Leading edge fintech partnership leverages competitive advantage with financial institution clients

By standardizing and simplifying post-sale policy servicing, Proformex and One Resource Group will deliver seamless transition of timely insights from broker to advisor to client

York International Agency, LLC uses Proformex to monitor and manage their life portfolio. By implementing technology that streamlines administrative tasks and consolidates client data into a single, secure location, their team has more time to have meaningful interactions with their clients to help build those relationships and, in turn, grow their business.

Read more to learn about the difference Proformex has made for York's business - from better client servicing to new revenue opportunities. 

In the webcast video below, our  Customer Success Manager, Max Posner, chats Blake Buden, Client Executive at York International Agency, LLC. They talk about why York International decided to start using Proformex to monitor and manage their life portfolio and some of the biggest benefits to leveraging technology - like simplifying your day-to-day operations and giving you the flexibility to scale your business. Listen below!

Thank you for your interest in Proformex! The video below gives you a quick glimpse into what our platform looks like and some of the things you can do with our technology. Check it out - a team member will be in touch to schedule a meeting with you shortly. 

Mergers and acquisitions have always been common within the life insurance and financial services industries. But recently, the trend has seemingly accelerated, particularly among carriers who are offloading their life and annuity business to private equity and venture capital firms. Recent examples include: Allstate, Voya, Allianz, Hartford Financial Services Group, Prudential, and Principal Financial Group.

In our newest video series, #PeopleOfProformex, we sit down with members of our ever-growing team and ask questions to help viewers like you get a sense of that individual's background and aspirations for our organization. Our sixth episode features Kelly Lytle, our Vice President of Sales.

A captivating story-teller and never one to back down from a challenge, Kelly has worked across multiple departments within our organization to help us develop battle-tested approaches to industry partnership management, ongoing customer success and product development, and a repeatable sales cycle that drives growth. See Kelly's passion and motivation for executing our company mission in the interview below!  

In our newest video series, #PeopleOfProformex, we sit down with members of our ever-growing team and ask questions to help viewers like you get a sense of that individual's background and aspirations for our organization. Our fifth episode features Dave Lowman, our Chief Financial Officer.

Dave is a long-time venture capitalist and has been actively working in the insurance space for more than three decades. By combining his extensive experience and expertise, he keeps our team on the best path to move us forward so that we can meet our goal of widespread industry adoption. Learn more about Dave in the video below!

In our newest video series, #PeopleOfProformex, we sit down with members of our ever-growing team and ask questions to help viewers like you get a sense of that individual's background and aspirations for our organization. Our fourth episode features David Morris, our Chief Marketing Officer.

David enjoys taking on new challenges and is an expert in networking. Through a combination of his willingness to get creative and his careful precision with measuring the results, he takes a one-of-a-kind approach to marketing that drives brand awareness, authenticity, and growth. Hear more about David's experience and goals for Proformex in the video below!

In our newest video series, #PeopleOfProformex, we sit down with members of our ever-growing team and ask questions to help viewers like you get a sense of that individual's background and aspirations for our organization. Our third episode features Dr. Amanda Yoho, our Chief Technology Officer.

Amanda brings vast knowledge and mastery of data to our organization. With her at the helm, our technology team is well-equipped to tackle the various nuanced, complex data challenges we face in the constant evolution of our platform. Watch her interview below to learn more about how she approaches these obstacles now to get us to where we're going next!

In our newest video series, #PeopleOfProformex, we sit down with members of our ever-growing team and ask questions to help viewers like you get a sense of that individual's background and aspirations for our organization. Our second episode features Kris Beck, our Chief Executive Officer.

Kris is an exceptional leader and a visionary whose unique ability to unite cross-functional departments and teams behind a common goal helps to propel our company forward. She has extensive experience in growing SaaS technology companies and a tenacious commitment to solving complex challenges to make people's lives better. Listen to our interview with her below to learn more about how she keeps us all on track to achieving our mission!

In our newest video series, #PeopleOfProformex, we sit down with members of our ever-growing team and ask questions to help viewers like you get a sense of that individual's background and aspirations for our organization. Our first episode features the man who started it all - our Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Mike Pepe.

Mike is deeply passionate about life insurance being a vehicle for families to secure their financial futures. After spending two and a half decades selling life insurance, he set out to build what is known today as Proformex in hopes that the platform would better enable people who sell life insurance to protect their clients' investments so that death benefits promised become death benefits paid. Hear more about Mike's story in the video below!

I was reading Leslie Scism’s most recent article in the Wall Street Journal recently, and it spurred some interesting conversations. Leslie does a great job explaining different people’s perspectives on the same topic – that of insurers selling off portions of or all of their books to private equity firms. Recent examples include Allstate, Voya, Allianz, Hartford Financial Services Group, and Principal Financial Group.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – September 7, 2021 – Proformex and BKA Financial have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at improving the life insurance ownership experience for clients. Their objective is to further redefine the industry standard for post-sale policy servicing by providing easier access to relevant data to empower better decisions and analysis to ensure clients receive the outcomes they expect. Given the strength of both companies’ networks, the entire industry stands to benefit from their collaboration.

In the eleventh installment of our Whiteboard Wednesdays series, our Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Mike Pepe, talks about the challenges many life insurance advisors face when it comes to finding a balance between taking care of your existing clients and attracting new ones. For Mike, technology helped tremendously with client service and the growth of his practice. Listen below!

In the webcast video below, our  Customer Success Manager, Max Posner, chats with Brian Bieker, Vice President of Life Sales at Lakeview Financial Services. They talk about how the team at Lakeview uses the Proformex platform to mine their advisors' books of business for opportunity and ultimately help advisors have more meaningful interactions with their policyowners. Listen below!

PolicyMarket and Katz Nassau leverage Proformex to consolidate and mine their inforce data for opportunities. Those opportunities come in many different forms and are ultimately all tied back to ensuring that they're able to give policyowners a full understanding of the options available to them so that the life insurance coverage they have matches what they need. 

Read the case study below that explains a specific instance where Proformex enabled real-world outcomes where everyone - from Katz Nassau to PolicyMarket to the policyowner - won. 

In the webcast video below, our Director of Customer Success, Niko Kantouros, chats with Joe Bosnack, President of Katz Nassau Agency, Inc. They talk about how Proformex has helped the team at Katz Nassau better mine their data for opportunities and potential risks within their ever-growing book of business. Listen below!

In the tenth installment of our Whiteboard Wednesdays series, our VP of Sales, Steve Lance, talks about the latest white paper he co-authored with one of our Data Scientists, Dr. Luke Keltner, that shares some fascinating (and quite frankly, staggering) statistics about the policies within your inforce book that need immediate attention. Check it out below!

In the webcast video below, our Director of Customer Success, Niko Kantouros, chats with Ryan Thompson, Founder of Policy Market. They talk about how Policy Market uses Proformex to identify cases in their inforce book that may benefit from a thorough review and a reassessment of whether the policy is continuing to meet the client's ongoing, changing needs. In a few instances, they've been able to surface client cases that ultimately led to a life settlement that satisfied the client's goals and objectives and benefited Policy Market directly as well. Listen below!

Principal Financial Group announcing their plan to discontinue retail sales of life insurance and annuities to U.S. consumers by the end of Q3 2021 sent shockwaves through the industry over the past week. People have been asking lots of questions as we all respond to and plan for this huge shift in the market dynamics of life insurance.

In the ninth installment of our Whiteboard Wednesdays series, our CMO, David Morris, talks about how essential it is to optimize your time and attention on the right tasks and initiatives to get the most out of your professional relationships. Ultimately, it's the policyowner who will benefit most when you do. Hear more in the video below!

Cleveland, Ohio, June 29, 2021 - Proformex has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2021 honor by Plain Dealer Top Workplaces Top Workplaces. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage LLC. The anonymous survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization: including alignment, execution, and connection, just to name a few.

In the webcast video below, our Customer Success Manager, Max Posner, chats with Dave Donchey, President of Leisure Werden and Terry. Among other topics, these two discuss the kinds of success LWT has found since utilizing Proformex as their inforce tool - like being able to surface opportunities that drive meaningful interaction with their advisors that in turn lead to meaningful interactions from advisor to policyowner. In fewer words, Proformex enables a win-win situation for everyone. Listen to their conversation below!

In the eighth installment of our Whiteboard Wednesdays series, one of our account executives, Jason Spangler, addresses the urgency for industry practitioners to start engaging in proactive inforce management. Listen below!

In the webcast video below, our Director of Customer Success, Niko Kantouros, chats with Gary Sipos, Founder of Sipos Financial & Insurance Services. Hear from Gary how the Proformex technology helps him to get a more firm grasp around his inforce book of business and how he's able to use the data provided by Proformex to drive more meaningful client conversations that often result in new opportunities. Listen below!

In the seventh installment of our Whiteboard Wednesdays series, one of our Data Scientists, Dr. Luke Keltner, talks about how the life insurance industry can accelerate its growth by leveraging powerful data and advanced analytics. Listen below!

In the webcast video below, our DIrector of Customer Success, Niko Kantouros, chats with Tom Wiseman and Reid Turnure of Wiseman & Associates Wealth Management. Their discussion illustrates the value Proformex provides to their team, the importance of proactive and effective inforce management, and the ongoing need for better transparency in the life insurance industry. Give it a listen!

Whether you're evaluating any specific solutions, or you're considering building a homegrown solution, there are some important questions you should consider first. Read more to see what distributors should expect from an effective inforce solution.

Whether you're evaluating any specific solutions, or if you're still using outdated methods to manage your inforce policies (like your CRM or Excel), there are some important questions you should consider. Read more to see what life insurance advisors should expect from an effective inforce solution.

Two policyowners nearly lost seven years of coverage on their $250,000 life insurance policy after the carrier had been spun off and suffered significant reduction in their company ratings. See how Proformex helped keep the policy from lapsing by identifying this issue in a coverage assessment report of the policy.

When an agent's client began undergoing treatments for her recent cancer diagnosis, she missed a premium payment amidst all the chaos. Discover how Proformex helped them keep this client’s policy from lapsing.

Proformex and Lion Street have been working together since 2015. Both organizations are on a mission to usher in better data transparency across the life insurance community, and they've been working together to advocate for that. 

This case study compilation further explains the relationship between Proformex and Lion Street and demonstrates a few ways in which three of Lion Street's firms have found success using Proformex for more proactive inforce management. Read on below!

In the sixth installment of our Whiteboard Wednesdays series, our Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Mike Pepe, talks about getting ahead of expanding best interests legislation by establishing compliant, scalable processes now. He addresses the intersectionality of technology with those processes and why the life insurance community should consider implementing solutions that will make achieving audit-proof compliance a lot easier. Listen below!

In the webcast video below, our Customer Success Manager, Mitchell Poch, chats with Michael Falkenstein, Director of Keystone Benefits Group of Atlanta. They talk about how Proformex is transforming post-sale policy servicing from a manual, cumbersome undertaking to a more proactive, streamlined approach. Check it out!

In the webcast video below, our Customer Success Manager, Mitchell Poch, chats with Scott Cahill, Senior Vice President of Fulcrum Partners. They talk about how having a single system of record for all your inforce policy data helps to institutionalize your book of business, leading to much more efficient and effective succession planning when the time comes to transition out of your practice. Give it a listen!

In the fifth installment of our Whiteboard Wednesdays series, our Life Insurance Specialist, Kevin Kelley, talks about the 7702 tax code revisions that went into effect early this year. Hear how advisors can leverage these changes to delight clients who meet certain criteria, and why having a centralized location for all client data gives advisors an advantage when it comes to strategizing their approach.

CBS Brokerage, LLC provides product expertise, advanced planning, and risk management services to a multitude of independent advisors, fiduciary advisors, and specialty insurance firms. They're committed to providing their downline advisors with access to state-of-the-art technology solutions that enable them to sell and manage life insurance more efficiently and more effectively.

See how CBS and one of their downline advisors leveraged Proformex's in-app lapse pending policy alerts to get a client's policy back on track and even sell an additional policy to that client. 

In the webcast video below, our Director of Customer Success, Niko Kantouros, chats with Joslyn Druvenga, Senior Vice President of CBS Brokerage, LLC. They talk about why proactive inforce management is crucial to fulfilling fiduciary duty and mainintaing clients' best interests as well as how technology helps to save time on tedious, manual tasks and identify risks and opportunities that can turn into revenue-generating activities. Check it out!

In the fourth installment of our Whiteboard Wednesdays series, our Sr. Data Engineer, John Borsi, talks about the concept of community as it relates to data. For Proformex, a data community has three elements - security, interoperability, and a common purpose. Hear John's explanation in the video below to learn more about how we're continuing to build this data community for life insurance.

In the third installment of our Whiteboard Wednesdays series, our resident life insurance expert Kevin Kelley talks about the inherent advantages and disadvantages associated with the different policy types. He illustrates the critical need for ongoing, proactive policy performance monitoring and offers insight on an easier way to achieve it. Check it out below!

In the webcast video below, our Director of Customer Success, Niko Kantouors, chats with our customer, Justin Nabity, Founder/CEO of Physicians Thrive, about his background in the life insurance industry and why his company chose to leverage Proformex for better inforce policy management. Give it a listen!

In the webcast video below, our Customer Success Manager, Max Posner, chats with our customer, Cindy Bojanski, Senior Analyst/VP of Sales at Insurance Design Management, about her background in the life insurance industry and why Proformex is her organization's inforce management tool of choice. Check it out!

In the webcast video below, our Customer Success Manager, Alyse Krevh, chats with our customer, TJ Davis, President and Financial Advisor at Finley Davis Financial Group, about his background in the life insurance industry, some of the emerging trends in our industry, and why he and his team chose to use Proformex as their proactive inforce policy management tool Check it out!

Leading Life Insurance Software Provider, Proformex, Hosting
Inforce 2020 event featuring expert insights on growing revenue and profits

It's time for another episode of our beloved #PuttingWithPepe series!

In the 15th episode, we introduce you to one of our board members and investors, Dave Zelman. Dave is a born and bred Clevelander and one of our early-stage investors. With his background in retail brokerage, he brings unique expertise and offers great advice to help us continue scaling. We appreciate your confidence in our people and our platform, Dave!

Learn more about Dave in the interview below.

September is life insurance awareness month – how are you honoring it this year?

Ensight’s API platform advances transparency and oversight for insurance agents and financial advisors

It feels like our last episode of #PuttingWithPepe just happened, but we're back already with the next one. If that doesn't sum up what the passage of time feels like in 2020, we don't know what does.

In any case, we're happy for you all to meet Joyce Khouri, our incredible bookkeeper and office manager! She is one of the most fun (and funny) people to talk to, and we don't know what we would do without her.

Get to know Joyce in the video below! You may also notice we've changed the look and feel of our #PuttingWIthPepe videos - we'd love your feedback on these enhancements. 

In the webcast video below, our Customer Success Manager, Max Posner, interviews our customer, Brittany Massaro, Brokerage Manager at Coastal Insurance Consulting. They discuss her background in the life insurance industry, emerging trends, and how she and her team have leveraged Proformex for a better, more consistent policy review experience. Check it out below!

Here we go again! Episode 13 of #PuttingWIthPepe is here! 

In this episode, you'll meet our Director of Talent Acquisition, Royce Vanderbilt. He has been instrumental in helping us develop our company's culture, and we appreciate all the work he does to help us build out our teams. 

And if you know Royce, you know he has a pretty cool scuba diving story. If you don't know Royce, you should definitely ask him about it. 

In the webcast video below, our Founder and President Mike Pepe chats with Will Cassidy, President of Cassidy & Company, LLC. Will participates in a Lion Street study group and he shared some great insights with that study group earlier this year. Hear Will share those insights about inforce policy management and insurtech again in the video clip below!

InsurTech startup compiled its own resources and other reliable industry source material to help educate customers and peers about what SEC Reg BI entails

Experienced SaaS startup sales strategist brings his expertise to the nation’s fastest growing life insurance technology software company

Episode 12 of #PuttingWithPepe is here! In this episode, you'll meet Kyle Holdsworth, another one of our Account Executives. Kyle was on track to run the Cleveland Marathon this year, but COVID-19 had other plans. So Kyle and some other runner friends teamed up to create a virtual half marathon, Dash for Donations, where all proceeds raised went directly to the Cleveland Clinic cancer research fund. In total, $10,000 was raised in less than a month's time - way to go, Kyle!

Though the virtual race is over, the website remains open for more donations: give.ccf.org/dashfordonations.

Larkins & Larkins, LLC. - a specialty life insurance brokerage - leverages Proformex to provide their high net worth clients with an invaluable asset: peace of mind. 

In the case study below, we explore how Bob and Anne Larkins used Proformex to enhance their relationship with their existing client and gain entrée into the next generation of the insured's family. Check it out!

Two industry-leading solutions collaborate to help life insurance producers work more efficiently and effectively in a rapidly changing environment

In the second installment of our new Whiteboard Wednesdays series, our resident life insurance expert Kevin Kelley talks us through how COVID-19 might be impacting death benefits claims. Of course, it's always best to consult directly with your life insurance agent for any questions about your specific policy, but hopefully Kevin's words of wisdom can help put you at ease in this uncertain, uncomfortable time. Check it out below!

COVID-19 has changed so much in so little time, but the Reg BI compliance date of June 30, 2020 remains the same.

Can you believe we've made it to episode 11 of our fan-favorite #PuttingWIthPepe series?! In this episode, you'll meet Alexa VanMaaren, Account Executive. Alexa is a NY transplant who brightens up our office with her friendly, positive attitude and infectious smile. Learn more about her in the video below!

In the webcast video below, our Founder Mike Pepe chats with Ken Leibow - Founder, Chairman, & CEO of InsurTech Express - about how COVID-19 is impacting the life insurance industry, the challenges and opportunities he sees for producers, and why inforce policy management is more important now than ever before. Hear their insights in the video below!

In the webcast video below, our Customer Success Manager, Max Posner, interviews Izzy Brettler, Vice President of Arbor Group. The two of them discuss Izzy's background in the life insurance industry and the ways in which our industry needs to adapt during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Hear their thoughts below!

In the webcast video below, our Founder and President Mike Pepe chats with Cathy Neifeld, Partner and General Counsel at AgencyONE. They cover everything from how AgencyONE evolved into the business it is today, the current state of the life insurance industry, and why inforce policy management is important. Watch below to learn more about Cathy!

3 information security and vendor risk management considerations during this time of crisis

By: Chris Luse, CISO, Proformex

We are so happy to introduce our newest vlog series, Whiteboard Wednesdays with Kevin Kelley! Kevin is our Sr. Life Insurance Specialist, and we thought sharing his insights regarding the current state of the life insurance industry amidst the COVID-19 crisis would be helpful to our industry peers. In this first installment, Kevin reviews why policy monitoring is so important and what you can do to manage it more efficiently and effectively. Check it out below! 

Our fourth and final aspiration to be helpful to our clients in these unprecedented times is perhaps the most important. Discover why in the post below:

In the webcast video below, our Customer Success Manager Max Posner chats with Randy Hester - Managing Member of Universal Insurance Group, LLC - about his background in life insurance, the impact of COVID-19 on our industry, and the ways in which he leverages our platform to deliver the best possible outcomes to his clients. This is an interview you don't want to miss; watch below!

The third aspiration we have as an organization to be of utmost service to our clients in these challenging times is by accelerating speed and access to information, especially when time is of the essence. Read more below:

Another aim we have as an organization to help you tread water as the situation at hand continues to unfold is by simplifying complexity. See what we mean by reading below:

Proformex uses a combination of powerful technology, expansive industry partnerships, and robust data and analytics to transform life insurance distribution as we know it. Learn more in the video below!

Proformex Founder Mike Pepe interviews Dustin Johnson, EVP of Marketing &Chief of Staff at One Resource Group, chat about the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on the life insurance industry as a whole. They both had some great insights to share, so give it a listen below!

We're back with another episode of our beloved series #PuttingWithPepe! In episode 10, Founder Mike Pepe interviews Anthony Moeglin, one of our Account Executives. Learn more about Anthony in the video below!

Randy Hester - Managing Member of Universal Insurance Group, LLC - received a new client whose policy was previously orphaned. In his initial investigations into the client's policy performance, he noticed a few red flags. Read on in the case study below to see how Randy then leveraged a policy review from Proformex to identify product alternatives and ultimately take the corrective actions needed to get the policyholder back on track per his unique financial goals and objectives. 

As mentioned in Tuesday’s blog post, we wanted to share more detail around four aspirations we have as an organization to be helpful to our customers and their clients in this unprecedented time. The first way in which we are aspiring to help is by ensuring certainty and comfort.

Read more below:

With all the chaos, uncertainty, and stress of the world around us, we keep returning to one of our missions: To help protect the millions of people who rely on life insurance for financial safety and security.

Proformex Founder Mike Pepe explains how the novel coronavirus is impacting the life insurance industry

Introducing our newest blog series: Kevin's Korner. In addition to our Founder Mike Pepe, Kevin Kelley is one of our resident insurance experts with decades of experience in the life insurance industry. We thought he could offer valuable insights, especially regarding the impact of COVID19 on our industry right now. Read below for the first installment of this series in which Kevin explains how recent economic upheaval might be impacting VULs, IULs, and ULs, and how Proformex might help!

It’s time for another monthly installment of our Proformex Pioneer award! For the month of March, we decided to honor our good friend Ken Leibow. Ken is equally knowledgeable and enthusiastic about our industry, and we appreciate his positive presence (especially amidst these stressful, uncertain times) and his willingness to share a little bit more about himself with us. Read on below!

Happy Friday and #PuttingWithPepe day!! In episode 9, you'll get to meet the other beloved Pepe, Carmen! Carmen is one of our Associate Product Managers, and our Founder Mike is her husband. Hear more about Carmen's background in the video below. 

Last week, our CEO Kristie Beck had the honor of presenting to North Coast Ventures about our successes in 2019 and our vision for 2020. The below excerpt was shared with fellow attendees after the night concluded:

Last week, our team had the pleasure of attending this year's InsMark Symposium at the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa in Las Vegas.

In the video below, our Founder Mike Pepe chats with Ken Leibow, CEO and Founder of InsurTech Express, about his background in the life insurance industry and where he sees it going in the future. Hear his insights in the video below!

Best interest standards regulations are sweeping across the country. But do they have different implications for different types of life insurance practitioners? In the video below, we explain the changing role of financial institutions and how best interest regulations come into play. Check it out!

Guess what day it is?! It's #PuttingWithPepe day! In the 8th episode of our series, you'll meet Ryan Tuley, our Director of Inside Sales here at Proformex. Learn more about Ryan and his background in SaaS sales in the video below. 

LifeTrust3D, one of the nation's premier life insurance consulting firms, needed a proactive inforce life insurance policy management solution. They sought an automated solution to help service their existing policies and allow them the resources, tools and capacity to continue scaling their business. To see how Proformex helps, check out our latest case study below. 

In the video below, our Founder Mike Pepe chats with Gonzalo M. Garcia, CLU, Partner at AgencyONE about how the life insurance industry continues to change. Listen to their insights below!

Proformex Founder Mike Pepe interviews Dustin Johnson, EVP of Marketing & Operations at One Resource Group. Check out their insights on the industry and where it's headed in the video below!

Do you find yourself struggling to get a clear line of insight across your entire portfolio? Our Founder, a former life insurance producer himself, experienced that challenge and built Proformex to solve that and provide a consolidated portfolio view. To see how it works, check out the video below! 

Chief Marketing Officer David Morris highlights seven reasons policy management is good for life insurance professionals and their clients

Introducing the Proformex Pioneer award! This monthly initiative was developed to recognize the industry’s best and brightest. We want to shine a spotlight on the experts that keep the life insurance world moving forward and thank them for all their hard work.

Get to know our CFO! In the 7th episode of our #PuttingWithPepe series, Founder Mike Pepe chats with our CFO Bill Leonard about his background, his love for Cleveland, and where he sees Proformex going forward. Thanks for everything you do for us, Bill! 

Technology is transforming our world. That's why we built our inforce policy management platform - to change the way life insurance policies are managed and sold. Our platform closes the pre-sale and post-sale loop. See the power of Proformex for yourself in the video below!

Analyzing the ROI of any purchase can be an important decision-making factor, but this is especially true when it comes to software. In the video below, see how some Proformex customers generate up to a 300% ROI on their purchase of our platform. 

Every year as the holidays draw near, people tend to seek out opportunities to give back. Whether through volunteering or donating, the holiday spirit inspires us to do something good. 

President & Founder Mike Pepe reviews the importance of choosing partners wisely in the age of best interest standards

It's the most wonderful time of the month! Time for another installment of our #PuttingWithPepe series. In our 6th episode, Mike interviews Karoline Porter, our Customer Success Manager. We knew she was great with our clients, but who knew she had such strong short game, too?! She sank more puts than anyone else who has been interviewed so far! Check it out below:

There are many ways to prospect for new business, and one of those tactics is by leveraging centers of influence (COIs). Watch our video below to learn how implementing leading technology like Proformex can help you better prospect to COIs. 

Earlier this month, our team had the opportunity to attend NAILBA38 in Dallas.

Earlier this month, our team had the opportunity to attend the 56th Annual NAEPC Advanced Estate Planning Strategies Conference in Las Vegas.

You already know what time it is...it's time for more #PuttingWithPepe! In Episode 5, Mike interviews Niko Kantouros, the Head of Customer Success here at Proformex. Niko is a Clevelander through and through, and a great leader for our team. Learn more about him in the interview below: 

As new technologies begin to surface within the marketplace, it's becoming increasingly important for agencies to identify and explore ways to implement these tools and resources for the benefit of their agents. 

The life insurance industry has proven to be one of the slowest industries to adopt and implement new technologies to improve the way we do business. But Proformex is changing that and bringing a hybrid human-technology model to the marketplace, transforming the way life insurance distribution is done. Learn more in the short video below!

Yesterday, the women on our team had the opportunity to attend the 2nd annual WITcon at the Great Lakes Science Center. This event is hosted by getWITit, an Ohio-based not-for-profit organization passionate and dedicated to creating change for women in tech. 

Your monthly dose of #PuttingWithPepe is here! In Episode 4, we learn more about Patrick Sullivan, our Director of Product Management. He believes in doing work that's meaningful and delivering as much value as we can to our customers. Check his interview out below: 

A life settlement is the sale of a life insurance policy that the policyowner no longer wants or needs to a third party for an amount that is higher than the policy’s cash surrender value and lower than the death benefit.¹ Although the life settlement industry itself is relatively new, the concept was originally introduced in court 108 years ago and has evolved over the past century into what we know it as today.

When it comes to being either a captive agent or an independent agent, both offer different benefits and come with different challenges. In our video below, we outline some of the major differences between each agent type and demonstrate some of the ways our platform can support those agents who are transitioning from being captive to independent. Check it out!

Over the weekend, team Proformex had the pleasure of attending IACON 2019 in Columbus, brought to you by the Ohio Insurance Agents Association. It was a fantastic event - from the opening kickball tournament to the closing tailgate for the OSU v. Miami (OH) game, and all the educational sessions and networking opportunities in between! 

One of the best ways to stay motivated is through a little friendly competition. Thanks to our friends at Oswald Companies and other mission-focused organizations like Spark 360 and ABC News Channel 5, some of that friendly competition has been introduced to the Cleveland Metro area in the form of the SparkCleveland Step Challenge.

With new best interest standards regulations, producers must be able to demonstrate that their client recommendations and sales transactions are suitable. What criteria are used to define "suitable"? Learn more in the video below. 

According to the 2019 Downtown Cleveland Q2 Market Update, homegrown startups (like Proformex) have significantly impacted the city's growth over the last quarter. With the office being located right in the heart of downtown Cleveland at the North Point building, Proformex is one of the quickly growing local companies that's helping the city to attract a young, highly skilled labor force - especially in the SaaS and technology spaces. Cleveland now ranks 10th among the nation's largest cities for software developer growth, surpassing big names such as Denver, Austin and the Bay Area. 

Back by popular demand, it's #PuttingWithPepe! In our 3rd episode of this series, our Founder Mike Pepe chats with our CTO Chris Sullivan about his background in the SaaS and software development spaces and how it all comes together now at Proformex. Check it out below:

The second installment of our #PuttingWithPepe video interview series is here! Our Founder Mike Pepe chats with CEO Kris Beck about her extensive background in SaaS startups and reasons for deciding to join the Proformex team. By the way, her short game appears to be incredible! Check it out below:

CLEVELAND, Ohio – August 20, 2019 – Proformex, creator of a proactive life insurance policy monitoring platform designed to give insurance agents, advisors and fiduciaries better oversight and visibility into the performance of in force life insurance policies, has published the white paper, “An In-Depth Look at Best Interest Standards for Life Insurance” .

Barry Flagg, Founder of Veralytic, chats with Proformex Founder Mike Pepe about the changing life insurance industry and what he thinks could still be improved in the future. Listen to their conversation below!

It's here! The very first episode of our video series #PuttingWithPepe is finished. In this episode, Proformex Founder Mike Pepe interviews Proformex CMO David Morris about his marketing and entrepreneurial experience in the SaaS space. He shares his primary philosophy with Mike, which is "Don't be afraid to fail". Check it out below: 

Patrick Sullivan Joins Proformex

Our Founder Mike Pepe had the opportunity to sit down with Scott Weber, VP of Practice Management & Technology at Lion Street, to discuss current events and topics within the life insurance industry. We'll be sharing individual questions clip by clip on all our social media platforms over the next few weeks, but to view the webcast in its entirety, please watch the video below!

The Proformex Advantage Program is the New Standard for Life Insurance Management for banks, law firms, CPA firms, trust departments, family offices, and foundations that are looking to create better client outcomes while reducing their liability exposure. To learn more about this exclusive opportunity, watch the video below!

CLEVELAND, Ohio – July 25, 2019 – Proformex, creator of a proactive life insurance policy monitoring platform designed to give insurance agents, advisors and fiduciaries better oversight and visibility into the performance of in force life insurance policies, today announced that First Financial Resources (FFR) has selected Proformex as its premier policy management platform.

Proformex Founder Mike Pepe interviews Author & Financial Awareness Advocate Tony Steuer about the history of the life insurance industry and the changes we're seeing today.  Listen to their conversation below!

This past weekend, a few members of our team participated in the annual VeloSano bike race in Cleveland. VeloSano is a year-round, community-driven fundraising initiative to support lifesaving cancer research at the Cleveland Clinic. Since the first event in 2014, more than $17M has been raised through VeloSano and 100% of those funds are hard at work in the fight against cancer. 

Due to the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response we received to our first episode of #PuttingWithPepe, we went ahead and ramped up production on the next few episodes a little ahead of schedule. Stay tuned for coming episodes where you'll get to know our CEO Kristie Beck as well as our CTO Chris Sullivan!

CLEVELAND, Ohio – July 8, 2019 – Proformex, creator of a proactive life insurance policy monitoring platform designed to give insurance agents, advisors and fiduciaries better oversight and visibility into the performance of in force life insurance policies, today announced that One Resource Group (ORG) has selected Proformex as its premier policy management platform.

Shortly after the passing of Reg BI by vote in the SEC on June 5, 2019, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton was interviewed by CNBC’s “Squawk Box”. In this interview, he clarified a few key differences between fiduciary duties and best interest standards.

“It’s easier to retain existing clients than attract new ones,” – every sales professional at some point in their career.

Fiduciary obligation is one of the highest imposed by law. The possibility of breaching those duties is known as fiduciary risk. See how automating your inforce performance monitoring with Proformex can help reduce your exposure to that risk in the video below!

Regardless of how many different life insurance carriers you contract with, Proformex can help securely consolidate all of your data and provide you with robust analytics, automated alerts and an overall better, more consistent client reporting experience. See how for yourself in the video below!

Founder of Proformex Mike Pepe sits down with Chad Neifer, Founder of inForce Insights to talk about ongoing inforce policy management and how to leverage technology to make it easier and more consistent. Listen to their conversation below!

 KY Gov. Matt Bevin signs House bill 386

Marty Jensen of Trust Protector, LLC connects with Mike Pepe, Founder of Proformex to talk about fiduciary duty, best interest standards, and the future of the life insurance industry relative to these regulations. Listen to their conversation below!

Are you leveraging technology to exceed policy owner expectations?

3 Customer Experience Tips for Marketers to Reduce Churn

By: Jeanette McMurtry

Here’s the backdrop for our customer experience story. It takes most organizations months to onboard new employees to get them to full productivity. In fact, according to the Society for Human Resources Management, an effective onboarding program can take 12 months. (Opens as a PDF)

Proformex CEO earns recognition for Crain's Cleveland Business 2019 Notable Women in Entrepreneurship award

How are you generating new clients?

When determining who should serve as a trustee, there's much to take into consideration. The person designated as such must be able to manage trust assets in an honorable, trustworthy manner. This person is also legally considered a fiduciary and will be held accountable to ethical and legal standards accordingly. To further understand those standards and possible ramifications if any duties are breached, download our latest case study. 

Comprehensive insurance advisory firm leverages technology to automate policy performance monitoring and reporting

Tate Groome, President of LifeTrust3D, and Mike Pepe, Founder of Proformex, share ideas and best practices around irrevocable life insurance trust management. Listen to their conversation below!

Thanks to the advancement of technology, consumers have increased expectations for the products and service providers they use. This is no different for life insurance clients. They expect that when they purchase a policy, that policy will continue to meet their needs throughout the life of the contract and perform as expected, and it's up to you as the service provider to ensure that happens. See how automating policy performance monitoring through Proformex can help. 

In a perfect world, your clients would proactively notify you anytime a life circumstance changes for them so that you could make any necessary adjustments to their life insurance policy. But since life insurance isn't likely to be top-of-mind for clients in most cases, an annual policy review is recommended to catch any changes. To learn more about how Proformex supports policy reviews, download our latest white paper.

From assessing your needs to understanding the multitude of product types within the life insurance realm, there's a lot of information that policy owners need to know. In our latest white paper, we offer a high-level overview of everything you should know about life insurance. Download it below.

When was the last time you reviewed your clients' existing life insurance policies?

During the 53rd Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, we had the opportunity to chat with David Sterling, Principal of Sterling Capital Resources. In this video, he discusses the importance of helping clients achieve the best outcomes possible. Hear more of his insights by watching the video below.

The truth may surprise you.

There is a tremendous amount of responsibility tied to fiduciaries when it comes to irrevocable life insurance trusts. From ongoing trust management to ongoing policy management, a fiduciary is responsible for handling premium gifts, managing Crummey letters, filing tax returns, tracking policy performance, monitoring client circumstances, reviewing product alternatives, evaluating carrier strength and more. This puts the fiduciary at risk for liability exposure if all these responsibilities aren't consistently met. An automated solution for ongoing policy management like Proformex can help reduce that fiduciary risk. To see how, download our latest case study. 

Jamie Mendelsohn, EVP of Ashar Group, shares her insights with us regarding the accessibility of important policy information and an established review process. Both are crucial to being thoroughly informed on behalf of the client. To hear more of Jamie’s insights, watch the video below.

Lion Street recognized a need for consolidated inforce policy management, but understood that it would take far too much time, money and resources to build one themselves. They chose instead to partner with Proformex and are now delivering a better, more consistent client experience. Read more below:

As new technologies begin to surface within the marketplace, it's becoming increasingly important for agencies to identify and explore ways to implement these tools and resources for the benefit of their agents. Agents are shifting their focus from commission plans to relationships with their clients, so the most successful agencies will be the ones who adopt cutting-edge technology that can support their agents and ultimately provide the best experience possible for clients. To learn more, check out our latest white paper.

In our Thought Leadership interview session with Jon Mendelsohn, CEO & Founder of the Ashar Group, he discusses the need for increased specialization within the industry as well as the importance of proactively monitoring the performance of a policy for its entire lifetime. Hear more of Jon’s insights by watching the video below.

Proformex Founder Mike Pepe and Ashar Group Founder & CEO Jon Mendelsohn share their insights around the life insurance industry, specifically in regards to life settlements. Listen to their conversation in the video below!

As the insurance industry ages, it's important for independent insurance agents and brokers to consider their plans for their practices upon their retirement. The techniques used to measure and value life insurance practices are very straightforward and dependent upon detailed company history in three areas: assets, earning value, and market value. By implementing a technology that stores all this relevant information for you, you're able to clearly define the success of your practice and get the best possible value for it when it comes time to sell. To learn more, read our latest white paper below. 

Even though most non-professional trustees are designated based on their personal relationships rather than life insurance experience, they are still legally held to the same standards as fiduciaries. Without industry knowledge and experience, some non-professional trustees may not fully understand the scope of their responsibilities and the potential for liability exposure that they face if they are not establishing a process for ILIT management. To learn more about these responsibilities, check out our latest white paper below. 

Marty Jensen, Chairman of PMI Advisors, discusses some of the unique instances he sees within his business working with family offices for comprehensive wealth management. For him, it’s crucial not only to maintain insurance policy performance, but to continuously maintain client expectations through frequent, transparent communication. To hear more of Marty’s insight, watch the video below.

Since most non-professional trustees don't have insurance industry experience, many of them may be unaware of all the responsibilities entrusted to them as well as the potential for liability exposure. In this video, we outline what exactly is required of non-professional trustees. To learn more about how Proformex supports non-professional trustees, watch the video below and visit our website.

Fiduciary duty is both a duty of loyalty and a duty of care. Since it's one of the highest obligations imposed by law, the potential consequences of failing to uphold this standard of care can be severe. 

Zaverl & Associates, Inc. has been around for nearly four decades. As a result, it quickly became impossible for them to manage life insurance policy performance across their entire book of business. See how Proformex helped to automate inforce policy management for them and help identify new business opportunities. 

During the 53rd Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, we had the opportunity to interview Michael Seltzer, Founding Member & Principal of Verite Group. In this video, he discusses the importance of maintaining credibility and always doing the right thing for his clients to ensure their satisfaction. Watch the full-length video below to hear more from Michael.

In this video, we review the responsibilities of a fiduciary and define who can legally be considered a fiduciary. Furthermore, we explore the high standards to which fiduciaries are held and the potential consequences that may arise when a fiduciary falls short of said standards. To learn more about how our inforce policy management platform helps to minimize fiduciary risk, watch the video below.

Richard Harris, Owner of Richard Harris LLC, discusses the ways in which he protects his client’s policies from lapsing. As a consultant, it’s important for him to be able to provide his clients with detailed analytics and extensive information regarding their life insurance policy and products so that they’re armed with enough education to make the right choices when it comes to their contracts. To hear more of Richard’s insight, watch the video below.

Trustees are legally considered fiduciaries and are thus held to strict fiduciary duties. Managing trusts can be complicated and time-consuming enough as it is, with various investments and assets of considerable worth. And on top of that, you have to make sure you're following industry best practices and helping trust beneficiaries achieve best possible outcomes.

It sounds overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Our team has created a handy guide to help you understand exactly what is required of you and how to best approach managing the trust.

Thomas Bishop, Owner of The Bishop Company LLC, shares his thoughts with us regarding the life insurance industry and the importance of a proactive approach to policy management. It’s much better to be aware of changes that can negatively impact the way a policy performs before those changes happen. For more of Tom’s insight, watch the video below.

Fiduciaries are obligated to always act in the best interest of their clients. The possibility of a fiduciary failing to do so is referred to as fiduciary risk. Watch this video to learn more about how Proformex helps fiduciaries avoid that risk.

In our Thought Leadership interview session with Bill Boersma, Owner of the OC Consulting Group, Bill emphasizes the importance of ongoing policy management. Without a system in place for monitoring policies, it can be very easy for something to slip through the cracks and cause irreparable damage. For Bill, it’s important not to let that happen. Hear more of his insight at the video below.

Annual policy reviews are time-consuming and costly. Imagine how you could reallocate your time and resources and put them to better use if you had a way to automate the policy review process. 

In order for succession planning to be seamless, life insurance agents must have an established process that addresses the biggest concerns for potential buyers of their practice. They must provide visibility to continued policyowner loyalty and future revenue potential among a multitude of other key components of the practice’s business. Proformex digitizes your entire book of business and helps agents give potential buyers the data they need. Learn more about how Proformex helps with succession planning in the video below.

During the 53rd Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, we had the chance to catch up with Nick Bowman, Advanced Market Specialist of Lion Street, and gather some of his insights about some of the bigger issues facing the industry today. From his perspective, he feels that a lack of transparency and a lack of second and third-generation producers coming in are two of the biggest challenges that the industry needs to overcome. To hear more, watch the video below.

 Are you missing out on new business opportunities with your current clients? Don’t wait until your annual reviews with your clients to find potential sales. Learn more about how Proformex can help you quickly identify these opportunities for easy sales.

Wondering how you can better attract and retain sales as a general agent? Our platform can help. With changes in state insurance regulations and increased product performance concerns, inforce policy management is becoming a major issue for the life insurance industry. GAs who have implemented automated inforce policy monitoring systems are benefiting not only in recruiting new producers, but also in increased production. Watch our latest video to learn more about how you can do the same.

Experienced entrepreneur and marketing executive brings strategy and vision

Whether you're a professional or non-professional trustee, you are held to strict fiduciary standards. Proformex can help you avoid unintended breach of those fiduciary duties. Did you know Proformex can help to establish processes to ensure that you're exceeding the standards to which you are held as a trustee? To demonstrate how Proformex supports ILIT management, we created the following video. Check it out to learn more about how we can help!

Annual policy reviews are essential to ensuring that policyowners' expectations are met. But they're both time consuming and costly. Did you know you that Proformex automates the policy review process and can even generate client-ready reports? By doing so, you'll save yourself time and money, and deliver a more consistent and comprehensive reporting experience to your clients. Watch our latest video to learn more about how Proformex helps with policy reviews.

A local foundation was gifted a $5M life insurance policy. When its premium payments increased 400% unexpectedly, Proformex quickly identified the problem and helped the foundation explore all their options to resolve this problem.

Proformex designed a new platform for increased user-friendliness and navigability

Toward the end of 2018, we shared with you a quick overview of the legislative changes made in New York regarding the “best interest” standard for fiduciaries that included a guide to help you determine what steps to take to prepare for said changes. Since then, Nevada state legislators have passed a law that requires all brokers and advisors to be held accountable to a strict fiduciary standard.

‘Tis the season of giving! Corporate philanthropy is engrained in so many company’s cultures, and our culture at Proformex is no different. One of our core values is being “purpose-driven” in every sense of the word. In addition to being ambitious professionally, our team is always seeking out opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others both in our work and our community outreach efforts.

Financial planning firm invests in advanced technology for in force policy management.

The process of researching, purchasing and maintaining a life insurance policy can be quite tedious and complex, but you don’t have to tackle it alone. Take a look at this handy guide put together by our friends at Forbes that walks you through the next steps.

Monitoring inforce life insurance performance relative to the original performance expectations can be a difficult task for agents, advisors, trustees and fiduciaries trying to protect their clients’ interests. Proformex was created to make InForce Policy Management easy. Our intuitive platform helps you monitor, analyze and manage the performance of your clients’ life insurance policies in a single, distribution-agnostic platform.

The Crisis

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal published an article, “Universal Life Insurance, a 1980s Sensation, Has Backfired”. The author, Leslie Scism, dives deeply into the ongoing crisis faced by many aging policyowners: a long decline in interest rates has caused their premiums to rise exponentially.

In our Thought Leadership interview session with Jon J. Pinney, Managing Partner of Kohrman, Jackson & Krantz, we discuss the state of the life insurance industry and the growing need for technologies that will help to automate cumbersome tasks and improve efficiencies. The Proformex inforce policy management platform is one of those technologies helping to advance the life insurance industry into a new era, and Mr. Pinney enjoys that the platform provides better transparency to his clients with detailed analytics and reporting. Hear more of his insights in the video below.

Change is coming from coast to coast following the precedent set by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) in July. Are you prepared for the inevitable ripple effect throughout the rest of the US?

Marc Byrnes, Chairman of Oswald Companies, discussed all the ways in which he believes the life insurance industry can improve in this Influencer Interview session. Adopting better technology is one thing he would like to see the industry do more of in coming years. That’s why his company uses Proformex. Our inforce policy management platform helps Oswald Companies to ensure they’re providing the best service to their policyowners while also reducing their fiduciary risk. Listen to more of his expert advice in the video below.

Life Insurance Technology Company Relocates to Larger Office Space

CLEVELAND, Ohio – November 27, 2018 – Proformex, creator of a proactive life insurance policy monitoring platform designed to give insurance agents, advisors and fiduciaries better oversight and visibility into the performance of in force life insurance policies, today announced that will relocate to Downtown Cleveland.

Tyler Horning and his firm, TDC Life, use Proformex to help mitigate fiduciary risk. In an age where regulations continue to become more stringent, it was important for Mr. Horning and his team to implement a comprehensive, consolidated solution for inforce policy management. Using Proformex to monitor performance on all their clients’ policies gives Horning and his firm peace of mind and helps to create new business opportunities. Learn more about why TDC Life chose Proformex in the video below.

Lindsey Smith of Cavitch, Familio & Durkin Co. was all too familiar with the anxieties that are often associated with life insurance policy management. Because he didn’t have a centralized location with well-organized data for all the policies entrusted to his company, he was not confident that policy performance was being properly supervised. Mr. Smith discovered Proformex and can now rest easy knowing that the Proformex inforce policy management platform is keeping close watch of all his clients’ policies and that he will be immediately notified if something falls off track. See how Proformex improves the firm’s operations through automation in the video below.

Earlier this month, our team had the pleasure of attending this year’s NAILBA conference, held in Orlando, FL. In addition to soaking up some sun, we had the opportunity to engage with industry peers and discuss some current hot topics of the life insurance world.