Meeting News - February 11, 2008 - (Page 28)

Insider Report: Insurance Meetings continued from page 26 The 50th anniversary of FICP was recognized at its annual meeting last November in Scottsdale, AZ, where Dreyer was a guest of honor. An Industry in Transition Insurance planning has changed considerably over the years, making a niche association particularly important for its members, according to onlookers. In particular, one of the biggest changes from the early days is an increasingly rigorous regulatory environment and its impact on incentives. In recent years, the Securities and Exchange Commission and National Association of Securities Dealers, agencies with oversight of the insurance and ﬁnancial services industries, have ﬁned companies for rewarding brokers for selling certain insurance products that may not be in their customers’ best interests. This and an evolving tax environment have honed insurance meeting planners’ care in how they construct incentive rewards and gifts, as part of a culture of incentivizing insurance agents. “I know a number of ﬁrms that have been audited several times,” said David Bloyd, longtime meeting planner with Physicians Mutual and Physicians Life Insurance Cos. in Omaha, NE, now retired, and a veteran member of the association, reﬂecting on insurance meeting changes. “These days, many companies issue [an IRS form] for trips and gifts, just to stay on the safe side. Years ago, we didn’t do that.” A milestone for the association was turning over operations to SmithBucklin, the big association management ﬁrm, in 2004. “Members were worried at the time because they didn’t want to lose our close-knit network,” said Debbie Boschee, vice president of conference and meeting services with Prudential, in Plymouth, MN, and president of the association at the time. “But we were small, not a signiﬁcant player in the industry, and since then we’ve grown steadily at the right pace. I’m even more convinced now that it was the right decision.” The association also expanded its membership, opening its ranks to planners from ﬁnancial services ﬁrms in 2005. That helped expand membership to about 500 today. “Including financial services was definitely a good thing,” Boschee said.“There is a lot of synergy between the two and overlap of products that our companies offer.” Boschee also heralded the growth of the association’s network of chapters, as well as increased chapter involvement on FICP’s board. To Dreyer, the group’s inﬂuence in heightening the professionalism of insurance planners is signiﬁcant. “In the early days, we had people who got into the business because of the travel and perks, or just to have fun, but that reﬂected badly on everybody,” he said.“We encouraged them not to be part of our group.” Of the state of the association today, Dreyer is full of admiration. “You always have a vision of what will happen someday,” he said, “but what we have today with FICP is far and away better than anything I envisioned.” r —Section written by Christopher Hosford www.meetingnews.com ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA at the NEW Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village Meet in the middle of it all – with 301 stunning all-new guest rooms and suites, unique settings for meetings and events indoors and out, an attentive staff, and the ﬁnest outdoor pursuits Florida has to offer in every direction. • 86,000 sq. ft. of ﬂexible function space • Two golf courses • PGA TOUR Spa Laterra • Events at the exclusive Serenata Beach Club on Ponte Vedra Beach • Chartered ﬁshing trips, among many team-building opportunities • World Golf Hall of Fame • St. Augustine, America’s oldest city For 2008 Value Dates, Call 1-904-940-8635 worldgolfrenaissance.com Another Exceptional Resort by John Q. Hammons Hotels 28 MeetingNews February 11, 2008 http://www.worldgolfrenaissance.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - February 11, 2008 Contents What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com Convention Centers Insider Report: Insurance Meetings MN Webcast Report Successful Meetings University Colin Rorrie to Temporarily Lead CIC Advertisers Index Live from the Forum

Meeting News - February 11, 2008

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