The first meeting of the Life and Health Compliance Association was hosted by our founder, Don Edde, on January 18, 1979…

Thirty-six people, from 27 companies struggled into Chicago in the midst of a snow storm to find solutions to their compliance problems. The Association grew quickly, with 201 people from 162 companies attending meeting 9 in September, 1981. Until then, the Association had operated informally without by-laws or officers. Due to the growth of the Association, some formal structuralization became a necessity.

An Ad Hoc Committee composed of past and future meeting hosts began meeting to research and discuss an organizational structure for the Association. As a result, the Committee proposed a set of “Principles of Association” for acceptance by the membership. The Principles received an overwhelming majority of the votes cast, and the Association was formally organized under those principles at meeting 10. Under the Principles, activities of the Association are coordinated by an executive committee. The committee is made up of meeting hosts from the nine most recent meetings.

Meetings are held twice a year, in the Spring and Fall, hosted by volunteer member companies. It is the responsibility of the host company to provide a legal counsel to preview questions for discussion and to monitor the meetings with regard to antitrust concerns. There are no membership dues, but a registration fee is charged for each attendee to cover meeting expenses. Attendees are asked to submit questions in advance regarding their compliance problems with individual life and health insurance products and annuities. Questions are also accepted regarding discretionary group products. At each meeting, there is open discussion of state compliance problems relating to the questions asked. There is no discussion of rates, commissions, concentrated efforts or lobbying. The subject is strictly compliance.

A volunteer committee provides “handouts” at the meetings on various subjects. The handouts are updated at each meeting and are available only by attending the meeting. They are not mailed to non-attendees.

Companies who attend a meeting of the Association will be added to the mailing list for future meetings. Companies who do not have a representative in attendance for two years will be removed from the list. However, registration materials may be obtained for any meeting by contacting the meeting’s host. Registration materials will be sent to the attention of one representative of each member company. It is the responsibility of that person to see that all interested parties in his or her company are notified.

Answers to questions discussed at a meeting are not recorded or reproduced. The only way to obtain the benefit of discussions held at the meeting is to attend in person.

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