Broker World is celebrating 35 years of serving the brokerage community, and I’m proud and humbled to say that for the past 25 of those years we’ve had the blessing of a monthly underwriting column by a wonderful industry sage, Robert “Dr. Bob” Goldstone, vice president and chief medical officer of Pacific Life and Pacific Life and Annuity.
Perhaps odd on first look that a representative of Pacific Life is the longest “tenured” columnist in an ardently brokerage oriented publication, but the quality of the body of work and the unique voice of one of the insurance industry’s preeminent underwriting experts should offer “excuse” enough.
This month represents his 300th consecutive column (301st article total he reminds me—November 1990 was his audition) and he is more responsible than any other person for whatever accuracy exists in my imperfect understanding of the underwriting process and the invaluable roll that the human evaluation element plays in accurately determining risk, providing valuable coverage for those in less than perfect health while still maintaining responsible pricing.
The special risk market gave birth to the brokerage industry as we know it today, and the underwriters and medical directors diligently applying their expertise to look deeper into the prospective client’s case file for mitigating factors (pro and con) are to be applauded for their service to the industry—and none more than Dr. Bob. For 300 months he has artfully guided the readers of Broker World through a basic understanding of a particular malady, ways that a particular condition presents itself, affects primary systems, impacts other body tissue and related systems, both the grim and optimistic outlooks, testing and treatment that can further define the risk and the client’s expectation of longevity and quality of life, and steps agents can take to present the case in its best possible light and more accurately set reasonable expectations of pricing to the client.
Robert Goldstone has been a great friend and a tremendous boon to Broker World. I would like here to offer my heartfelt thanks and express my fervent hope that I can greedily grab 300 more! [SPH]
The majority of my mind’s focus at the time of this writing is the upcoming National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA) annual conference. Brokerage general agents are truly the vessels that carry the life’s blood of the brokerage industry and NAILBA is the group created by and wholeheartedly dedicated to serve them.
Obviously in my position NAILBA presents a great wealth of opportunity for profit and prestige, and I’m very fortunate that this publication is held in such high esteem at that conference. I wish to take this opportunity however to relay work that this NAILBA family of carriers, vendors, member agencies and my media brethren does that runs beyond (or perhaps parallel?) to serving to protect the families and businesses of Americans at their times of greatest need.
I have had the great honor to serve on the NAILBA Charitable Foundation board for the past three years, and while I was always a believer in the good that body did for communities, I’m grateful for the opportunity that serving granted me to truly appreciate the scope. This past year the NAILBA community presented to the foundation the opportunity to distribute $245,000 to 17 different charities serving chiefly child related causes throughout the U.S. as well as a $30,000 donation to the LifeHappens organization.
Too often our industry is seen as a monolithic uncaring profit center—despite the noble purpose our products serve—and I think it is imperative that industry charitable efforts such as those made possible by the donations of hundreds of NAILBA agency, carrier and vendor representatives be recognized and applauded. More important though is the hope that they be emulated, and that these efforts gain recognition in the eyes of the buying public. Please visit www.nailba.org or email Kathy Allison at kallison@nailba.org to find out how you can help. [SPH]
