Advocacy in action blog

NAIFA would like to congratulate newly elected National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) elect officers for 2023:

• President: Missouri Insurance Director Chlora Lindley-Myers. Chlora Lindley-Myers was confirmed as the director of the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance on April 13, 2017.

A comment letter submitted by NAIFA President Lawrence Holzberg, LUTCF, LACP, on behalf of the association to the U.S. Department of Labor urges the department to provide an exemption or carve-out for financial professionals in a proposed rule on employee or independent contractor classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) President and CEO Susan Neely and NAIFA-MA President Josh O’Gara issued the following joint statement on the best interest annuity rule adopted recently by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance:

“The new rule adopted by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance adds to the nationwide drive for enhanced protections for consumers seeking lifetime income through annuities.

Chris Bor, LUTCF, CLU, ChFC, a loyal NAIFA member since 1998 and Immediate Past President of NAIFA-WA, testified at a hearing of the Washington State Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee on the use of life insurance, annuities, and policy riders in long-term care planning. He gave an overview of a wide variety of LTC planning options and discussed the value of agents and advisors to consumers. Bor also serves as Vice-Chair of NAIFA's National Membership Committee.

The RILA Act has cleared the hotline in the Senate (meaning all 100 Senators have agreed to allow it to pass). Next, bill sponsor Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) will try to add it to the end-of-the-day “wrap up” package along with all the other cleared bills, resolutions, and organizing agreements.

On November 30, 2022, NAIFA joined with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry partners in a letter asking the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to make permanent the temporary relief from the physical presence requirement for spousal consent that the IRS has provided. As reflected in the attached letter, plans have been using this relief for nearly two years, and NAIFA believes that its use and effectiveness warrant that it be made permanent. If the IRS feels it cannot make this relief permanent before it expires after December 31, 2022, NAIFA urged the IRS to provide at least an additional 12-month extension while the IRS either provides permanent relief on its own or through notice and comment. By doing so, the IRS will avoid disrupting a valued tool many have come to rely on.

On December 5, 2022, NAIFA filed comments on the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) proposed rule that would expand the joint-employer definition under the National Labor Relations Act. The rule would extend liability to employers that have indirect and reserved control over one or more employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment.

Last week, NAIFA-New Mexico testified before the Senate Economic Development and Policy Committee in support of having financial literacy be a graduation requirement for New Mexico public high schools. NAIFA-New Mexico President, Chad Cooper, who also serves as the Vice Chairman of the African American Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and serves his clients as a financial advisor for Gateway Financial Advisors, Inc. and Mike McCaffrey, Vice President of Advocacy for NAIFA-New Mexico and agent with New York Life, provided oral comments to the committee. 

NAIFA members attending the National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., held more than 150 meetings with their Senators, Representatives, and congressional staffers. NAIFA's grassroots advocacy is second-to-none in the insurance and financial services industry. Our members' message resonates loudly with Congress because NAIFA members represent the interests of their Main Street clients from across the country.

NAIFA members, in Washington, D.C., for NAIFA’s National Leadership Conference, went to Capitol Hill to participate in more than 150 in-person meetings with members of Congress and their staff.