Time to Change Your Address?
If you are now working from home and would like to receive your California Broker magazine there, please let us know! Email Lex with your name and new address: lexena@calbrokermag.com.
CELEBRATION
LAAHU Members Celebrate with CB
Los Angeles Association of Health Underwriters had a swell holiday celebration in Studio City recently. Thanks for handing out Cal Broker magazines, LAAHU! The masked insurance hero pictured below is Randy Rodriguez, LAAHU membership chair, Ameritas — western region group sales rep. Really love you sweater, Randy!
If you’re having an insurance industry event, remember you can always snap a few pics and send them to us with the pertinent info: editor@calbrokermag.com.
OMICRON
Biden Pushes Home Tests and Vaccines
The Biden Administration is pivoting to pushing COVID home tests, which insurers may pay for, and vaccinations/boosters especially in light of the new omicron variant. Regarding the vaccination, in recent remarks (which you can watch for yourself right here on YouTube) President Biden urged people to do it for themselves, their families and their countries. He also noted that he would likely be criticized for suggesting getting vaccinated is patriotic.
2022
Predictions for the New Year
Do you wish you had a crystal ball for the new year? You don’t need that. Because EIS, the core and digital platform provider for major insurers has compiled some predictions! The company released its outlook for 2022 and the trends they say will impact the insurance sector. So here are the top four trends:
2.) the convergence of Life and non-Life insurance lines so insurers can provide the one-stop-shop experience today’s consumers want
3.) the emergence of customer-centered ecosystems is emerging because consumer needs have changed and no one company can meet those needs. Insurers will take an outside-in perspective to rethink their value proposition to determine how they can best fit into consumer ecosystems
4.) the increasing importance of technology in the broker-insurer relationship, which insurers will need to stave off competition by being equipped with technology that is flexible, open, able to support rapid integrations across various lines of business, and, perhaps most importantly, customer-centric!
BOARDS
NAAIA Welcome New Board Members
The National African American Insurance Association recently announced two newly elected national board members. Congrats to Errica Rivera, culture and inclusion lead at State Auto Insurance Companies and Clive McCarthy, manager at Liberty Mutual!
SIIA Announces New Board Members
The Self-Insurance Institute of America, Inc. (SIIA) announced that Amy Gasbarro, chief operating officer of Vālenz, and Deborah Hodges, president of Health Plans, Inc, have been elected to its board of directors for 2022. The balance of SIIA’s leadership team for 2022 is as follows: Kari Niblack, CEO of ACS Benefit Services; Liz Midtlien, vice president of emerging markets at AmeriHealth Administrators; John Capasso, president & CEO of Captive Planning Associates, LLC; Tom Belding, president of Professional Reinsurance & Marketing Services; Laura Hirsch, Co-CEO of Aither Health; Lisa Moody, chairwoman of Renalogic and Shaun Peterson, vice president of Stop-Loss
FINANCIAL PLANNING
Brokerages Return $ to Investors for Bad 529 Advice
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) announced on Dec. 20 agreements with LPL Financial to pay restitution of $1,203,392, with Wells Fargo Advisors and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Networks to pay restitution of $3,367,929, and with three Advisor Group firms — Royal Alliance Associates, Sagepoint Financial and FSC Securities — to pay restitution of $485,441 in relation to advice given to some investors in 529 college savings plans.
Finra didn’t additionally fine the brokerages because they said the companies showed “extraordinary cooperation” with the probes of their practices in selling the 529 college-savings plans.
Finra found that each brokerage failed to put in place policies and procedures to ensure that their registered representatives were recommending 529 share-classes that fit customers’ investment objectives and timelines.
LIP SYNC
CAHU Vanguard Announces Virtual Lip Sync Contest — Really!
This sounds too good to be true, but it’s not: California Association of Health Underwriters will host a virtual lip sync contest on February 9! You can register to attend the event right here, but we’re pretty sure most of our Insurance Insider readers will want to be CONTESTANTS!! If you want to compete, go here. Last we checked, there were only 15 spots left to compete.
LOVE THE LIST
Forbes 20 Richest Women
For this week’s list we love, here’s Forbes’ 20 Richest Women (as portrayed by ThinkAdvisor). There’s a lot of Walmart, Amazon and Mars bar money in there!
HAPPY HAPPY
Lastly, as we approach the holidays, the staff of California Broker magazine and Insurance Insider Newsletter would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading and supporting the magazine and newsletter. May you have peace, joy, plenty to eat and lots of laughs this holiday season — Warmly, Ric, Lexena, Thora, Victoria, Devon, Randy and Linda.
EVENTS
- National African American Insurance Association Anniversary Year Kick Off Event, Jan 18, 8-10am PT. Info here.
- You Powered Benefits Symposium, in person, Feb 6-9, Phoenix. Info here.
- CAHU Women’s Leadership Summit, in person, March 14-16, 2022, Green Valley Ranch, Las Vegas, Info and registration here.
- LAAHU Annual Symposium, in person, April 26, Pasadena Convention Center. Info here.
- BenefitsPro Broker Expo, in person, May 23-25, 2022, Austin, TX. Request more info here. Register here.
