The Association for Advanced Life Underwriting has decided to form its own political action committee, necessitating that AALU become independent of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, which it has been part of since 1957.
Both AALU and NAIFA acknowledged this could reduce the size of NAIFA's PAC, which is the largest of all insurance trade groups based in Washington.
The decision to become independent of NAIFA was required by campaign finance laws, officials of AALU and NAIFA said.
Larry Raymond, AALU president, said it was "not our intent to take away from any currently existing PAC, but rather to avail ourselves of another tool to better represent our members.
"We want to strengthen the life insurance agents' voice in Washington," he said.
In confirming that independence was required in order to create its own PAC, Marc Cadin, a lobbyist for AALU, said, "NAIFA will continue to have a large and vibrant political action committee."
Jeffrey Taggart, president of NAIFA, confirmed that election law required the AALU to become independent of NAIFA once AALU decided to create its own PAC.
AALU represents specialized agents who advise and sell high-end insurance policies to businesses and wealthy individuals.
Taggart said AALU will continue to be a conference of NAIFA, but an independent one, like the Million Dollar Round Table, which was formerly a conference of NAIFA but now completely independent.
"To have a PAC, they have to be independent," Taggart said. However, he added, "Our goal is to make it so we are closer together than further apart."
Sometimes, he said, AALU has different political objectives than NAIFA, although they share the core principle–"that the thin threads that protect our industry must be preserved."
