Life Insurance Awareness Month seems like an ideal time to explore developing trends in the life insurance industry, so that's just what we've done in our biggest issue of the year.
Contributing Editor Chuck Hirsch gets to the heart of the matter in this issue's Producer Roundtable feature, picking the brains of three highly decorated industry veterans in Lou Pierce, CLU, E. Dennis Zahrbock, CFP, CLU, ChFC, and Thomas Henske, CFP, CLU, ChFC, CLTC.
From how they create innovative new solutions for clients with today's more flexible stable of products, such as indexed and variable universal life, to their concerns with a potential fiduciary standard, this month's panelists bring up a lot of interesting thoughts and ideas to ponder.
They will be able to expand on those thoughts and ideas in a live Web seminar event, "Emerging Trends in Life Insurance," on Thursday, Sept. 23. And you get to attend for free. The one-hour Web seminar will start at noon Eastern, and will conclude with an audience question-and-answer session. You can register by visiting www.lifeinsuranceselling.com.
Speaking of Life Insurance Awareness Month, I'm hoping you are making a concerted effort this month to raise consumer awareness about the dire need most Americans have for adequate life insurance coverage. It's not just the LIFE Foundation's responsibility -- it's your job, too. You can make a tremendous impact in your own community if you will put forth the effort. You have help -- the LIFE Foundation (www.lifehappens.org/liam) as well as many carriers offer a bevy of tools and resources, all virtually at your fingertips. All you need to do is utilize them. And you might want to check out our interview of 2010 LIAM spokesperson Leslie Bibb.
Finally, I want to thank so many of you for taking the time to comment online to my Aug. 4 blog about the retained asset accounts controversy. More than 70 of you expressed your thoughts on the matter, creating an instant virtual forum filled with widespread viewpoints about a suddenly hot topic in the eyes of the public, mainstream media, regulators and certain politicians alike. I still maintain it's a non-issue, yet the NAIC reacted to the firestorm by issuing a "consumer alert" in mid-August. This, despite the fact that NAIC President and West Virginia Insurance Commissioner, Jane L. Cline, admitted during the recent NAIC conference in Seattle that regulators have received "few complaints or questions" from the public about retained asset accounts.
