Spring Conference Season

It has been a week since the IAdCA annual conference in Seattle ended. As always, it was a great event and the board, with Murray Vassar as President, did a great job making it an educational and fun time for everyone. I enjoyed the two sessions that I presented—Market Conduct Issues & Developments and Producer-Generated Advertising. I am looking forward to seeing the participant feedback, hoping attendees found the sessions useful and informative.

In the Producer-Generated Advertising session, one of the main topics of discussion was Kansas Bulletin 2012-1. I had picked the topic several months earlier and it was a welcome addition to have a Bulletin—so directly on point—be issued so close to my presentation on the topic. The bulletin leads with:

Due to a growing problem with advertising practices by third-party marketing entities, the Department issued in January 1991 Bulletin 1991-4 in order to remind insurers authorized to transact life and/or accident and health insurance in Kansas of the applicability of K.A.R. 40-9-100 and K.A.R. 40-9-118 to the marketing activities conducted by third-party entities. Over the last couple of years the Department has experienced a similar increasing trend in the number of complaints regarding life and health insurance advertisements produced and distributed by third-party marketing firms.

Some session attendees were very much aware of the bulletin, while others were not. But there was a lot of interest from both groups. Since I am leading a similar session at the New England Chapter of the AICP Education Day in Springfield MA on May 11, I realized that it would greatly enhance the value to have the Kansas regulators co-present/discuss the issues related to advertising produced and distributed by third-party marketing firms. I am pleased to announce that Ms. Jennifer Sourk, an attorney with the Kansas Insurance Department and Mr. Jason Lapham of the Life Division will both be attending E-day and will be sharing the panel with me. I am quite sure our discussion will be a lively one.

In between IAdCA and E-day is IRES. LHCA, the Life and Health Compliance Association, wrapped up yesterday on an altered schedule because of the religious holidays. E-Reg is coming, too. In the spring and fall, there are so many conferences; it sometimes feels that they are right on top of each other. I always look forward to the opportunity to share information and rekindle connections in person when so much of our interactions are by e-mail and telephone. At the end of each conference season I feel a sense of relief but also a bit of sadness as my work world again pulls inward. To those of you I will see soon, I am looking forward to it! To those of you who will not be at this round, perhaps I will see you during the fall conference season?

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From A Woman and a Leader