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Life Health > Life Insurance > Term Insurance

Keep compliance in mind for seminars

By Craig Randall

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Before I continue, I want to tell you about an article I read regarding compliance issues. If you’re doing public seminars on a regular basis, it’s likely that at some point a regulator will get one of your invitations and you will be subject to some type of scrutiny, especially during the appointment process.

The Arizona Corporation Commission recently ordered a group of insurance agents to pay $133,000 in fines and more than $16 million in damages to their former clients. The issue was that the insurance-licensed-only professionals recommended that their clients sell their securities and invest the proceeds in fixed index annuities. The commission asserted the agents offered investment advice without the proper certifications of credentials.

As you know, the regulatory environment is getting much tougher these days and we may have to rethink our long-term strategies.

There are several options we have with respect to the path we take. If you plan on being in this business long-term, I would suggest that you get some type of securities license. You have several choices that should be evaluated to determine how they will fit with your long-term business plan.

One choice is to become an RIA, which will require a Series 65 license and state registration. The other option worth looking at is to become securities licensed with a Series 6 or 7 designation. This option will require you to become registered with a broker/dealer and be subject to FINRA rules and regulations.

Now, briefly, let me conclude my recent series on seminars and remind you to be on top of the check-in process when guests arrive. In addition to pens and pencils, I suggest that you provide two hand-out sheets for each attendee: the seminar work sheet and a family sheet.

The seminar worksheet includes contact information, plus a section that allows them to ask me for an appointment. My family sheet has a picture of my wife and our two boys with various captions, plus a brief paragraph about me and how committed I am to my clients.Remember, the seminar process is not a selling event, it is a social event. Your objective is to have fun and simply present yourself to the group so they have a opportunity to see you in action so they can determine if they like and trust you. If you have done your job, they want to come and see you on an individual basis.

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