NAIFA-West Virginia
MOUNTAINEER NEWS: THE LATEST MEMBERSHIP NEWS FROM NAIFA-WEST VIRGINIA ~ JANUARY 2021
THANK YOU TO OUR PLATINUM SPONSOR:
IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING UPCOMING MEETINGS

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the NAIFA-West Virginia Board of Directors has made the necessary decision to postpone in-person meetings until April 13th, 2021. Please check our website at www.naifawv.org as well as membership communications for the latest updates.

Protecting the health, safety, and well-being of our members and families is paramount. Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions, please contact John Pauley, CLU, ChFC, CLTC at (304) 345-4343 or e-mail johnpauley@ft.newyorklife.com.
NAIFA LIVE Webnars
MEMBERS-ONLY WEBINAR:

Things I Wish I Knew: Marketing Like a Rock Star

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021
2:00 PM EASTERN

Five NAIFA young advisors consider what they know now what they wish they would have known then. These tips are relevant to all advisors if you are new to the industry or a seasoned veteran. Here's our line up:

* More Bling for Your Cha-Ching: Carina Hatfield
* Git 'Er Dun with AUM: Rob Landgraf
* Pitch Please, with Podcasts
* Baby Got Tech (I Like Big Tech & I Cannot Lie): Kathleen Owings
* Fuzzy & Fearless: Naked Marketing: Chris Robinette

After the presentation, NAIFA rolls out a new element, Main Street Mixer. This networking opportunity gives all members, new and veteran, an opportunity to celebrate accomplishments, welcome new members and stay informed.

To register, login to NAIFA's website at https://community.naifa.org/login.aspx

In the members portal, under the Calendar heading, select NAIFA Live.

Check out NAIFA's upcoming events at belong.naifa.org/events.
Herman Dixon
You Hold the Key

Submitted by Herman Dixon, CLU, CLF, LUTCF, LTCP
NAIFA-West Virginia Past President, Speaker, Author, Executive Advisor

You and you alone hold the key to all that you achieve or can accomplish in life. You will discover that the economy does not matter; your education does not matter; the home you have does not matter; your circle of friends do not matter; nor do your size or strength. Only YOU matter. YOU and what YOU perceive YOU to be. 

Therefore, you must be determined to make things happen for YOU, for your profession, and for your family.

Too often too many people simply sit back and watch things happen. They feel that the world owes them fame, fortune or glamour. This thinking is flawed because it simply prevents the great potential that lies within from ever gaining a viable opportunity. You must make things happen. You must become bold and courageous and eliminate fear and uncertainly from your life. You must dig deep within yourself and pull out that powerful fuel, enthusiasm, and bring it forward. Only then will things like fear, doubt and negative thinking be corralled and unable to lunge out can you maintain your positive mindset.

Abraham Lincoln was one of the most visible symbols of personal accountability. He suffered more defeats and personal tragedies than victories. He failed at business, in politics and even in love. He had a nervous breakdown. Lincoln, however, never gave in. He never sat back waiting for things to happen. He never allowed those shortfalls to deter him from his life’s pathway. Lincoln made things happen and became one of history’s most respected and honored presidents this nation has ever known.

Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he finally succeeded. Eighteen publishers turned down Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull before it was published. Richard Hooker worked for seven years on his war novel M*A*S*H* only to have it rejected twenty-one times by publishers before he made things happen by publishing it himself. Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson both struck out more than they hit home runs. Even Winston Churchill did not become prime minister of England until he was sixty-two years only and only after a lifetime of defeats and setbacks. However, each of these great people made things happen.

Life is truly a unique and funny adventure. There is just one way that we clearly have an opportunity to control. We can talk about how bad the stock market did today, or we can take a longer look at what it has done over the past year. We can complain about the stumbling blocks in our path as we go about our work and interaction with others, or we can push those blocks over, set aside what we see as challenges and make the stumbling blocks stepping stones for more enjoyable travel. It is not difficult to feel sorry for ourselves noting how unfair life is and how things are stacked against us, or we can focus on the fact that we have life and learn to grasp its essence. As the old saying goes, “Even when you wear the soles of your shoes out, it simply means that you are back on your feet again.” It is a matter of how you see yourself in the mirror of life. What do you see when you look at the person standing before you? Only YOU hold the answer.

There is a well-known photo which shows a stork about to consume a poor frog. As the stork is about to swallow the frog, the frog reaches out and grabs the stork’s neck preventing it from swallowing. Its caption says, “Never give up!” Life is like the stork. It is too often there to swallow us if we do not take action to control our fate. We are much like the frantic frog. If we do not grab hold with all we are worth, we will surely get swallowed. We simply have to keep squeezing life’s neck so that we will not lose our opportunity to become all we can and should be. We must never give up.

Don’t sit back. Don’t expect life to deliver to you. Go out and make life deliver for you. You hold the key to all you can become. Know your ultimate aim in life. Create your future. As the ancient words proclaim, “Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.

Sign up for Herman Dixon's newsletter and more! https://thinkbigdixon.com
ADVOCACY UPDATE:

NAIFA Advocacy Helped Shape DOL Rule on Independent Contractors

JAN 6, 2021 BY MIKE HEDGE, NAIFA ADVOCACY IN ACTION BLOG

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced today a final rule clarifying the standard for employee- versus independent contractor-status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). NAIFA has worked closely with DOL to ensure an equitable rule that considers the needs of the insurance industry. NAIFA submitted comments on DOL’s rulemaking on October 26, 2020.

The majority of NAIFA’s members – insurance producers, broker dealer representatives, and/or independent registered investment advisors – are independent contractors who provide vital financial benefits and insurance services to consumers across the country.

For NAIFA members to continue serving their communities they must be able to maintain their ongoing status as independent contractors with certainty. NAIFA and its members worked with the Department on efforts to codify the “economic reality” test and provide clarity, guidance, and consistency in the classification of workers, while ensuring that such a test is not unduly restrictive or disruptive to the economy.

The Final Rule includes the following clarifications:

  • It reaffirms an “economic reality” test to determine whether an individual is in business for him or herself (independent contractor) or is economically dependent on a potential employer for work (FLSA employee).
  • It identifies and explains two “core factors” that are most probative to the question of whether a worker is economically dependent on someone else’s business or is in business for him or herself: The nature and degree of control over the work; and the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss based on initiative and/or investment.
  • It identifies three other factors that may serve as additional guideposts in the analysis, particularly when the two core factors do not point to the same classification. The factors are: The amount of skill required for the work; The degree of permanence of the working relationship between the worker and the potential employer; and Whether the work is part of an integrated unit of production.
  • It clarifies that the actual practice of the worker and the potential employer is more relevant than what may be contractually or theoretically possible.
  • It provides six fact-specific examples applying the factors.

The rule will take effect 60 days after publication on the Federal Register, on March 8, 2021. 

However, with President-elect Biden set to be sworn in two weeks after the rule is published, the rule’s implementation remains in limbo. Biden staff have targeted the independent contractor regulation and plans are in place to freeze the rule before it would take effect in March.

A Biden DOL could elect to allow the rule to take effect or rely on an outside party to challenge it in court. The rulemaking could also be reopened by requesting public input on whether to take independent contractor status in a different direction.

NAIFA will continue to monitor all developments and will continue to work with legislators and regulators to ensure NAIFA’s independent contractors and the integrity of their work, are protected.

Follow NAIFA's Advocacy efforts at advocacy.naifa.org.
NAIFA's Mission Aided with IFAPAC and APIC

The core mission of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors is advocacy. There is a common misconception that NAIFA membership dues include all the dollars needed to fund our national and state advocacy efforts. The fact is that NAIFA spends over 25% of its 12 million dollar annual budget to pay for lobbyists and programs to support our advocacy efforts. However, additional funds are needed to help gain access to our elected representatives. The source of these funds are from the Insurance and Financial Advisors Political Action Committee (IFAPAC). 

IFAPAC's goal is to help the associations advance the legislative and regulatory interests of the members of NAIFA. While any U.S. citizen can contribute to IFAPAC, only members of NAIFA may be solicited to do so. Contributions must be voluntary. Contributions are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Of approximately 4,600 political action committees registered with the Federal Election Commission, IFAPAC ranks in the top tier. IFAPAC is the largest insurance PAC in the country. In the last election cycle, the national IFAPAC contributed approximately $1.8 million to federal candidates and committees.

Insurance and Financial Advisors Political Involvement Committee (APIC)

Our business is based on building relationships. The world of politics is no different. One of NAIFA's greatest strengths is that we have membership representation in each Congressional District in the country.

It is vitally important that we know which of our members know elected officials and how well they know them. Please click on the link below and complete the legislative contact form:

For more information on APIC and IFAPAC as well as to make a contribution securely online, please visit the Advocacy Action Center on NAIFA's website at belong.naifa.org.
NAIFA - WEST VIRGINIA
Check our website for the latest news and updates: 

For more information, please contact NAIFA-West Virginia Executive Director John Pauley, CLU, ChFC, CLTC at (304) 345-4343 or email johnpauley@ft.newyorklife.com.