in the near future to begin considering
appropriate standards.
“IMSA companies are leading the way
in compliance and we look forward to working with our companies
and the Iowa Division on this important project,” added IMSA
President and CEO Brian Atchinson.
This story was
originally reported on the IMSA website @
www.IMSAethics.org.
Standards Review
Committee Meets in Newark
We were pleased to attend the IMSA
Standards Review Committee meeting on March 29, 2006 at the
Prudential office in Newark. The IMSA staff is doing a great
job of keeping the whole review process running, using input
from the advisory committee of regulatory and industry figures
to focus keep concerns and then working with the Standards
Review Committee and Subject Matter Standards Committee to
improve the assessment process. The interchanges and
discussions are both challenging and productive, and I believe
we are going to see some very positive changes that will make
IMSA membership even more valuable in the future.
Kalis to Serve on IMSA
QIA Committee
On March 24, 2006 Ken Kalis accepted
IMSA’s invitation to serve on a newly formed IMSA Qualified
Independent Assessor Committee. The Committee’s goal will be to
review possible modifications to the Independent Assessment
Manual to make it any revisions made to the Assessment Handbook
through IMSA's Standards Development Process.
The QIA Committee will also serve to
facilitate communication between IMSA and Qualified Independent
Assessors. Over time it is anticipated that the Committee will
become a standing committee and will be asked to comment upon
various policy and procedural issues associated with IMSA
Qualified Independent Assessor practices including
identification and reporting of best practices and discussion of
issues that may arise in the context of conducting independent
assessments.
An initial meeting of the Committee
via conference call is planned within the next few weeks with a
follow-up meeting to take place in-person at IMSA’s new offices
in Bethesda, Maryland (Date/Time TBD). Most of the Committee's
work will be completed via conference call in order to meet our
objective of attempting to incorporate any modifications to the
Independent Assessment Manual by September 2006.
Excelsior in on the
Way
It’s hard for us to
believe that our Excelsior quarterly newsletter is in its eighth
year, but that’s the case. Keep an eye out for it next week.
2007?
We’ve already written a number of
proposals for companies who will be renewing their IMSA
membership in 2007. No, that’s not a typo, 2007. It’s great to
see companies are planning for this well in advance. It’s
evidence that IMSA has become an established part of the
business landscape. It’s also evidence that companies are give
IMSA a high priority and taking the necessary steps to identify
and secure resources to assure a smooth and successful process
leading to membership renewal.
Hope you have a great spring and a
wonderful year. Thank you all for your continuing interest in
IMSA and ethical market conduct issues. Ken Kalis
Thank you all for your continuing support for IMSA and
the IMSA standards. Have a great month, and God bless!
Ken Kalis
Ken Kalis
Only Believe
Mark 5:36
The Kenneth J. Kalis Company, Inc.
"Client-Focused IMSA Expertise"
386-462-1074
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