Dear IMSA Friends; 

It’s March Madness time!  Down here in Gainesville, FL everyone is pretty excited about the Gators’ Basketball team’s chance to win another National Championship.  We’ll know soon! 

I’m also excited about all the IMSA companies completing assessments and renewing their membership.  Please read on! 

Congratulations to these IMSA Companies!

Oxford Life Insurance Company, Phoenix, AZ, has renewed its IMSA qualifications

“Oxford Life is proud of its IMSA qualification,” said company President & CEO Mark

Haydukovich. “Our IMSA qualification is a tangible demonstration of our commitment to treating our clients with honesty and integrity.” 

Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company, Canton, MA.   “We are pleased to have achieved IMSA qualification,” said Paul E. Petry, Boston Mutual President & CEO. “This is a concrete expression of our pledge to uphold stringent ethical standards and our continuing commitment to treat consumers with honesty and integrity.” 

Primerica Life Insurance Company, Duluth, GA, and its subsidiary, National Benefit Life Insurance Company, have renewed their IMSA membership.  “We are proud of our IMSA qualification,” said Jeff Fendler, CEO & President of Primerica Life Insurance Company. “It is a tangible demonstration of Primerica’s continuing dedication to ethical business practices.” 

“Our IMSA qualification shows our clients National Benefit’s commitment to integrity,”

said Raul Rivera, President & CEO of National Benefit Life. 

Knights of Columbus, New Haven, CT; --  

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield, MA, and its subsidiaries - C.M. Life Insurance Company, Enfield, CT; and - MML Bay State Life Insurance Company, Enfield, CT.

Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, Boston, MA, a member of the Liberty Mutual Group;  

Principal Life Insurance Company, Des Moines, IA;  

Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, Binghamton, NY;  

Sun Life Financial companies including  Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.S. Division), Wellesley Hills, MA;  Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.S.), Wellesley Hills, MA; and  Sun Life Insurance & Annuity Company of New York, New York, NY. 

  “These companies have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to maintaining high ethical standards and a special dedication to serving their customers with honesty and integrity,” said Atchinson.  “We congratulate them for their commitment to high standards.” 

Please Mark Your Calendars!

IMSA is planning another Best Practices Workshop in Chicago on Sept. 19-20, 2007.  Be sure to put it on your calendar. 

AARP’s Hansen Joins IMSA Board of Directors 

Bethesda, MD (March 7, 2007) -- IMSA announced on March 7 that AARP Group Executive Officer Christopher Hansen has joined the organization’s Board of Directors. 

“We are pleased to have Chris join IMSA’s Board,” said Timothy F. Kneeland, President of Life
Investors Insurance Company of America, a member of the AEGON Group and IMSA
Chairman. “He brings an important perspective to IMSA’s work as the premier standards setting
organization for the life insurance marketplace. 

“AARP is an important voice on issues affecting consumers and the financial services
marketplace. We welcome his participation in IMSA’s important work to promote a healthy
competitive marketplace where consumers can make sound and appropriate decisions about
their financial and insurance well being,” Kneeland added. 

“I am proud to serve on the Board of Directors of this important organization,” Hansen said.
“IMSA plays a critical role in developing and deploying standards. IMSA’s work helps protect
the interest of the nations’ consumers.” 

Hansen is AARP’s Group Executive Officer for State and National Initiatives. His
responsibilities include government relations, advocacy, management of AARP offices in every
state, public outreach on key programs, and volunteer management and support. He assumed
that position in mid-January 2003, after serving as the organization’s Senior Managing Director
of Government Relations and Advocacy since March 2002. Before coming to AARP, Mr.
Hansen worked for 16 years for The Boeing Company as Senior Vice President, Government
Relations. Prior to his work with Boeing, Hansen spent 11 years with General Dynamics. 

What We Are Up To at the Kenneth J. Kalis Company 

We’ve completed 9 independent assessments so far this year and are taking a few weeks breather.  During that time we’ve put together our 1^st Quarter Excelsior Newsletter, now in its 9^th year.  Look for it next week!  We are also finishing our work on converting our user-friendly Microsoft Word KP4 IMSA Software tool to the Topic Based format.   

Along with our newsletter, IMSA companies will be receiving a stuffer describing some of the IMSA related services we offer: 

On-site Training:  Need a better understanding of all the 2007 standards?  Want to bring your whole IMSA team up to date on the latest changes to the IMSA Handbook for 2006?  One day training by Qualified Independent Assessor and IMSA Standards Review Committee member Ken Kalis now available. 

Reorganizing for Topic Based Approach:  Want to get ready for your assessment but have your data organized according to the IMSA Principles?  We can help you reorganize into our new 2007 KP4 IMSA Software tool that will make best use of your past evidence and reformat your old indicators into the new Topic Based Approach.   

Facilitating Self-Assessments:  Not sure how you’re going to get your self-assessment moving, or WHO is going to do it?  We can help.  One half day kickoff and 3 one-day facilitating sessions with Qualified Independent Assessor Ken Kalis will get you on track! 

Conducting Independent Assessments:  100+ successful assessments with over 40 companies.  Need we say more? 

Best Practices:  Need some new ideas on how to get that continuous improvement rolling?  We’ll share ours with you and/or help you implement some you already know about. 

Project Management:  Need some help putting together that long-overdue Compliance Manual?  Need a Suitability form for your fixed annuities?  Procedures for complaint resolution or advertising review?  We can help! 

Just respond to this email with the service you are interested in or call us at 386-462-1074/  We will get back to you right away.   

Best Practice of the Month 

We’ve come across so many best practices this year already, that it’s hard to know which one to highlight.  Here’s one on customer needs: a marketing effort aimed at helping families dealing with disabilities.  Did you know that there are 33 million Hispanics in the U.S. but 55 million people with disabilities?  This company is working with national organizations with expertise in helping the families of the disabled and has opened up a huge market that really helps people in need builds the company’s revenues and reputation.  When I come across something like this, I am proud to be a part of the life insurance industry.  How can I describe such an ongoing effort?  Customer-focused?  Yes.  Something to be proud of?  Yes!  But something even better – I think the word is “Noble.”

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Count your blessings this month and always.  I’m thankful for all of you and for the noble work we are all engaged in.  Best regards,