Constitution and By-Laws

ARTICLE I - NAME

The name of the organization shall be the Northern California Life Insurance Association (NCLIA).

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE

The purpose of the Association shall be to increase the scope of knowledge of underwriting principles of the individual members through oral presentation, papers, discussions, meetings, and other such desirable methods. All ideas, opinions and suggestions shall be those of individuals and no member shall be bound by any suggestion that may be advanced; it being the sole purpose of the Association to increase and improve knowledge of the participants, not to formulate or recommend any underwriting procedure or practice.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

The regular membership of the Association shall be composed of individuals associated with or employed by insurance companies in the selection of risks or analysis of claims for life, accident, long term care, and/or health insurance.

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Officers shall consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer who, together, shall constitute the Executive Committee. The Officers shall be elected from the membership at the December meeting (Holiday Party) and shall hold office for a term of one year for each position (i.e. one year for Treasurer, one year for Secretary), or until their successors have been elected.

ARTICLE V - DUTIES OF OFFICERS

President: Once the President takes office, he or she shall write a letter soliciting membership for the coming year. This letter shall be provided to the incoming Treasurer to distribute to past and potential members, as per the Treasurer’s duties. The President shall be responsible for opening and closing all meetings and introducing NCLIA members. The President shall follow-up with other Officers on future meetings and time-frames. She/he shall solicit donations from various member companies, vendors, and reinsurers in order to maintain a workable checking account balance. Sponsorship solicitations shall include requesting that gifts be donated for raffle at the December meeting (Holiday Party). At the December meeting (Holiday Party), the President shall recognize all sponsors of the year and present a representative from each sponsoring company with a certificate of appreciation. If no representatives are able to attend the meeting, verbal recognition should still be made and the certificate mailed to the representative within one week. In addition, any past Presidents attending the December meeting (Holiday Party) should also be recognized. The President shall request nominations for future office holders and preside over their election. The President shall call the Vice President (or incoming President, if a different person) to the podium and present him or her with the NCLIA Presidential Gavel and turn the meeting over to him/her as the new President of the Association. In January or February of the year following the President’s period in office, the President shall set up the Officer’s Dinner and Meeting in order to assist incoming Officers in their roles for the upcoming years. At this meeting, the outgoing President shall provide the incoming President with any materials or documentation collected or obtained during his/her term that may assist the incumbent with his/her duties. Should it be determined that additional Executive Committee meetings are necessary throughout the year, the current presiding President shall be responsible for setting up those meetings. Each office shall assist in the solicitation of members, member attendees, and gifts for the Holiday Party raffle from the company that he or she works for.

Vice President: The Vice President shall serve as program chairman and select speakers for the first three meetings of the year. The speaker should be selected at least two months prior to the meeting date. The Vice President shall coordinate with the Secretary on meeting location, as would be suit the speaker. The Vice President shall provide a gift for the speaker, not to exceed $30.00 (or as the bank account warrants), to be presented at the conclusion of the speaker’s presentation. The Vice President shall introduce the speaker at the meetings and ensure that all the speaker’s technical needs are met for the purpose of the presentation. The Vice President shall serve as webmaster, and maintain the Association’s website, keeping it updated with new information as appropriate. The Vice President shall also be responsible for searching for new insurance companies in the area who may be interested in participating in the Association’s activities. Upon receipt of the list of members from the Treasurer, the Vice President shall compile a membership booklet to be distributed to all members, if the funds are available to do so. The Vice President shall create the certificates of appreciation, and provide them to the outgoing President for presentation at the December meeting (Holiday Party). The Vice President shall obtain a token of the Association’s appreciation for the service of the outgoing President (usually an engraved, wooden plaque with a gavel) and present it to the outgoing President after being elected into that office. At the December meeting (Holiday Party), after dinner the Vice President (new President) shall preside over the gift raffle. At the Executive Committee meeting, the outgoing Vice President shall provide the incoming Vice President with any materials or documentation collected or obtained during his or her term that may assist the incumbent with his/her duties. Each officer shall assist in the solicitation of members, meeting attendees, and gifts for the Holiday Party raffle from the company that he or she works for.

Secretary: The Secretary shall arrange all the meetings and ensure that all members, sponsors, and interested parties are notified of each event. The Secretary shall select the venue for each meeting, coordinating with the Vice President to find a location that best suits the speaker, but ensuring the meetings are fairly distributed throughout the area in fairness to our members (i.e. San Francisco, Marin County, and the East Bay.) The Secretary shall work with the chosen venue to determine the event date, time, requirements (i.e. room size, podium, etc.), and dinner selections (typically one beef and one chicken, fish, or vegetarian dish.) Once the logistics of each meeting is determined, the Secretary shall create a flyer with any pertinent information (i.e. meeting date, time, location, speaker, dinner selections, RSVP instructions, driving directions, etc.) and send a copy to each person on the distribution list provided by the Treasurer, at least one month prior to the meeting. The flyer should indicate that any prospective attendees should RSVP to the Treasurer, and must provide payment for the event no later than two weeks prior to the meeting date. A copy of the flyer, and any other pertinent information shall be provided to the Vice President so he/she can make any necessary changes to the Association website. The Secretary may follow-up with member companies, vendors, and other interested parties to solicit attendees, if appropriate. The Secretary shall coordinate with the Treasurer to determine the total number of attendees for each meeting, and their dinner selections, and provide the final counts to the venue within the timeframe specified by the contract. At each event, the Secretary shall assist the Treasurer with the attendee check-in process. Each officer shall assist in the solicitation of members, meeting attendees, and gifts for the Holiday Party raffle from the company that he/she works for.

Treasurer: The Treasurer shall maintain the Association’s bank account and provide a treasury report at the first meeting of the year. The Treasurer shall ensure that all financial and regulatory business of the Association is accurate and up-to-date. This shall include, but not be limited to, verifying 501(c)(3) and tax exempt status with the State of California and the federal government, and paying any Association bills that have come due (i.e. The Company Corporation.) The Treasurer shall obtain the membership solicitation letter from the President, and sent it with an updated membership application for the coming year to any past or potential members or member companies. The Treasurer shall collect all membership dues and deposit them into the Association bank account. The Treasurer shall compile all completed membership applications, and create and maintain roster of Association members. This membership list shall be provided to the Vice President for creation of the membership booklet. The Treasurer will be responsible for maintaining the distribution list of past and potential members to use for events and membership solicitations for future years. For each meeting, the Treasurer shall keep track of all incoming RSVPs including name of attendee, company, dinner selection, payment status, and membership status. The Treasurer shall be responsible for ensuring that each attendee has paid the correct amount for the meeting, and shall also create nametags for each person. The Treasurer shall provide receipts to each attendee upon receipt of payment for the event. At the beginning of each event the Treasurer, with the assistance of the Secretary, will greet each attendee, ensure that each person is on the RSVP list, has paid for the event, and is provided with his/her nametag and the appropriate number of drink tickets (one for speaker events, unless sponsorship has provided more, and two for the Holiday Party.) The Treasurer shall also be responsible for indicating on each nametag which dinner selection has been chosen by each attendee in a way that is easily understood by the wait-staff. The indication chosen shall be relayed to the Secretary so the system can be explained to the venue. Each officer shall assist in the solicitation of members, meeting attendees, and gifts for the Holiday Party raffle from the company that he/she works for.

ARTICLE VI - MEETINGS

Meetings of the Association shall be held on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday in each quarter of the year. The dates and locations of the meeting shall be determined by the Executive Committee in a way that best accommodates event speakers and the convenience of the members. The December meeting will be held in the first week of the month, on a date determined by the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE VII - QUORUM

Three members present at any meeting of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS

This Constitution and By-Laws may be amended by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the membership, provided that a copy of the proposed amendment has been sent to all members at least 30 days prior to a meeting.

ARTICLE IX - FINANCES

The annual membership fees shall be determined by the Executive Committee. Proceeds are to be used for the operation of the organization as approved by the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE X - DISSOLUTION

In the event of the dissolution of the NCLIA, funds, after expenses, left in the Association account will be dispersed to insurance-related non-profit associations. The recipients of the funds will be determined by the Executive Committee.