E-Journal
(July 2019)
In This Issue:

  • Sales Idea
  • The Latest From Washington
  • Main Platform: Rebecca Walser, JD, LLM, CFP ®
  • Delegate Assembly to Take Up 2020 Board Slate and Bylaws
  • Call for Entries: 2019 NAIFA-Florida "4 Advisors Under 40" Award
  • Citizens Agent Bulletin Recap
  • 2020 Legislative Day on the Hill Set for Jan. 28
Offer Free Advice Throughout the Year

Financial advisors should establish themselves as thought leaders in their industries. You don’t have to be working for a huge financial firm in order to make a name for yourself. I recommend starting a blog (or having someone ghostwrite a blog for you) and commit to posting a couple of times per month. Use frequently asked questions you receive to frame blog topics and offer advice that will be truly valuable to your target audience. This will help you rise in search engine rankings and it also helps establish authority for your brand.

--- by Alexandra Bohigian, Marketing Coordinator, Enola Labs Software
Retirement Savings: SECURE Act Passed by House, Now in the Senate

by Dani Kehoe, Counsel to NAIFA


While there was a lot of news about Washington, Congress, and government this past week, there was almost no movement on issues of concern to NAIFA members. Here’s a status report on where we are heading into the week Congress returns from its Independence Day recess.
Retirement Savings: There’s more activity (or, more accurately, talk of activity) in the retirement savings arena than in any other issue area. Here’s the rundown: Read More
You’ve seen or heard her on CNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox Business, the WSJ, Bloomberg Business, U.S. News & World Report, and others! According to Rebecca Walser, taxes are the largest threat to wealth & financial stability for the next 20 years. If your clients have a pre-tax account like a 401(k) or IRA, you cannot afford to miss this presentation  “America is at a Tipping Point - Traditional Wealth Accounts Like the 401 (k) are a Liability” – at the NAIFA-Florida Financial Advisors Sales Symposium and Annual Conference, Sept. 10-11 at The Dolphin Resort, EPCOT, in Orlando.

Leveraging her background as a tax attorney, a CFP® and an experienced wealth strategist, best-selling author Walser is uniquely qualified to assess, structure, and implement the best income maximization, wealth maximization, tax mitigation/minimization and optimal legacy strategies for her clients. Now, she has expanded the reach of her unique message with the release of her first book, WEALTH UNBROKEN – Growing Wealth Uninterrupted By Market Crashes, Taxes, and even death, where she truly brings a wealth of understanding to the personal finance book space. Rebecca earned her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in finance, and her JD, cum laude, from the University of Florida, and her advanced law degree in taxation from New York University. Prior to law, she worked for years in finance with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the global networking division of IBM, acquired by T&T. She continues to practice law in the areas of federal taxation, wealth preservation, trusts and legacy planning, business succession and estate planning, and asset management and protection, while also serving her clients financial needs.
Walser can be heard coast-to-coast on iHeart radio weekly and she’s been featured in numerous media outlets nationwide including the Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, Fox Business, Bloomberg Business, CNBC, New York Post, New York Daily News, Yahoo Finance, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, FOX News, CW, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, LA Daily News, International Business Times, Investing Daily, and the Street Insider.
 
Also on the Main Platform
 
  • Van Mueller, LUTCF, Registered Rep. – with THREE Main Platform Presentations:
  1. “Greatest Time Ever to Sell Cash Value Life Insurance”
  2. “If Doubled or Tripled Your Appointments, Would That Be Beneficial To Your Career?”
  3. “At Least 5 Sales Ideas That Will Dramatically Increase Your Production”
  • Jason Mendelsohn – “Beating the Odds: A Financial Advisor’s Story of Survival”
  • Tony Moore – “A Smooth Sea Never Made a Skillful Sailor”
  • Steve Saladino, LUTCF – “Open More Doors, Close More Sales”
 
So reserve your seat NOW at the NAIFA-Florida Financial Advisors Sales Symposium and Annual Conference, Tuesday-Wednesday, Sept. 10-11 at The Dolphin Resort, EPCOT, Orlando. One-day passes available. For complete Registration information, click ( here ). (NOTE: If you’re also planning to attend the NAIFA P+P Conference to be held immediately following the NAIFA-Florida event at The Dolphin, receive a discount on BOTH events
 
Schedule at a Glance
 
Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019
9:00 a.m.            Exhibitors Open
9:30 a.m.            Citizens Re-Certification class (P&C agents)
10:00 a.m.          General Session – Sales Symposium
4:30 p.m.            Annual Meeting
6:30 p.m.            President’s Reception
7:15 p.m.           President’s Banquet
 
Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019
8:00 a.m.            Continental Breakfast
8:00 a.m.            Exhibits Open
8:30 a.m.            General Session
12:15 p.m.         Awards/LILI Graduation Luncheon
1:45 p.m.            Adjourn
(2:00 p.m.)         (NAIFA Leadership Meeting)
NAIFA-Florida’s Delegate Assembly will meet at the association’s Annual Meeting as part of the Financial Advisors Sales Symposium and Annual Conference in September. The Delegate Assembly will meet to approve the slate of Board members for 2020 and proposed bylaws changes, according to Governance Chair Linda Moore. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) at The Dolphin Resort, EPCOT, Orlando.

Members who wish to attend the Annual Meeting and be a part of the Delegate Assembly may do so by submitting a full registration or a one-day pass for the NAIFA-Florida Financial Advisors Sales Symposium and Annual Conference. Click here for complete registration information.

Below is the slate of NAIFA-Florida Board of Directors for 2020, as submitted by the Governance Committee and approved by the current Board of Directors.

Board of Directors for 2020
a) President -- Joe Chalom, CLU, RICP, LUTCF, LACP
b) President-Elect -- Craig Duncan, ChFC
c) Vice President -- George Royal
d) Immediate Past President -- Shelita Stuart, LUTCF
e) Secretary/Treasurer -- Jeff Chernoff
f) National Committeeperson -- Steve Saladino, LUTCF
g) Membership Chair -- Maureen Kirschhofer, CLU, ChFC
h) Health Chair -- Craig Rodrigue
i) Legislative Chair -- Terri Seefeldt, RHU
j) Government Relations (PIC) Chair -- Todd Keith
k) Political Committee (PC) Chair -- Taylor Collins, CEBS, CLU, RHU
l) Young Agents Team (YAT) Chair -- Darian Ward
m) Director at Large -- Rick Senderling
n) Director at Large -- Robert Rosenthal
 
Regarding the proposed bylaws changes, below are summaries of the changes. To view the changes in context with the bylaws as a whole, click here .

Summary # 1 (Article VI – Board of Directors)
Sec. 2 and 3 -- Language is modified to provide clarification that Board members take office on January 1 of each year, even though elections and installation may be prior to January 1. Another modification lowers the membership requirement for Director-at-Large candidates from three years to two years.
 
Summary # 2 (Article VII – Officers)
Sec. 2 – Language regarding the eligibility for Officers to serve is modified to reflect that they must be Active members for three years, instead of five years, and eliminates the requirement that they have served as President of a local NAIFA association. Also regarding eligibility to serve as an Officer, language reduces the number of years from two to one of prior service as a Director-at-Large or as Chair of a Standing Committee, or otherwise as a member of the Board.
Sec. 4 – Allows qualified members to serve more than one term as National Committeeperson, but the terms shall not be consecutive. Fulfilling an unexpired term is not considered a “term”, as defined in this section.
Sec. 6 -- Language is modified to provide clarification that Officers (except National Committeeperson) take office on January 1 of each year, even though elections and installation may be prior to January 1.
 
If you have questions or would like more information regarding the NAIFA-Florida slate of Board members for 2020, the proposed bylaws changes, or the Annual Meeting, please contact NAIFA-Florida CEO Tom Ashley ( tom.ashley@naifa-florida.org ) or 850.422.1701.
Call for Entries: 2019 NAIFA-Florida “4 Advisors Under 40” Award
 
 Application deadline is: Friday, August 2, 2019
 
As the premier professional association in Florida for insurance and financial advisors, NAIFA-Florida each year is proud to recognize the success of young advisors in our industry.
 
This award recognizes excellence and achievement in the Insurance and Financial Services field by measuring business production, longevity in the business, professional association involvement and community involvement for professionals 40 years of age and younger. Candidates will consist of insurance and financial professionals throughout the state of Florida, and final recipients will be chosen by a panel of NAIFA-Florida Board of Directors members. The award will be based on an advisor's 2018 commissions, NAIFA involvement, community involvement, and volunteer efforts in other organizations. For individual advisors, this program presents an opportunity to be recognized for their efforts. If you are a manager, or otherwise oversee advisors, this program provides a recognition opportunity to motivate other young producers to reach their maximum performance potential! 
 
If a candidate is selected, they’ll be recognized as one of Florida's Top 4 Advisors Under 40 on the NAIFA-Florida website, as well as recognition at the NAIFA-Florida Financial Advisors Sales Symposium and Annual Conference, September 10-11 at The Dolphin Resort, EPCOT, in Orlando! Click (here) for the Application. (Deadline is Friday, August 2, 2019)
 
Click (here) for information on NAIFA-Florida's Financial Advisors Sales Symposium and Annual Conference, Sept. 10-11, 2019 at
The Dolphin Resort, EPCOT, in Orlando.
Did You Miss Important Information from Citizens? Agent Bulletins Recap: June 2019

Citizens emails its appointed agents and their agency principals with important bulletins regularly. In case you missed it, below are links to the agent update bulletins sent during the month of June. There were no personal lines or commercial lines bulletins released last month.

Agent Updates
  • 06.19.19 – Assignment of Benefits Reform
  • 06.17.19 – PolicyCenter Upgrade Now Live

You also can find all bulletins on our website . Select News and then Agent Bulletins located on the left side of the page. For more helpful information, check out our Did You Know? feature on the Agents site (you must log in to view).

Customer representatives and agency support staff can receive these bulletins via email. Register by going to our website and select News > Agent Bulletins > Subscribe under Email Distribution on the right side of the page.

You can search our frequently asked questions (FAQs) under the Search menu bar by clicking on Search Frequently Asked Questions at the top of each Citizens’ webpage. These FAQs answer many common questions and are available 24/7. If you log in to the Agents site, you’ll get agent-level answers; if you don’t log in, you’ll get consumer-level answers.

Agents, agency principals and licensed customer representatives can log in to the Agents site and submit questions via the Contact Us page of our website . Citizens should respond within three business days.

Citizens has a vibrant social media community where you can learn more about our current programs and initiatives, receive updates on press releases and share educational infographics with your customers. For agent information, follow us at @citizens_agents on Twitter and search for Citizens Property Insurance on Facebook.

NAIFA-Florida’s Legislative Day on the Hill for 2020 has been set for Tuesday, January 28 – in Tallahassee. Regarded as one of NAIFA-Florida’s top member programs, Day on Hill kicks off with an Orientation buffet breakfast at 7:30 a.m., followed by appointments with legislators in group fashion (with printed talking points in hand), and then an informal evening cocktail reception and dinner with fellow members from around the state. NAIFA-Florida Lobbyist Tim Meenan needs you and you fellow members in Tallahassee for Day on the Hill – due to many insurance-related bills anticipated to come before the Legislature!
 
Watch for registration and hotel reservations to open soon. But mark your calendars now!