1978 - The name of Singapore Insurance
Agents Association (SIAA) was changed to LUA Singapore
during the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting held on 24 February.
The first Sales Congress was held from the 15 to 17 November.
The two main speakers were Messrs. Lawrence Wilkinson
and Bod Chambers from USA and Australia respectively.
There were a total of 299 paying delegates.
1980 - First visit to a country outside
USA by the President of MDRT, Mr. Millard Grauer. He challenged
LUA to send more members from Singapore to attend their
annual meetings. Singapore had only 5 MDRT members during
that time. He was also the main platform speaker at the
2nd Sales Congress "Challenges of the 80s"
The same year also saw the introduction of compulsory
examination for all new agents joining the life insurance
industry. This was initiated by LUA and supported by the
Insurance Commissioner's office. The examination was conducted
by the Singapore Insurance Training Centre.
1981- The LUATC training course was
brought in from the Australian LUA. LUA also conducted
the first training course for all the moderators.
1982 - Messrs. Norman Levine and Tom
Wolfe were invited as main platform speakers. These are
the heavy weights in the life insurance industry in the
USA that made powerful presentations to motivate our sales
people; indeed the concept of selling and professionalism
could be seen in our members subsequently.
1983 - The CPF board wanted to introduce
compulsory insurance protection set at $50,000 for all
CPF members. The late Mr. Ong Teng Chong - then Minister
of Communication (subsequently President of Singapore)
was the Guest-of-Honour at the Sales Congress. In his
speech, Mr. Vincent Chua argued that the idea of giving
insurance protection to all CPF members was laudable.
However, it would stifle the growth of insurance business
in Singapore given the fact that the average sum assured
at that time was about $30,000. The next day, a call came
for Mr. Chua from the CPF board inviting him to meet the
Chairman to give his views as to why such idea was not
feasible. LUA played a big part in convincing the board
to put the idea on hold. The idea never took off. Instead
the Board allowed the members' funds to be used for purchase
of insurance of their choice.
1987 - To reflect our corporate citizenship,
we embarked on our first major community service project
to help dialysis patients by raising funds for the National
Kidney Foundation. The campaign, supported by 250 LUA
members, raised $40,000 over a 5-month period.
1988 - LUA celebrated its 10th Anniversary.
Membership leapt by 25% during the year to a total of
1,700 members. The LUATC Alumni was formed to serve as
an avenue for fellowship among LUATC graduates.
1989 - To accommodate the growth in
the membership numbers and activities of LUA, we moved
into more spacious premises at Parklane Shopping Mall.
We also held our first LUA Mandarin Seminar to cater to
the growing number of mandarin-speaking members.
1990 - Membership surged beyond the
2,500 mark.
1991 - Membership almost doubled within
a year to nearly 4,000. The first LUA Mandarin Congress
was organised in recognition of the growing number of
bilingual and Mandarin-speaking members.
LUA Singapore played a leading role in the formation
of the Asia Pacific Life Insurance Council, which aims
to facilitate the mutual exchange of ideas, experiences
and industry changes among member countries in the Asia
Pacific. We also organised the 1st Asia Pacific Life Insurance
Congress with the theme "Beyond the Crossroads".
It was the first ever gathering of life insurance professionals
from the Asia Pacific region and Singapore's greatest
international life insurance event. Over 5,000 life insurance
agents attended the Congress.
1992 - We unveiled the first bilingual
issue of the LUA newsletter to cater to our bilingual
members.
1994 - We adopted the Life Underwriters
Training Council programme, one of the best programmes
for the professional development and training of life
insurance agents in the USA and around the world. This
replaced the LUATC Stage I and II courses. The LUTC started
by offering Personal and Business insurance courses, as
well as modules in Professional Growth and Fundamentals
of Financial Services.
1995 - LUA hosted the first Asia Pacific
Agency Managers Congress, the first large-scale life insurance
conference for agency leaders. A total of over 800 agency
managers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand,
Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, USA and Australia attended
the two and a half day event.
We moved to larger premises to cater to our record-breaking
membership of 7,000 life insurance agents and the establishment
of an education centre for advanced courses such as the
growth of LUTC courses.
In response to then Acting Minister for Community Development's
call to the insurance industry to increase its community
and charity work, we embarked on an ambitious charity
event to raise $500,000 for the Community Chest.
1996 - LUA launched the LUTC Professional
Ethics Programme to enhance the standards of professional
behavior in the industry.
Our community service took a quantum leap forward when
we embarked on a campaign to raise $1.5 million to set
up the LUA - NKF Dialysis Centre.
1997 - LUA, in collaboration with RMIT
University, Australia, and the Singapore Institute of
Management, launched the Bachelor of Business (Financial
Planning), with the aim to assist our members to develop
broad business analytical skills and increase technical
knowledge of personal financial planning. The course focuses
on the application of economic, finance and legal matters
pertaining to personal financial planning.
Our newsletter was revamped and renamed 'Coverage' to
reflect the changing needs and demands of our members.
New features included a forum page to facilitate communication
between LUA and our members, lifestyle articles for personal
development and a classifieds section.
1998 - LUA celebrated its 20th Anniversary
with the launch of The Life Insurance Practitioner of
the Year Award to recognise the contribution of life insurance
practitioners to the industry and the community and to
identify role models for other practitioners.
1999 - The LUA - NKF Dialysis Centre
was officially opened on 30 January 1999 as a testimony
to the generosity and caring hearts of LUA members.
LUA launched the Associate Financial Consultant (AFC),
a formal accreditation for life insurance professionals
who have completed specified professional or academic
courses in financial planning, as well as the LUTC Retirement
Planning Course to equip our members to address the special
needs of customers in anticipation of Singapore's aging
population.
2000 - A historic milestone was reached
when LUA moved into its own 5-storey building in Hong
Kong Street, with increased training facilities to cater
to the growing demand for its courses and fulfill its
fundamental mission to equip members with the latest industry
knowledge through professional courses, seminars and congresses.
2001 - LUA launched the MBA Financial
Services certification in conjunction with Vancouver University,
Canada, and CPPD Systems Associates, to provide training
in marketing of financial services, strategy making process,
management control systems, advanced financial planning
(including IT applications), investment planning and global
investment opportunities, and research methodology.
2003 - At an extra-ordinary general
meeting on 24 January 2003, the Association passed a resolution
to change its name to the Insurance and Financial Practitioners
Association of Singapore to reflect its renewed vision
and objectives as it re-positions itself to meet the changing
needs of its members operating in a new and challenging
financial environment.
We launched the Fellow Chartered Financial Practitioner (FChFP) designation, the common professional designation for Asia Pacific Financial Services Association (APFinSA) members. It denotes the highest level of professional competency recognised by the APFinSA fraternity.
From 20 - 22 February 2003, - We hosted
the 7th Asia Pacific Life Insurance Council Congress at
the Singapore Expo, the largest insurance conference in
the region. It was attended by about 9,000 participants
from 18 countries. Mr. Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Health
and Second Minister for Finance, officiated at the opening
ceremony as the guest-of-honour.
