REALTORS® DENTAL INSURANCE  

       
Marketing and Business Development is pleased to announce an exciting new benefit available exclusively to NAR members and REALTOR® Association staff-- REALTORS® Dental Insurance (RDI). This benefit is offered through NAR's REALTOR Benefits® Program in partnership with Ameritas Insurance Company and SASid (Smart And Simple insurance development).  

NAR understands the unique needs of its members who, as independent contractors and small business owners, often do not have access to quality and affordable health and welfare insurance.  Following the successful launch of a limited medical insurance offering (RCHI), the Association has continued to work with experts in the insurance industry to develop unique offerings to meet this need.   REALTORS® Dental Insurance has been custom-designed to offer affordable and valuable large group Dental insurance benefits to NAR members and their families nationwide.  Plans provide coverage for preventive, basic, and major dental expenses with the dentist of your choice. There are 4 plans to choose from, and most plans include bonus benefits like orthodontia, cosmetic, dental rewards, and more.  The plans are available today in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam and in every state except NH, where state law prohibits it, and NC, where the plan has been filed by the carrier and is pending approval by the state’s Department of Insurance.

The following Fact Sheet details this new member benefit offering.  If you have questions about this or the REALTOR Benefits® Program, please contact me at x8269 or a member of the REALTOR Benefits® Team listed in the Contact Information section below.

Thanks,

BOBG

 

WHAT:    REALTORS® Dental Insurance (RDI) – dental insurance plans and rates exclusively designed for NAR members.        
       
LAUNCH DATE:    July 12, 2010

WHO IS ELIGIBLE
REALTORS® Dental Insurance is available to active NAR members and REALTOR® Association staff.
 
* Plans are available today in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam and in every state except NH, where state law prohibits it, and NC, where the plan has been filed by the carrier and is pending approval by the state’s Department of Insurance.  Members in these states can check with their State Department of Insurance directly on the status of approval for these programs.  

Eligible dependants (spouse and/or children) may be added to a member’s plan.  See plan for details.

BACKGROUND  
85% of Americans report awareness that their oral health is very important to their overall health.  
The #1 reason people do not go to the dentist is lack of dental insurance.
Dental Insurance is the 2nd most requested benefit to be offered by employers.
REALTORS® are in a profession where meeting face-to-face with customers and appearance is key to their confidence and ultimately their success.

NAR is pleased to introduce REALTORS® Dental Insurance, an affordable and guaranteed-acceptance dental insurance program designed exclusively for REALTORS®.

PROGRAM BENEFITS & HIGHLIGHTS

REALTORS® Dental Insurance Plan Benefits:
Over 300 covered procedures. Highlights include:
• Preventive Dental Benefits (no deductible): Routine exams, cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants, and more
• Basic Dental Benefits: Full mouth X-rays, bitewings, amalgam restoration, simple and complex extractions, surgical removal of teeth, deep sedation/general anesthesia, and more
• Major Dental Benefits: Onlays, maxillary partial denture - resin base, denture repair, endodontics - root canal, periodontal scaling and root planning, crown and crown repairs, pontics - porcelain fused to noble metal, and more
Bonus Benefits:
• Bonus benefits are available with Platinum, Gold, and Silver Plans.
• Orthodontia Benefits:  A lifetime benefit available to dependent children of the plan.
• Cosmetic Benefits: Professional tooth bleaching, also referred to as whitening, has become a popular cosmetic procedure.
• Dental Rewards:  a valuable feature which allows qualifying plan members to carryover part of their unused annual maximum.
• An additional benefit from Ameritas:  Members enrolled in REALTORS® Dental Insurance also have access to Laser Vision Correction Benefits through "LASIK Advantage" which provides coverage for LASIK and related procedures including standard LASIK, Custom LASIK, LASIK with Wavefront Technology, Custom Vue LASIK, LASIK with IntraLase technology and Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK). Members earn a lifetime benefit per eye over time.

 

The Board of Directors passed a change to Article 10 of the NAR Code of Ethics barring REALTORS® from denying equal professional services on the basis of sexual orientation or from discriminating against any person on the basis of sexual orientation. Standard of Practice 10-3 was amended as well to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in any advertisements for selling or renting property. The Code of Ethics change must still go before the NAR Delegate Body for approval at NAR’s annual conference in November.
Despite the tough economy, NAR continues to focus resources on keeping its members central to the transaction well into the future by moving forward with two Second Century Initiatives, the REALTORS® Property Resource and REALTOR® University.
REALTORS® Property Resource
Upon completion, the REALTORS® Property Resource will contain deep information on every property and parcel of land in the country. About 1,000 NAR members are testing the RPR software in 12 markets, said RPR CEO Dale Ross. Members are also testing the applications that will deploy the data on handheld devices. Once testing is competed, the 12 beta markets will be the first in which the database is rolled out. NAR continues to buy and license the public record data that will comprise the core of the database. The goal is to overlay all that data with data from MLSs. Ross emphasized that RPR will not license or syndicate MLS data. The information will be used solely for creating deep analytical reports — the hallmark of the product — for use by REALTORS®. Full roll-out is expected to take five to six years.
REALTOR® University
REALTOR® University is the association’s initiative for raising the bar in the profession by undertaking an accredited, degree-granting university. A blue-ribbon panel started work earlier this year on the initiative, which will result in a master's degree program with majors in real estate sales and marketing, real estate brokerage, and appraisal, among others. It’s expected to take two to three years for the institution to become accredited. "If you want the 'university' attached to REALTOR®, you have to play by (academia's) rules," said Richard Rosenthal, CRE, of Venice, Calif., NAR’s liaison for special projects.
Students will access the REALTOR® University curriculum online. In addition to master's degrees, the university will eventually feature internship and job-placement programs, as well as an applied research center.
NAR Financials Strong
Although it’s been a difficult two years, NAR remains in strong financial shape. The association’s 2009 financial statements received an unqualified opinion of conformance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles from its accounting firm, Crowe Horwath LLP, according to Treasurer James L. Helsel Jr. In addition, 2010 membership stands at 1,079,000, nearly 2 percent above budget.
Against this backdrop, the Board voted to maintain NAR dues at $80 and keep the Public Awareness Campaign special assessment at $35 for the three-year budget cycle, 2011–13.
2011 Leadership
The board recognized the association’s 2011 slate of officers:
President: Ronald Phipps, Warwick, R.I.
President-elect: Maurice “Moe� Veissi, South Miami, Fla.
First Vice President: Gary Thomas, Aliso Viejo, Calif.
Treasurer: Bill Armstrong, Damascas, Md.
The Treasurer seat was contested: Armstrong was elected over Mike McGrew of Lawrence, Kan., by ballot during the meeting.
Professional Standards, MLS Policy Changes
In addition to the vote to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the Board passed a number of policy changes.
• Established authority of MLSs to require, as a matter of local discretion, submission of photographs, drawings, or renderings of listed property as a condition of inclusion in MLS.
• Established authority of MLSs to require, as a matter of local discretion, submission of legally required seller disclosure forms as a condition of inclusion in the MLS.
• Clarified that, if time on market and price change information are collected by the MLS, those fields cannot be treated as confidential and may be provided to clients and customers; however, MLSs may prohibit inclusion of time on market and price changes in advertising, including IDX, by other participants.
• Amended the Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual to give associations discretionary authority to refund portions of parties’ filing fees if the dispute is successfully resolved through mediation.
• The directors also amended MLS policy statement 7.23. MLSs that permit listing participants to communicate to other participants how reductions in gross commissions will be apportioned between listing and cooperating participants in a short sale will now have additional discretionary authority to require listing participants to give cooperating participants written notice of the total reduction in gross commissions, and the resulting reduction in cooperative compensation.
• Work group will be formed to look at two IDX-related issues: whether national franchise organizations should be permitted to index IDX listings and whether RSS feeds can include IDX listings.
• In a separate measure, the Board took action to apply the same ethical standards to REALTOR® association that apply to their members. Under the change, associations are prohibited from making false or misleading statements about other associations. The board also approved procedures for addressing accusations of violations.
Reports
Distinguished Service Awards
The 2010 Distinguished Service Award recipients were announced. Joe Hanauer, CIPS, CRE, of Laguna Beach, Calif., and Fred Prassas, CPM, GRI, of La Crosse, Wis., will be formally recognized at the 2010 Annual Meeting in New Orleans in November.
Legal Action Funding
Funding of $178,983 was approved for four cases involving a commission dispute, whether administrative fees charged by a brokerage violates RESPA, the legality of a brokerage’s mortgage lending and title operations, and defense of a patent-infringement case.
REALTORS® Federal Credit Union
The REALTORS® Federal Credit Union, launched last year, has $60 million in deposits, making it bigger than almost 80 percent of all credit unions after just one year, reported Tom Glatt, CEO. Other stats: 133 local associations, 24 state associations, and 18 MLS have their funds on deposit with the credit union, accounting for about $30 million.
REALTOR.com
The official property listing site remains far above its competition in site traffic, recording 12 million unique users in April. That was a record in the 14-year site history, according to NAR’s Move Inc. board representative Cathy Whatley. (Move Inc. operates REALTOR.com on behalf of NAR.) The site enjoyed 24 percent growth over last year. With 17.5 million visits and 400 million page views each month, the site is seeing serious engagement, says REALTOR.com President Errol Samuelson said in a report to the board. REALTOR.com’s iPhone app, the fastest growing iPhone app in the real estate space with more than 700,000 downloads, gives mobile users access to all listings at the site. Consumers can add their own notes on each property, share properties with their listing agent, and post listings to Twitter and Facebook.
REALTORS® Political Action Committee
Donations are more than halfway toward the association’s goal for 2010 and stand at 9 percent over where donations were at this time last year, said Chris Polychron, CRS, GRI, NAR’s political fundraising liaison. The number of major donors is up 3 percent, said Phil Smaby, GRI, RPAC Major Donor Council chair. Smaby announced a goal of having 1 percent of members reach major donor status by 2015.
Broker Involvement Program
Membership in the program—which enables real estate agents to learn about legislative Calls for Action directly through their broker—has increased to more than 4,000, with 400 applications for brokers pending, said Bob McMillan, Member Mobilization liaison. The goal is to sign up 6,000 brokers by the end of the year.

Call for Action
The Board was advised of an NAR Call for Action tomorrow on two issues of concern mainly to practitioners working with investors. NAR will be asking members to urge their members of Congress not to penalize real estate partnerships in proposed tax changes to the carried interest of general partners in investment partnerships, and to vote against changes to Form 1099 filing requirements that could impose a substantial administrative burden on rental property owners.

President Vicki Cox Golder exhorted members to participate in the CFA even if the issue doesn’t concern them directly. "Just because an issue doesn’t impact you,� she said, “it’s still important you respond because the next issue that comes up could impact you."

 

Confused about recent health care legislation? Learn how health insurance reform will affect you, your family, and your business with the help of REALTOR.org's frequently asked questions and updated summary information.
Just Click HERE for all the info

HAFA Changes—Short Sale Negotiators Will Not Be Paid from Real Estate Commissions

On March 12, 2010, the Treasury Department posted Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and two revised forms for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). HAFA takes effect on April 5, 2010, but servicers may implement early (apparently none have done so, to date). Of particular interest to REALTORS®, Q4000 changes the way short sale negotiators/vendors hired by the servicer are to be paid. Instead of being paid from the real estate commission, they will instead be paid from the sales proceeds or by the servicer outside of the sales transaction—a significant improvement. But instead of allowing the commission stated in the listing agreement, Q4000 provides for the servicer to specify the allowable commission. NAR will be raising concerns about this change with the Treasury Department. The following link describes this and other important FAQs in more detail. http://go-to.realtor.org/r/IY67XN/FDXI9/JIQTAP/RWMSD/XVAMO/6C/h/ - Contacts: Jeff Lischer, 202-383-1117 Contacts: Tony Hutchinson, 202-383-1120

The Washington Report - A Weekly Report on Legislative and Regulatory Issues

NAR Testifies for Affordable Property Insurance
NAR Submits Written Statement on Residential Energy Efficiency Proposal
Leasehold Improvements Renewal Efforts Underway
USDA Rural Housing 502 Program Running Out of Money
NAR Testifies Before Congress on FHA Changes
NAR Responds to Use of BPOs in HAFA Program

Read more...
http://www.realtor.org/fedistrk.nsf/pages/wk03152010?OpenDocument&WT.mc_id=LS031710&CAT=Gov