Imeriti Financial Network Leads All Independent Marketing Organizations in Suitability Percentage at Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz)
November 21, 2014 by Imeriti Financial Network
Producers Can Rest Easy Knowing Their Business Is Processed Quicker
Imeriti Financial Network (IFN), a leading life and annuity Independent Marketing Organization (IMO), has had the lowest Suitability Call Out Ratio (SCOR) percentage of all IMOs doing business with Allianz for the past three years. SCOR is a metric that was developed to focus on documentation, especially regarding applications where the standard paperwork does not fully illuminate the nuances of the case. The SCOR measures how successful an IMO is at educating agents about the value of sending supplemental information to Allianz at the same time they are submitting their applications. As producers submit additional information at the time of application, SCOR is reduced. By having the lowest SCOR of all IMOs, IFN has shown their commitment to helping producers understand and properly document suitability as well as help ensure that annuity applications are quickly and more efficiently processed at the carrier.
“By working with producers on a regular basis, my team can take the time to highlight the main suitability areas that are of concern in today’s highly regulated environment” states Mark Eide, IFN’s General Counsel and Chief Compliance and Suitability Officer. Mr. Eide continues, “At times, producers can be resistant to talking with my team, but after discussing how we can provide further documentation to show how the products fit the client needs, producers fully understand and appreciate the effort and time that IFN takes with them. In fact, more often than not, these same producers not only comment on how much easier and quicker their applications are processed but contact our team directly when they have questions about the suitability of a transaction.”
The compliance and suitability landscape is much different today than just five years ago.
Producers need to better understand the requirements that the carriers have in processing business. Carriers are looking into many aspects of each application to make a suitability determination, and producers need an IMO that understands what the carrier is looking for in each case.
“IFN has made a significant commitment to our suitability and compliance approach. Gone are the days where producers can ignore the regulatory environment. Producers, agencies, financial institutions, and broker/dealers have to select an IMO that understands the suitability landscape both from the standpoint of getting business processed quickly and protecting the producer.” states Nathan Zuidema, IFN’s COO and CFO.
About Imeriti Financial Network
IFN is an annuity and life insurance wholesaler for financial institutions, broker dealers, independent insurance agents, property and casualty agents and independent marketing organizations. For over 30 years, Imeriti has distributed insurance based products in all 50 states combining experience, comprehensive industry knowledge and technology driven insurance sales solutions to agents. By valuing the power of agent training, delivering consistent support and creating win-win relationships, Imeriti has positioned itself as an advanced sales and back office support insurance wholesaler.
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America is a leading provider of annuities and life insurance for individuals.
