T H U R S D A Y ,   A P R I L   7 ,   2 0 0 5

2005 YAC Award Submissions Requested | Ways to Participate in Trusted Choice® Month | Recent Floods Should Remind All to "Think Flood" | Explore the Best Practices Gateway | Thirteen Days Remain Until NLC | VU Helps You Find Answers |  Industry News

Y O U N G   A G E N T S
2005 YAC Award Submissions Requested

The Big "I" National Young Agents Committee (YAC) is seeking submissions for the 2005 YAC awards in the following categories: membership development, state committee project, communications, young agents meeting and political involvement. Outstanding Young Agents Committee of the Year and first runner-up honors also will be awarded. Participation in the National YAC awards program demonstrates the commitment of state young agent and broker committees to perpetuating the independent agency system. Participation also solidifies young agents’ presence as the driving force behind the independent agency system’s future.

The 2005 YAC awards will be presented at the Young Agents Sales & Leadership Conference, Sept. 9 through 11, 2005 in conjunction with the Big "I" New York Convention at the New York City Hilton. The Magnificent Seven—an interactive session featuring a panel of 2005 YAC award winners who will share their secrets to success—will take place Saturday, Sept. 10.

Entries must be postmarked by July 1, 2005. Click here to download the 2005 YAC Awards Criteria. For more information, contact Leslie Mularski at 800-221-7917; leslie.mularski@iiaba.net.
| T O P |

T R U S T E D   C H O I C E ^®
Ways to Participate in Trusted Choice^® Month

There are many ways your agency can be a part of Trusted Choice^® Month this May—a month-long campaign that will increase consumer awareness of your agency and the brand.

Highlights of the month are a major media buy—a national two-week, half-million-dollar cable TV ad flight May 9 through 22—and a public relations campaign focusing on small business insurance issues.

Nearly 100 Trusted Choice^® ads will be seen nationwide by millions of consumers on cable networks Fox News, TNT, The Home & Garden Television and The History Channel. Click hereto view the national ad flight schedule.

One way your agency can participate and maximize awareness of its Trusted Choice^® status in your community is to run a local advertising—TV, radio, print or outdoor—campaign concurrently with the national ad flight.

To help you make these plans, consider these helpful advertising tips for Trusted Choice^® Month and beyond:

· Join Trusted Choice^® if your agency is not a member.

· Set a budget for advertising.

· Select your media—TV, radio, print or outdoor ads.

· Select a creative approach. We have created "tag-able" ads for print, radio and TV for your use. (To order go to www.TrustedChoice.com; "Agents/Brokers;" "Advertising.")

· Negotiate ad space with your local TV station, cable system, radio station or weekly and daily newspapers and magazines.

· Run ads before, during and after the May flight. When combined with the national spots, clients and prospects will think all of the ads are about your agency.

You will not want to miss this exciting opportunity to be part of the largest promotional event in the brand program’s history. To join Trusted Choice^®, go to www.TrustedChoice.com and click on "Agents/Brokers." At the pop-up screen that appears next, enter your agency zip code in the box under the "New Member?" header and hit enter. This launches the easy online registration process. For more information, contact Jeff Myers at 800-221-7917; jeff.myers@iiaba.net. | T O P |

B I G   " I "   A D V A N T A G E
Recent Floods Should Remind All to "Think Flood"

Recent flooding in the Northeast has forced hundreds from their homes in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Each time a major flood story happens, newspaper articles chronicling the devastation often reveal that many affected homeowners do not have flood insurance. As an agent, it is your responsibility to educate yourself and your clients about the potential risk of floods. Here to help is the Big "I" Flood Program, offered in partnership with Selective Insurance, rated ‘A+’ (Superior) by A.M. Best since 1961.

Participating Big "I" members enjoy benefits including a Commission Rewards Program (up to 21% & higher); free flood rating, zone determination and administration; personalized flood underwriting assistance and attractive rollover incentives. For a limited time, members who write $5,000 or more new business or rollover existing books to the Big "I" Flood Program will receive, among all the other benefits, a beautiful Cabela’sTM rain jacket as a thank you from the Big "I" and Selective Insurance.

For more information, including program structure and detailed commission schedules, click here or contact Linda Mackey at 800-221-7917; linda.mackey@iiaba.net. | T O P |

B E S T   P R A C T I C E S
Explore the Best Practices Gateway

Did you know that all Big "I" members have easy access to the latest research on the top-rated agencies, the ability to compare their own performance against the Best Practices agencies, as well as the ability to download useful tools to improve performance, all by simply clicking on the Best Practices link at www.independentagent.com?

At the center of the Best Practices Gateway is the newly released "2004 Best Practices Study Executive Update," a joint effort of the Big "I" and Reagan Consulting. The annual study compiles the financial and operational results of the country’s top-performing agencies and provides industry benchmarks in seven revenue categories. Members can browse these benchmarks as well as download a Best Practices Excel Comparison spreadsheet for calculating their agency’s performance gaps. The spreadsheet downloads with the results from each of the seven revenue groups, allowing for quick comparison.

The Gateway also provides a Performance Quick Check that lets members compare their agency’s performance in seven areas critical to agency value and to obtain an overall weighed performance score. From the score page, members can drill down to specific information for assessing and improving agency performance in each of the seven areas. Members can also review a complete menu of all available Best Practices resources, download samples from each, and obtain ordering information.

The Best Practices initiative evolved by asking top-rated agencies how they got where they are. The Big "I" provides a complete family of Best Practices tools, workshops and services to help your agency reach its full potential. Best Practices can help you understand the past, analyze the present and formulate a strategy for the future. To obtain the resources you may need, visit the Gateway today. For more information, contact Madelyn Flannagan at madelyn.flannagan@iiaba.net. | T O P |

N A T I O N A L   L E G I S L A T I V E   C O N F E R E N C E
Thirteen Days Remain Until NLC

Less than two weeks remain until this year’s Big "I" National Legislative Conference, which may be the most important one in the event’s 29-year history.

With producer compensation under fire in the fallout from alleged large-broker bid-rigging, it is crucial that as many independent insurance agents and brokers as possible come to Washington to speak directly with their elected leaders.

The Big "I" National Legislative Conference is the insurance industry’s best-attended, most effective legislative meeting. This year’s event will take place April 20 through 22 at the Grand Hyatt Washington.

In addition to providing an opportunity to lobby members of Congress on compensation and other important issues, there are also power-packed daily sessions featuring Washington movers and shakers. Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will speak at a breakfast April 21, and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), a former state insurance regulator, will speak at a breakfast April 22.

Other highlights of the Big "I" National Legislative Conference will include an in-depth issues briefing session; the annual Big "I" congressional reception on Capitol Hill; numerous high-profile speakers discussing important insurance and national issues confronting lawmakers as well as agents and brokers in Washington, D.C.; and hundreds of meetings on Capitol Hill between Big "I" agents and brokers and their elected representatives in the Congress. To register online and make hotel reservations click here. | T O P |

V I R T U A L   U N I V E R S I T Y
VU Helps You Find Answers

How do you respond when commercial or personal lines clients ask "How much insurance do I need?" The Big "I" Virtual University takes a look at issues that must be considered in determining what liability limits are appropriate in various situations, and provides you with the expertise to respond to questions with accurate information and research. This enables you to add value to the service you bring to your clients.

Are you taking advantage of all the information you can find to do your job better every day by visiting the VU? Big "I" members and their employees who do not have a Big "I" user ID and password can click on the Member Login icon at www.independentagent.com, then click on "Don’t Know Password." For more information about Big "I" membership and the Big "I" Virtual University, visit www.independentagent.com. | T O P |