Friday, March 29, 2024
Home Authors Posts by Broker World

Broker World

1438 POSTS 0 COMMENTS
Broker World is the only national insurance magazine founded, focused and edited to specifically address the brokerage marketplace and the unique informational needs of independent life and health producers who select the products best suited to their clients' needs from a variety of companies and marketers. The primary service is to provide a channel of communication between life and health companies and marketers and the 28,600+ proven producers of substantial amounts of brokerage business that constitute Broker World's readership.

Legal & General America

0

Legal & General America

Mary Bahna-Nolan, FSA, CERA, MAAA, has joined Legal & General America as senior vice president and chief actuary. In her new role, Bahna-Nolan will have responsibility for IFRS, US GAAP and US statutory valuation, embedded value, economic capital, financial modeling and forecasting, and experience analysis and assumptions.

In her 25-year career, Bahna-Nolan has most recently worked for Pricewaterhouse­Coopers, where she provided audit and advisory services to life insurance and reinsurance clients. Prior to PwC, Bahna-Nolan was at North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, where she held several positions including chief risk officer, chief actuary, chief product officer, and head of underwriting. She earlier worked at Transamerica Reinsurance, where she was responsible for pricing and treaty negotiation. Bahna-Nolan began her career at Sun Life of Canada.

Bahna-Nolan has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan in actuarial mathematics and economics. She is both a fellow and chartered enterprise risk analyst in the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

In addition to being a frequent speaker at industry meetings and author of several papers and articles, Bahna-Nolan is quite active in various industry activities. 

Multi-Generation Agencies… Success At Succession

0

Art Jetter & Company,  Brokers Clearing House and Mike Levy Associates, Inc.

Art Jetter & Company

Omaha, NE

Art Jetter was a Guarantee Mutual Life insurance agent for eight years. The last few years were increasingly focused on doing advanced joint case work with other producers. That joint work led to the founding of our brokerage general agency. We’ve been focused on life, long term care, medical, DI, medigap, group and annuities ever since. Our Chief Operating Officer A.C. Jetter joined the firm in 1996 while getting a degree in information science and technology. We started our succession planning in earnest five years ago.

Brokers Clearing House

West Des Moines, IA

Brokers Clearing House (BCH) is based in West Des Moines, IA, and has operated under family ownership since 1975. The firm began with Robert Hoefer, who hired his daughter Barbara Hoefer Crowley in 1977. Barbara’s son, Rob, joined the company five years ago.

BCH is a national distributor of life insurance, annuities, long term care and disability income insurance. We work with advisors of all types who come to us from banks, P&C agencies, broker/dealers, investment firms and traditional carriers. We provide high touch service to these advisors, which we individualize for their needs.

Mike Levy Associates, Inc.

New Orleans, LA

Mike Levy Associates, Inc., is a life brokerage agency located in the Greater New Orleans area, doing business since 1952. Founded by Michel “Mike” Levy, CLU, ChFC, the agency originally specialized in impaired risk underwriting. For many years the agency primarily represented The Manhattan Life Insurance Company of New

York and their sister company, Manhattan National Life. Their other specialty was group life ancillary products, also part of the Manhattan portfolio. Mike was not only the brokerage general agent soliciting surplus business from career agents when they needed to go outside their primary carriers in order to meet their client needs, but was also a Million Dollar Round Table life and qualifying member, serving a substantial personal client base. During the 1950s and 1960s, Mike was known to his agents and clients as “the man from Manhattan.”

Mike and his wife, Gloria, had three children, and once they were all away in college,  Gloria worked part time as bookkeeper in the agency. Their daughter, Michel Levy Boudreaux, LUTCF, started working part time in the agency summers and weekends during high school and college, became licensed and joined the agency full time in 1977 upon graduation from college. In 1981, Mike was one of the five original founders of National Brokerage Agencies, Inc. (NBA), which today is one of the largest and oldest marketing groups in our industry.

Michel served as brokerage supervisor until Mike’s death in 1992, when she became president and brokerage general agent. By then the agency had diversified and offered a full line of competitive life insurance products with multiple carriers, but Michel’s area of expertise remained the same as her father’s, impaired risk cases. In 1999, Michel’s husband, Kevin Boudreaux, joined the agency as business manager, following a 22-year career in country club management.

Today, sixty-two years later, Mike Levy Associates, Inc. is run by Michel and Kevin, and their area of expertise is offering “concierge” service to their agents. Their product line includes full life, long term care, annuity and Medicare supplement, as well as group life and ancillary products. Due to their membership in NBA, they are able to meet their agent needs with virtually any company in the industry. Once an agent starts working with them on their cases, they rarely go elsewhere due to the personalized, hands-on, white glove treatment they receive. They may work with fewer agents, but instead of getting one or two cases here or there, they get virtually all of each agent’s business. 

Q: What is your advice regarding the issues of transition of ownership and of leadership within a multi-generation general agency?

Jetter: Although family ownership is a wonderful possibility, a truly successful succession comes only if operating our business is a positive personal experience. The only way to know if it is pleasing is to do the work.

It was beneficial to communicate our succession plan to everyone working at our firm. Knowing that the company would continue to operate after the agency principal retires and being familiar with succession leadership leads to long term staff satisfaction.

If there are other family members who are not part of the succession ownership, it is essential for the plan to be integrated into the principal’s estate plan.

Crowley: The sooner the succession plan can be identified and documents put into place, the better. Many families work together for years without funded buy/sell agreements, because it’s “assumed” who will take over. Regular meetings between the generations need to occur to review the plan and the documents as things change. Estate equalization for family who are not in the business needs to be discussed. There is no good reason why these issues have to be dealt with when there is a death, disability or retirement. If everyone in the family knows how things will work it will make for less stress and a more harmonious transition.

Levy: In our particular case, change just evolved, and mostly due to my father’s early death at age 69, we did not have a planned transition except via my father’s will. He also was able to make phone calls prior to his death and make arrangements with our major carriers so that the transition would be smooth. Due to my work in the agency for such a long time, my participation in company meetings, conventions, training, etc., during the prior  20-plus years, it was a smooth transition for us. I am not sure that would be the case today, so even the smallest “mom and pop”-type shop should be urged to have a plan in place.

Q: How has your agency dealt with the grooming of the younger generation into supervisory or leadership roles within the company, as well as the division of responsibility?

Crowley: There is quite a disparity in my age and my son Rob’s age. I have chosen the path my father did of including him in everything feasible in order to give him a broad understanding of not only our agency but the industry as well. While he quickly established his knowledge and his ability, he has not yet been given department or management responsibilities. I felt we needed highly qualified people with more maturity in place between myself and my son. As a result we have a president, COO and CFO as the next layer between us, and everyone involved knows the plan.

Levy: Again, ours is a small operation—Michel and Kevin, husband and wife. Fortunately, our roles are interchangeable when necessary. Obviously, my view for this discussion is based on the transition from my father to my generation. Kevin and I do not have children, so another younger generation is not in the picture at this time. We were, however, surprised recently when a nephew who is an officer in the Army and still has several more years, at least, in his Army career, stated that he might like to get licensed and go into the life insurance business. Never say never!

Jetter: A.C. Jetter started with our firm while he was in college. He was our IT manager. After a few years, it was clear he found personal value in our business. So we discussed potential succession. Over the years he’s worked in each area of our company. For the past five years he has been our chief operating officer.

We are blessed with good friends who experienced family succession and shared their suggestions and experiences with us.

Q: Has the younger generation faced challenges in maintaining and growing producer relationships that were originally forged by the elder generation? What steps has your agency taken to surmount or avoid these challenges?

Levy: This question really brings us back to my father’s last week of life in the hospital. Up until several hours before his death he was visiting with many of our agents in his hospital room and making phone calls to our best agents, telling them he was dying and asking them to please give Michel their support. Many did—and still do today—but it is like anything else, you have to perform to maintain those relationships. For many years we have counted our blessings that we were given that extra time in the last weeks of my dad’s life to have those conversations with our carriers and agents. A lesson from that is not to take proper planning for granted, for had those opportunities been taken from us we believe the transition after his death would have been much more difficult.

Jetter: Many of our relationships started with Art but continued with staff members. We have a terrific team. Karen Nalley, our exceptional chief marketing officer, joined the company in 1988. Karen is an important player in the development and implementation of our succession plan. Our experience and age differences of the three of us helps assure leadership continuity.

Crowley: I did not have this problem following my father, as we worked together for so long that his relationships became mine. We have long term staff who have maintained relationships with our advisors as well. We have involved our successors with our advisors at all levels.

Q: What has been your agency’s approach to maintaining the service, integrity and relationship building foundation of the business while exploring and integrating new ideas, processes and technology?

Jetter: We intend to always provide exceptional customer service. We do our best to measure quality and improve wherever we can. For a decade, A.C. was successfully focused on our technology. He brought document imaging to our firm when imaging was first imagined. Having a tech expert on staff was a valuable asset. So, when it was time for A.C. to lead all of our operations, replacing his IT responsibilities was a serious but necessary challenge. Experience is the best teacher.

Crowley: We were founded and raised on integrity relationships and service. Those characteristics have not been difficult to maintain, regardless of the changes we continue to execute. Without integrity there is nothing. Relationships carry you through good times and bad. Advisors need to know we care. Service is a given and at BCH, where we maintain a high touch model, it is imperative. 

Levy: Mike Levy taught both Kevin and myself integrity by example. Personal service is integral and reinforces face-to-face relationships. Technology certainly has made it much easier for two people to operate an agency, attend meetings and still offer good personal service, but we are careful to adopt the newest tech changes once they prove useful and not necessarily jump on the first chance to incorporate all the newest gadgets and techniques. Sometimes that philosophy works in our favor and sometimes not, but it seems to balance out in the long run. The important thing is to keep involved, stay in touch, know what is new and be aware of the changes as they come around so you can make educated decisions. 

LifeSecure Insurance Company

0

LifeSecure Insurance Company’s long term care insurance (LTCI) products are simple solutions that help families live well in their later years and secure their finances. These products are now available to the individual and multi-life market for the first time in New Jersey and Connecticut, giving consumers and agents a new choice in LTCI.

“The demand for long term care continues to rise as health care costs grow and advances in medical technology afford us an opportunity to live longer. LifeSecure is dedicated to providing comprehensive, easy-to-understand solutions that can protect families and better prepare them for the impacts of long term care,” said Tiffany Albert, LifeSecure president and CEO. “LifeSecure’s LTCI was designed to be flexible and straightforward, which makes it easy for families to create a plan that fits their personal needs. Our competitive product portfolio, coupled with ease of administration, also helps agents grow their business.”

LifeSecure’s Individual LTC II and OMII (One-for-Many LTC) for the worksite provide policyholders the option of receiving care in multiple settings, including their home, assisted living facilities, and nursing facilities, among others. The straightforward product design helps families make informed decisions. It also offers:

 • Flexible coverage that provides for informal caregivers, caregiver training, home modifications, and other options so that expert care can be received in the setting policyholders prefer;

 • Personalized care coordination and support;

 • Shared care, which allows couples to share benefits if one person’s benefits are exhausted and care is still needed;

 • Budget-point pricing;

 • A simple e-application and expedited approval process.

OMII, which is available to employers with as few as three employees, offers competitive solutions to different sized employer groups and features simplified issue underwriting.

Mutual of Omaha

0

Mutual of Omaha Retirement Services is now offering 401(k) Admin Advantage, a service to help ease the day-to-day demands of plan administration while minimizing risks for plan sponsors and supporting the independent services of plan advisors and third party administrators.

“401(k) plan administration can be time-consuming and overwhelming, especially for small to mid-size businesses,” said John Corrieri, vice president of 401(k) at Mutual of Omaha. “With 401(k) Admin Advantage, we serve as a co-fiduciary for certain administrative requirements, sharing regulatory obligations with plan sponsors. Plan administrators gain peace of mind knowing these duties are handled by experienced professionals who will work with their advisor and possible TPA, so they can focus on their business.”

Corrieri said plan sponsors can choose either or both of the two available service levels for a package that meets their specific needs.

 • Level One—Participant Notice Distribution: electronic or print distribution of a comprehensive list of participant notices that are mandated by the Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service.

 • Level Two—Transaction Processing: services related to reviewing participant requests and approving and processing transactions.

“We believe the addition of these services brings great value by simplifying plan administration. Plan administrators can be confident Mutual of Omaha will ease their workload and stand behind the services we provide,” Corrieri said.

For more information about Mutual of Omaha Retirement Services’ 401(k) Admin Advantage and other retirement products and services, visit www.­sellretirementright.com. For more information about Mutual of Omaha, visit www.mutualofomaha.com. 

Petersen International Underwriters

0

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has announced to its members the launch of a new disability insurance program created and administered by Petersen International Underwriters, the disability income protection specialists based in Valencia, CA.

The program will provide members of the NFLPA with career-ending, permanent total disability insurance on a guaranteed issue basis, and make protection available to players on and off the field. According to Scott Petersen, Petersen International’s resident expert for the professional athlete disability market, “This new guaranteed issue athlete DI plan has allowed Petersen International to turn a longtime friendship with the NFLPA into the chance to provide their members with the strongest and most necessary of insurance benefits when considering the physically hazardous nature of the occupation.”

Petersen International Underwriters is a coverholder at Lloyd’s and can be reached at 800-345-8816 or by email  at piu@piu.org

Legal & General America

0

Legal & General America

Troy Thompson, FSA, joined Legal & General America as vice president, product management. In his new role, Thompson has responsibility for product development and in-force product management.

Thompson’s career is remarkably correlated to LGA’s business needs today. Thompson was most recently vice president of USAA, in San Antonio, TX, where he was first the strategic leader of life and investment company operations and then a leader in an enterprise transformation initiative. This initiative aided the shift from a product-line-centric organizational underpinning to a shared distribution multi-product solutions orientation.

At Genworth Financial, Thompson served as senior vice president of fixed life products, universal life products and term life products. He also led the development of team and UL portfolio efforts, resulting in more than $200 million in annual sales, $300 million in after-tax income, and annual growth rates as high as 70 percent. In doing so, Thompson also artfully managed capital with structures that funded noneconomic AG38 and XXX reserves, including the industry’s first securitization.

Thompson is an actuary’s actuary, but also a trusted collaborator. He has a long and demonstrated history of working closely with distribution and marketing. Thompson said, “This is the business I’m passionate about and I’m thrilled to be part of the LGA team.”

A mathematics graduate with honors from the University of Texas, Thompson is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries. 

MedAmerican Companues

0

The MedAmerica Companies

Bill Naylon was elected president of Med­America Insurance Company, Med­America Insurance Company of New York, and MedAmerica Insurance Company of Florida (collectively, “MedAmerica”) at the board of directors meeting held recently. 

Naylon has held various executive financial and subsidiary positions for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield since 1988 and has been acting president for MedAmerica since the retirement of the former president, Bill Jones, in December 2013.

“Bill understands our expectations for MedAmerica and has already taken meaningful actions to position MedAmerica for long term sustainability,” said Chris Booth, CEO of The Lifetime Healthcare Companies, Inc., the parent company of both Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and the MedAmerica Companies.

Dorothy Coleman, CFO of The Lifetime Healthcare Companies, noted that, “As part of the Excellus and MedAmerica leadership team for more than 26 years, Bill has a deep understanding of our organization’s values and of the long term care insurance industry.”

“I am fortunate to have a strong and seasoned team at MedAmerica,” said Naylon. “We, and the industry in general, have been challenged by the prolonged low interest rate environment. I am confident that we have a viable long term strategy to continue providing insurance for the devastating costs associated with chronic illnesses.”

The MedAmerica Companies underwrite insurance for chronic illnesses in all 50 states and are wholly owned subsidiaries of Excellus Health Plan, Inc., one of the largest not-for-profit health insurers in New York  state. It is the fifth largest seller of long term care insurance nationwide (LIMRA, May 2014). The company reported more than $2 billion in assets in 2013.

Petersen International Underwriters

0

Petersen International Underwriters

Petersen International Underwriters, the California-based specialty insurance underwriting and marketing firm, is pleased to announce the launch of its new simplified issue disability insurance program for lower-income markets.

The product was designed to provide affordable, comprehensive, “own occupation” income protection to modest income earning Americans, and offers a variety of elimination and benefit periods to suit individual client needs. This new disability program is also a perfect fit for part-time employees and those with preexisting medical conditions or hazardous occupations.

But according to Thomas Petersen, vice president of Petersen International, “The most intriguing feature of this new product is that of simplified issue, individual disability underwriting. We have streamlined the traditional underwriting process, allowing policies to be approved and issued in a matter of days rather than weeks. Also, applicants aren’t required to go through exhaustive medical exams or lab work.”

Petersen believes that the new simplified issue disability insurance plan is the next step in expanding and diversifying the disability income industry. Those who have been historically underrepresented as DI consumers are now able to acquire an appropriate and affordable insurance plan.

Petersen International Underwriters is a coverholder at Lloyd’s, specializing in excess and specialty disability insurance programs for individuals and corporations. 

In Memoriam

0

The health insurance industry is saddened by the loss of Dick Field, who began his career in 1970 with New York Life selling whole life policies in record numbers.  He left the company as a Chairman’s Council member, their top designation, moving to California and concentrating on the health insurance business. In 1982 he and partner Rusty Brown started Innovative Cost Concepts, the first general agency in the country to provide multiple group health insurance quotes and comparisons to their agent force. They put together their first “private label” small group product with Great Republic Life in 1983.

Shortly after they added partner John Word, Field decided to concentrate on the individual marketplace, and his partners formed their own company, Word and Brown, specializing in the group market and becoming one of the largest group insurance wholesalers in the nation. Field went on to put together many private label individual health insurance products, including The Innovator, with United Olympic Life; The Competitive Edge, with Trustmark; The Solution Series, with The Provident; Total Choice and Shared Choice, with United Chambers; e-Solution and the Assur-Care series with Guarantee Trust Life; Unified One, with Unified Life; and GetMED 360, with Fairmont Specialty Group.

His current venture had been Innovative Insurance Specialists, LLC, founded by Field and his soul mate and partner of 18 years, Yvonne Fidure. On a personal note, it was always a delight to run into them while making the rounds of industry events. They never failed to greet me with beaming smiles and earnest welcome and enthusiasm. Dick was a good and loyal friend to many, myself included, and the industry is truly lessened by his loss. [SPH]

 

The life insurance industry lost a great one recently with the passing of Fred Tseu, CPS Insurance Services, Inc./Guardian of Hawaii.

Born in 1923 in Chansha, Hunan Provence, Tseu moved to Hawaii in 1935. After serving in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II, Fred graduated the SMU School of Insurance Marketing and started selling insurance in 1947. Tseu also served in the Navy during the Korean War, then returned to the insurance industry, and founded Guardian of Hawaii as a National Fidelity career general agency in 1955. He transitioned the agency from a career shop to a brokerage general agency in 1969.

Very active in his industry associations, Tseu served on the membership and legislative committees of the Honolulu Association of Life Underwriters, on the board of the Hawaii State Association of Life Underwriters, serving as its president in 1982-1983. He was a board member of the Life Underwriters Political Action Committee (LUPAC), and was elected twice to be the state chairman, from 1979-1983 and again from 1984-1988. In addition to his work in the National Association of Life Underwriters (now NAIFA), Tseu was an active member of the General Agents and Managers Association (GAMA), the Hawaii Chapter of CLU, and the American Society of CLU. Guardian of Hawaii was a charter member of the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA), and the agency still belongs to the group, under the capable leadership of Fred’s children Steven Tseu and Lori (Tseu) Rodriguez.

Tseu was active in his community, participating in various fundraising campaigns for cancer, heart disease and other causes; a member and past president of the Honolulu Optimist Club; a neighborhood commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America; and a youth counselor for the YMCA.

In addition to Lori and Steven, Tseu leaves behind his wife, Edna, and daughters Jeannie and Debbie.

Fred Tseu served our industry and his clients with boundless compassion and integrity during an insurance career spanning more than six decades. He will be missed. [SPH]

 

Another loss to our industry must be noted with the passing of Robert “Bob” Miller, CLU, ChFC, MSFS. Bob possessed the rare combination of a MENSA’s intelligence with an engaging “everyman” personality. Most recently Bob served as product manager at AAA Life Insurance Company. Prior to joining AAA, Miller was a principal and chief marketing consultant with RAM Marketing Innovation, LLC, and the vice president, marketing innovation, with Ash Brokerage.

Miller graduated from Bradley University in 1972 with a BS in business. He studied the insurance industry extensively through the American College, earning his CLU designation as well as his ChFC and MSFS. However, it was during his tenure with a number of key insurance carriers in the brokerage market that Miller really counted his contributions to the industry, serving first as AVP, marketing coordinator at National Fidelity Life in the early 1980s, next moving to Federal Kemper Life Insurance Company as a director or marketing, product development and systems design. In the early 1990s Bob moved to CNA as vice president, marketing, before landing at American General as director of marketing from 2004 through 2009.

Miller’s contributions in product development, marketing support, training and motivation of the field force left a lasting impression on the many home office colleagues, brokerage general agency principals and brokers who were fortunate enough to work with him. Bob played a key role in such industry product innovations as deposit term, re-entry term, level term and ROP term, ISWL and UL. His design support of product illustration software and the industry’s first tele-underwriting process demonstrates the great breadth of his creativity. He was a passionate brokerage industry advocate, a product innovator, a master platform speaker, motivator and trainer, and a successful team leader. I enjoyed many conversations with Bob over the years, chiefly at NAILBA and marketing organization meetings, and I am truly sorry our industry has lost his voice. [SPH]

Partners Advantage

0

Partners Advantage

Partners Advantage Insurance Services, LLC, is pleased to announce the appointment of Gary E. Eckebrecht as vice president of sales for its Advantage Division. Eckebrecht will be taking leadership in many of the key areas headed by retiring Senior Vice President James Lehmann.

Eckebrecht is an experienced sales and marketing executive with more than three decades in the financial services industry. He has spent the last 20 years working with life and annuity manufacturers and wholesalers, and has additional experience focused in mutual funds and separate accounts. He has supported retail sales organizations including banks, broker/dealers and independent financial professionals. He also spent many years in several senior management roles at Prudential Financial. As a divisional vice president, he managed a team of regional sales professionals covering 24 states and was responsible for numerous corporate initiatives introducing new financial products and services. His team led the country using a strategic approach to sales and marketing, leading to sales of more than $1 billion annually. Eckebrecht has used his experience to benefit companies in multiple distribution channels, most recently in leadership positions in national insurance marketing organizations. He is a FINRA registered principal and holds insurance and securities licenses. He received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Northern Arizona University.

Partners Advantage President James Wong stated, “Gary will bring strong leadership and experience to guide growth for our Advantage Division and enhance the value financial professionals and agencies provide to their clients.”

Wong went on to say, “We are very appreciative of the steadfast leadership Jim Lehmann has provided over the past several years for our Advantage Division. His integrity has always been his hallmark and we are very pleased that he will continue with us in the coming months in an important consultative role.”

As a part of Eckebrecht’s responsibilities he will develop and maintain a high performance sales team to effectively achieve the objectives of the Advantage  Division, which delivers strategies to assist independent financial professionals and agencies throughout the country in growing their businesses.

Partners Advantage offers top shelf training, technology and service, highlighted by two exclusive training programs. The company’s Advanced Coaching & Business Building Program leverages the experienced coaching skills of two nationally recognized leaders in the financial services industry—Anthony Morris and Tom ­Hegna. The program provides financial professionals with ongoing professional coaching to continually build their businesses to new levels. The second exclusive program is MyTrainingPartners.com, which provides weekly interactive training to help financial professionals grow their product knowledge and understand important sales concepts.

Partners Advantage Insurance Services, LLC, is a national insurance marketing organization with 70 associates located in offices across the country. The company’s advantage division is a one-stop brokerage for licensed agents and agencies throughout the United States who sell annuities and life insurance. 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.