Advocacy Activities – September 2020

As we close in on reaching our goal of 100 House sponsors to the Fraternal Resolution (and getting closer on the Senate side), the Alliance continues to look for ways to connect with legislators to ensure they understand the impact our members are having in communities across America. Letter campaigns and virtual meetings are coming soon to stay top-of-mind. And our two new co-chairs of the STEP Up (state tax exemption protection) Task Force, Sharon Brosnan of Thrivent and Tim Saccoccia of Knights of Columbus, are aiding in our preparation to address any state issues in the coming months. This will include a solid strategy to identify our champions and communicate the effect of financial security and community service with facts and compelling stories told by those individuals making a difference.

Alliance Virtual Education Opportunities

ENCORE Going Virtual on December 15-16

ALLIANCE ENCORE IS GOING VIRTUAL!

Please mark your calendar to join us remotely for the Alliance Annual Business Meeting and select fraternal-specific programming for our society leaders. Registration information is coming soon.

AGENDA

December 15

• Opening Session with Board Members and Special Guests

• Annual Business Meeting to Elect Directors and Consider Constitution Enhancements

• Unveiling of Alliance’s New Mission Statement & Vision for the Future

• Education: CEO Panel Discussion

December 16

• Alliance Announcements

• Fraternal Celebrations – Our Impact in Times of Crisis

• Education: Fraternal Round Robin

• Network with Peers with an Exciting Collaborative Platform

Join your colleagues virtually for important Alliance activities, updates and education. Keep your connections strong as we head into 2021!

September 15: What’s New with Drew – Notes from Our DC Lobbyist

In a spin on our monthly virtual event with our retained lobbyist Drew Goesl from Capitol Counsel, Drew has invited Brad Howard, Chief of Staff to U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL 7th District) to give us an electoral overview and a unique Hill perspective. Brad’s boss, Rep. Murphy, is a co-sponsor of the Alliance’s House Congressional Fraternal Resolution and sits on the Ways and Means Committee. READ MORE

September 23: Emerging Changes to Valuation and Nonforfeiture Interest Rates for January 1, 2021

This webinar with Griffith Ballard will address critical issues such as:

• Known changes to the statutory reserve valuation rate and nonforfeiture rates for 2021-issued plans

• Potential further changes stemming from NAIC and Congressional actions, some of which could affect product design

• Understanding the impact these changes have on product pricing as well as statutory reporting requirements (including statement entries, cash flow testing results, and RBC levels)

READ MORE

September 29: Monthly Compliance Update & Discussion

Join us for a talk on new information found in our compliance charts, and we will answer questions, discuss compliance challenges, and determine other ways the Alliance/First Compliance team can be of service. READ MORE

Partnership with LIC – Complimentary Registration for Fraternal Executives at Upcoming Virtual Events

Through a new partnership, the Alliance is happy to announce it will subsidize the registration fees for fraternal executives who wish to participate in the Life Insurance Council’s virtual events that are known to foster valuable interaction. Membership in LIC is not required. Click here for details on the LIC line-up of events and complementary links.

Events include:

LIC Fall HR Committee Meeting – Virtual Meeting Co-Sponsored by the Alliance
Tuesday, September 30, 2020

LIC Fall Operations Committee Meeting – Virtual Meeting Co-Sponsored by the Alliance
Wednesday, October 7, 2020

LIC Fall Technology & Project Management Committee Meeting – Virtual Meeting Co-Sponsored by the Alliance
Wednesday, October 14, 2020

LIC Pre Need Forum – Virtual Meeting Co-Sponsored by the Alliance
The Future of Preneed
Wednesday, November 18, 2020 – Thursday, November 19, 2020

Fraternal Benefit Society Member News

How Thrivent is gently raising its distinctive profile in a moment of change

A new marketing campaign aims to build more awareness of Thrivent as a financial services business that remains interested in helping people live a life of greater purpose. Read More (Content requires a subscription.)

Foresters Financial celebrates twenty years of A.M. Best “A” (Excellent) ratings

Foresters Financial announced that the independent rating agency A.M. Best Company has affirmed The Independent Order of Foresters Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of “A” (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+”. Read More

Royal Neighbors, one of the first life insurance companies to insure women, celebrates 125 years

Royal Neighbors, founded by nine pioneering women, was one of the first organizations in the country to offer life insurance to women... Read More

Knights of Columbus Donates $150,000 to Diocese of Lake Charles, LA for Hurricane Relief

The Knights of Columbus announced it will donate $150,000 to the Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles, Louisiana, in the wake of Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm that caused widespread destruction across the state on Aug. 26. Read More

Fraternals Respond: COVID Aid by Alliance Members Making a Significant Impact

Alliance members are fulfilling their missions through swift and substantial actions since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. Read here how our societies are helping members and communities through a wide variety of programs. Let’s keep adding to this list! Email info@fraternalalliance.org with details on how your fraternal is making a difference.

Associate Members

Macquarie: Explore Insights from Our Investment Teams

The team at Macquarie are providing extensive insights with articles focusing on relative value in fixed income sectors through the pandemic, multi-asset views in a COVID-19 world, trends in infrastructure debt, investing in disruption, sustainable investing, and much more.

Read: Public Market Insights

Read: Private Market Insights

In addition, the Macquarie Insurance team has been recently busy presenting custom, CUSIP level peer investment analyses to a number of fraternal partners.

*To request a similar analysis, please email InsuranceSolutions@Macquarie.com.

Alliance Partnerships

Calsurance Offers Tips on Insurability for Fraternal Producers

A closer look: Confirmation of Insurability. Read More

Regulation

NAIC’s Investment Risk-Based Capital Working Group has Disbanded

The Capital Adequacy Task Force disbanded the Investment Risk-Based Capital Working Group (IRBCWG) during the Virtual 2020 NAIC Summer National Meeting. The following 2 items will now be addressed by the Life Risk-Based Capital Working Group, which were on the IRBCWG’s agenda:

• Discuss and determine the bond factors for the 20 designations.

• Discuss and determine the need to adjust the real estate factors.

If these issues are important to your organization, please begin following the Life RBC Working Group if you haven’t done so already.

Industry News

Young Consumers Have Noticed Life Insurance: MIB

U.S. residents under age 45 spent July shopping for life insurance as if it were a hot new phone, or hand sanitizer. Read More

Volunteer News

Creative Meeting Formats Flourish During Covid-19

The pandemic has meeting professionals exploring new event formats. From drive-in meetings to year-round virtual convention centers, they’re doing what it takes to keep attendees safe and engaged. Read More