This past year was a momentous one for the Knights of Columbus Insurance program. Let me just highlight a few of the many milestones.
·         The Order issued more life insurance than ever before in our history: $7.57 billion.
·         Our total insurance in force reached a new high of $74 billion. To put this remarkable number in perspective, consider that at the end of 1999, just 10 years ago, we stood at $38 billion.
·         Our field force continues to grow, and we finished the year with a net gain of new agents.
·         In July, we held our first ever Field Agent Sales Conference in St. Louis, MO, an event that gathered nearly half our field force for presentations on how to better serve their members and their families.
·         During 2009, we celebrated an extraordinary nine months that were in the “best ever” category. Records were set in February, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November.
·         Our annuity business saw record growth from 2008 to 2009. The number of annuity plans issued in 2009 more than doubled from those issued in 2008, with over 19,000 new annuities issued to our members and their families.
·         Our AAA (Extremely Strong) rating from Standard and Poor’s was reaffirmed for the 17th consecutive year and our A++ (Superior) rating from A.M. Best was reaffirmed for the 34th consecutive year. Additionally, we were again certified by the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA) for our ethical business and marketing practices. At the close of 2009, we were among only three U.S. insurers with all three of these distinctions. In Canada, we were the only insurer with these three.
·         2009 marked the ninth consecutive year our issued life insurance increased over the previous year.
·         Our number of associate members becoming insured members also grew, showing more of our brothers availed themselves and their families to our products. When the 2009 totals are included, we can claim that during the past five years, more than 103,000 members of the Knights of Columbus joined the ranks of our insured members by whether purchasing life insurance, long-term care or a retirement product.
What does all of this mean to you? First, it means that you can take great pride in the success your organization is having in fulfilling the vision of Father Michael J. McGivney by caring for the financial security of our members and their families. Second, in case you haven’t already, this would be a great time to get on the bandwagon and have a discussion with your agent. If you don’t know who he is, please visit www.kofc.org and click on “Find an Agent” or click on the "Field Agents" link on the left. You’ll be glad you did.