NAIFA Launches New Gold Standard for Life and Annuity Professionals

FALLS CHURCH, Va., May 30 -- The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors issued the following news release:

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors - the founders of the Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF) designation - present a new international certification, the Life and Annuity Certified Professionals (LACP), for life and annuity professionals.

The NAIFA LACP serves consumers by recognizing financial professionals with a mark of distinction for their product knowledge, consultative sales process and compliance to ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements. LACP practitioners are held to a standard of excellence that defines and differentiates them from their peers and to the clients they serve.

"NAIFA is pleased to offer financial professionals the potential for greater exposure and authority in the financial services marketplace through LACP certification," said NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE. "The LACP will facilitate consumers' ability to locate a professional who engages in ethical business practices and possesses in-depth knowledge of the financial products and services available to families and small businesses in the marketplace."

To attain the LACP, practitioners must meet the eligibility criteria for experience, education and commitment to ethical conduct and successfully complete the LACP examination. For a limited time (June 2017-Dec. 31, 2018), experienced advisors may also be able to attain the LACP certification through a professional review process, in lieu of the examination.

"Consumers and businesses need professional financial advice now more than ever," said Aamir Chalisa, MBA, LUTCF, Managing Director, Futurity First Insurance Group. "Those who earn the NAIFA LACP certification will be among a select group of distinguished professionals whom consumers can trust. Together, LACP holders will build upon NAIFA's 127-year legacy of securing the financial futures of families and businesses with informed, ethical and sound advice today and beyond."

NAIFA's LUTCF(R) designation program - often considered the first designation any insurance professional should earn - has delivered value to more than 50,000 professionals since 1984. The NAIFA LACP certification is the logical "next step" for those who wish to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise beyond the requirements of industry licensure, Mayeux said.

Castle Worldwide, Inc. provides technical assistance to NAIFA in the development and delivery of the proctored LACP Certification Examination through a network of nearly 1,000 testing centers in cities throughout the world.

NAIFA invites all practitioners in Asia and around the world to the Official Launch of the LACP at the MDRT Annual Meeting 2017, from June 4-7, in Orlando, Fla. Participants at the MDRT meeting are invited to visit the NAIFA booth in the ConneXionZone to understand how the LACP can build expertise and the credibility of agents, and raise the standard of professionalism within your organization.

To learn more about the LACP and its official launch, please leave your contact details at www.naifa.org/lacp or contact us at gdesilva@naifa.org.