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T H U R S D A Y , M A R C H 2 , 2 0 0 6
Time to Register is Now | Participate in InVEST Silent Auction | Join the ‘Experience’ | IIABA Meets with Carriers on Catastrophe Claims Handling | BIM and ProHost Serve up Restaurant Coverage | Agency Preferences for Carrier Electronic Communications | Education Convocation Planned for September 2006 | VU Adds 98 New Courses | Industry News
N L C & C
Time to Register is Now
Now is the time to register for the 2006 National Legislative Conference & Convention. It’s great if you already booked your hotel rooms, but don’t forget to send in your registration forms! NLC&C will be here before you know it, and in order to properly prepare we need to have an accurate attendee headcount. From the all-star CEO Panel, to the legislative breakfast speakers, to keynote speaker General Colin Powell (USA) Ret., you won’t want to miss a moment of this year’s combined event. Register today!
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Participate in InVEST Silent Auction
Don’t miss your chance to support the next generation of industry professionals! Participate in the InVEST Silent Auction and support the program’s annual scholarships awarded to InVEST graduates pursuing higher education with an emphasis on insurance. The InVEST Board of Directors will hold the 2006 InVEST Silent Auction during the Big "I" National Legislative Conference & Convention.
A 501(c)3 educational trust, InVEST introduces high school and community college students to insurance and the more than 350 diverse careers available within the industry, giving students a new outlook on the future. The program offers insurance agencies, brokers and carriers a diverse and talented group of entry-level recruits. Play an important roll in the future of InVEST’s brightest students by participating in the 2006 Silent Auction. Thank you in advance for your support. For more information, click here or contact Sandra Skipper at 703-706-5437; sandra.skipper@iiaba.net.
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T R U S T E D C H O I C E ®
Join the ‘Experience’
Are you coming to Washington, D.C., in April for the Big "I" National Legislative Conference & Convention? If so, make sure to visit the Trusted Choice® Experience in the convention exhibit hall April 27 and 28. This area will showcase Trusted Choice® and its company partners with 11 booths representing 18 brand program company partners.
Company partners exhibiting in the Trusted Choice® Experience are: Allied Insurance, Encompass Insurance, InsurBanc, Kemper Auto and Home, Liberty Mutual Agency Markets (representing America First Insurance, Colorado Insurance, GoAmerica Auto Insurance, Golden Eagle Insurance, Hawkeye-Security Insurance, Indiana Insurance Company, Liberty Northwest, Montgomery Insurance and Peerless Insurance), Markel Insurance, MetLife Auto & Home, Ohio Casualty Group, Safeco Insurance and Selective Insurance. Trusted Choice® also will have a prominent role in this area.
The Experience will be an exciting opportunity for agents and company partners to discuss their shared support for the Trusted Choice® brand movement and explore possible business relationships with these company partners, and for agents to learn about the companies’ new products.
While you’re in the convention exhibit hall, swing by the Trusted Choice® Experience to say hello and thank these valued company partners for their support of the brand movement. Strategically located in the front of the exhibit hall near the entrance, the Experience will be easy to find.
Convention exhibit hall hours are April 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. for the Opening Night Party and April 28 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Click here to view the NLC&C’s schedule of events. If you haven’t done so already, complete and submit your NLC&C registration formas soon as possible. For more information about Trusted Choice® or The Experience, contact Jeff Myers at 800-221-7917; jeff.myers@iiaba.net.
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I I A B A N E W S
IIABA Meets with Carriers on Catastrophe Claims Handling
National Big "I" senior staff, senior volunteer leadership and state representatives from Louisiana and Mississippi met with representatives from the American Insurance Association (AIA) and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) last week in Washington, D.C., to discuss the industry's claims handling response for Hurricane Katrina and other 2005 storms. The goal of the meeting was to provide feedback and recommendations from Big "I" agents in affected areas in order to improve claims performance for future natural disasters.
As part of an effort to provide valuable feedback to carriers, IIABA conducted a survey of agents affected by the storms in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida . The survey results were consistent with respect to the carriers' handling of both commercial lines and personal lines claims. Generally, the response times and the communications between the carriers, adjusters, agents and policyholders were not satisfactory according to agents who responded to the survey. Some of the agent recommendations to improve the claims process include: agent claim draft authority for smaller catastrophe claims, allowing adjuster authority to settle smaller claims at inspection and having carriers contract with catastrophic claims services with predetermined capacity and service standards.
During the meetings, Big "I" representatives shared the survey results and other recommendations with AIA and PCI representatives. Meeting attendees felt the survey and subsequent discussions were worthwhile and there is a commitment to continue a dialogue so that workable recommendations can be implemented in the future.
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B I G " I " M A R K E T S
BIM and ProHost Serve up Restaurant Coverage
According to the National Restaurant Association, there are more than 925,000 restaurant locations in the U.S. with direct sales of $511 billion. That’s $1.4 billion in volume a day, and that figure is likely to grow. Hungry Americans, eating out, spells opportunity for your agency. Access the restaurant insurance program offered through ProHost on Big "I" Markets. That’s just what Big "I" member Scott Krebs at Krebs Insurance in Chesterland, Ohio did when an insured decided to open a restaurant. "This was a difficult to place risk because it was a startup," Krebs says. "But ProHost offers a nice property endorsement that packages up coverages like spoilage and accounts receivable. The competing companies could not match that endorsement, and so I got the business." With a premium of $9,195, Krebs earned a very appetizing commission. For more information how to access ProHost restaurant coverage, log in to Big "I" Markets. Not yet registered for Big "I" Markets, the online market access program available exclusively to Big "I" members? Visit www.bigimarkets.comto complete your agency's quick and free online registration.
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A C T
Agency Preferences for Carrier Electronic Communications
ACT’s latest report, "Independent Agency Preferences for Carrier Electronic Communications," discusses how agents would like to receive electronic communications from their carriers for specific types of notices and transactions so that agencies can benefit from a consistent communications approach.
"Today, the carriers are all over the lot with regard to the methods they use to communicate electronically with their agencies," says Mele Fuller, Safeco’s director of vender integration and ACT’s Electronic Communications Work Group chair. "This is very inefficient for agencies and makes it difficult for them to manage these communications effectively."
"We encourage carriers to adopt ACT’s recommendations in order to give agencies a consistent approach to these communications, along with the administrator tools to make sure that these messages are routed to the appropriate people in the agency," says Jeff Yates, ACT executive director. "The ACT report goes through each type of carrier bulletin, notice and communication and provides the method agents recommend for that communication, any acceptable incremental solutions, as well as how the e-mail subject line should be handled, where e-mail is an appropriate method."
The report recommends that agents receive bulletins and other non-policy/customer specific information by e-mail—in most cases, by way of an e-mail notification with a link to the carrier site. In contrast, where the communication relates to a specific customer and/or policy, such as a notification of late payment or an underwriter inquiry, agents would prefer to receive notification messages, because they have the advantage of automatically becoming a part of the agent’s regular agency management system workflow.
"We are currently working with ACORD to enhance the current Activity or Note Request/Response XML Message Standard to facilitate the wide adoption of notification message technology by carriers and agency system vendors," adds Mele Fuller. "ACT also will investigate further the appropriate uses of secure e-mail, while being mindful of the potential inefficiencies that secure e-mail may create in agency workflows."
The ACT report also finds that:
· Agents prefer to receive communications electronically, rather than by mail. They want to become more paperless and reduce paper shuffling and processing.
· Before carriers turn off the policy paper to agencies, they should make sure they have effective downloads in place, have electronic policy view available and contractually commit to continue to provide electronic access to this policy information even following an agency termination.
· Carriers should have an administrator facility for the agents, so agents can define the specific persons by e-mail address to whom particular e-mails should be sent. Agents also should be able to opt out of certain types of e-mail, as well as notifications.
· Some agencies find that setting up generic e-mail mailboxes by subject matter or carrier help them to manage their email flow more effectively.
· Agents should not be expected to check multiple carrier Web sites in order to ascertain that new information pertaining to them or their customers has been posted. Rather, a message should be actively "pushed" to the agency notifying them of the information, containing a link to the direct location of the information on the site.
Click hereto view the entire report.
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E D U C A T I O N
Education Convocation Planned for September 2006
IIABA’s 30th Annual Education Convocation will be held Sept.6 through 8, 2006 at Hilton New Orleans Riverside in New Orleans, La. The convocation’s mission is to provide Big "I" state education directors and chairs with an intense three-day information and training forum. The annual convocation is an opportunity for state education leaders to come together to discuss new ways to better their education programs and allows them the opportunity to make contacts that can lead to more profitable programs. This year’s highlights include an in-depth look at the Big "I" Virtual University; ACSR, CISR and education chair breakouts; a professional development series; focus groups by topic; seminar showcases and critical networking time. For information on how your organization can participate, contact Jennifer Becker at 800-221-7917; jennifer.becker@iiaba.net. For information on how to register or a schedule of events, contact Lisa Johnson-Briggs at 800-221-7917; lisa.johnson-briggs@iiaba.net.
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B I G " I " V I R T U A L U N I V E R S I T Y
VU Adds 98 New Courses
The Big "I" Virtual University is rolling out 98 new courses aimed at helping agents further develop their business and technology skills.
"The goal of the Big "I’ Virtual University is to support agent development through innovative online learning 24 hours a day, seven days a week," says Madelyn Flannagan, Big "I" vice president of education and research. "These new online learning courses will help users access a diverse library of content right at their fingertips that will serve as reference tools to aid with day-to-day on the job questions, as well as be a integral part of an ongoing personal and professional development plan."
New course topics include:
· Marketing Development and Management
· Recruiting & Interviewing Skills
· Business Skills
· Microsoft Office Series Training (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, etc.)
· Financial Management
The Big "I" Virtual University is pleased to deliver expanded e-Learning solutions from SkillSoft, the world’s largest provider of online courses. SkillSoft courses are now available exclusively through the Big "I" Virtual University through an agreement with Career Concepts, Inc. of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., a leading career management and human resource consulting firm.
"Our objective in partnering with the Big "I" is to provide the very best in additional e-learning tools and blended learning solutions through the VU," says Russ Dunn, chairman and CEO of Career Concepts, Inc."As a company with roots deep in the insurance industry, we are excited about working with IIABA and all their members going forward.''
"SkillSoft is a premier provider of e-Learning today for the business world, offering the world’s largest collection of comprehensive e-learning business content and the largest repository of online reference sources in the industry," Flannagan says. "We are extremely excited that their programs will be available to the insurance community through the Big ‘I’ Virtual University. Many in the industry will recognize the benefits of these new courses and will take full advantage of this great opportunity."
To review the complete listing of courses available on the Big "I" Virtual University, click here.
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