National Life faces challenges in gaining access to schools that have been shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, but the company views them as opportunities for expanding our retirement business.
“When it comes to our game plan, we reconfirmed our commitment to our core business,” CEO Mehran Assadi said at an all-employee meeting, describing how the Task Force 175 recommendations were presented to the board of directors last week.
Task Force 175 is a team of top executives that continues to work on a strategic plan directed toward our 175 anniversary in three years.
Both our life insurance business and our annuity market are firmly directed to the middle market, the core of what we have done for years, a space occupied by the teachers and school employees who participate in our 403(b) and 457(b) retirement plans.
“We have reconfirmed our commitment to the educator market,” he said. “Being in the educator market is more than a business decision,” Mehran added, describing how he has aunts and uncles in education and how many of our employees’ family members are, too.
“The education space is something that has a special place for us and it is a part of who we are as a company, as Do Gooders,” he said. “We are committed to the teachers’ market. We are committed to Middle America. We are committed to our values.”
Senior Vice President Matt Frazee acknowledged that there are challenges, especially for our agents who by and large cannot meet face-to-face with educators in schools right now. “We want to talk about how we take advantage of the opportunities and grow in this business,” he said.
Toward that end, Darlene Flagg was recently promoted to vice president and given the responsibility to focus all of her energies on the 403(b) and 457(b) markets.
“We all know K-12 is our primary client base,” she said. “With the exit of a competitor and a large number of educators in this space, there’s a lot of room for National Life Group to grow.”
A number of initiatives have been undertaken to seize the opportunities identified by both Matt and Darlene.
For plan sponsors, our Retirement Resource Blog is being updated weekly with a variety of resources and advice.
Policyholders have been assisted through our electronic application process that was launched this spring and through the revamped RetirementHomeroom.com platform. And the TeacherTalk series that was launched in conjunction with the LifeChanger of the Year program and the National Coalition for Safe Schools is helping to identify hundreds of leads.
And agents are able to use the Engaged Virtual Toolkit that helps them understand how to navigate the new world of remote and virtual meetings with clients.
Additionally, Darlene said, National Life is identifying the market as K-14, a reflection of a renewed focus on junior colleges.
“We are going on offense,” Mehran said. “We are not going on defense. There are a lot of junior colleges that are a great opportunity for us.”
You can watch the all employee meeting here.