CAHU Cleans Up | California Broker Magazine

Big woot-woot to CAHU! The organization really brought home the goodies at the National Association of Health Underwriters Convention & Expo this week! For example:

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

· DAWN MCFARLAND, California AHU

VANGUARD EMERGING LEADERSHIP AWARD

· JOLENE BIBIAN, Ventura County AHU

LANDMARK

· CAHU

STATE WEBSITE

· CAHU

MEDIA RELATIONS

· STATE: CAHU

· LOCAL: ORANGE COUNTY

PACESETTER

· INLAND EMPIRE

· ORANGE COUNTY

FLOOD PUBLIC SERVICE

· ORANGE COUNTY

OUIDA PETERSON COMMUNITY SERVICE

· SAN DIEGO (First year for this award!)

WETZEL PUBLIC SPEAKING

· PAUL ROBERTS

MOST NEW MEMBERS STATE

· CAHU

HIGHEST GROWTH RATE STATE

· CAHU

NATIONAL MEMBERSHIP CHAMPION STATE

· CAHU

MOST NEW MEMBERS

· LOS ANGELES

NATIONAL MEMBERSHIP CHAMPION

· LOS ANGELES

Region 8 also won the Blue Chip Award and the Region of Membership Excellence Awards.

Congrats to all for a job well done!

HEALTH

Lara Takes Action to Expand Culturally Competent Health to LGBTQ+

As Pride Month comes to a close, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced new steps to help increase LGBTQ+ access to culturally competent health care. In a written statement, Lara’s office noted that the LGBTQ+ community has suffered years of neglect by the federal government. Lara has now directed health insurance companies to provide data about whether their LGBTQ+ policyholders can find doctors and other medical providers that are culturally competent to provide appropriate care, which is often a major obstacle for LGBTQ+ individuals to seeking care and feeling accepted in medical settings.

FINANCIAL PLANNING

FINRA Orders Robinhood to Pay UP

Not sure how this plays into the “robbing from the rich and giving to the poor” mythology, but Robinhood has now been fined $70 million — a chunk of which is going to the very small-time investors it purported to help. From Bloomberg:

Though Robinhood long stood out as one of Silicon Valley’s biggest threats to Wall Street’s status quo, Finra signaled its impatience with the “move fast and break things” approach embedded in the tech industry’s DNA.

VARIABLE ANNUITIES

So it looks like Principal Financial is joining the ranks of Ameriprise Financial, AXA, MetLife, Prudential Financial and Voya by calling it quits on individual fixed annuities and individual life. Of course, this will not impact contracts already in place. At ThinkAdvisor, Allison Bell has a Q&A up with Larry Rybka, the CEO of Valmark Financial Group of Akron, Ohio. Here’s the top question:

1. Will all issuers end up on Variable Products Tilt Drive?

Rybka pointed to results from a recent EY executive survey: about 58% of insurance companies around the world expect to divest at least one significant business within the next two years.

He sees insurers that have traditionally focused on selling fixed products developing variable products.

Read the whole post here.

MEDICARE

Medicare Events for You

Don’t forget Medicare events on the horizon! Two separate events — one in person and the other virtual. Of course, we think you should do both.

In person —

9th Annual Senior Summit: Chart Your Course and Navigate Into the Future, in person at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, August 31-September 2. Online registration is open through August 19. Register here.

Virtual —

California State Medicare Expo: Unmasking Medicare – August 26-27. Register here.

CAL BROKER

CB Seeks Additional Ad Salesperson

Cal Broker is looking to hire an additional advertising salesperson to join our team. Knowledge of insurance products and/or sales experience desired. Flexible hours and you can work from wherever you are. Interested? Send an email to publisher Ric Madden: ric@ricmadden.co

INSURTECH

The Go-To for Crypto Work

Crypto Business World announced the launch of a user-friendly job board. The job portal focuses on fintech and allows prospective candidates to connect with their desired employers. Companies can quickly post jobs, connect with potential candidates, and review and manage proficient job seekers. Employers have access to a database of talent with a growing list of qualified candidates. Candidates can upload and fill out their resumes in minutes. Try it out here.

INNOVATION

InsuranceQuotes Delves into New Tech Embrace

Michael Giusti of InsuranceQuotes writes “While innovation isn’t the first thing most people think of when the topic of insurance comes up, changes are afoot in the insurance industry to help protect today’s consumers from emerging risks.” Giusti says that if you look closely, insurance is actually growing to meet needs. In fact, InsuranceQuotes conducted a survey of more than 1,000 consumers to gauge their interest in new technology, as well as the insurance options to protect them. The survey results aren’t shocking but are reaffirming: consumers are buying into the idea of electric vehicles, they want more insurance options for cryptocurrency, they say rooftop home solar is the future, and that an increasing number of patients are embracing telemedicine. Read more about the InsuranceQuotes 2021 Innovation and Insurance Report survey here.

EVENTS

NAIFA Zoom Happy Hour, Thursday, July 15, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.”SUCCESSFUL PARTNERING=POWER PARTNERING” Register here.
BenefitsPro Broker Expo, in person in San Diego, August 16-18. Save 15% with promo code RIGHTPLAN. Agenda here, register here.
9th Annual Senior Summit: Chart Your Course and Navigate Into the Future, in person at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, August 31-September 2. Online registration is open through August 19. Register here.
California State Medicare Expo: Unmasking Medicare, virtual, August 26-27. Register here.
American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance, National Medicare Supplement Insurance Industry Summit, Sept 8-10, in person at Schaumburg Convention Center, Chicago area. Info here.
SIIA 41st Annual National Educational Conference & Expo, In-Person & Virtual, October 3 – 5, JW Marriott, Austin, TX. Info here.