LIDMA Expands Membership Eligibility

ATLANTA, GA  - May 26, 2011 -- The Life Insurance Direct Marketing Association (LIDMA) has expanded its membership eligibility to now include BGAs (Brokerage General Agencies), IMOs (Independent Marketing Organizations), financial institutions, lead generators, affinity groups and all life insurance companies.  Banks, credit union service organizations and other financial institutions are also now invited to join LIDMA.

According to Jeff McCauley, Membership Team Leader of LIDMA, the expansion of membership categories is a result of numerous requests for membership from agencies and producers previously not eligible as well as the continued expansion of the direct response niche of the life insurance industry.

“The direct response segment of the life insurance industry continues to grow at an accelerated pace – not only in numbers – but in the types of businesses getting involved,” said McCauley.  “This trend has clearly indicated that our membership criteria needed to change in order to better reflect the types of professionals involved in direct marketing and sales of life insurance.”

LIDMA is the only association dedicated to the advancement of the direct response sales and marketing segment of the life insurance industry. One of LIDMA’s key roles is to act as a catalyst for the development of new technologies and processes that improve the delivery of life insurance to customers through quicker processing times and lower processing costs.

LIDMA also provides members new to the direct response sales segment with the guidance and resources they need to grow their business.

“The lower cost and more efficient processing procedures associated with direct response sales have opened up the ‘middle America’ market to producers,” said McCauley.  “This is a huge underserved market that is responding very well to direct response sales and our industry is changing to meet their interest.”

One of the major recent contributions LIDMA has made to the life insurance industry as a whole is the introduction of the LIDMA eProcess.  Developed by a large contingent of LIDMA members including carriers, technology vendors, industry attorneys and front-line producers, the LIDMA eProcess utilizes newly developed technologies such as e-signature, enhanced “Part 2” data collection and e-delivery to substantially reduce the time it takes for a new policy purchases to be initiated by the consumer and delivered by the carrier.  Adoption of the LIDMA eProcess results in lowered costs for insurance providers and new policy holders.

“Our eProcess has made a huge impact with both our industry and life insurance customers,” said McCauley.  “It has also caught the interest of new segments of the life insurance and financial industries who now want to incorporate direct marketing into their businesses.  This is one of the key reasons we have expanded our membership eligibility.”

About LIDMA
LIDMA is the primary association dedicated to supporting businesses and professionals active in direct sales of life insurance products to consumers – the fastest growing sales segment in the life insurance industry.  The not-for-profit organization is committed to helping members boost their revenues and reduce costs. 

For more information visit www.lidma.org.

Media Contact:

Michael Biagiotti
(561) 702-0109
mikeb@madisonenvoy.com