D. Scott Brennan to Receive 2016 John Newton Russell Memorial Award

D.Scott Brennan, a career MassMutual agent in South Bend, Ind., is the recipient of the 75th annual John Newton Russell Memorial Award. The NAIFA award is the highest honor accorded by the insurance industry to a living individual who has rendered outstanding services to the institution of life insurance. Brennan will receive the award Sept. 18, 2016, at NAIFA’s Performance + Purpose Conference in Las Vegas.

“On behalf of the selection committee, it is a privilege to congratulate Scott Brennan as the recipient of this year’s John Newton Russell Memorial Award,” said Robert O. Smith, CLU, ChFC, JD, chair of the 2016 award committee. “Scott’s high regard as an industry speaker and his dedicated service to the Million Dollar Round Table demonstrate his strong commitment to our industry and to helping his colleagues achieve success. We had many strong nominees this year, but Scott’s achievements stood out as particularly notable.”

Brennan began his career in life insurance in 1977. He is a member of the MDRT Quarter Century Club with past qualifications of COT and TOT. He has served as the organization’s president and is an Excalibur Knight of the MDRT Foundation.

“I have had a great career with a few left turns,” Brennan said. “It hasn’t been perfect but it has been wonderful. I have more medals than scar tissue, but I am proud of both.”

Brennan has been a NAIFA member for more than 35 years and is currently on the NAIFA-Indiana board of trustees. He has served as the president of NAIFANorth Central Indiana association. He has also served on the Life Happens board of directors and as president of Forum 400.

A highly regarded speaker, Brennan has presented to more than 200 business groups. His awards include Life Underwriter of the Year award, 1998 NAIFA-Indiana Hoosier Underwriter of the Year award, and the 2002 and 2003 Mass Mutual Agent of the Year for Indiana. In 2011, Brennan was the inaugural recipient of The Forum 400’s Humanitarian Award.

“Scott Brennan has dedicated more than 35 years to helping his clients provide financial security for themselves and their families,” said NAIFA President Jules O. Gaudreau, Jr., ChFC, CIC. “During that time he has also given back to our great industry by volunteering his time, insights and energy. His exemplary passion and dedication make him a worthy recipient of the 2016 John Newton Russell Memorial Award.”

John Henry Russell created the John Newton Russell Award in 1942 as a tribute to his father, an influential leader in the life insurance industry and an early advocate of agent education. John Newton Russell served as NAIFA (then NALU) president from 1916 to 1917 and was a contributing founder of LIMRA International, The American College and the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation.

For your clients with advanced-stage illness or for seniors with high premiums and identified impairments, don’t recommend a life settlement without calling us first. We’re Fifth Season Financial, and we’ve developed a financial resource called FLAG – FUNDS for LIVING AND GIVING

Rather than your client selling their policy, Fifth Season’s FLAG program provides cash advances of up to 60% of the policy death benefit.

Your clients may realize much greater returns from a FLAG advance than a policy sale. Since Fifth Season’s launch in 2007, cash advances and beneficiary payouts combined have, on average, exceeded 80%* of the face value of policies utilizing FLAG

For qualified referrals, Fifth Season pays financial professionals fair and competitive fees.

• For your clients with serious illness

• Our FLAG program provides cash advances against the face value of almost any type of life insurance policy

• The FLAG advance is generally non-taxable

• Fifth Season assumes premium payments; all advances, fees and interest are re-paid later solely out of the death benefit

• Surplus funds are paid to policy beneficiaries

• A FLAG advance retains optionality for your client (no penalties for early repayment, additional advances on health changes, etc.)

• Faster processing than a life settlement