Frequently Asked Questions

1. Award eligibility

Who is eligible to apply?

2026 MDRT Culture of Excellence Award applicants must be 2025 MDRT Center members (joining no later than April 1, 2025) and must also be 2026 MDRT Center members.

Can a direct manager and an upline manager both qualify for an award?

Yes, the direct manager could qualify based on the data from all the agents they supervise directly. The upline manager could qualify based on the data from all the teams that report to them (i.e., the agents they directly supervise and all the direct managers that report to them).

2. Who should be counted/included in an applicant’s agency?

An applicant’s agency should include all teams who report to the applicant.

3. What is the application fee?

The award application fee for the 2026 MDRT Culture of Excellence Awards is USD 200. This fee includes the cost of the physical award (award plaque) for verified award qualifiers. The application fee is non-refundable.

4. What are the three award levels?

Members will be awarded based on the following:

  • Gold Agency: three out of six criteria met

  • Platinum Agency: four out of six criteria met

  • Diamond Agency: five out of six criteria met

5. Production Criteria

What revenue counts toward the production criteria?

Production numbers must come from MDRT-eligible production paid to the agency. It can include commission, premium or Gross Dealer Concession.

Agency production must be reported in the same form. For example, when comparing 2024 production to 2025, production for both years must be expressed as either commission, premium or Gross Dealer Concession but cannot be a combination of any two.

What is the MDRT Conversion Factor?

The MDRT Conversion Factor is a calculation used to standardize numbers during MDRT processing. It is calculated and updated annually. The MDRT Conversion Factor has no relationship to currency exchange rates.

What timeframes do the production numbers cover?

January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025 numbers should be compared to the January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 timeframe. There must be a 25% increase year over year.

Should decimal points be used? No, please round to the nearest whole number. Do not use commas or decimal points.

6. Retention Criteria

I have the same number of agents that I started with, but they’re not the same people. Does that still qualify?

No, this does not qualify for the award. At least 75% of the agents in your agency on December 31, 2025 must be the same agents you had on December 31, 2024.

I’ve lost some of my agents because of spin-offs. Can they still be included in my retention numbers?

Yes, any agents who are still with the company but moved into another agency due to spin-off may be counted toward a leader’s retention rate.

7. Recruitment Criteria

What timeframe does the recruitment criteria cover?

The award criteria look at end-of-calendar year numbers for the recruitment data. For this year’s awards, please take the number of total agents on December 31, 2024 and compare them with the number of total agents on December 31, 2025. If you have a 20% increase, you meet this requirement.

I’m in a country/market where recruitment and/or the size of the agency is limited. Can you waive this criterion for my agency?

The MDRT Center for Field Leadership recognizes not all agencies want to or are able to recruit a 20% increase in agents. Therefore, you can still receive a top award by achieving five out of the six award criteria.

8. Persistency Criteria

Our company uses a timeframe different than the 13th month. Can we use our company's calculation?

No, for consistency of our award qualifications and qualifiers, we follow the 13th month timeframe.

How is this criteria measured?

Persistency is measured as the percentage of first-year life insurance policies that are renewed at the 13th month. In the award application, applicants enter the number of first-year life insurance policies up for renewal and the number of those life insurance policies that were renewed at the 13th month.

For example, if your agency had 1,000 first-year life insurance policies in 2024 due for renewal in 2025, 900 would need to be renewed in order to have a 90% persistency rate.

9. Company Verification Form

Where do I find the company verification form?

The company verification form is available for download within the ‘Company Verification Form’ step of the awards application. The form automatically pre-populates with the data submitted in the application.

To download the company verification form, click on the 'Company Verification Form' link within that step of the application.

You can access a sample company verification form here. (Please note that this is a sample and is not to be used in the final award application submission.)

What does my certifying officer need to verify?

Your company official needs to confirm the production, retention, recruitment, persistency, and membership data stated in your application.

Is this form required?

Yes, to successfully complete an award application, you must have a company official verify you have met the production, retention, recruitment, persistency and membership criteria stated in your application. You must qualify in at least two of these criteria.

10. Whole Person Criteria

How many MDRT Center Masterclasses took place in 2025?

There were five Masterclasses in 2025.

  1. Recruit, assimilate and retain Gen Z talent

  2. Scaling success: Use this teaming model for multimillion-dollar sales growth

  3. How to build a high-performing agency that drives sales and growth

  4. How to gamify your advisor training programs

  5. How adults learn: Key strategies for advisor training

How many Masterclasses must I attend to qualify for the Learning Engagement Score under this criteria?

You must attend two complete live Masterclass series within the current year. This means attending all live sessions included in each of the two series you choose to attend. Partial attendance does not meet the requirement.

How many Masterclasses must I attend within a series to receive a Masterclass certificate?

Attendance at every session within the series is required. Partial participation does not qualify for a certificate or count toward a Culture of Excellence Award.

What are the assigned 2025 Harvard ManageMentor® modules?

  1. Team Management

  2. Performance Measurement

For the service project, I volunteered on my own. It wasn’t a team activity. Does that meet this requirement?

No, to meet the Whole Person criteria, the volunteer activity must be an agencywide effort to support your local community.

For the service project, does my volunteer work with MDRT count toward this criteria?

No, volunteering with MDRT (e.g., MCC, PGA, etc.) does not meet this requirement.

I attended the MDRT Annual Meeting or Global Conference in the current year. Will this be reflected in my application?

Yes, the award application will pre-populate with your Annual Meeting or Global Conference attendance.

11. Membership Criteria

In what countries/markets is the MDRT Academy currently available?

Please review the MDRT Academy membership requirements document for the full list of market availability.

For more information on the MDRT Academy’s member benefits and to apply for membership, please visit the MDRT Academy’s website.

The MDRT Academy is available in my country/market. Do I satisfy the criteria if 75% of my agents are either 2025 MDRT Academy or 2025 MDRT members?

Yes, that satisfies the requirement.

An agency manager leading a team of 10 agents in a country where the Academy is available would need to have eight agents who were either 2025 MDRT Academy or 2025 MDRT members to qualify.

I live in a market where the MDRT Academy is not available (Bahrain, Japan and Korea). Do I satisfy the criteria if 75% of my agents who met the 2025 MDRT production requirements are 2025 MDRT members?

Yes, that satisfies the requirement.

If an agency manager is in a market where the MDRT Academy is not available and has four agents who qualified for MDRT, and three of them were 2025 MDRT members, they would qualify, as 75% of the agents who qualified for MDRT were 2025 MDRT members.

12. What happens after submitting my application?

You will see a confirmation screen and receive a confirmation email. All applications will undergo a thorough review and verification process. Every applicant will be informed of their final award status by April 30, 2026.

2026 award winners will receive an award plaque and digital badge to recognize their achievements.

Award winners will be honored at an award ceremony at the 2026 MDRT Annual Meeting or the 2026 MDRT Global Conference.

13. I am a company contact and would like to submit an award application(s) on behalf of my leader(s). Is this possible?

Yes, please reach out to us at info@mdrtcenter.org, so we can provide proper access and information on next steps.