| American Fidelity Educational Services (AFES) could teach the class in providing
quality supplemental insurance and investment products supported by financial services that are advantageous
to those within the educational community.
We know and respect our Customer, providing quality protection such as our
disability income protection endorsed by the National Education Association.
AFES is proud of connecting with more than 3,900 school districts through our Section 125
offerings. We remain further committed to serving the needs of those in our schools by
spanning the nation with licenses in 49 states and the District of Columbia, plus maintaining
offices or manpower in 37 states.
|
American Fidelity Educational Services’ achievements in 2007 included
great progress in our return on equity and marked an all-time high for unit value growth success at 17.1 percent.
I am proud of the continued growth in our core market within the primary and
secondary education community. We achieved a record number of Customers
in 2005 while expanding our market reach. I am also pleased with
our market acceptance as we rolled out new approaches in the automobile
dealer arena, another core market. We especially saw good results
from this line of business in the latter part of the year. Our relatively
small – but growing – niche market in off-shore life
insurance continues to develop nicely. And our Mississippi operation,
American Public Life, showed dramatically improved performance over
the previous year.
In addition, AFA once again earned the distinction of being the
highest-ranked insurance company on Fortune magazine’s list
of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America.
This honor is an outgrowth of our company’s commitment to
be an employer of choice.
|
Our past accomplishments prompt further expectations and
drive increased efforts for 2008. Key steps include becoming the 403(b) administrator
for our current Section 125 school systems and in turn gaining new Section 125 accounts
by providing 403(b) administration services.
With increased sales and service efforts come anticipated field
distribution growth and a goal for an eight percent boost in field representatives. At
the same time, we look to expand the advanced knowledge base of our home office Colleagues
with continued education opportunities.
AFES will continue to make strides in expense reduction with technological advancements including
the complete automation of claims payment processes and the expansion of Web-based enrollment
capabilities on the horizon.
|
