Leaders Blog

May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM), a national awareness campaign that NAIFA’s consumer division Life Happens created and coordinates each year. We encourage you to join along. This awareness campaign is critical because 4 in 10 people of working age are “extremely concerned” about being able to support themselves if an illness or injury were to keep them out of work, according to the 2023 Insurance Barometer Study by Life Happens and LIMRA.

The LUTCF course of study is ideal for financial professionals in their first five years in the business and offers valuable instruction on prospecting, selling, and practice-management. It also provides program graduates with a working knowledge of insurance and investment products available to help clients manage risk. As a NAIFA Leader, please help financial professionals in their early career stage to discover the LUTCF and understand its benefits.

NAIFA is seeking feedback on the Department of Labor's fiduciary-only final rule. We have created a survey of financial professionals and will use the results to educate policymakers – and potentially the courts – on how the proposal will impact consumers and your business. 

How the DOL Fiduciary-Only Rule Will Impact Financial Professionals and Consumers
May 2 | 2 pm eastern

It's not too late to register for NAIFA's free webinar on the Department of Labor's final fiduciary-only rule. NAIFA's Government Relations Team and counsel from Steptoe LLP will explore how the rule will directly impact financial professionals and consumers. It will provide an update on the next steps: What NAIFA is doing to protect your business and clients, the likelihood of NAIFA’s participation in litigation, and what financial professionals can do to advocate on their own behalf. The webinar will expand on Steptoe’s written analysis of the rule and provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

Ensuring income protection is critical for your clients, particularly during their income-earning years. We invite you to join our upcoming webinar on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Eastern. Sponsored by Ash Brokerage, this webinar is designed to arm financial professionals with the tools and techniques needed to effectively manage discussions around disability income plans and life insurance.

NAIFA has redesigned and relaunched the Life Underwriting Training Council Fellow (LUTCF®) program, a three-course training series for one of the most sought-after designations in the insurance industry. Since 1984, NAIFA’s LUTCF has prepared more than 70,000 insurance and financial professionals to excel in the industry and is often the first designation successful agents and advisors earn.

The April 11 State of NAIFA webinar has been posted to the State of NAIFA Archives page. NAIFA President Tom Cothron, CEO Kevin Mayeux, and Senior Vice President for Government Relations Diane Boyle provided association and policy updates. Among the topics discussed are: member benefits and programs, the Department of Labor's fiduciary-only rule, the development process for NAIFA's new strategic plan, the NAIFA Women's Financial Security Fly-In, NAIFA's Congressional Conference, and the combined Apex/National Leadership Conference.

Understanding the intersection between financial assets and estate planning is extremely important for maximizing wealth and enhancing asset protection. Join us on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Eastern for an in-depth webinar that focuses on aligning your clients' financial assets with their estate planning goals. This session is ideal for professionals looking to deepen their understanding of estate planning essentials like revocable trusts, wills, and powers of attorney, and how to effectively coordinate these with various financial assets, including investments, real estate, and retirement accounts.

Help us shape the next era of financial service professionals and give back to your NAIFA family. We are looking for experienced financial professionals to serve as LUTCF mentors to assist LUTCF students in maximizing their professional training experience to allow them to thrive in the insurance and financial services industry.