NAIFA to Join With Life Happens and the Society of Financial Service Professionals

What You Need to Know

NAIFA says Life Happens and FSP leaders approached it about a combination separately.
NAIFA has about 20,000 members and reported $12 million in 2019 revenue.
FSP helps many different types of financial professionals network.
Life Happens runs the life insurance awareness, disability insurance awareness and Insure Your Love outreach campaigns.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors plans to join with two other groups, Life Happens and the Society of Financial Service Professionals, through a merger, the groups announced today.

The Life Happens and FSP boards have already approved the merger. They hope to get member approvals early this fall.

NAIFA would be the parent organization. Life Happens and FSP would continue to have separate identities.

What It Means

The same kinds of regulatory, accounting and market forces promoting holistic planning and the realignment of life insurance and annuity issuers are reshaping financial professionals’ organizations.

Kevin Mayeux, NAIFA’s CEO, said via email that the effects of the NAIFA-Life Happens-FSP merger will be positive.

“There will always be changes, but the three organizations will keep their distinct brands while banding together to pool our resources so that we can do even more together,” he said. “Our organizations are very compatible. We expect the integration to be smooth and amplify the good work we do on behalf of financial services professionals and the American people.”

The Groups

NAIFA is an Arlington, Virginia-based group with about 18,000 members. It represents members in legislative and regulatory affairs both in Washington and in state capitals.

It reported $12 million in annual gross receipts in its latest public tax filing.

FSP is an Ardmore, Pennsylvania-based group with $3.4 million in annual gross receipts.

Life Insurance Awareness Month

The next Life Insurance Awareness Month campaign starts in little more than a week.

Mayeux said that a closer relationship between NAIFA and Life Happens will increase the impact of future Life Happens campaigns, and that NAIFA members are already enthusiastic campaign participants.

“So many of our chapters get or have gotten proclamations from their governors to name September Life Insurance Awareness Month, and we do a big push of Life Happens social awareness campaigns,” Mayeux said.

“We will be able to do an even better job this year in spreading the word and promoting Life Happens’ chosen influencers while adding our own influencers to the mix,” he added.