I must begin by expressing my extreme gratitude to friend Claude Thau, Target Insurance Services and Thau, Inc., and the wonderful folks at Milliman, Inc., Dawn Helwig, Allen Schmitz and especially Taylor Schmidt (who caught enough of my editing errors that I’m convinced she could pick fly “sign” out of pepper!), for their fantastic work collecting, organizing and analyzing the information for the 2016 Long Term Care Insurance Survey featured in this issue. This marks the 18th year that Broker World has been thus blessed to provide our readers with the industry’s most comprehensive LTCI product comparison along with the valuable insight of these peerless industry experts. Further, in the August issue Broker World will again provide an analysis of work-site sales, and in the September issue we intend to publish a brief survey regarding combo life and LTCI policies which offer extension of benefits features (LTCI benefits can continue after the death benefit is exhausted). Great organizations are the result of great work by great people, and Claude, Dawn, Allen and Taylor certainly bear that out. Thank you![SPH]
One of the greatest blessings we owe to this industry are the wonderful friends we make on our journey, but inevitably it brings us sorrow as well. It is my sad duty to here recognize the passing of good friend Martin “Marty” Rochkind, Insurance Marketing Center, Rockville, MD.
Marty began his career more than 40 years ago as an insurance agent for Metropolitan Life and later as an independent broker marketing employee benefits to small and medium-sized businesses. From 1967 to 1986, he qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table and was a Charter Member of the Court of the Table. As a successful broker, Marty recognized a need in the marketplace to provide resources and personalized service to brokers and agents. As a result, he formed Insurance Marketing Center (IMC) in 1986, and grew the business into the largest independently owned employee benefits brokerage in the DC area.
Marty was widely known in the industry for his marketing expertise and dedication to quality service. He was a gifted marketer of innovative concepts and niche products such as consumer driven plans, retiree health plans, international medical plans and limited medical plans. His career included serving as president of Leaders Club of Washington and of the National Association of Insurance Marketers (NAIM), a major national brokerage general agent marketing group.
Marty developed, produced, and directed numerous IMC health brokerage fairs, single-day marketing and sales extravaganzas attended by hundreds of brokers annually. He was the first moderator of the Group Insurance Program sponsored by the Life Underwriter Training Council (LUTC). He wrote a workshop called “101 Group Insurance” for agents, brokers, and staff who need to understand health insurance and how it works.
I met Marty through my work with NAIM and found him to be a passionate advocate for the industry, for brokers (and for his own point of view!). He had a passion also for baseball, and for collectibles—in particular framed photos of ballparks, old and new. I couldn’t believe how much he glowed and crowed when I sent him a photo of Kansas City’s stadium, one he was missing. I recently visited KC’s Negro Leagues Museum and I can’t help but think how much Marty would have loved it.
Marty Rochkind held his friends dear and made sure they always felt it—and I’m damn lucky to have been one of them. [SPH]
