Broker World

The Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA) elected its Board of Directors at its Annual Meeting. New PIMA officers are: President-BIll Suneson, Next Generation Insurance Group; President-Elect—Shannon Warner, Pearl Companies; Treasurer—Dave Armstrong, Sass Associates; Secretary—Ann Dieleman, Ann Dieleman Consulting, LLC; Immediate Past President (ex-officio)—Mark Kelsey, Kelsey National Corp./HealthInsurance.com.

At-Large Officers/Executive Committee Members are Alfred Drowne, AMA Insurance Agency, Inc., and David Schaeffer, Cost Containment Group.

Newly-elected Board Directors are: Chuck La Tournous, Prudential; Amit Dhadwal, Aon Affinity; Chris Burke, AGIA Affinity Services; Michael Griffin, ACCEL Law Group PC.

For more information, visit www.pima-assn.org or call 817-569-7462 (PIMA).

LifeMark Partners, Inc., one of the nation’s largest independent national insurance marketing organizations, has added a new BGA partner, Colorado Brokerage Group, LLC, based in Denver, CO. This new addition makes 38 BGA partners for LifeMark.

“Colorado Brokerage Group is a fantastic agency, one we are excited to reintroduce to our partnership. They have a great reputation and always put their clients first, something we at LifeMark value and a philosophy we hold strongly,” said William Shelow, president and CEO, LifeMark Partners.

“We pride ourselves on simplifying the life insurance sales process for financial advisors. This is accomplished by making the case design, underwriting and delivery processes as easy and uncomplicated as possible. By partnering with LifeMark, we can now make these processes even easier for our advisors, and we look forward to reintroducing our clients to LifeMark’s resources,” said John McWilliams, president of Colorado Brokerage Group, LLC. 

For more information about Colorado Brokerage Group, visit www.coloradobrokerage.com or call 303-321-0565. To learn more about the qualifications necessary to become a LifeMark partner, visit www.LifeMarkPartners.com or call 410-837-3022.  ïƒ¾

Partners Advantage Insurance Services, LLC, a national insurance marketing organization headquartered in Riverside, CA, announced its strategic alliance with Peloton Global Distribution Services, Inc. (Peloton) of Newport Beach, CA. With this strategic business alliance, Partners Advantage will provide Peloton members with retirement solutions experience and Peloton will enable expanded growth for Partners Advantage in the arenas of long term care and disability insurance.

“By working together, this strategic alliance will allow our two companies to enhance and expand our national platforms available to agencies and independent financial professionals,” stated Partners Advantage President James Wong.

Peloton President Andy Holden stated, “Complimentary skill sets will create robust and exciting offerings to members of both entities.  And a shared emphasis on compliance, education and training will enable the organizations to experience rapid growth in selected sales initiatives.”

The evolution of a variety of factors, including more sophisticated products being introduced by carriers, continuous updates, and compliance demands within the industry led to the alliance which will bring impressive new training, technology, services and products to the financial professionals working with both companies.

Partners Advantage places significant emphasis on training programs designed to improve and expand financial professionals’ products, marketing and sales resources. The seasoned staff includes a full-time suitability and compliance officer, in-house underwriter and an advanced markets specialist. The company provides personal assistance by phone 12 hours each business day from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm Central time. The alliance will help financial professionals across the United States grow and stay on top of the cutting-edge developments in their field.

Peloton is a consortium of elite individual organizations that are top performers within their industry.  By aligning with Peloton, members have access to the powerful synergy of shared market intelligence, world-class marketing and lead generation capabilities, extensive products, services, technologies, systems and a superior level of support to create unmatched performance in the insurance and financial services industry.  Peloton membership allows the individual member entities and the group as a whole to combine strengths in order to reach the highest level of competitive success. Membership includes some of the premier general agencies, valued specialty companies and innovative industry suppliers on a global level. To learn more about Peloton please visit www.pelotonglobal.com.

In business since 1993, Partners Advantage Insurance Services, LLC, is among the top national insurance marketing organizations in the country with associates located in offices across the United States. The company’s Advantage Division is a one-stop brokerage for licensed agents and agencies throughout the United States who sell annuities, life insurance and linked benefit products. The company’s Platinum and Premier Divisions work to enhance insurance marketing organizations and agencies throughout the country. For more information about Partners Advantage, visit www.PartnersAdvantage.com.

Allianz Life Names Brandriet and DeChellis to New Roles

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life®) announced that it has named Mike Brandriet as president of its wholly owned subsidiary, Allianz Life Financial Services LLC, and appointed Robert DeChellis to lead a new strategic business unit for the company, both effective January 1, 2017, and both will report to Allianz Life Chief Distribution Officer and Allianz Life Financial Services LLC CEO Tom Burns.

Brandriet will be responsible for the leadership and growth for channels within Allianz Life Financial Services LLC. With more than 30 years of financial services industry experience, Brandriet has been with Allianz Life Financial Services LLC since 2007. After joining the firm as a district director, he assumed the role of leading the Strategic Accounts team in 2008. In 2009, he was chosen to lead the Allianz Life Financial Services LLC broker dealer business development and relationship management teams. Brandriet has also held executive leadership roles with AXA, Jackson National Life, BankSouth Investments, and PrimeVest Financial Services.

“Mike is an industry leader with a track record of success,” said Burns. “I am confident he will help grow the Allianz Life Financial Services business through the creation of new and innovative product solutions and programs to meet the needs of financial professionals and their clients.”

Brandriet is an active member of the community and currently serves on the board of trustees of Washburn Center for Children, a children’s mental health center in Minneapolis.

DeChellis, who has led Allianz Life Financial Services LLC for more than 10 years, will be tasked with building out a group whose primary objective will be to harness the intellectual capital of the Allianz asset management and life insurance companies in the United States in order to develop unique client solutions. In addition, the group will leverage the expertise of select strategic partners outside of Allianz. DeChellis developed and ran a successful pilot of the new strategic business unit in 2015-2016.

“Robert has done an outstanding job leading Allianz Life Financial Services over the past decade,” said Allianz Life president and CEO Walter White. “In addition, as a result of his work we now have a unique opportunity to provide financial professionals a new and comprehensive solution for their clients.”

The new business unit led by DeChellis will be based on a strategy of promoting the benefits of holistic financial planning. Through this approach, financial professionals will have access to integrated accumulation, asset protection, and guaranteed lifetime income solutions.

“The combined risk management capabilities of Allianz Life and Allianz Global Investors allows for the creation of compelling solutions with the goal of enabling financial professionals to deliver what we believe will be even better client outcomes,” added Doug Eu, U.S. CEO of Allianz Global Investors.

DeChellis brings more than 25 years of financial services experience to his new role. Prior to Allianz Life Financial Services LLC, he held leadership roles with The Travelers Company/MetLife Investors, Jackson National Life Insurance Company, and Goldman Sachs & Company. DeChellis was recently elected as chairman of the board of directors for the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI).

“We are excited to continue working with Allianz Life across a number of innovative retirement solutions,” said Robert Young, managing director and head of the U.S. Financial Institutions Group for PIMCO. “PIMCO’s partnership with Allianz Life dates back to 2001 and we look forward to many successful years of partnership going forward.”

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, one of FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2016, has been keeping its promises since 1896. Today, it carries on that tradition, helping Americans achieve their retirement income and protection goals with a variety of annuities and life insurance products. In 2015, Allianz Life provided a total of $2.4 billion in benefit payments that supported policyholders’ financial objectives. As a leading provider of fixed index annuities, Allianz Life is part of Allianz SE, a global leader in the financial services industry with 142,000 employees in more than 70 countries worldwide. More than 85 million private and corporate customers rely on Allianz knowledge, global reach, and capital strength to help them make the most of financial opportunities. For more information about Allianz companies in the United States, including Allianz Life, Allianz Global Investors and PIMCO, visit www.allianzusa.com. 

Special Milestone For Petersen International Underwriters

Petersen International Underwriters is proud to announce the celebration of its 35th anniversary as a Coverholder for Lloyd’s of London.

Over 60 years ago, W. Harold Petersen began a long journey of discovery into the world of disability insurance. Fueled by the personal experience of growing-up with a disabled father, Harold’s affinity to the DI market was instant when he became employed by Mutual of Omaha as a young man.

Harold spent years learning and teaching about disability insurance throughout the Midwest. Finally, he and his family landed in Los Angeles where he and his sons developed what is today Petersen International Underwriters.

Evolving from an independent retail brokerage into a full-service wholesale insurance business, the Petersens kept finding that many of the high-income earning entertainers, attorneys and executives of Southern California were unable to find sufficient levels of disability income insurance. They searched the U.S. and international insurance markets and eventually found the perfect solution at Lloyd’s of London, the centuries-old financial institution. A formal introduction was made.

That introduction blossomed into a successful partnership with the Lloyd’s insurance market that has continued to grow to this day. Almost four decades ago, Petersen International was graciously granted the title of Coverholder, giving them the “power of the pen” to underwrite and bind insurance on the behalf of those at Lloyd’s. Petersen International is currently the largest personal accident Coverholder at Lloyd’s in the United States.

To this day, Harold’s goals remain what they were those 60 years ago–to spread the word about the incredible importance of disability insurance so that every working American is financially protected in case they were to become sick or injured and unable to earn a living. Petersen International continues to adhere to Mr. Petersen’s ideals by providing disability insurance to those who aren’t able to successfully attain sufficient DI coverage through the traditional U.S. market.

Petersen International looks forward to another 35 years as a member of Lloyd’s distinguished family. 

Foresters Financial 

Foresters Financial™, an international financial services provider, has increased the non-medical face amount limit of its U.S. life insurance products from $250,000 to $400,000.¹  The limit increase is part of an aggressive new strategy to significantly grow Foresters product portfolio in the U.S. over the next decade.

Products benefiting from the increase include Lifefirst Term Life (issue ages 18-55), SMART Universal Life (issue ages 16-55) and Advantage Plus Whole Life (issue ages 16-55). 

“The limit adjusstments were designed to meet the rsising customer demand for higher face-amounts in the non-med market,” said Eric Miller, vice president, US Life and Annuity Sales. “And Foresters is proud to offer these larger face amounts without making any changes to our underwriting process, which is a huge advantage for our distribution partners and customers who will benefit from the time savings and convenience.”

“These changes demonstrate Foresters ongoing commitment to providing our distribution partners with competitively priced products to help them meet the protection needs of families,” Miller continued. “In addition, the Foresters member benefits² offer so much more – it’s a winning combination that is unique in the marketplace.”

Foresters new non-medical face amount limits were designed to appeal to the family market with features including no increases to premiums, no changes to the underwriting process with no additional underwriting requirements including no fluids or saliva collection, no paramedical examinations and no life event or mortgage requirements.

Furthermore, Foresters distribution partners can submit non-medical business through iPipeline’s iGO e-application,³ which benefits both clients and agents as they will receive a point of sale decision by email within just 10 minutes.⁴ This process also expedites commission payments to agents.

In addition to all of these valuable features, insureds will be Foresters members and have access to Foresters Member Benefits for the primary insured and their immediate family members. These benefits, many of which are complimentary, currently include competitive academic scholarships, financial counseling and discounted legal services.

Foresters new non-medical face amount limit increases were available as of December 5, 2016. 

Foresters Financial™ is an international financial services provider with more than three million clients and members in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and total funds under management of $34 billion.⁵ With a history of more than 140 years, they provide life insurance, savings, retirement and investment solutions that help families achieve their financial goals, protect their families and improve their communities. For more information, visit www.foresters.com.

Notes:
1. Products referred to are underwritten by The Independent Order of Foresters (a fraternal benefit society, 789 Don Mills Road, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9).  Insurability depends on the answers to medical and lifestyle questions and an underwriting review based on underwriting requirements and guidelines.
2. Foresters Financial member benefits are non-contractual, subject to benefit specific eligibility requirements, definitions and limitations and may be changed or canceled without notice.
3. E-App is available for non-medical Lifefirst, Advantage Plus, SMART. Currently available only through the iPipeline iGO e-App platform. E-App is not available in MA, NY and VT. Use existing paramed process where e-App is not available.
4. POS will be unavailable Mondays-Saturdays from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and from Saturday 10:00 pm to Sunday 10:00 a.m. (EST).
5. In Canadian dollars as of December 31, 2015

Mutual Trust Introduces Horizon ValueTM

Mutual Trust Life Insurance Company, a Pan-American Life Insurance Group Stock Company, has introduced Horizon ValueTM participating whole life insurance, a leader in early, fast, guaranteed cash growth. Horizon Value’s guaranteed cash values and competitive, non-guaranteed dividends grow rapidly and tax-deferred, producing one of the best early cash value guarantees in the industry. Policyowners have access, liquidity and control of this money throughout their lives through policy loans and by withdrawing values generated by dividends.

In addition to introducing Horizon Value, the company also increased the dividend scale on its single paid-up additional insurance (PUA) rider. Plus, on its Flex Pay PUA Rider, it not only increased the dividend scale, but it also extended the time it allows premiums to be paid to age 90, which can help with legacy and retirement planning.

“Following the announcement in late September that A.M. Best upgraded Mutual Trust’s financial rating to ‘A’ Excellent with a stable outlook, the introduction of Horizon Value is the next exciting chapter for the company,” explains Luke Cosme, Mutual Trust’s senior vice president, chief sales and marketing officer. “The significantly increased dividend scale and improved flexibility of our PUA riders make Horizon Value one of the most competitive participating whole life products available in the market today, all with the industry leading liquidity, access and control that agents and clients have come to expect from Mutual Trust.”

For more information, contact the company’s Sales Development Team at 800-323-7320, ext. 5140, or SalesDeveloment@mutualtrust.com.

Mutual Trust Life Insurance CompanySM, a Pan-American Life Insurance Group Stock Company, develops, underwrites, and services premier individual life insurance products and annuities for individuals, families and businesses in 49 states and the District of Columbia (DC). Based in Oak Brook, Illinois, the company was founded in 1904. For more information, visit www.mutualtrust.com.

Pan-American Life Insurance Group (PALIG) is a leading provider of insurance and financial services throughout the Americas. It has been delivering trusted financial services since 1911. Visit www.palig.com for more information.

Legal & General Group Plc (“Legal & General”) has today announced the formation of a new division: Legal & General Insurance (LGI), under the leadership of Bernie Hickman. Hickman will serve as CEO of the combined UK and US insurance division.

Legal & General has successfully built Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) and Legal & General Retirement (LGR) into international growth businesses. LGIM entered the US with $18 billion in funds in 2005. It now manages $133 billion for over 180 clients. LGR did its first pension de-risking transaction in 2015 in the US, and now has written over $500 million in pension transactions, and made its first infrastructure investment there.

The new insurance division will have over seven million customers in UK and the US, and provide life insurance, critical illness cover, and income protection to individuals and company employees.

The UK insurance business is a multi-channel, multi-product business, using technology to deliver great customer service with cost and scale efficiencies. The new insurance division will aim to grow and develop its US business into a multi-channel and multi-product business, by leveraging its UK insurance expertise, scale, and technology in the US.

Nigel Wilson, group CEO, said: “Bernie is a proven successful leader. Legal & General has two large successful international businesses, Legal & General Investment Management, and Legal & General Retirement. We are now developing our third international business, our insurance business.”

Bernie Hickman, chief executive officer, Legal & General Insurance added: “The US, with our strong insurance franchise and international track record of LGIM and LGR, is a great place to build our insurance business. Technology is playing an ever-increasing role in all areas of the UK and US insurance markets, with digital marketing and straight through processing becoming ever more important. It’s therefore a great opportunity and an exciting time to combine our UK and US expertise, technology and insights, to grow our existing businesses and establish new, digital insurance businesses in selected international markets.”

Hickman was managing director, UK protection business from 2005 till 2010. He launched the UK protection digital platform, OLP Connect. It provides market leading self-service functionality and high levels of straight through processing. UK protection through organic growth now has a market share of over 25 percent. He became CEO of Legal & General Home Finance and MD of individual retirement in 2014, where he launched its digital platform for lifetime mortgages, achieving a 25 percent market share within the first year. He has also held the positions of group financial controller and investor relations director.

The UK retail protection business provides life insurance, critical illness coverage, and income protection to over four million customers, has over 25 percent market share, and 80 percent straight through processing. The group protection business provides two million company employees with life or income protection, and has over 15 percent market share. Legal & General America has over a million life insurance customers, and $1.2 billion of gross written premium.

Legal & General America’s newly formed executive committee, Jim Galli, Drew Love and Barbara Esau, will continue to guide the day-to-day operations of LGA.

Gibson has more than 30 years of claims administration, client service and operational controls experience. He comes to Mutual from Unum, where he served for 13 years in various leadership positions in long term disability, short term disability, leave management, special benefits and large case claims. He most recently held the position of vice president, benefit operations.

“In addition to his significant experience, Andy has a proven track record of success and innovation with a strong focus on the customer, which aligns with our core values,” said Scott Ault, senior vice president, benefits solutions, at Mutual of Omaha. “His experience and shared values will strengthen our organization.”

Gibson earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of South Carolina and has completed the Executive Leadership program at Vanderbilt, Owen School of Graduate Management and the Norton and Kaplan program on Balanced Business Scorecards at Harvard. Mutual of Omaha is a full-service, multi-line organization providing insurance, banking and financial products for individuals, businesses and groups throughout the United States. For more information about Mutual of Omaha, visit www.mutualofomaha.com.

Active-minded travelers looking to experience the risk and adrenaline-inducing reward of extreme sports can now add a layer of protection thanks to Seven Corners, Inc., which today exclusively introduces DOGTAG travel medical insurance to the U.S. market. The innovative international travel insurance and specialty benefit management company is the first and only U.S. seller of DOGTAG, which covers an extensive list of more than 500 sports from bungee jumping to kite surfing to skydiving and more. Whether you are wearing specialized closed toe sandals for men on an extreme hiking trail or an impact helmet on a steep offroad hill, DOGTAG will keep you covered just as well as any protective clothing! You may even have the chance to try some of these extreme sports on your family vacation, especially if you want to go on Kite surfing holidays. Not only will it help you to develop a new skill, but it could also offer you the chance to make memories of a lifetime and it’s all thanks to discovering them on a list like this. If you are in need of equipment, you may want to check out Flyerdiaries.com to get what you need for your sport.

DOGTAG protects against financial hardship due to unexpected medical expenses that a customer’s standard health insurance may not cover including accidents and medical evacuation. Along with comprehensive travel medical insurance, every insured person receives a personalized stainless steel dog tag, eliminating the need for active travelers to carry cumbersome paperwork. The innovative DOGTAG product is laser engraved with the traveler’s name, personal tag number and 24/7 emergency assistance contact details. Medical personnel are also able to access a read-only medical information page that provides vital information such as blood type, current medication, medical history, personal medical provider information and emergency contacts.

“DOGTAG offers a robust range of sports coverage options in case of any unplanned events travelers may experience while participating in adventurous activities,” said Jim Krampen, co-founder and chief revenue officer of Seven Corners. “This product is a game changer for U.S. customers exploring the world through extreme sports, and we’re excited to be the exclusive U.S. distributor.”

With the right level of protection for a traveler’s adventure needs, DOGTAG includes four sport level pricing options based on type of activity:

Sport: Includes a wide range of sports and recreational pursuits such as bungee jumping, ice skating and jet skiing.

Sport+: Covers more adventurous sports like kite surfing, heli skiing and speed skating.

Extreme: Provides protection for higher risk sports such as marathon racing, downhill mountain biking and paragliding.

Extreme+: Offers coverage for the highest risk sports including skydiving, Tough Mudder competitions and ultra-marathons.

DOGTAG includes support from Seven Corners’ high-quality, multilingual customer service team which also provides 24/7 emergency assistance. In addition, the plan covers the loss, theft or damage of valuable equipment, tools and supplies. To protect trip costs, travelers can add a Seven Corners trip cancellation policy to their DOGTAG plan.

Founded in 1993, Seven Corners, Inc. is an innovative and service focused international travel insurance and specialty benefit management company based in Carmel, IN, and serving a global market.

For more information visit www.sevencorners.com.