Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and John Darer Reviews

SFSP To Offer Long Term Care Insurance With Member Discounts

by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC

The Society of Financial Service Professionals  (SFSP), a  credential only financial planning association, has announced that long term care insurance through Transamerica will be part of its member discount program.  One more reason to join the Society of Financial Service Professionals, which also offers an excellent Long Term Disability program and an Errors and Omissions package at reasonable prices.

• To be eligible for Society membership, a financial service professional must have earned at least one of the following credentials: AEP®,CASL®,CEBS®,CFA®, CIMA®, CFP®, ChFC®, CLF®, CLU®, CPA, CPC, CPCU®, CTFA, Enrolled Actuary, Graduate Degree in Financial Services (MS, MSFS, MSM, MBA, PhD), JD, REBC®, and RHU®. Credentials explained.)
• Two-thirds of all Society members have earned two or more professional designations, including this author.
• Nearly three-fourths (71 percent) of all Society members have been practicing their profession for more than 20 years.

I have been a member of SFSP,  for over 24 years and it's a fabulous organization with great educational resources.

 

 

E&O insurance for Financial Services Professionals and Settlement Planners

by John Darer®  CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC

Membership in the Society of Financial Service Professionals has its benefits, one of which is an outstanding group professional errors and omissions insurance plan. The plan offers settlement planning professionals much lower deductibles than typically available through structured settlement agencies, with defense costs outside of the policy limits.  There are 3 tiers of coverage and premiums as low as under $600 for the 2014-2015 plan year.

While there is an exclusion 'based upon, arising out of or in any way involving the sale or servicing of any structured settlement" the policy goes on to say "provided, however, this exclusion shall not apply to a claim based upon or arising out of the selling or servicing of a Covered Product utilized to fund a structured settlement'.

Covered Products include annuities, so it appears that Treasury Funded structured settlements might not be covered. Other covered products suject to policy terms, include life insurance, other than Variable products (unless you go to Tier II or Tier III), accident and health insurance,   DI, group plans for life/ health, LTD  and expert witness testimony.  Some settlement planners offer equity indexed annuities, which are listed among covered products in Tier II and Tier III.

For more than 86 years, the Society of Financial Service Professionals, a multidisciplinary network of credentialed financial professionals, has been an association leader in providing its members with the latest, most up to date professional resources and education that allows them to provide their clients with the most competent advice possible in helping them accomplish their financial goals. SFSP has  approximately 15,000 members nationwide which gives members economies of scale for special member only insurance programs.

Society members can provide consumers expert assistance with: estate, retirement and financial planning; employee benefits; business and compensation planning; and life, health, disability, and

SFSP also sponsors a competitive voluntary group long term disability plan  (LTD) for its members.

This is not intended as insurance advice. Always seek insurance advice from a qualified insurance professional.

 

        

CFP Board chairman resigns amid ethics probe

Alan Goldfarb, the chairman of the board of The CFP Board of Standard, the organization that grants the CFP credential for financial planning has resigned amid allegations that he violated the group's ethics rules.

I was pleased with the response of Dr. Larry Barton. President and CEO of The American College, which issued the following statement to members of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, a credential-only professional society of which this author is a long time member. Dr. Barton writes:

"Dear Colleague,

This is a very sad day for our friends at The CFP Board of Standards.

Earlier today, they released the following announcement  (below).These are serious allegations, of course, and we hope that our profession is not damaged by the charges behind them. We remind you that the persons named are innocent until proven otherwise.

Your College has been guided by a simple and clear standard first articulated by Dr. Solomon S. Huebner in 1927. He stated that we should always place the interests of clients above our own. I am hoping that the CFP Board, the Financial Planning Association and others will reflect upon recent incidents and help us come back to basics:

1. No single designation has a monopoly on quality
2. We need an independent, national body to review and certify designations based on rigor
3. We need to work together, in partnership, to protect the integrity of our profession.

This should be a time for all of us to reflect on how the various organizations that support financial professionals can support one another in a meaningful manner".

Some of the points made by Dr. Barton are also spot on for the settlement profession.

The CFP Board announcement

"Board of Directors of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. today announced the resignations of Chair Alan Goldfarb, CFP^® from the Board and two members of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC), effective immediately.

CFP Board became aware of broad allegations that members of the Board and other volunteers may have violated provisions of CFP Board's Standards of Professional Conduct. The Board of Directors created a special committee made up of public Board members who have no ties to the financial services industry. The special committee of the Board retained outside counsel to investigate and report its findings directly to the committee.

The committee found sufficient merit in the allegations against Mr. Goldfarb and the two members of the DEC to refer them for further proceedings under CFP Board's Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. When presented with the committee's findings, they decided to resign from their positions"  more.

Professional Designations: SFSP Publishes White Paper on Credentials

by John Darer® CLU ChFC CSSC RSP CLTC

The growing concern on the part of regulatory agencies – including the SEC, FINRA and the Senate Committee on Aging – that unscrupulous advisors are using their credentials to take advantage of consumers. While much of the focus to date has been on seniors, similar issues apply to solicitation of tort victims and their families. The proliferation of professional designations and credentials and resulting marketplace confusion.

The "credentialed only" Society of Financial Service Professionals ("SFSP"), of which this author is a member, uses the following guidelines to determine whether the credential is eligible for membership:

1. The credential is awarded by an accredited institution or examining body as a designation or academic degree.
2. The credential is awarded after successful completion of an examination or series of exams designed to measure mastery of a body of knowledge.
3. The credential is subject to a minimum experience requirement appropriate to the field of expertise.
4. The credential requires a commitment to continuing advanced education.
5. The credential requires adherence to a professional code of ethics.

More information about the Society of Financial Service Professionals website

Structured settlement brokers, brokerage firms and settlement planners should be mindful about how they display their credentials and and be careful not to present them in any way that could be misleading to consumers.

Convergence versus "The Quarterback" 2

Yesterday's Insurance Journal reported on a study, commissioned by Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC), that polled adults with more than $1 million in investible assets. It concluded that the wealthy are primarily concerned about the safety of their family, but they also have significant concerns about the protection of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments. The moderately affluent, those with $2 million to $5 million in investible assets, are the most concerned.

Both studies confirm the role insurance agents can play in the process of managing risk and alleviating the concerns of the affluent, according to Fireman's Fund. The ORC research revealed that about 50 percent of those surveyed turn to an independent insurance agent for guidance, with 67 percent of those in the most affluent group being more likely to turn to an agent for advice.

More than two-thirds of those surveyed in a 2007 survey  of Affluence and Wealth in America, by Harrison Group and American Express Publishing said that they follow the advice of their insurance agent, and 75 percent are satisfied with their insurance agent.

Competent settlement planners and legitimate structured settlement brokers (a.k.a "the creation side) , most of whom ARE licensed insurance agents or brokers, clearly have opportunities to work in a leadership or "quarterback" role with structured settlement and settlement planning stakeholders and beyond on a wide variety of issues.

SFSP Survey Of How Credentialed Professionals Feel About Regulating Use of Professional Designations

by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC

Following up my December 12, 2007 post SFSP Studying Ways to Clamp Down on Use of Bogus Professional Designations or Misleading Use of Legitimate Professional Designations, The Society of Financial Service Professionals (SFSP) published the results of its recent survey concerning the use of professional designations.

1.   61% said that all financial designations should be regulated by an outside body.

2.   In terms of who should regulate them the answers were:

FINRA (formerly NASD) 41%

Accredited Council on Education and Training   32%

National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 27%

3.   94% said that all financial designations should go through an accreditation process

4.   91% believe there should be a central source that explains any and all designations including their educational requirments, and provides consumers with a place to lodge complaints?

5.  In terms of who should l provide the source in #4, the answers were:

FINRA 43%

NAIC 25%

Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) 3%

Other 23%. These included among other things,a combination of the above the authority that granted the deisgnation, an independent body...

6. 70% believe that designations are primarily and education resource while 30% feel that they are primarily marketing tools.

7. 64% feel that it is the client's responsibility to research an advisor's credentials.

The above stats were compiled from the answers of 1250 participants.  Question 5 was only answered by 1114.

The National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA) and Society of Settlement Planners (SSP) need to address these issues as part of a best practices module for their members. NSSTA member Delta Group still uses what appears to be a bogus financial designation, "registered settlement advisor" on its website despite being put on notice earlier this month. The apparently bogus designation is used to characterize many Delta Group associates as one of the reasons to business with Delta Group in its FAQ. I know many of them have legitimate professional designations. Why not promote the legitimate ones and not tarnish your image with the bogus?

As someone who has taken the time to study and pass and meet the ongoing continuing education requirements of the American College PACE program (for CLU and ChFC), the annual continuing education requirements necessary for my securities licenses, who has earned the Certified Structured Settlement Consultant designation and  is "en route" to the Registered Settlement Planner (RSP), I support any regulatory effort clamp down on those who use or promote bogus designations. I don't doubt that those with CFPs, JDs, CFAs, CPAs and other accredited degrees and/or accredited professional designations feel the same way. Those of us in the structured settlement and settlement planning industry should exert peer pressure and do whatever it takes to assure our members DO NOT use bogus designations which could ultimately lead to embarassment for the industry.

What do YOU think?

The Society of Financial Service Professionals (SFSP) is over 79 years old with almost 20,000 members in nearly 200 Chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and Singapore. Its mission is to promote professionalism among its members through the highest quality continuing education and the maintenance of high ethical standards and conduct.

Society members are credentialed financial service professionals who provide financial planning, estate planning, retirement counseling, asset management and other services and products to their clients. Members reflect a great diversity of financial practitioners from fee-only financial planners, estate planning attorneys and accountants, to asset managers, employee benefits specialists and life insurance agents.

The Society is the only professional organization in the industry that requires its members to be credentialed or actively pursuing one of these widely-recognized financial service designations or degrees: CASL™,CEBS®, CFA®, CFP®, ChFC®, CLF, CLU®, CPA, CPC, CTFA, Enrolled Actuary, JD (licensed), Graduate Degree in Financial Services (MBA,MS,MSFS,MSM,PhD), REBC® & RHU®.