Life and Annuity Distributor Starts Agent Rights Petition

The head of a life and annuity field marketing organization wants to make it easier for agents to switch from one distributor to another.

Brett Blake, the chief executive officer of Annuity.com, has started a Change.org petition that calls for FMOs and other distributors, such as independent marketing organizations, to provide agents with contract release forms upon request.

The petition also calls for insurers to stop letting IMOs require agents to get releases before the submitting applications to the insurers through different distributors.

Some agents feel as if distributors hold them hostage, Blake said.

It’s not clear how many distributors try to lock agents in, Blake said in an email. He said the performance of the petition will show how common the problem is.

The petition received 26 signatures within a day of being posted but will need thousands of signatures to have much weight, Blake said. He noted that the Change.org website generates signature goal indicators that are unrelated to the campaign’s own goals.

What it means: Maintaining good relationships between client-level financial professionals and distributors is not always easy.