American Fraternal Alliance Compliance Day 2016

The American Fraternal Alliance hosted their annual Fraternal Compliance Day for members in Chicago, IL, last week, and it was definitely time well spent, as usual. I had the pleasure of co-presenting one of the sessions this year, on Suitability in Life Insurance and Annuities, along with my associate, Roger Hayashi. Ours was just one of a number of sessions on relevant topics such as Cybersecurity, Corporate Governance, Financial Examinations, as well as an update on member services for compliance folks.

One of my favorite things about these events is the people – not only the creative and hardworking individuals who plan and coordinate this exceptional event, but also the attendees. I was impressed by this group’s open nature and willingness to share their compliance challenges and connect with their peers. This group appears to truly view compliance not as a competitive sport, but as a means of sharing ideas and best practices with each other. I immediately felt welcome, and sensed the community spirit that embodies this organization and its members.

The discussions throughout the day also highlighted for me the significant number of compliance challenges that fraternals face, and that they often must be more creative than their counterparts in large commercial carriers in order to meet their regulatory requirements with fewer resources. Fraternal compliance employees often have to balance the more immediate compliance deadlines and tasks staring them in the face along with trying to put proactive measures in place to anticipate the risks coming up on the horizon. This is not an easy challenge, and these individuals deserve a round of applause for all they do to help support the organization and protect its reputation!

Many thanks to AFA for allowing us to participate, we are already looking forward to next year’s event!