House of Cards & SNL Fans in for a Treat at 2014 Legal Seminar

NOLHGA’s 2014 Legal Seminar will be its most fashionable yet--and a special treat for fans of great television. Tom Broecker, a six-time Emmy nominee for his costume designs for shows such as Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, and House of Cards, will speak at the seminar luncheon and share his insights into the entertainment world and his behind-the-scenes stories from some of the most influential shows of the past few decades.

Broecker, who has also provided costume designs for many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, was nominated twice this year for a Costume Designer’s Guild Award in the Outstanding Contemporary Television Series category, for his work on Saturday Night Live and House of Cards. He won for House of Cards, Netflix’s wildly popular political drama series. At the seminar, he will share his perspectives on some of the iconic looks he’s created over the years for Tina Fey, Robin Wright, and others.

NOLHGA’s 22nd Annual Legal Seminar will take place on July 17–18, 2014, at the New York Hilton Midtown. The seminar will be held in conjunction with an MPC meeting on July 15–16. NOLHGA has secured a room rate for these meetings of $259 (single)/$269 (double) per night plus tax, and reservations can be made through the meeting Web page.

The registration fee for the 2014 Legal Seminar is $850, with a $55 “early bird” discount on all registrations received by June 6; there is no fee to attend the MPC meeting, though some events may be restricted to guaranty association members only.

If you have any trouble accessing the Legal Seminar Web page, please contact Dan Hicks at [email protected] or 703.787.4112. If you have any questions about the seminar, contact Meg Melusen at [email protected] or 703.787.4130.

  Staff Contact - MPC Meets in St. Louis

The Members’ Participation Council (MPC) met in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 8–10, 2014. Task force meetings or presentations were held for the Universal Health Care Insurance Company (Florida), Universal Life/Booker T. Washington Insurance Companies (Alabama), Medical Savings Insurance Company (Indiana), and Penn Treaty Network America/American Network Insurance Companies (Pennsylvania) task forces.

The meeting also featured Administrators Education Steering Committee presentations on: new products, by Mark Hopfinger of RGA Reinsurance Company; Medicare C/D coverage issues, by Andrea Bowers (South Carolina), Kevin Griffith (Faegre Baker Daniels), Lowell Miller (North Carolina), and Paul Peterson (NOLHGA); and business continuity planning, by Linda Becker (Kansas), Janis Potter (Illinois), Charles Renn (Missouri), and Tom Sullivan (Iowa). Meetings of the MPC Executive Committee and Accounting Issues Committee were also held.

In addition to the task force report below, the General Session featured an update on the activities of the Security Advisory Committee by Co-Chair Candie Kinch (Idaho and Oregon) and reports on NAIC activity and the GA Laws Committee’s activities by Bill O’Sullivan (NOLHGA). NOLHGA President Peter Gallanis provided an update on financial services modernization and regulatory activity, and MPC Chair John Colpean briefed attendees on MPC Executive Committee activity.

  Staff Contact - Sean McKenna Executive Life Insurance Company of New York/GABC

ELNY Task Force Chair and GABC Board Member Jack Falkenbach (Delaware) reported that GABC had completed the true-up process with the ELNY estate and had filed its first official financial regulatory statement with the District of Columbia’s Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking. He also reviewed GABC’s 2013 financials and reported that the Hardship Fund (a fund for former ELNY payees founded by a consortium of life insurance companies, separate from GABC) began distributing funds to qualifying payees in mid-March.

Task Force Chair - Jack Falkenbach;   Staff Contact -

Former NOLHGA Board Member Robert Hasling Passes Away

Robert Hasling, who served on the NOLHGA Board of Directors from 1986–1992 as Chair, Vice Chair, and Treasurer, passed away on April 9, 2014, at the age of 84. In addition to his work with NOLHGA, he spent 45 years at Minnesota Mutual Insurance Company.

  Staff Contact - Sean McKenna