Most associations rely on two time-tested strategies for their advocacy efforts: storytelling and congressional champions. With the first approach, an association launches a grassroots campaign encouraging the public to contact their representatives in Congress with personal stories related to the issue at hand. In the second strategy, the organization identifies a member of Congress who would be a natural ally and then gets the member to champion, or promote, the desired position among their legislative peers.

Usually, organizations approach these influence-building methods separately. But what if your association married these strategies? Imagine the impact of a congressional champion who understands your industry, has experience with it, and shares stories of his or her own to humanize the issue and affirm your industry’s value!

These members of Congress broaden the reach of your industry’s message beyond leadership and the usual committees. When your issue moves out of committee, you have conversant rank-and-file members of Congress available to deliver anecdotes about the value of your industry. They make ideal industry caucus members, too.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) works with more than 90 lawmakers who have a connection to the industry and have become storytelling champions. They sponsor legislation, ask knowledgeable questions during hearings, participate in industry-related caucuses, provide regulatory oversight, and share their anecdotes in a variety of settings.

Here’s how a few NAIFA allies on Capitol Hill are using storytelling informed by their backgrounds to underscore the value of insurance:

Membership experience. During congressional hearings, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), a former NAIFA member, continually asks questions that reveal to witnesses and members the value of risk-based products. His association experience facilitates his efforts to help shape well-informed policy.

Imagine the impact of a congressional champion who understands your industry, has experience with it, and shares stories of his or her own to humanize the issue and affirm your industry’s value!

First-person experience. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) shares how long-term-care insurance covers assisted-living expenses for one of her loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease. Her understanding of the coming “silver surge” creates much-needed conversations about how to cover long-term-care costs for a burgeoning population of seniors.  

Professional experience. Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), ranking member of the House’s tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, cochairs the bipartisan Financial Security and Life Insurance Caucus. As a former life insurance agent, he understands the role life insurance and other risk-protection products play in achieving financial security for families. Earlier in this Congress, the caucus hosted NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, whose stop at the Capitol to discuss the importance of families getting life insurance was arranged with help from Neal.

Another storytelling champion who draws from professional experience is Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), who cochairs the bipartisan Retirement Security Caucus. He talks of how his family business, Kelly Chevrolet-Cadillac, Inc., provides a retirement plan for its employees, but that he didn’t appreciate the plan’s critical importance until employees began to retire. The retirees expressed their appreciation and said there was no way they would have been able to retire if the dealership hadn’t provided the plan and encouraged them to save.

This bipartisan group of lawmakers ensures that policymakers have a better understanding of life insurance and financial services so that resulting policy doesn’t unintentionally discourage savings or financial risk protection.

Choosing Champions

When looking for industry-knowledgeable, storytelling members of Congress, a good place to start is to see which members hold leadership positions or committee assignments related to your industry. Then, identify those who have a personal connection to it.

NAIFA tracks members of Congress who are former insurance agents or advisors, who have a parent or sibling in the business, who were former insurance commissioners, and who have personally relied on insurance products to manage financial risks.

Associations can uncover personal connections in several ways:

• You can scan official bios searching for industry references.
• During Hill meetings and fly-ins, lobbyists and attendees can ask how familiar a member is with your industry. This open-ended question will often ferret out any ties, which should be documented by the association.
• Let industry coalition partners know your association tracks industry relationships and offer to share the list with them. In turn, ask them to notify you if they learn of members with industry connections.
• While it is far better to obtain the information in person, surveys and emails requesting industry familiarity are useful.

With your list of potential connections in hand, you can boost your association’s effectiveness by encouraging these members of Congress to share their positive industry experiences. If you wish to share their experiences, remember to obtain prior approval, as some of the information can be sensitive. For example, insurance industry stories are often about the death of a loved one and might not be a topic the lawmaker wants publicly reported.