NAIFA revises LUTCF program

By Susan Rupe

The Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow designation has been in existence since 1984 and more than 70,000 insurance professionals have earned that designation since then. Now the LUTCF designation has been relaunched to serve a new generation of industry professionals in a way that is relevant to them.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors has redesigned and relaunched the three-course training series for the LUTCF designation.

The LUTCF course of study is aimed at financial professionals who are in their first five years in the business. The course provides instruction on ethics, prospecting, selling and practice management. Course modules also cover estate planning and special needs planning. The course also provides professionals with a working knowledge of insurance and investment products available to help clients manage risk.

One big difference in today’s LUTCF course versus the LUTCF courses over the past four decades is that the original LUTCF course was conducted in person over 26 sessions with a seasoned industry volunteer serving as course moderator. The relaunched LUTCF instruction is delivered through self-directed online courses. A mentor interviews the student after completing each module to discuss what the student learned and to discuss the practical applications of that module from the mentor’s point of view, said Brendon Bernat, NAIFA senior director-member advancement. Students may choose their own mentors among people they know in the profession, or NAIFA will provide a member who has earned the LUTCF.

“What we're trying to do is help new advisors – those who have one to five years in the business – not just survive, but thrive,” Bernat told InsuranceNewsNet.

To receive the LUTCF designation, candidates must:

Successfully complete three courses in the LUTCF education program, including fieldwork assignments and student-learner guides completed with the input of a mentor from the industry.
Pass the end-of-program LUTCF examination.
Complete the designation application, which requires applicants to be NAIFA members in good standing who agree to abide by NAIFA’s Code of Ethics.

LUTCF designation holders must renew their designation authorization every three years by completing a renewal application and earning three approved continuing education credits in the subject area of ethics within the three-year authorization period.

LUTCF 'was instrumental to success'

Brandon Smith, a NAIFA member and LUTCF graduate from the Richmond, Va., area, said he believes completing the LUTCF course “was one of the most instrumental things in my career success.” Smith is executive vice president at Milestone Financial Solutions and has been in the business since 2015.

Smith said that even though he completed his licensing courses in life insurance, health insurance, variable annuities and securities, “they don’t teach you anything about actually being a financial planner, they don’t teach you how to interact with clients, they don’t even teach you what words to use when you're speaking with someone.”

His senior partner at the time urged him to enroll in LUTCF classes.

“It has been the absolute best investment that I made in my career,” Smith said. “It was about learning ethics, and learning how handle objections, how to educate prospects.”

Smith said that his firm will require any new advisors they hire to complete the LUTCF course.

“I think all new agents in the industry should be required to go through this,” he said. “I think if every agent who came into the industry went through the LUTCF program, you would see fewer complaints, you would see fewer issues within the industry. And I think it would move us as an industry to a new level.

“I believe the LUTCF program gives someone the framework to become an excellent financial planner.”

Providing a firm foundation

Laurie A. Adams, chair of NAIFA’s LUTCF Advisory Group, is a financial advisor at Country Financial in Peoria Heights, Ill. She has been in the business for 42 years and told InsuranceNewsNet “I really believe that I would not have succeeded in this business, I would not have survived, let alone succeeded. beyond my wildest dreams without the foundation of the LUTCF curriculum.”

Adams said she entered the business when her local economy was experiencing a downturn. “I had no natural market, I was scrambling,” she said. Taking the LUTCF course with other agents helped her to learn from her peers and to get a firm foundation in the basics of the industry.

Registration for NAIFA’s LUTCF program is now open. Candidates who complete the educational courses and fulfill the other designation requirements generally earn the LUTCF within one year of beginning the program.

Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on X @INNsusan.