Frequently Asked Questions

Q Why has NAIFA developed the NAIFA Quality Award?

A First and foremost, the NAIFA Quality Award was developed to provide an opportunity for ALL NAIFA members to be recognized for excellence. The former Industry Awards included little or no opportunity for NAIFA members focused on financial advising and investments or health and employee benefits to achieve the award. The NAIFA Quality Award provides achievement criteria for every practice specialty: Life & Annuities; Health & Employee Benefits; Multiline Sales and Financial Advising & Investments.

Additionally, the NAIFA Quality Award production criteria allow applicants to earn points towards recognition in multiple practice specialties. This ensures the NAIFA Quality Award represents the many varied practices of NAIFA members.

Q How do these awards compare to the previous NAIFA Industry Awards?

A

The NAIFA Quality Award Life & Annuities Specialty criteria and the NAIFA Quality Award Multiline Specialty criteria are very similar to the former NAIFA Industry Awards. The NAIFA Quality Award also provides an opportunity for NAIFA members with practices focused on health and employee benefits, financial advising and investments or a combination of specialties to qualify for the award. Previous recipients of the National Quality Award are likely to find you qualify for the NAIFA Quality Award Life & Annuities Specialty. National Sales Achievement Award recipients are likely to find you qualify for the NAIFA Quality Award Life & Annuities Specialty as well. National Multiline Sales Award recipients will find you now qualify for the NAIFA Quality Award Multiline Specialty.

Q Is the NAIFA Quality Award an award for high levels of production?

A No. While achieving substantial and measurable performance in production is a contributing criterion in achieving the NAIFA Quality Award, it is by no means the only measure of an advisor. The NAIFA Quality Award also recognizes an advisor’s commitment to professionalism through education and earned designations; a commitment to quality service as exhibited through persistency and letters of recommendation, a dedication to your industry and your association through NAIFA volunteer leadership and stated commitment to NAIFA’s Code of Ethics. The NAIFA Quality Award is not just about production. It is a mark of overall excellence an advisor can proudly share with colleagues and clients.

Q I am a new advisor. Will I be able to achieve the NAIFA Quality Award?

A Certainly any advisor will need some track record of achievement before they can qualify for the NAIFA Quality Award, but the criteria for the award have been carefully crafted to allow adjustment based on the length of time an advisor has been in the business. The goal is to ensure the award is a meaningful representation of quality for an advisor at any career stage.

Q My company has always handled my application for NAIFA Industry Awards. Will they continue to submit my application for the new NAIFA Quality Award?

A Many companies will work with NAIFA to confirm their advisors meet the award criteria, others will contact their advisors to alert them to their award eligibility and other companies will even pay the award application fee for their advisors who qualify for an award. In developing the NAIFA Quality Award, NAIFA worked closely with companies in each of the practice specialties to create an award that will be meaningful to companies as well as individual advisors. The expectation is that companies already committed to NAIFA Awards will continue with the NAIFA Quality Award. The hope is the appeal of the NAIFA Quality Award to advisors from every practice specialty will provide opportunities for even more companies to become involved in the award program.

Q What is the value to me of receiving the NAIFA Quality Award?

A Our companies and our industry have many awards available to us as insurance and financial advisors. The unique value of the NAIFA Quality Award is that the award distinguishes advisors who have demonstrated a dedication to quality service to clients, education and development, solid production, voluntary service to the industry and adherence to ethical conduct. This combination makes the NAIFA Quality Award a mark of excellence that even the most humble advisor should share with his/her clients. And, when the award is shared with clients, the NAIFA Quality Award and the NAIFA name will become synonymous with excellence in the industry. When NAIFA is recognized as the mark of quality in an advisor, it is good for the advisor, it is good for your association and it is good for consumers.

The NAIFA Quality Award offers award qualification options for all NAIFA members from every practice specialty: • Life Insurance and

Award… with your colleagues and your clients.