Dear Fellow MDRT members,

It is with great honour that I welcome you to the September/October edition of MDRT Asia Connect. The 2010 - 2011 MDRT organisational year got off to a great start, and we have many new member benefits for you. We will be featuring these new initiatives in this and future issues of the e-newsletter.

All of the programs and initiatives were started by members like you who have dedicated themselves to serving on the MDRT committees. The success of MDRT is largely attributed to the members serving on MDRT committees. MDRT just started its committee season, and thanks to the more than 50 MDRT members from Asia currently serving on committees, MDRT can continue to provide the best possible service to its members in the region and beyond.

And, because MDRT members in Asia have given so much to the organisation we want to give just as much back to you. The MDRT Executive Committee is prepared to travel to Asia and meet as many of you as we possibly can during our travels. I encourage you to support and participate in MDRT meetings in your local area and you can refer to the Calendar of Events listing for more information about the various MDRT-organised events. The staff at the MDRT Asia Pacific Office will be more than glad to serve your needs and answer any enquiries.

Thank you for all that you have done for MDRT, and I hope to see you soon.

Sincerely,


Julian H. Good, Jr. CLU, ChFC
2011 MDRT President

MDRT-organised events always brings together some of the best content and speakers from the Annual Meetings, as well as speakers from the region. The upcoming 2011 MDRT Experience event will not be an exception, as you can expect to learn new sales ideas and strategies from world-class speakers.

Some of the speakers include Brian D. Heckert, CLU, ChFC, a 22-year MDRT member, Tom Hegna, CLU, ChFC, Vice President of New York Life and retired Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S army turned inspirational speaker, Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch and many others.

With such an exciting line up of speakers, you can expect to bring home valuable lessons and practical techniques that will help you meet the challenges of serving your clients in the coming months and years.

Hesitate no more. Click here and save SGD200 off the on-site registration fee today. Hurry! Early bird rate expires 31 October 2010.

After three years of careful consideration and research, MDRT has adopted an additional method to qualify for membership based on annual gross income from insurance and financial services products. With this addition, MDRT provides three ways to qualify for membership: commission, premium and income.

The new income qualification method will be available for use by anyone who was previously an MDRT member and will take effect using 2010 income for 2011 MDRT membership.  First-time applicants will be able to apply for membership with their eligible commission or premium production.

Qualification under the income method is based on annual gross income from eligible insurance and financial products. MDRT's commitment to productivity remains strong, and a minimum of 50 percent of the income requirement is required from new business generated during the production year. Another 50 percent must be derived from income associated with risk-protection (Unlimited Credit) products. The income qualification requirements for applicants outside the United States are established based on the World Bank's Purchasing Power Parity index.

Click here to find the income requirement amount for your country in your local currency.

Court of the Table and Top of the Table requirements will remain at three times and six times the MDRT requirement respectively. To qualify for either one, the applicant must meet the minimums for new business and risk-protection (Unlimited Credit) business.

In addition, MDRT has simplified the process for verifying production. Beginning 2011, members who have achieved Qualifying and Life (QL) or Life (L) status are eligible to attest by checking a box to indicate that they have met the 2011 production requirement.

Read the complete details about the income qualification method, modifications in verifying production, as well as membership requirements, eligible products and application deadlines.

The 9 August 2010 issue of the Asia Insurance Review's eDaily e-newsletter reflects a positive review of Singapore's life insurance industry. Below is the excerpt:   

Singapore's life insurance industry posted a robust 34% increase to S$2.61 billion (US$1.94 billion) in new business premiums for the first half of this year, boosted by the strong economic growth and improved market sentiment in the island state, says the Life Insurance Association (LIA). Sales were buoyant for all products.

LIA President, Mr Tan Hak Leh, said: "We expect to build on this momentum into the second half and close the year on a high note. Demand for insurance should remain very strong."

From January to June, weighted new business premiums grew by 28% to S$671 million. The weighted figures are adjusted to include 10% of single premium sales and all of regular premium sales.

Single premium sales soared to S$2.09 billion, up 36% from previously. The Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme accounted for 22% or S$464 million of these sales. Regular premium sales, which include traditional life products and investment linked insurance policies, raised 26% to S$518 million. In tandem with the positive market sentiment, investment-linked sales surged 30% to S$789 million compared to the same period last year. Health insurance sales rose by 10% to reach S$77 million.

However, Mr Tan anticipates that sales growth will slow down in the next two quarters. He said: "The growth rate may not be as high in the second half of this year compared to the first half and that is partly because of the strong performance in the second half of last year."

MDRT Day China was held from 6-7 August 2010 in Shenzhen, China at the Sheraton Hotel. An approximate 1820 MDRT members, nonmembers, and senior management staff from various insurance companies attended the event. Themed “Whole Person”, the event set out to inspire more financial services professionals to achieve the MDRT membership requirement and eventually qualify for MDRT. The speakers included 2010 MDRT President, Guy E. Baker, CLU, MSFS, whose presentation left a deep impression on the participants, 2010 Regional Chair of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Patric Leung Wai Ming and 2010 Zone Chair of China, Qi Bin. In addition, speakers from countries such as America, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan were also invited to share their success stories and impart valuable insights to fellow delegates.

Vietnam held a successful inaugural MDRT Day on 6 July 2010 in Ho Chi Minh City. An estimated 650 MDRT members and nonmembers attended the half-day programme. 2010 MDRT President Guy E. Baker, CLU, MSFS, was the key note speaker for the event. This first MDRT Day Vietnam paved the way for future MDRT events in the country. Aspiring MDRT members and non members alike can look forward to more MDRT-organised events in the future.

This year is my second Top of the Table qualification. I sell both individual and business insurance. There is nothing special that I do that has helped me to achieve Top of the Table qualification but if there is anything worthy to be called “tips”, two things come to mind.

First, I constantly try to think from the perspective of the client before I make any recommendation. Before making a recommendation, I always ask myself “What will I do if I were in my client's position?” And when I make a recommendation, it is always with the client's best interest in mind.

Secondly, I never forget how I felt when I first decided to join this industry. I believe most of us faced rejections at the beginning. My family was not very pleased when I decided to switch jobs and start selling life insurance. But, I promised them that I would never let them down, and I have kept my promise.

Business and clients do not come naturally. I had to build my business from scratch and look for clients. And in order to reach my goals, I needed to be constantly motivated and I realised that staying motivated has helped me to overcome all my obstacles.

Tsutomu Hotta
11- year MDRT member from Tokyo, Japan

We need to help our clients realise how life insurance protects the well-being and the future of their immediate family and generations to come. The head of a household is not only a fence but also a pillar of hope for his or her aging parents, spouse and children. So in the event that he or she meets an untimely death, suffer from critical illnesses, or become disabled, his or her school-aged children and aging parents will likely be deprived of their basic needs such as education and financial support, as a result of the unexpected circumstances. In essence, the head of a household, who is usually the sole financial provider for the family, is actually the fence that protects the first, the second and the third generation in an extended family. If he or she is unable to fulfill this responsibility for any reason (death, disability, or critical illnesses), the life insurance policy will help to provide the much needed shelter and security to secure the hopes and dreams of the family.

Se Hwan (Sean) Kang Seven-year MDRT member from Seoul, Korea

Have you thought about how to effectively convey the importance of a financial or investment instrument? If yes, you may wish to consider the following method. Let us use Guaranteed Asset Allocation to illustrate the proposed method.

Before I introduce to my client what Guaranteed Asset Allocation is and its importance, I often start by asking my clients the following questions:

1.	Did you suffer any investment losses during the economic recession?
2.	When the economy was bad, did you sell your assets? Was it easy to convert your assets to cash?
3.	Do you think you would ever experience another economic recession?
4.	If the economic recession happens right before your retirement, what would you do?

Next, I use the analogy of constructing a building to illustrate to my client the importance of allocating guranteed asset. I explain that in order to construct a building, we first need to start with building a solid foundation. So if they wish to secure their painstakingly accumulated wealth, they must first allocate their guaranteed assets.

After describing the properties of a guaranteed asset, I start to list what are the financial instruments that are available in the market to help my client allocate their guaranteed assets. I found that by listing the benefits of each financial or investment instrument (such as certificate of deposit (CD), or government bond) followed by their respective drawbacks and with support of case studies, has helped my client obtain a better understanding of the different financial or investment instruments. Therefore, when I make my recommendation, my client is in a better position to evaluate my proposition.

Carol Yu
13-year MDRT member from Taipei, Taiwan

Special offers are a great way of increasing business. Recently, I made a list of all my clients that were covered with life insurance, disability insurance and critical illness insurance for the last 10 years but had made no claims during this period.

With this list of clients in hand, I contacted the underwriting department of my insurance company, and requested that they include this clause: a 20% increase in coverage without having to make a medical declaration, just for this group of insurance policies. Once the changes were applied to the policies, I called up this group of clients to seek their approval for this change and at the same time notify them that they have a once in a lifetime opportunity to increase their insurance policies without having to make a health declaration. I told them, that this offer will only be valid for two weeks. The replies were positive, and approximately 85% of my clients accepted the offer.

I do not need to tell you the amount of premium I received due to this sales operation during the short span of two weeks.

Zvika Fohrer
27-year MDRT member from Tel-Aviv, Israel

Do you have an interesting sales idea or a proven strategy to share with fellow MDRT members? We are keen to hear from you if your ideas are based on the following themes: How to Approach Customers How to Recruit Staff How to Sell Multiple Products

We are also interested in ideas relating to Whole Person Concept, challenges facing the financial services industry, and also case studies that can inspire other members to overcome challenges to win over a client or sell a particular product. You can send your article or content outline to MDRT Asia Pacific at asiaconnect@mdrt.org.

MDRT Asia Pacific Office

Tel: +65 6496 5505
Fax: +65 6336 6449
Email: asiapacific@mdrt.org
Web site: www.mdrt.org