Federal Tax Challenges: Communicating With Advocates
II.Education: Training and Arming Your Advocates
- Sample Messages to Potential Advocates: Introduction to Grassroots
- Sample Articles on the Political Environment, Potential Threats, Industry Coalition
- General Resources
I.Background
Since 2007, ACLI has been closely working with organizations representing the agent and broker communities—specifically the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting and National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors—to oppose legislative proposals that would significantly and unfairly increase taxes on our industry and our products in the name of addressing the national deficit and achieving tax reform.
Working together as the Americans to Protect Family Security coalition, we have educated Members of Congress and their staff about the critical role life insurance products have in the lives of millions of American families. In collaboration with our collective memberships, we have maintained an aggressive and coordinated outreach program—both on Capitol Hill and in Congressional Districts—designed to solidify relationships with members of key Congressional Committees and the House and Senate leadership.
Much of our work to date has focused on outreach to policymakers and opinion leaders as well as building the grassroots infrastructure needed to respond to a real legislative threat. This has included launching a coalition website (securefamily.org) to serve as an information clearing house, training agents to be effective advocates for our industry, and helping support member companies in their own preparation, from starting a grassroots program to exploring outreach to policyholders if needed.
The timing is critical.
A Storm is Brewing
With the 112th Congress and 2012 winding down, lawmakers will be faced with tough decisions on expiring tax provisions and the rising national debt. Also, we expect to see tax reform taking center stage in Congress during 2013, meaning the threats to our industry are gathering in strength and intensity.
The time to prepare is now.
It is vitally important that ACLI member companies use this relative quiet before the storm to make certain they are capable of reaching out to employees and agents in the event there is an industry-wide call to action to help defend our industry and our policyholders (see Building a Grassroots Program in the Grassroots Portal on www.acli.com).
Member companies should also prepare their grassroots advocates to take action, especially if your company is new to grassroots. To help you with this effort, ACLI has developed the following toolkit to educate advocates about the possible tax threats to our industry and our policyholders and what they can do to help.
As our campaign progresses and legislative developments warrant, resources will be added to this kit. ACLI’s Grassroots Team will notify all company Grassroots Coordinators when new resources become available, and when the grassroots strategy changes based on the shifting political and legislative landscape.
To be sure you receive these important updates and other tax-related news, we recommend you:
Be alert to communications from Vanessa CdeBaca, ACLI’s Grassroots Manager
Subscribe to the following ACLI online publications: ACLI Digest, ACLI News Now, and Federal Morning Roundup.
Participate in the monthly conference calls for grassroots coordinators.
Please contact Vanessa CdeBaca, (vanessacdebaca@acli.com or 202-624-2449) if you have any questions.
II.Education: Training and Arming Your Advocates
One of our industry’s greatest assets when it comes to educating lawmakers is our people – your people. Your employees, your sales force, your Board of Directors, even your retirees can become very effective advocates, not just for your company, but for our industry as a whole, and for all life insurance policyholders.
Lawmakers appreciate hearing from their constituents on the front lines of important issues. And the fact that these constituents are taking time away from their families, their lives, and their businesses to speak on behalf of an industry issue is not lost on lawmakers. It adds to the speakers’ credibility, sincerity, and effectiveness.
But it takes plenty of preparation to make this work. It is important to build a relationship with potential employee and agent advocates before asking them to take action on an issue. This is especially true if your company is new to grassroots advocacy and hasn’t communicated about public policy issues to your employees and agents.
In this section you’ll find resources to help you build those relationships, including sample articlesyou can use to explain the political environment and potential industry threats to your employees, agents, and other company stakeholders. We’ve also included sample messages to various audiences that explain why your company is interested in public policy, introduce the importance of grassroots advocacy, and outline what you might ask them to do if grassroots action is needed.
You also may visit the Grassroots Resource Library in the Grassroots Portal on www.acli.com for other materials on a variety of topics you can use in ongoing communications with potential advocates.
Sample Messages: Introduction to Grassroots
Sample 1: Message to Employees
Dear Employee:
As an employee of [insert company name], you play an important role in helping to provide the products and services families count on for peace of mind, long-term savings, and a guarantee of lifetime income at retirement.
As an extension of this commitment to our customers’ financial security, we hope you also will play a role in making sure actions taken by legislators in Washington, D.C. and in state capitals do not negatively impact our customers, or our company.
Legislators make dozens of decisions every day that impact all our lives, and they fully admit they rely on content experts to help them make the right decisions. They look to knowledgeable constituents to be those content experts – and that’s you!
Would you be willing to help your customers again, your company and your industry by helping us educate lawmakers on a bipartisan basis about the vital role our products play in the lives of 75 million American families?
If legislative proposals arise that could negatively affect our customers and company, we will ask you to lend your expertise and weigh in with your elected official—either by email, a quick phone call, or a short hand-written note. We’ll let you know what we think is best for each situation, and of course, participation is strictly voluntary.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
P.S. Our industry coalition website, SecureFamilies.org, is a good resource with lots of current information on important public policy issues that directly affect our industry. You should visit the site and bookmark it.
Sample 2: Message to Retired Employees
Dear Retiree:
As a retired employee of [insert company name], you have played an important role in helping to provide the products and services families count on for peace of mind, long-term savings, and a guarantee of lifetime income at retirement.
Your hard work, and your customers’ financial security, could be threatened by new misguided policies coming out of Washington, DC and state capitals. We could use your expertise to help set lawmakers back on the right track.
Legislators make dozens of decisions every day that impact all our lives, and they fully admit they rely on content experts to help them make the right decisions. They look to knowledgeable constituents to be those content experts – and that’s you!
Would you be willing to help your customers again, your company and your industry by helping us educate lawmakers on a bipartisan basis about the vital role our products play in the lives of 75 million American families?
If legislative proposals arise that could negatively affect our customers and company, we will ask you to lend your expertise and weigh in with your elected official—either by email, a quick phone call, or a short hand-written note. We’ll let you know what we think is best for each situation, and of course, participation is strictly voluntary.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
P.S. Our industry coalition website, SecureFamilies.org, is a good resource with lots of current information on important public policy issues that directly affect our industry. You should visit the site and bookmark it.
Sample 3: Message to Agents
Dear Agent:
As an agent of [insert company name], you play an important role in helping families in your community achieve peace of mind, long-term savings, and a guarantee of lifetime income at retirement.
As an extension of this commitment to your clients’ financial security, we hope you also will play a role in making sure actions taken by legislators in Washington, D.C. and in state capitals do not negatively impact our customers or our company.
Your customers rightly view you as an expert in our industry, and as such, they count on your knowledge and insight. That insight can be helpful to our nation’s policymakers as well.
Would you be willing to help your customers again, your company and your industry by helping us educate lawmakers on a bipartisan basis about the vital role our products play in the lives of 75 million American families?
If legislative proposals arise that could negatively affect our customers and company, we will ask you to lend your expertise and weigh in with your elected official—either by email, a quick phone call, or a short hand-written note. We’ll let you know what we think is best for each situation, and of course, participation is strictly voluntary.
There may also be situations where lawmakers hearing directly from your clients could prove persuasive. In that case, we will provide information you can share with your clients if you choose to do so. Your clients may appreciate hearing from you about public policy issues that could impact their financial and retirement security, and be willing to then relay their personal stories to legislators about how life insurance products benefit them and their families
Thank you in advance for your support. If you have questions, please contact [insert contact name.]
Sincerely,
P.S. Our industry coalition website, SecureFamilies.org, is a good resource with lots of current information on important public policy issues that directly affect our industry. You should visit the site and bookmark it.
Sample Articles: The Political Environment, Potential Threats, Industry Coalition
The following communications can be used to educate employees, retirees, and agents (as well as other internal audiences) about the political environment and challenges facing the life insurance industry over the next several months and into 2013. These sample articles can be used in an email, on your company’s intranet, or in other communications. Please check with your government relations team or contact ACLI for updates.
Sample Article 1
Why Fear A Lame Duck?
Immediately after the November elections, members of the 112th Congress will return to Washington to tackle unfinished business. This post-election session is commonly referred to as a “lame duck” legislative session because some Members participating will not be in the next Congress due to retirement of defeat on Election Day.Strange laws can get passed during lame duck sessions because there are little or no repercussions for non-returning Members. They can vote in ways inconsistent with their constituents, their record, and any campaign promises they may have made.
Against this backdrop of “anything can happen,” the agenda for the 2012 lame duck session of Congress includes numerous tax policy decisions tied to what Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke termed, “a fiscal cliff.” Congress must deal with expiring Bush-era tax cuts, automatic draconian spending cuts that could be triggered (“sequestration”), , and the debt ceiling—all before the end of the year.
Many observers predict a “chaotic” and “high-stakes” environment beginning almost immediately after Election Day. Will Congress agree to extend some or all of the expiring tax cuts? Will they delay across-the-board spending cuts that go into effect January 1, 2013? Will Congress agree to compromise or will Democrats and Republicans continue battling over tax and spend issues until the last minute?
The results of these decisions could have a negative impact on the life insurance industry and its policyholders. Why? Because in their zeal to “find revenue” to pay for some very big-ticket items, Congress may turn to life insurers and their products to help foot the bill in the form of new taxes.
Of course, we believe everyone should pay their fair share – but we also believe our customers have been playing by the rules and planning and saving for their futures. For Congress to change the rules on folks now would be unfair.
The life insurance industry has formed the Americans to Protect Family Security coalition to educate Congress about the important role life insurance products play in the lives of 75 million families in the U.S. The coalition—made up of agents, insurance carriers and their employees, and other industry professionals—is working to make sure public policy continues to encourage Americans to save more, plan responsibly, and protect their financial and retirement security—not make it harder to do so.
Keep up with the coalition at securefamily.org or contact your government relations department to learn more about the industry’s efforts. See below for information about some of the tax and budget decisions facing the 112th Congress in November.
Expiration of Tax Cuts: Tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 will expire on December 31, 2012. In addition to lowering federal income tax rates for all Americans, the cuts gave tax relief to married couples and people with children. Already extended once, if these cuts are allowed to expire at the end of the year as they are scheduled to, 83 percent of U.S. households will see an average tax increase of almost $4,000 according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center.
Expiration of the Payroll Tax Holiday: The payroll-tax holiday that applies to all working taxpayers, is also set to expire. The 2 percent cut in the tax rate saved working Americans more than $111 million over the past two years.
Sequestration: When Congress failed to reach an agreement last summer to raise the debt ceiling, they did agree to an automatic 10 percent sequestration—or across-the-board federal spending cuts—that will go into effect January 1, 2013. The measure calls for government spending to be cut by $110 billion in fiscal year 2013. Cuts will affect defense spending, as well as non-defense federal government spending—including national parks, food safety programs, and public safety. Only entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicaid, are spared the budget cutting knife, and cuts to Medicare could come from payments to providers only.
Expiration of Emergency Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Emergency unemployment benefits—increasing the number of weeks people can collect benefits – first enacted by President Bush, then extended again by President Obama, are also set to expire in December 2012.
Sample Article 2
Cutting Through the Jargon: Tax Expenditures
What is a Tax Expenditure?
A tax expenditure is government revenue lost due to tax deductions, deferrals, credits, exclusions, or exemptions. For example, tax deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, or the exclusion of employee contributions to 401(k)s from taxable income are tax expenditures.Why are policy-makers focused on tax expenditures?
When Congress returns after the November elections, they will face a daunting tax policy problem. Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire on December 31, 2012, and severe across-the-board spending cuts will go into effect on January 1, 2013 unless Congress can agree on a plan. Eliminating tax expenditures may be seen as a convenient way for Congress to raise revenue to pay for big-ticket government programs.Should the life insurance industry be concerned?
Yes. The tax treatment of life insurance products has been included on lists of tax expenditures released by the Congressional Joint Committee of Taxation and the Treasury Department. Several private and public commissions tasked with finding solutions to the national deficit have suggested eliminating all tax expenditures.The tax-free inside-buildup of permanent life insurance is the 12th largest tax expenditure, behind charitable contributions (9th), the home mortgage deduction (3rd), and the contributions to 401k plans (1st).
Also labeled a tax expenditure: a portion of the tax deduction life insurance are allowed for reserves.
Life insurance companies and products may make for a juicy target for the lame duck Congress.
What is the life insurance industry doing to protect its products and policyholders from being targeted?
The life insurance industry has formed the Americans to Protect Family Security coalition (securefamily.org) to educate members of Congress about the key role life insurance products play in helping 75 million families prepare for their financial futures.The coalition—made up of agents, producers, carriers, their employees, and insurance consumers—also reminds Congress of the sound public policy put in place long ago that encourages people to save more for retirement and to protect their families with life insurance.
The coalition is ready to mount a comprehensive grassroots effort to stop any attempt by Congress to advance proposals that would negatively impact the life insurance industry, its products, and its policyholders.
How Can I Help the Coalition?
If legislation is proposed that affect our company or our customers, we will let you know. We’ll also let you know when your elected official could benefit from your input—either by email, a quick phone call, or a short hand-written note—and we’ll provide guidance for taking effective action. Participation will be voluntary.In the meantime, visit the coalition’s website at securefamily.org to learn more about their efforts.
Sample Article 3
Spreading the Word: Americans to Protect Family Security
Did you know that 75 million American families count on life insurance products to protect their financial futures? Well, they do! That’s 2 out of 3 families!To help spread this message and ensure Members of Congress appreciate the role life insurance products play in the lives of their constituents, the life insurance industry has formed a coalition called Americans to Protect Family Security.
Americans to Protect Family Security is made up of carriers, company employees, agents, sales reps, advisors, brokers and others in the life insurance business—people just like you and me! Our company actively supports their efforts.
To learn more about this collective industry effort and to show your support, visit securefamily.org. While there you also can:
Sign a petition in support of the coalition’s efforts
Receive coalition updates
Become a fan on Facebook! (www.facebook.com/SecureFamily)Thank you in advance for your support.
General Resources
The following key industry messages can be used in public communications (e.g. on your website or social media platforms). They also can be used—along with the accompanying info-graphics and sample questions—to prepare advocates for meetings with their Members of Congress. Additional resources for outreach to Members of Congress (including compliance guidelines) can be found in the Grassroots Portal on www.acli.com.
Key Industry Messages
- 75 million American families (2 out of 3) count on life insurance products for peace of mind, long-term savings, and a guarantee of lifetime income when it’s time to retire.
- Life insurers pay out $1.5 billion a day to families and businesses.
- 20 percent of long-term savings in this country is in life insurance and annuities.
- The life insurance industry generates approximately 2.5 million jobs.
- The life insurance industry has $4.8 trillion invested in the U.S. economy—investments that fuel business growth, urban development and create jobs.
- Life insurers are the leading domestic purchaser of U.S. corporate bonds, the fuel for business growth.
Note: State-specific facts about the industry are available on www.acli.com.
Info-graphics
ACLI has developed info-graphics to accompany the key industry talking points. Info-graphics can be accessed online and are iPad friendly. A PDF version is also available. Member companies are encouraged to:
- Tweet key messages along with the accompanying image
- Post key messages along with the accompanying image to Facebook
- Use info-graphics in meetings with Members of Congress
Sample Questions to Ask Candidates/Members of Congress
- People are living longer and spending more years in retirement, but studies show that savings for retirement continue to be inadequate. What can Congress do to encourage workers to save for the long-term and plan for retirements that can last 20 to 30 years or more?
- Do you think the tax code should encourage people to save for retirement and protect their families’ financial future with life insurance?
- People are living longer but not saving enough for retirement. What are your ideas for improving financial literacy in this country so that people are encouraged to take the appropriate steps to create their own financial safety nets? Is life insurance part of your plan for Americans?
- As policy-makers look at revising the tax code, what weight do you give to programs that encourage people to save for retirement and protect their families through life insurance?
- The life insurance industry has been working to find ways for people to save for retirement and to turn those savings into a lifetime paycheck. Legislation has been introduced in Congress that would encourage employers to show workers what their 401(k) balances would look like if they had an annuity, a financial product that guarantees monthly income for life. This would help workers assess if they are on the right track towards a secure retirement. Would you support such a proposal?
III. Policyholder Outreach
There are a number of things to consider when deciding whether or not to engage policyholders in your grassroots efforts. For companies that have turned policyholders into grassroots advocates, the planning was extensive and involved several departments from within the company—from government relations and communications, to compliance and marketing.
To help you with the process, ACLI has developed the following guidelines in consultation with companies that have successfully engaged policyholders in grassroots. For companies deciding to take this step, we’ve drafted a sample message that can be modified and sent to policyholders in advance of an activation.
Assessing Policyholder Outreach Capabilities: Guidelines for Member Companies
1.Acquire Approval from Senior Management and CEO
- Do you have the support from senior management and/or your CEO to explore policyholder grassroots initiatives?
2.Assess Policyholder Outreach Capabilities
- Does your company maintain policyholder contact information in a central database or is it maintained separately by different business units?
- Does your company collect policyholder email addresses? If not, is there a plan in place to begin to collect email addresses?
- Have you partnered with the privacy officials in your company to ensure that the grassroots communication falls within the proper use of policyholder email?
3.Test Receptivity of your Policyholders to Company Outreach
- Conduct focus groups/field a policyholder survey to gauge their response to a call to action; test possible messages; and receptivity to different messages.
- Evaluate the type of issues that would elicit their action.
4.Create an Inter-Department Management Team/Working Group
- Conduct a company-wide audit to identify departments involved in policyholder communications/relations.
- Assemble a team of leaders with sufficient decision making authority that represents the stakeholders identified in your audit.
- Identify a team leader to coordinate and implement the overall policyholder outreach goal.
- Determine how your distribution systems fit into plans to reach out to policyholders.
5.Examine Business Considerations
- Assess the concerns from every department and business unit in your company.
- Examine the legal and tax implications for policyholder outreach initiatives as well as brand reputation and marketing issues.
6.Ensure the call to action is aligned with overall business objectives.
- Work with your information technology department to ensure policyholders are given the option to opt-out of grassroots communications (as required by law) without impacting essential marketing and business communications.
- How will your call to action impact concurrent company communications and initiatives such as marketing and other business communications?
7.Identify Technology Needs
- Will you use software provided by a vendor to manage and execute your grassroots alert (i.e. to send the call to action to your policyholders, to facilitate policyholder communication to legislators, to build a custom website, etc.)?
- Does your current website or your grassroots vendor’s website have the server capacity to manage a large number of visitors as a result of your activation?
- Does your email system or your vendor’s email system have the needed capacity to handle a large amount of outgoing and incoming correspondence?
- How will you measure the effectiveness of your initiative? Does your grassroots software have the ability to gather essential analytical data such as the amount of messages sent, open rates, participation rates, and opt-out rates?
8.Create an Effective Policyholder Communication Plan
- Outline the approval process of the policyholder communication. Who and/or what departments need to review and who will give the final approval?
- Who is the message going to come from? Will it be signed by your CEO, government relations department, the policyholder’s agent, etc.?
- What social mediums does your company currently use that could supplement your grassroots outreach?
9.Outline Essential Internal Education and Communication
- Develop a plan to educate every business unit/department manager to ensure they are fully aware of the grassroots initiative.
- Tailor the education plan for other stakeholders such as employees, agent workforce, call center operators and Board of Directors.
10.Assess the Impact on your Company’s Operations
- Determine the administrative support and procedures that a grassroots communication will require. Will you direct policyholder inquiries to a designated website or create an email address? Will you increase call center operators, and/or increase the availability of government relations team at call center locations?
Sample Message 1
Dear Valued Customer:
As you know, [Insert company name] is committed to helping you plan for and protect your financial future. Our promise to you does not stop with the products and services we provide.
Our company closely follows activity in Washington, D.C. and in state legislatures for actions that could impact your financial and retirement security. While [insert company name] [rarely asks/has never before asked] our customers to contact their elected officials on an issue, the political climate and the way life insurance products are viewed by lawmakers is shifting, and it may be in your best interest to contact lawmakers in the near future. Should that need arise we will notify you, provide all the facts, and some simple guidelines for making your voice heard. Taking action is voluntary, and you may even opt out of being notified.
[Insert company name] is proud to serve your financial and retirement needs. Thank you for your continued trust in allowing us to do just that.
Sincerely,
IV.Social Media
Our coalition’s efforts have mainly focused on building awareness of the important role life insurance products play in the lives of American families. We’ve done this through direct outreach to Members of Congress and their staffs as well as through print, radio, and internet advertising in the Washington, D.C. area.
As the lame duck session of the 112th Congress approaches and we get closer to anticipated tax reform debates in 2013 we will increasingly turn to social media outlets to help spread our message and to build a vocal, socially active army of supporters.
Integral to our plan is to leverage the existing, well-established social media networks of our coalition partners and member companies. If appropriate, we also will use a variety of social media tactics to expand our reach even further to a broader audience of life insurance consumers, citizens, and activists as part of a comprehensive and integrated grassroots campaign.
What You Can Do Now
We encourage member company grassroots coordinators to reach out to your company’s social media team to explore ways in which your company can support our online and social media efforts. Your company can help spread key industry messages and expand the coalition’s online presence with a few easy steps:
- “Like” Americans to Protect Family Security on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SecureFamily) and “follow” us on Twitter (@SecureFamily).
- Recommend Americans to Protect Family Security to fans and followers.
- Update your corporate Facebook status and tweets with the industry messages above and the sample tweets provided below.
- “Share” and “Like” Americans to Protect Family Security status updates
- Tag tweets with our hashtag: #SecureMyFamily
- Retweet our tweets
- Email employees and agents to introduce them to the coalition and invite them to join our efforts (sample message provided above).
As the campaign picks up steam, the coalition’s strategy will notify grassroots coordinators of any monthly and weekly themes and messages to relay via social media.
Sample Tweets
Below are sample tweets that your company can use to help spread positive messages about the life insurance industry as we head into a tax reform debate.
Key Industry Messages
Importance to Families, Financial and Retirement Security
- #DidYouKnow 75M American Families count on life insurance for financial & #retirement security? securefamily.org. #SecureMyFamily
- Life insurers pay out $1.5 billion daily, providing financial and retirement security for 75M families. #SecureMyFamily
- 2 out of 3 American families count on life insurance products to protect their financial future. #SecureMyFamily
- Are you in or are you out? 2 out of 3 families count on life insurance products for financial and #retirement security. securefamily.org
- #DidYouKnow 1 out of every 5 dollars of Americans’ long-term savings is in #lifeinsurance and #annuities? #SecureMyFamily
- Do you have #lifeinsurance? Follow @securefamily and us and like us on Facebook!
Economic Contributions
- The life insurance industry generates 2.5M US #jobs. How many are in your state? Find out at securefamily.org.
- #Didyouknow life insurers are the number 1 domestic buyer of U.S. corporate bonds.
- Econ 101: life insurers have $4.8 trillion invested in the U.S. economy, helping grow business, spur urban development, and create jobs.
Consumer Tips
- How much life insurance do you need? Experts recommend 7 to 10 times annual income. #SecureMyFamily
- How much life insurance do you need? @Life_Foundation calculator can help.
- #Didyouknow the only way to create guaranteed income in #retirement is through an #annuity?
- What’s the only way to create guaranteed income in #retirement? An #annuity!
- #tipoftheday Review your life insurance policy at least once a year to ensure beneficiary info correct and coverage adequate. #SecureMyFamily
- New job? Just married? Divorced? New baby? All reasons to make sure your #lifeinsurance policy is up to date. #SecureMyFamily
Misc Facts
- #DidYouKnow? Half of people between 50 and 64 have only enough savings to last 16 months.
- Some 85% of people say #SocialSecurity won’t be enough in retirement. Life insurance products can help. #SecureMyFamily
- #DidYouKnow a life insurance policy loan helped JC Penney make payroll during the Great Depression?
- #DidYouKnow Walt Disney got start-up capital for #Disneyland from the cash value of his life insurance policy?
- #DidYouknow Ray Kroc’s first #McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, IL got off the ground with the help of life insurance?
- #DidYouKnow the first life insurance company in the US was established in Philadelphia in 1759?
- #DidYouKnow the great poet Wallace Stevens made his living as a lawyer for the insurance industry?