FINANCIAL SECURITY FOR ALL

injustice on behalf of the life insurance community and to pledge to do more to address issues that divide our nation.

NAIFA MEMBERS SERVE ALL OF MAIN STREET

By Kevin Mayeux, CAE

There is no place in our society for racial injustice and the inequalities that have plagued — and continue to plague — this country. The death of George Floyd and ongoing protests spotlight problems that we have allowed to go unaddressed or under-addressed for much too long. We are opposed to any activities that threaten the security of our American communities, and we have a part to play by increasing financial literacy and helping more Americans prosper.

We understand that this applies to the insurance and financial services industry, as it does to our society at large. NAIFA has joined with the American Council of Life Insurers and other industry organizations to denounce racial

I often state, very proudly, that NAIFA members serve Main Street USA, but today’s headlines are a clear reminder that we must redouble our efforts to ensure we serve the needs of every member of our diverse Main Street communities. We simply cannot leave some segments behind because of a lack of trust or common understanding.

African Americans, like all Americans, deserve fair and equitable opportunities to achieve financial security. Opportunities to improve your financial literacy, mitigate risks, weather economic crises, retire comfortably, protect your family and leave a meaningful legacy should not depend on the color of your skin.

This is where NAIFA members and all financial professionals can address inequities that contribute to our national divide. It’s no secret that African Americans have historically been under-represented in the financial services profession and are largely underserved by our industry. communication and understanding of diversity and inclusion in our industry. During a corporate panel discussion, several high-level African American financial executives shared their suggestions for increasing the number of African American agents and offered helpful hints for serving diverse communities.

We must change this. Let me be even clearer, we will change this.

As the association for producers, we can work to ensure that our field force accurately reflects America’s racial diversity. As we recruit the next generation of agents and advisors, it is imperative that we draw on the whole strength of our diverse population to provide career opportunities, recruit the most talented people we can, and expand our reach to better serve those underserved communities.

It is our job to offer a hand and pull talented advisors and agents into NAIFA because we know that membership in our association increases an advisor’s probability of succeeding in the industry.

Over the past few years, we have also created and made available several reports to our members that highlight important strategies for increasing the number of African Americans in the financial profession.

And this magazine regularly features stories on growing the number of minority agents and advisors, such as the article in this issue by NAIFA member, Raymond Jones.

But we need to do more, and we will task NAIFA’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force to explore new ways we can help our members better serve a changed Main Street USA.

Now is the time to come together and work to build a strong American economy whereby even more individuals, families and businesses have the right risk products, investments and financial plan in place.

Promoting Diversity And Inclusion

As an association, NAIFA is working to create greater diversity and inclusion within the agent and advisor community. We provide advocacy and support to help agents and advisors of all races and ethnicities thrive. Our financial literacy program, which can now be delivered virtually, gives financial professionals the tools and resources they need to reach individuals and families everywhere.

Our most recent Diversity Symposium drew more than 1,100 participants working together to improve

I strongly believe that as financial professionals who have dedicated your careers to serving the best interests of all your clients, you are a vital part of our much-needed healing. We will continue to work with our association partners and lawmakers at the state and federal levels to advocate for financial security for all.

I am confident that through greater understanding, better communication and a lot of hard work, we will make progress together!

Kevin Mayeux, CAE, is CEO of NAIFA. He may be reached at kmayeux@naifa.org