Stephen Howard

December is, for most of us at least, a joyous season of giving—whether you diligently obsess over selecting the perfect gift for each loved one on your list, or your efforts simply help a few seasonal workers stay employed at the return counter for a few more days. My mom is pretty easy, as she really only wants a New Yorker cartoon calendar and for me to donate generously to Toys For Tots. She does, however, appreciate the annual Baccarat crystal Christmas tree ornament as her collection has been uninterrupted for 40+ years, and she always seems to like and wear the comfy “running” suits/loungewear my wife Hope (yes, I’m no longer Hopeless!) finds for her online. Hope does a marvelous job finding wonderful gifts for her family, while I try to find them each suitably douchey t-shirts.

I try to make sure I carry a decent number twenties during the Holiday season, tucking one in each red kettle I encounter and, further, looking the bell ringer in the eye and sincerely thanking them for their efforts. But back to Toys For Tots for a moment. Nothing during the Christmas season gives me greater joy than walking through WalMart or Target with Hope, filling shopping carts with toys for the less fortunate, although it is fleetingly, paradoxically disconcerting that the employees and/or Marines manning the donation site are so surprised at the volume. I don’t doubt that the vast majority of you reading this column are very generous in your giving—that has certainly been my experience in our industry. I would invite you, however, at least once, to feel the wonderful mix of emotions I find in filling a cart…while “fighting” the crowd…and wheeling it up to the donation drop off. Words rarely fail me, but the poignant reminder that there will inevitably be many many poor children with nothing to unwrap, combined with the knowledge that at least there will be a few dozen less, is still indescribably warming. It is this that inevitably makes what was intended to be a two cart trip into a three overflowing cart adventure. No money yet has ever felt more well spent.

Eschewing the archaic convention of a silky segue, Hope and I are freshly(?) back from the NAILBA Annual Conference, where attempts to bolster our income while serving the industry are tightly intertwined with our work for the NAILBA Charitable Foundation—she as a current board member and I as a former “formal” member. The mission statement of the Foundation is, “In a time when competition for grant money is fierce, the NAILBA Charitable Foundation is dedicated to providing funding to community-based charities and non-profit organizations nationwide.

The NAILBA Charitable Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Association. Since 2002, NAILBA Charitable Foundation grants have helped to give blind children the gift of ‘sight’, create whimsical rooms for desperately sick children, provide hope to homeless mothers and children, and ultimately achieve its mission of making dreams come true for those less fortunate.

The mission of the NAILBA Charitable Foundation is to encourage volunteerism among NAILBA members and provide grant funds to worthy charitable organizations that serve to enhance the quality of life for those less fortunate, with a special emphasis on children.”

Since 2002, the NAILBA Foundation has raised and contributed over $3 million dollars to more than 200 deserving charities and community organizations nationwide. At this year’s NAILBA Annual Conference it was announced that the Foundation provided grants to 16 very deserving charities sponsored by NAILBA members, and vendor and carrier partners, in amounts ranging from $7,500 to $25,000—for a grand total of $216,500—possible only through the generosity of NAILBA carrier and vendor partners, BGA marketing groups, NAILBA member agencies, and literally hundreds of individual personal donations from folks working for those entities.

It is said that charity in its purest embodiment should be completely absent any even vestigial wish for recognition, and I mention our giving (of time and funds) simply to hopefully share the opportunity to feel a particular personal warmth we’ve been enriched by, and to reinforce the fact that our industry—noble in its own right in service to grieving widows and children—is also caring and generous beyond and outside of our corporate mission statements. [SPH]

In Memoriam

There have been too many of these lately, but this one really hit me to my core—truly one of my dearest friends in this business, Mike Thomas of J.L. Thomas & Company, Cleveland, OH, passed away October 10 after a nearly year-long fight with colon cancer.

Jerry “Michael” Thomas was born in 1952. He graduated from Baldwin Wallace University in 1974, where he was a member of the Letterman’s Club for baseball.

Mike began his insurance career with Northwestern Mutual as a special agent, but joined J.L. Thomas & Company the following year. Along with his brothers Dave and Craig, Mike built J.L. Thomas & Company into truly one of the premier brokerage general agencies in the country, offering brokers expert help in placing life, long term care and disability income insurance as well as annuity planning. I always found it fascinating, and a little unbelievable, that all three brothers co-managed the company as equals—each as a Principal—with no Chairman or President.

Mike earned his CLU designation in 1983, was president of the Cleveland Association of Life Underwriters in 1994 and 1995, a member of NALU (now NAIFA) for 45 years and served on the board of directors for NAILBA from 1995 to 1997. He served as the treasurer for the study group SUB Centers for 10 years and was a member of the Risk Appraisal Forum. Mike was very well respected in the underwriting community and helped the agency develop many strong relationships with the industry’s premier carriers. The agency is a member of LifeMark Partners.

Mike was well loved in the brokerage community, countless are his dear friends among carrier reps and BGAs, and I can only strongly presume the brokers doing business with J.L. Thomas. Every time I can remember seeing Mike at NAILBA or LifeMark Partners’ meetings he was either surrounded by smiling and laughing faces or in deep one-on-one conversation with a respected carrier VIP. Or giving me a great laughing bear hug and catching up on one another’s lives. Mere hours after his passing word was already circulating and I heard from numerous friends the sad, sad news.

Civic pride and the attendant duty were important to Mike as well. He served as trustee of the Rocky River Public Library in the 1970s, and on the Cystic Fibrosis board, Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland board, Town Cryer’s of Westlake, and board of directors of the West Shore Montessori Schools.

Mike also served as a girls softball coach and soccer coach for both of his daughters’ teams. His family was very important to Mike and he particularly loved spending time with them at the family’s cottage on Crane Lake in Ontario.

Mike leaves behind his beloved wife Michele, daughters Katie and Alli, brothers Dave (wife Paula), and Craig (wife Stella), sister Jane (husband Jim Kelly), and nieces and nephews Kurt Thomas (Nicollete), Sara Thomas, Jerry Thomas (Dr. Anne), Christina Lumsden (Nick), Jackie Kelly, and Tommy Kelly. Memorial contributions may be sent to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 24478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.

Mike always had a great deal of respect for my dad, and thankfully he easily transferred that into a precious friendship with me. I’m lucky enough to consider all three “Thomas Boys” my dear dear friends.

Tough guy that he was, Mike would tell me each time I called (which is never frequently enough, is it?) that he was “Doing good. I’m gonna beat this thing.” I guess somewhere it morphed from the expected mantra of the optimistic fighter I knew him to be, to the reassuring words of a compassionate fibber. Michelle…Craig…Dave…my heart goes out to you. Dammit, I’m really gonna miss that guy. [SPH]

One of my most treasured friendships is with Eugene Cohen and his wonderful wife Shirlee, who had the somewhat questionable judgement to return that affection and invite Hope and I to Las Vegas for the celebration of Eugene’s harrumphtieth birthday. We spent a wonderful three days with a plethora of Cohen’s including Eugene’s brother and sister-in-law, the three stalwart Cohen sons along with wives and grandkids… Apparently we’ve been adopted, and I couldn’t be more humbled and honored.

After finding varying success in a number of occupations (he once sold watermelons out of a truck), an act of providence led Eugene, then in Cleveland, to begin sales training in 1963, specializing in disability income insurance with Massachusetts Indemnity Life Insurance Company. By 1967 he had become one of the youngest agency managers in company history. He built the agency from a struggling two person office to one of the company’s strongest. In 1970 he was transferred to one of the company’s flagship offices, in Chicago, with responsibility for managing a dozen agencies across the country.

In 1980 the company changed direction and the Eugene Cohen Insurance Agency was born.

From that point on Eugene has been a tireless supporter of the brokerage distribution system. The agency has been a member of both NAILBA and LifeMark Partners for decades. He became a founding member of The Plus Group, a DI focused marketing group, and in 2004 was part of the initial planning and eventual formation of the International DI Society—receiving their lifetime achievement award in 2011. In 2015 he was the recipient of the Douglas Mooers Award for Excellence, NAILBA’s, and the brokerage industry’s, highest honor. I was lucky enough to be present at both of those celebrations as well.

Eugene has served on countless carrier BGA advisory boards, bringing lessons of the past and vision for the future to myriad insurance company executives.

But in my mind Eugene’s greatest industry achievement, on a tediously long list, is the fact that for over 50 years he has diligently helped train, educate and create personal growth in literally thousands of insurance agents—instilling in them not just the necessary components of insurance sales, but more important, the ethical mandates of integrity and the imperative that service to the greatest benefit of the consumer and his beneficiaries must always come first.

Eugene takes the greatest pride in his family. He and his delightful wife Shirlee have raised the aforementioned three sons to mirror their core beliefs in faith, integrity, a strong work ethic and the responsibility of giving back to the community and to those less fortunate than themselves. The Cohens are active supporters of many charities, among them Glenkirk, an organization that provides services to intellectually disabled children and adults, the Jewish United Fund of Chicago, the NAILBA Charitable Foundation, Heart Strings, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Wounded Warriors program.

So for three heartwarming days (cooled only sporadically by the voracious appetite of the Mirage’s video poker machines) we basked in the welcome of the Cohens to honor truly one of the greatest men in our industry. If you happen to be one of the many who have been touched either by his friendship or his tireless service to our industry…send a card or a note to Eugene, wishing him a Happy Belated Harrumphtieth Birthday! [SPH]

Dammit. David B. Lea, Jr., passed away on August 14 in East Providence, RI. David Lea was truly one of the pioneers of our industry and helped lay much of the foundation of the brokerage business we serve today.

After graduating from URI in 1959 as a Hood Scholar, David entered the life insurance industry as an agent with John Hancock, eventually rising through the ranks of different insurance companies in New York and Virginia. In 1972 he joined forces with the late Edward R. Anderson founding what is known today as Brokers’ Service Marketing Group (BSMG), a life insurance brokerage agency he expertly ran until his retirement in 2017. Under David’s leadership BSMG developed a national reputation for excellence and innovation and has become the largest New England-based agency of its kind.

David was a founding member and chairman of NAILBA, the industry’s premier national association for BGAs and the brokerage business, and was recognized with the brokerage industry’s most prestigious award, NAILBA’s Douglas Mooers Award for Excellence, in 1998. He was instrumental in the success of the marketing group Brokerage Resources of America, LLC (BRAMCO), one of the country’s leading independently-owned insurance brokerage firms, representing a network of over 16,000 financial advisors who annually produce more than $250 million in life premium and $2 billion in annuities.

Throughout his career David was known as a trailblazer, becoming a true industry icon and ambassador to everyone he touched and paving the way for hundreds of other successful insurance professionals. He always believed that his professional success was not his own doing, but fully dependent on the people around him.

David was a positive force to all who knew him. Being kind and fair was his way; a sign hung on his office door that read simply, “Nice Matters.” David’s focus was on his family first, helping others and building a successful business. Through his unwavering generosity of time, talent and treasure, David helped everyone around him as a mentor and friend. His smile, roaring laugh, and raucous sense of humor could not be denied. He traveled the world for decades with his beloved wife Pat and many friends.

Giving back to the local community was hugely important to David. He was a URI foundation trustee, and a member of the URI College of Business advisory council.

Through his company’s annual charity golf tournament he has raised nearly one million dollars for three local charities: Amos House, Child & Family Services and Day One. My fondest memories of David stem from the many times he welcomed me (and seemingly a cast of thousands) to his home for a lavish dinner the night before the tournament, and for the hilarity at the auction after the tournament as he, as master of ceremonies and auctioneer, offered his own brand of caustic humor to the golf winners and begged, cajoled and often shamed those posing as reluctant to up their bids. I happen to be the caretaker now for a truly precious $1500 “Schnoodle” that I imagine was rescued for about a hundred bucks. I can’t even begin to catalog the challenges (and costs!) of arriving back at a “No Animals” hotel late at night with a puppy in tow, nor the anxiety (and cost) of equipping oneself with all the necessary accoutrements—at 10:00 am when the pet store opened—and making an 11:30 am flight back home. The ticket counter agent wasn’t particularly happy, but Leala seems to be.

David will be remembered for how he treated all who knew him, and the positive impact he made on so many people. A life full of love, spectacularly lived by one simple rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Besides his wonderful wife Pat, he is survived by four children: Deborah A. Ross, Jeanne C. Hunt, David B. Lea III and Jason E. Lea as well as nine grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to Amos House, 460 Pine Street Providence, RI 02907 or online at www.amoshouse.com/MakeaDifference/GiveNow.

The measure of a man’s life may very well be the number of people whose lives they have touched in a positive and memorable way. Through his leadership, savvy and truly caring nature many many thousands of consumers have insurance that either has or will provide some measure of solace in a time of great emotional upheaval and financial need. I’m confident that simple smiles and small kindnesses touched legions more during his day-to-day life. In my personal experience I’ve seen literally hundreds of insurance folks over many years share a genuine smile and a chuckle with him at past NAILBAs and particularly at BSMG’s spectacular Charity Golf Tournament. A quiet testament to the countless friendships he seemingly effortlessly forged and the great respect and admiration he engendered particularly within the brokerage community. I’ve been blessed to be just one of many who deeply admired him and called him friend. [SPH]

“Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They
always run out of other people’s money.”― Margaret Thatcher

OK, so what’s the over-reaching segue between Socialism and a Life Insurance issue that includes the 2019 Milliman Long Term Care Insurance Survey? Quite simply this: There are still too many Americans who believe the Government will simply step in and pay for facility care when the need arises—ignorant or perhaps delusional about both the personal cost and the societal drain. Spend downs are either inconsequential, or a vague nebulous threat, or perhaps completely unknown. For some I poignantly imagine Government paid facility care might not represent a great departure from, and perhaps even an improvement on, their current living conditions. The sad fact is that our industry can’t help them. And God Bless the truly caring service professionals that labor in those facilities daily, overworked and underpaid.

But we, as cognizant representatives of the insurance industry, wouldn’t wish this type of late life treatment for our loved ones, or clients, or hopefully anyone who might still be saved. And yet many Americans on the left (and unbelievably at least one or perhaps more wolves in sheep’s clothing—or hemp or some other plant-based, non-animal-exploiting fabric—lurking on the fringes of our industry in the guise of service) think the Government should provide Golden Care for all golden-agers—at taxpayer’s expense of course. And by taxpayer’s expense I mean a new system of industry and economy crippling taxes on corporations and the wealthy. (After all, they can afford it.) Government largesse isn’t the panacea for long term care, any more than the tragically flawed Obamacare program was the divine solution to the Nation’s healthcare crisis. With the Baby Boomer glut poised to crash upon the nation’s caregiving systems (projected by many to be facing a critical shortage of caregivers in the not-to-distant future—thereby increasing costs), the cost of government care for all should be clearly recognized by all but the most diligently ignorant to be too astronomical for even criminally insane taxes on the rich to subsidize for long. All thoughts of crippling economic prosperity aside, there simply won’t be enough of other people’s money.

Another significant societal trait needs mention here as well. Nursing home horror stories aside, I believe most Americans wish to remain in their homes for as long as humanly possible, and that the adult children of the increasingly dependent wish the comfort of home—the adult dependent’s or even their own—for their aging parents. And this brings us to another demographic under tremendous stress—the unpaid family member caregiver.

Per LIMRA, a worldwide research, consulting and professional development organization and the trusted source of industry knowledge since 1916: “According to LIMRA research, there are 43 million Americans currently acting as an unpaid caregiver for a family member. Advances in medicine and better lifestyle choices have helped more Americans live longer but many of these older Americans often need caregiving help–and oftentimes it falls on the family to provide it.”

In an attempt to quantify the sacrifice assumed by caregiving for a family member, LIMRA research asserted that “Aside from the out-of-pocket costs associated with caring for a loved one, which AARP estimates is almost $7000 annually*, there is often a cost in terms of lost opportunity for those who work outside the home.”

The findings suggest that, “Half of unpaid caregivers work full-time outside the home. For many of these individuals, the demands of taking care of a loved one has impacted their career. The study found four in 10 had to take an unpaid leave of absence or decrease the number of hours they worked because of the demands of caring for a family member. Three in ten say they have turned down a promotion and a quarter say they have lost job benefits, such as medical, retirement, insurance, etc. because they had to cut back their hours due to their caregiving responsibilities. In addition, a significant percentage indicated they ultimately had to stop working—22 percent voluntarily quit, 18 percent had their employment terminated, and 13 percent retired early.”

The release concluded that, “With more than 10,000 Americans turning 65 each day, the number of families facing the financial challenges associated with providing care to an older family member is certain to grow in the next several years.” (For more information about LIMRA research visit www.limra.com.)

The insurance industry is the only body capably constructed to mitigate both the quality facility care and family caregiver crises. Stand-alone LTCI has numerous options available to maintain private-payor facility status, provide qualified in-home care providers, and even compensate family caregivers. Asset-based life and annuity long term care solutions are readily available and increasing in both quantity and quality at a gratifying rate. But insurance professionals of all disciplines must commit to prospecting, proposing, taking applications and protecting families across most of the economic spectrum. The private-sector solution—our industry—is the only workable solution and we need to feel duty-bound.

The Government could, however, provide immense help with these solutions—through drastically increased and improved messaging about the looming crisis and the options our industry offers, combined with more varied and aggressive tax incentives for those who adopt private-sector protection. But that help seems to be our right-wing Brigadoon, at least at present, for two main reasons: First, because it makes good sense and would save the Government trillions in future costs; and second, because it would represent a ceding of Government power, discomforting to the majority of our legislators and bringing cataclysmic, apoplectic despair to the lunatic fringe on the left.[SPH]

Reference:
*(https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/info-2017/family-caregiving-costly-jj.html)

In Memoriam

Sad days indeed for the brokerage community, as we recently lost not one, but three of those great personalities that helped frame and expand brokerage from the beginning.

Paul Doyle passed away on Friday, March 22. He was born April 20, 1938, in Indianapolis, IN, and relocated to Pascagoula, MS, in 1960. After serving his country in the US Navy as a submariner, Doyle came into the life insurance industry as a salesman with Piedmont Southern in 1964 and was agent of the year in 1965. He embraced brokerage with his creation of Crisis Management Agency in 1971 working with Crown Life and Guardsman Life. He earned his CLU designation in 1972. Crisis Management Agency was one of the early members of the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA), joining in the early ‘80s and Doyle served on the board from 1994-1996. He Joined BRAMCO in 1994. He was very involved with NALU/NAIFA for over 40 years and went through the chairs. He was also a member of GAMA and MDRT.

Paul’s son P. J. Doyle shares that Paul truly loved what he did for a living. He was very proud of our industry. He retired in 2002 and became a charter boat Captain, a Master Naturalist with the Audubon Society, a volunteer with the Sheriff’s Flotilla, a member of the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, the Gulf Coast Charter Boat Captains, the US Submarine Veterans, Inc., and the St. Vincent de Paul Society where he helped provide utilities and food to the needy.

P. J. shared two of Paul’s favorite sayings: “Do what’s expected of you and a little bit more,” and, “The successful people are the ones doing the things no one else wants to do.”

According to P. J., “Dad was a horrible golfer and didn’t realize that winning the ‘Best Dressed’ award at a golf tournament wasn’t a good thing! And he always proudly won that award.”

I knew Paul Doyle to be a marketer of great insight and integrity, and fondly remember several times when he took time to offer me words of encouragement and shared stories about the early days of insurance brokerage. Thank you Paul.[SPH]

John “Skeeter” Coleman passed away the evening of April 25. He served as managing director of Broker World from 2004-2011, using his unique ability to build and nurture relationships to promote and advance our brand, and drew from his limitless supply of friends in the BGA ranks to further strengthen the publication’s standing as the voice of the brokerage industry.

Skeeter began his career in 1971 as brokerage manager for Brokerage Services, Inc. in Lynchburg, VA, and in 1976 joined Lucy Dulin, Inc., an independent brokerage agency in Dallas, TX, where he served as vice president of marketing and, in 1982, purchased the agency which he then built into a national marketing organization—Dulin Coleman, Inc. In 1993 he sold the agency to Accordia, Inc., and continued to manage it as president of Accordia Personal Benefits of Texas, Inc., until 1994.

In 1994 Coleman joined the Allstate Financial organization as vice president of sales management for its subsidiary Lincoln Benefit Life, becoming senior vice president, strategic marketing, in 2000. He was named senior vice president, distribution, for Allstate Financial in 2000, a position he served in until 2003.

He had a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Mary’s University, Baltimore, MD, and did graduate work at the University of Virginia. He was an NASD Registered Principal, licensed in Series 6, 63, 26, 7 and 24, and held the CLTC designation. He was a past president of BRAMCO and the Risk Appraisal Forum, and served on the NAILBA board of directors.

In 2008 Skeeter was diagnosed with congestive heart failure while living in Costa Rica, underwent surgery to have an internal defibrillator placed and then received stem cell treatment to repair the damaged cells in his heart—a practise not yet approved in the U.S. Soon after his treatment he was feeling great, walking, and enjoying a wonderful quality of life. He eventually required a new heart and received a transplant in 2016. As soon as he was able he tracked down the donor’s family and spent precious time celebrating the donor’s life and soothing their loss with his incredible charm and gratitude.

John not only worked with the non-profit Help Hope Live to raise money to help finance uninsured medical expenses associated with transplantation, but brought his story to the industry, speaking several times on stem cell treatment and his heart transplant at the Risk Appraisal Forum.

Bob Lombardo, Ash Brokerage of Southwest FL, one of Skeeter’s RAF buddies, said, “I know all who knew Skeeter will miss his quick wit and shenanigans. I will always remember his comedic persona, affectations of foreign accents, practical jokes and mostly his caring and warmth.”

Following on the theme of caring, Steve MacNamee, The MacNamee Group, had this to share, “Here is a bit of the Skeeter that some didn’t know…He and I were in a retail store in Mexico on a BRAMCO trip. He went outside for a minute and I watched through a window. He saw a dishevelled woman with three little kids walking by and Skeeter gave her all the pesos he had in his pocket. She cried and hugged him. When I asked him how much he gave her, he said, ‘Mac, I gave her all I had.’ Skeeter was a big softie.”

While spreading the word about his passing to his friends in the RAF, one reply was almost universally offered: “He was one-in-a-million.”

Ever the devilish prankster, members of the Howard family were by no means immune to the Coleman unique wit. I can remember many times when either my mother or father held the phone to their ear, listening for a few moments with looks ranging from quizzical to guarded to outright indignant, before breaking into a crooked grin and proudly proclaiming, “You don’t fool me…this is Skeeter!”

Skeeter’s warmth and friendship will be both cherished and missed by too many to count, but his wit and mischievousness was perhaps best summed up by Bob Lombardo: “Watch out God!”[SPH]

True industry icon Irv Shaw, Shaw American Financial Corporation, Louisville, KY, passed away peacefully on April 12. He was born in Brooklyn, NY, served in the U.S. Navy on a variety of attack ships in the Pacific, and attended Brooklyn College.
After a brief but successful stint in the garment industry (where he met his fabulous wife and frequent insurance industry darling Happy), Shenandoah Life recruited him into their life insurance sales force. With his natural talent and great work ethic success came quickly and a progression of agency management jobs were his—first the Atlanta office for Shenandoah, then in 1961 the large State Mutual Life Louisville office and finally the Manhattan Life Louisville agency.

Frustrated by restraints imposed by the various home offices, by the mid-1960’s Irv began to think of managing an agency that was solely his own. His creativity led him to an innovative idea: The wholesaling of life insurance. At the time a complicated endeavor, as most innovation is, Irv devoted his marketing and sales brilliance to help bring seminal change to the life insurance industry and create an approach to better serve more American consumers—life insurance brokerage. In 1967, he founded the life insurance brokerage agency that later became Shaw American Financial Corporation.

During his career, Irv was involved in all sectors of his profession. He was a member of a variety of professional organizations, founded or co-founded many of them, and held every office on many of their boards. He created or helped create Life Inc., LifeMark, the Risk Appraisal Forum (RAF), the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA), and the Kentucky Association of Health Underwriters (KAHU). Every one of these organizations still serve the insurance industry today, and most life insurance products sold today are placed through a member of one of these organizations. Irv also held every office in the Kentucky Association of Life Underwriters (KALU), the Louisville Association of Life Underwriters (LALU), the Louisville General Agents and Managers Association (GAMA), and the Advanced Underwriters.

In 1990, he was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Medal of Honor by the Kentucky State Association of Life Underwriters. In 2002, he was awarded the Douglas Mooers Award for Excellence at NAILBA’s annual conference. The brokerage industry’s highest accolade, it honors excellence in brokerage, and is awarded to the individual most committed to furthering brokerage and independent life brokerage as a distribution system. In his 50s, Irv earned a number of professional designations and degrees: CLU, RHU, ChFC, REBC, and LUTCF. He was often teased by his peers and colleagues for the “alphabet soup” following his name on his business cards.

Irv was passionate about helping the community. Besides being the former mayor of the City of Moorland, KY, he held chairmanships in numerous volunteer, civic and charitable organizations including serving as president of The Temple Brotherhood, and as acting Scout Master for Louisville Troop 316. He enjoyed bringing joy to others, became a licensed officiant for weddings, and performed many ceremonies for family and friends, including for his son and daughter-in-law, Jon and Maria.

Irv was a family man and spent most of his spare time with his family. He loved both Louisville and Kentucky basketball, horse-racing (one of his consortium’s horses won the Indiana Derby in 2008), trips to New York to see Broadway Musicals, Actor’s Theater, learning about new technology, reading and traveling the world with his love, Happy.

I knew Irv Shaw to be one of the kindest, most enthusiastic and upbeat people I ever met in this business. Heartfelt in his friendship and unfailingly generous with his time, I remember many times he would take me aside to offer me an insight or two from his truly vast reservoir of industry knowledge, a kind word about my father and his contributions to the industry, or appreciation of my effort and encouragement to aid my continued development. Although he was one of a handful who truly shaped my passion for the industry and my development as a servant to the brokerage community, I missed his memorial service much to my shame. I remember he used to say, “Stephen, I’ll remember you in my will…” (which he, of course, meant simply to be a “shout out” after his passing—but the double meaning tickled him). I wonder if he did thusly “remember” me…I’ll certainly never forget him.[SPH]

It is my distinct pleasure to congratulate good friend and underwriter extraordinaire Sharon Jenkins, FLMI, CLU, AALU, Legal & General America, who received the Billy Vogel Award from The Marketing Alliance (TMA) at their spring meeting. The Billy Vogel award, TMA’s highest honor, is presented to individuals in the financial services industry who distinguish themselves through their business acumen, sense of innovation and, above all, integrity. The award is named for William E. (Billy) Vogel, the late president of the W. S. Vogel Agency, Inc. who exemplified all of those qualities. Jenkins is only the 13th recipient of the prestigious honor.

Jenkins earned a BA in business administration from Hofstra University before starting her insurance industry career at the Equitable in 1978. In 1980 she joined William Penn as a life underwriter, learning and growing by working with mentor Otto Maracello. Recognized achievement preceded each move in the underwriting hierarchy, and she was named senior vice president and chief underwriter for William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York in 2006. Since 2008 Jenkins has headed up the underwriting departments for Banner Life and William Penn, leading the underwriting philosophy, practices, policies and procedures, and leveraging technology in the evolution of both automated and system-assisted underwriting processes.

In her current role Jenkins is responsible for delivering technical excellence, value-added services, predictive analytics and risk engineering to increase Legal & General America’s presence in the market and support achievement of profit and growth objectives. She directs the Medical Director team and provides technical support on all underwriting matters including advice and counsel on complex risk profiles and financial underwriting, ensures underwriters comply with corporate and regulatory guidelines, and represents the company in risk-related litigation.

Jenkins recognizes the importance of keeping current with emerging medical practices and innovative underwriting techniques, maintaining active membership in numerous professional underwriting associations and traveling extensively to represent LGA at industry conferences and BGA meetings where she is often a featured speaker.

TMA President and CEO Tim Klusas described Jenkins: “This year’s recipient is recognized for their business acumen, their innovative resourcefulness, and the integrity essential to help them help you. She is a visionary and passionate life insurance professional, committed to underwriting responsively, thoughtfully and skillfully.” In his speech Klusas relayed the anecdote from a colleague of Sharon’s who relates her dedication to a time when they were stuck in an elevator one night after work and used the time to spread out the informals she was going to take home that night and reviewed them until help arrived.

While my “business acumen” as it relates to underwriting denies me the opportunity to expand further on her wealth of accomplishments, expertise and resourcefulness, I know Sharon to be extremely well respected in the underwriting field and in the brokerage community overall. She is also one of the most genuine and appreciative people I’ve met in this business and I’m proud to call her my friend. Congratulations Sharon, on an honor well deserved for a remarkable career in excellent service to the brokerage community. [SPH]

Through some “hiccup” in the divine order of the universe I’ve been invited to participate on a “media relations” panel at an upcoming conference, ostensibly tasked with delving into the miasma of eroding consumer confidence and trust in our industry. At least that’s my take on the service duty unbidden laid at my feet.

The meeting is predominantly LTCI-centric, though I think the disconnect with the not-yet-buying public regarding stand-alone LTCI is fairly well understood within our industry as evidenced by the morose wailings of the masses (perhaps a misleading term?) of LTCI specialists in the producer and wholesaler ranks defending current products against the pricing sins of the past—albeit more or less innocently perpetrated due to miscalculations of future morbidity—and the occasionally cantankerous rantings of a certain beloved Broker World columnist asserting that, with now 20+ years of empirical claims data, today’s sales of LTCI are much less likely to force policyholders into pet stores for meal planning due to unspeakably large rate increases. The basilisk in the room being the unknown of future advances in medical science that might prolong lives still in need of care to, at present, unfathomable duration. And that doesn’t even address the issue of Ted Williams’ frozen head.

What do “we all” “know” about public disdain for LTCI? That many think it unnecessary because The Government (Sound the Trumpets!) will take care of them? Or that it’s extremely unlikely that the need for long term care would be unfairly foisted upon them due to their righteous position as the true center of the universe? And for consumers who had actually whimsically considered it, that “use it or lose it” is particularly and perhaps uniquely immoral in the case of LTCI (versus their homeowners and automobile coverage)? And that the ubiquitous “they” all had their premiums steadily increase by leaps and bounds until at some point fixed incomes forced them to abandon their coverage altogether in their ordained years of potential need?

Add to the above our industry’s failings of the past and the present: “Back in the day” truly well-meaning sellers intimated or outright advocated that lifetime benefit and the maximum inflation protection available were the vastly preferred if not logically mandated course of action if at all fiscally possible. And perhaps most eligible for our self-flagellation—a large percentage of potential buyers had never been asked about purchasing LTCI. Why? Why is that still accurate today, when the vast majority of people have had either direct exposure to the long term care need within their own families or are intimately aware of the struggles of someone else dear to them?

Was it that evolving product pricing for insisted upon maximum duration/maximum inflation protection continued to polarize the realm of logical prospects? Was it (is it) the fear that tightened underwriting might yield declines that might damage relationships that, to that point, had basked in the very real glow of a mutually beneficial planning partnership? And speaking of Partnership, had our own hubris regarding optimal coverage misdirected well-intentioned legislators inclined to pursue an industry-involved solution to help mitigate the long term care risk within their states until the very solution intended to help those not at the pinnacle of affluence became, of necessity, expensive enough that state Partnership Plan purveyors became perversely akin to the Maytag repairman?

There is a crisis looming. The Boomer bubble faces a predicted acute shortage of licensed service staff to meet the need, and the logical assumption is that private-payor clients are most likely to receive a better quality of care. Our industry’s inability to attract new talent en masse to bolster an aging insurance sales force, combined with the reluctance of seasoned planning professionals to advocate LTCI to address the very real possibility of clients needing long term care services in the not-distant-enough future, needs to be more than merely lamentable, as it extrapolates to a drastic increase in the underserved even if we are astute enough to come up with more widely affordable LTCI products. Our industry’s “ideal” solutions for mitigating this long term care risk have become increasingly untenable for many except those paradoxically most likely to be able to financially absorb self-insuring the risk.

The truth is that the first and foremost goal of long term care planning needs to be maintaining private-payor status in the case of facility care for as long as possible, and with as little impact as possible on both the estate of the patient and the pocketbooks of the adult children. Another truth is that the vast majority of LTCI claims are between two and four years, and that, when price is an issue, having something, anything, in place supersedes inflation protection. Another regrettable fact is that there are countless families the industry passed by who are struggling with home and facility care choices without LTCI today, when it’s too late to obtain coverage, and, if you can dedicate time to finding them and helping them maximize assets for the purpose of providing care, not only will you do them a great service but you should find a willing pool of prospects who not only can likely qualify for LTCI but will have motivation to buy.

In the national media today there aren’t enough “Attaboys” in recorded history to drown out a single gleefully trumpeted, audience grabbing, class warfare cuddling “Oh S***” when it involves the insurance industry. Apparently the relief experienced by (and to their peers willingly related through word of mouth) a bereaved spouse or, in this case, a reluctant but relieved adult child whose facility-bound parent had purchased LTCI and its attendant impact on quality of care, isn’t en vogue with the Kardashians and thus is almost universally ignored despite it’s unmistakable poingancy.

Awkward segue back to my interpreted purpose for the panel discussion…What can the LTCI industry (and the industry as a whole) do to combat media bias against our products, purveyors and practices? Increase the audience of the right-minded. Among the electorate of bereaved spouses, increase the number of those who’ve felt the lessening of their burden via the timely-delivered insurance beneficiary check. Increase the number of at-home, related caregivers whose burdens are lessened by outside consummate professionals regularly attending to the needs of the afflicted and granting time for other household duties, errands, or simply the opportunity to take a guilt-free deep breath. Among those visiting loved ones in care facilities, increase the number who can at least be somewhat assured that they were able to place their parent in a better than average “new normal” with empathetic, energetic and well equipped staff.

Quite simply the more you sell, the more beneficiaries swell the ranks of the grateful and vocal. Recognize that those less affluent can strike incredibly effective blows among their peers. Social media, combined with the internet, is increasingly eroding the sway of the national media in many matters, although those sources are certainly brimming with their own demons and troglodytes. But the high esteem in which your family, friends and followers hold you can frequently thwart those set on negative disruption. Positive “word of mouth” among the already e-trusted has an exponentially increased potential to influence the attitudes of the inherently well meaning and convert them to advocates (and prospects) in our collective “new normal.”

Until carriers modify their national messages, as some have, back to the “insurance companies are here to help all” messages, there is little our industry can do via commercial appeals to effect change—at least in Prime Time. But, in my town, local news outlets are both much more affordable and much more likely to embrace a positive message about the services you are able to offer. I’ve even seen good friend Chris Carothers on local Vegas news segments.

Whether it be life insurance or LTCI, one by one, voice by voice, keystroke by keystroke, hashtag by hashtag, peer group by peer group, Facebook friend group by Facebook friend group, handshake with cheap-suit-wearing news anchor to handshake with cheap-suit-wearing news anchor, we need to strive to bloom a public perception that can hopefully one day reduce the national media naysayers to the point where they are either desperately clinging to a Springer-like pandering to those stubbornly devoted to ignorance or choose to morph their approach into honestly and earnestly trying to help the people they reach.

And seek out Life Happens—www.lifehappens.org. They have materials that can help.[SPH]

In Memoriam

Our Nation has lost a hero, and our industry must say farewell to an icon and one of its founders. It saddens me both personally and professionally to have to relay the passing of George Williams the morning of February 2.

George was a three-sport athlete in high school, involved in baseball, basketball and track. He graduated from Southern Law College and went to work for Shelby County Bar Associates as a licensed attorney.

George not only held the highest physical athletic score while he was in the Army Air Corps, but First Lieutenant George Williams was a fighter pilot with his squadron in World War II, a duty he proudly displayed by often wearing his WWII Veteran baseball cap.

In the early 1960s, George and his partner, Jack Gillespie, founded one of the earliest life brokerage general agencies, Executive Underwriters, in Memphis. George was an original charter member and past president of the Society of Underwriting Brokers (SUB Centers). He served graciously as secretary, public relations officer and executive director for SUB Centers for over 20 years. He was also one of the founders of The Marketing Alliance and served as a member of the board of directors. He was the 2012 recipient of TMA’s highest honor, The Billy Vogel Award, bestowed upon individuals in the financial services industry who distinguish themselves through their business acumen, innovation and—above all—integrity.

George’s service wasn’t limited to his country and his industry. He was a YMCA member and supporter for over 25 years. He was a former member of the Board of Directors of Happy Acres Children’s Home. He was a driver for the American Cancer Society, providing transportation to those in the Memphis area for medical appointments, church, adult education, and Meals-on-Wheels. He was a past President of the Men’s Club for Christian Brothers High School, where he also coached baseball and basketball for fourth and fifth graders.

Art Jetter, Art Jetter & Company, remembers, “People who knew George describe him as a good friend, they loved him, he was a fine gentleman, brilliant yet selfless. There was never a negative word said about George.”

Jack Dewald, Agency Services, one of George’s best friends and his self-described “wheel man” when he was in Memphis, said, “He was one of my all time favorite people, a true gentleman, and a role model to many. I am lucky to have known him and spent so much time over the years with him. I, and many others, often commented that George was the quintessential ‘Southern Gentleman.’ It told him years ago he should teach a ‘How To Be A Gentleman’ class to young men at his church.”

As he aged, George still wanted to attend SubCenters, NAILBA and TMA meetings, so Jack would pick him up and fly with him. He recounts one of his favorite stories: “On the very last trip we took we flew home from a TMA meeting and he was wearing his WWII Veteran cap. I noticed him talking to the flight attendant quite a bit. As we taxied up to the gate in Memphis, the flight attendant made an announcement: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we have a real American Hero on board with us tonight, a WWII veteran and pilot, Mr. George Williams, age 92, seated in seat 7C.’ Everyone on the plane clapped enthusiastically. After we deplaned George turned to in all seriousness and asked, ‘Jack, I wonder how that nice lady knew that I was in WWII?’”

I had the good fortune to talk with George many times at TMA meetings and at NAILBA. He was always eager to share his experience in the business with me, offering truly decades of priceless insight into the foundations and principles that formed our great industry. Even more precious, he always voiced his great admiration for my father and recounted fond memories of times they had shared together. His memories truly filled my heart with gladness every time we found a few moments to talk. He is honestly one of the men who formed and helped solidify my understanding of and passion for this business.

In notifying me of George’s passing, dear friend Ray Philips, Brokers Source, Ltd., said simply, “Steve, we lost an all-time great.” Amen. I couldn’t agree more.

I have had the distinct honor and privilege of serving on the NAILBA Charitable Foundation board for the past six years. Due to some sort of bureaucratic nonsense my formal service to that wonderful organization has been heartlessly guillotined, though some modicum of solace was achieved through sneaking a mole onto the board—my marital Mata Hari and Broker World CFO, Hope Howard. Rigorous honesty demands that I voice my anticipation that future board meetings will run much more smoothly and productively in my absence.

The mission statement of the NAILBA Charitable Foundation reads as follows:
The NAILBA Charitable Foundation is the philanthropic arm of NAILBA (the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies). Since 2002, Foundation grants have helped charitable organizations in the communities in which NAILBA members and their corporate partners live and work, and ultimately achieve its mission of making dreams come true for those less fortunate.

The mission of the NAILBA Charitable Foundation is to encourage volunteerism among NAILBA members and provide grant funds to worthy charitable organizations that serve to enhance the quality of life for those less fortunate, with a special emphasis on children. Every charitable organization applying for grant funding must be sponsored by a NAILBA member agency, exhibitor, sponsor, or advertiser.

In a time when competition for grant money is fierce, the NAILBA Charitable Foundation is dedicated to providing funds to small, well-run charities in your community that may not otherwise have access to additional funding. Visit our GRANTS page (www.nailbacharitablefoundation.org/grants) for complete details on how to help a charity in your community receive a grant from the NAILBA Foundation.

To further the Foundations core intentions, grant funds must be requested to be applied to a particular initiative within the charitable organizations submitting applications and may not be simply allocated to the applicant’s general operating fund. Through the generosity of NAILBA members and corporate partners in the past year, the NAILBA Charitable Foundation was able to award $225,000 to charities local to NAILBA member agencies, carrier partners and vendors. Congratulations to these organizations and their sponsors, and thank you to Foundation contributors! Announced during a dedicated general session at NAILBA’s annual meeting in November, the following charities received funds for the 2018 grant cycle:

• Wounded Warriors Family Support (Col. J. William Felton III Grant Winner) $45,000—Omaha, NE (Sponsored by Art Jetter, Art Jetter & Company)
• Caruso Family Charities $25,000—Lakewood, CO (Sponsored by John McWilliams, Colorado Brokerage Group)
• Mauzy Foundation $21,389—Alamo, CA (Sponsored by Jeff Mooers, H. D. Mooers & Co.)
• Rainbows for Kids $20,000—St. Louis, MO (Sponsored by The Marketing Alliance)
• Reset Mentoring $16,000—Leander, TX (Sponsored by Parks LaMarche, CPS Integrated Marketing & Insurance Services)
• Caring for Kids $15,000—St. Louis, MO (Sponsored by The Marketing Alliance)
• Downtown Ministries $11,908—Athens, GA (Sponsored by Chad Milner, The Milner Agency)
• Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments $10,000—St. Louis, MO (Sponsored by The Marketing Alliance)
• Lotus House $10,000—Miami, FL (Sponsored by Robin Landers, Landers-Stein & Associates)
• Promises 2 Kids $10,000—San Diego, CA (Sponsored by Steve Sublett, CBIZ Life Insurance Solutions)
• Salina AM Chapter of AMBUCS $10,000—Salina, KS (Sponsored by Dex Umekubo, Producer’s XL)
• Warming House Youth Center $10,000—Wilmette, IL (Sponsored by Steven J. Brown, Brown, Brown & Gomberg)
• Jester & Pharley Phund $6,000—Palos Verdes Estates, CA (Sponsored by Lynne Rosenberg Kidd, Innovative Solutions Insurance Services)
• Jamie’s Dream Team $6,000—McKeesport, PA (Sponsored by Ryan Moad, Underwriters Brokerage Services)
• Children’s Cancer Network $5,000—Chandler, AZ (Sponsored by Dave Chittenden, The Chittendens)

Since 2002, the NAILBA Foundation has raised and contributed over $3 million to more than 200 deserving charities and community organizations nationwide. Fantastic work from the NAILBA community which exemplifies the caring and service to others that is, in my mind, a moral tenet of our industry as a whole. For more information about the NAILBA Charitable Foundation and to make a contribution or review past grant recipients, please visit www.nailbacharitablefoundation.org. [SPH]