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Articles as Sales Tools

One common method agents may use to position themselves in a particular market is by writing articles for magazines or newsletters that serve those markets. Besides the exposure such articles bring, they also provide the agent with an aura of authority. As a result, agents sometimes publish articles in order to develop a reputation as an authority in a particular field or as a specialist in the needs of a specific target market.

In light of the ultimate intent to generate business, an article should be considered an advertisement and judged ethically by the criteria that apply to advertising. As with all other forms of advertising in the insurance and investment business, the information provided must be factually correct, understandable to the expected audience, and not misleading.

Company-Provided Articles

As insurers and broker-dealers have come to appreciate the importance of positioning agents within target markets, many companies now maintain a large library of articles on various financial and insurance subjects suitable for many markets. Often, the agent needs only to add his or her name to the article and send it to the publisher.

Since these articles are usually written by home office specialists and reviewed by compliance attorneys, they can be expected to be factually correct and not misleading.

The Two Ethical Concerns
⚠ Concern 1 — Authorship
The purported author did not actually write the piece — it was written by a home office specialist.
⚠ Concern 2 — Implied Expertise
The agent may not possess the expertise and specialized knowledge implied by the published article.
How to Resolve Each Concern
✔ Resolution 1
Use language clearly stating the article is made available by the agent rather than having been written by him or her.
✔ Resolution 2
Ensure the agent does not have articles published unless he or she actually possesses the expertise implied by the article.
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