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T H U R S D A Y , A P R I L 1 3 , 2 0 0 6
Industry News
N L C & C
Newly Appointed FEMA Head at NLC&C
David Maurstad, who has served as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s acting insurance administrator and mitigation director for the past two years, was recently named to the post on a permanent basis. The announcement came last week as part of a senior leadership team Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff presented to FEMA employees. Since he was appointed as acting administrator and director in June 2004, Maurstad has led his division and the NFIP through two record-breaking hurricane seasons. During his tenure, officials also said Maurstad led President Bush’s push to modernize antiquated flood maps, oversaw advisory base flood elevations issued to hurricane-devastated communities to help them rebuild, oversaw engineering teams working in heavily damaged areas to learn more about the action of wind and waves on the built environment, led efforts to ensure safety for buildings in earthquake-prone areas and more.
With recent predictions indicating another record-breaking hurricane season on the horizon and with current House and Senate legislative debates on the flood program, flood insurance is an issue at the forefront of everyone’s minds. The NLC&C provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear from the country’s top flood insurance experts. Maurstad will introduce the CE workshop "Bridge Over Troubled Waters: How to Sell and Service Flood Insurance," which will discuss flood insurance in the wake of the recent devastating hurricanes and flooding events. During the April 28 workshop, attendees will learn about agent education mandates, program statistics, market potential, policy provisions, coverage, definitions and E&O concerns. Larry Palmer, Big "I" national marketing manager, Selective Flood Insurance Operations, will instruct the CE-credit seminar. Joining Palmer for portions of the seminar will be David Thompson, education instructor with the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, and Jim Sadler, a FEMA/NFIP consultant and author of "The Flood Insurance Claims Handbook." Click here to register.
I I A B A N E W S
OFC Media Coverage
National and consumer media turned to the Big "I" last week to discuss the introduction of the Sununu-Johnson optional federal charter (OFC) bill. Emerging as the voice against the bill, the Big "I" was quoted in many national, consumer, Capitol Hill and local papers. Big "I" leaders were quoted in a Reuters article, distributed to papers across the country, as well as on CNN Money.com and in The Hill, the prominent newspaper for Capitol Hill leaders, BestWire, National Underwriter, Insurance Journal and more. Every big OFC article published last week cited the Big "I" position: The Big "I" opposes federal regulation, and more specifically an optional federal charter (OFC), for a number of reasons. It instead supports a middle-ground approach to regulatory reform: the State Modernization and Regulatory Transparency (SMART) Act proposed by Chairman Mike Oxley (R-Ohio) and Subcommittee Chairman Richard Baker (R-La.) of the House Financial Services Committee. SMART would improve and modernize state insurance regulation without creating a federal regulator. For more information contact Cliston Brown at 703-706-5407; cliston.brown@iiaba.net.
Big "I" Membership’s International Growth
The IIABA’s international membership continues to expand and grow. The association currently has members in Japan, China, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic and Italy, and is working with agents all over the world to further the goals of the independent agency system. Visit www.iiabj.jp to check out your fellow Big "I" members in Japan! Go to www.iiaba.it and visit with your Italian counterparts! These Web sites provide a glimpse of the international scope of the Big "I." For more information contact Emily Crane at 703-706-5445; emily.crane@iiaba.net.
B E S T P R A C T I C E
"Best Practices Guide" Explains Producer Contracts
Do your producer contracts reflect the difference between independent contractor and employee producers? Are you certain that your non-compete and non-piracy agreements will stand up in court? Can you be sure that you are developing fair compensation packages for your producers? If any of these issues concern you, then the "Best Practices Guide to Producer Contracts" is a must have for your agency. This handy guide offers sample contracts, worksheets and more. Walk step-by-step through the process of compensating and contracting new producers and save thousands of dollars in lost time, effort and money. This Big "I" guide, priced at $29.95, is a must have for principals and agents. Don't risk hiring another producer without one. For the full story on hiring, training and compensating producers, check out the Best Practices guide "Top Producers: Discover, Train, Reward, which includes the Guide to Producer Contracts" free! Click here to learn more about Best Practices. To order products, click here.
B I G " I " M A R K E T S
New Executive Liability Product Available
The St Paul Travelers’ new WrapSM executive liability policy for privately held businesses, large and small, is now available on Big "I" Markets. The WrapSM executive liability policy features a modular design, created to provide comprehensive coverage and flexible options for private companies. The WrapSM policy suite of coverages comprises liability (directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary and miscellaneous professional), crime (including kidnap and extortion for ransom) and identity fraud expense reimbursement. WrapSM policyholders may purchase the specific coverages they need now and seamlessly add more coverage as their businesses or organizations grow. Click here to learn more about this product. Click here to register for Big "I" Markets, the online market access program available exclusively to Big "I" members. Click here to contact a Big "I" Markets team member.
I A M A G A Z I N E
Renew Your Free Subscription Today
Want to have the latest industry news and trends, management information, specialty lines access and government affairs coverage at your fingertips? Even though you’re a member of the Big "I," we still need you to renew! Take action now to keep your IA magazine coming, delivered straight to your home or office each month. To validate your subscription online, go to IAmagazine.com and click on "Update Your Subscription." Use the six-digit ID printed on your magazine mailing label and follow the directions. Direct IA subscription questions to Jill Cosgrove at 800-221-7917; jill.cosgrove@iiaba.net.
T R U S T E D C H O I C E ®
B2B Campaign Launches Next Month
What do you get when you match up business decision makers with the trade publications they read the most? A great venue for a Trusted Choice® business-to-business (B2B) campaign!
The Trusted Choice® B2B campaign will launch in May (Trusted Choice® Month) and target business decision-makers through their trade publications. The campaign’s objective is to heighten business decision makers’ awareness of the value of selecting a Trusted Choice® agency to take care of the insurance needs of their business.
Some of the top business segments for the agency system, according to www.MarketStance.com, and the publications selected for the B2B campaign include:
Restaurants—Restaurant Business
Legal services—ABA Journal
Housing construction—Engineering News Record (ENR)
Plumbing, heating, A/C—ASHRAE Journal
Concrete contractors—Concrete Construction
Long-haul trucking—Heavy Duty Trucking
Local trucking—Heavy Duty Trucking
Water, sewer, pipeline—Utility Contractor
Communications & power—Utility Contractor
Metal contractors—SNIPS Magazine
Gasoline service stations—CSP (Convenience Store/Petroleum)
Nonresidential construction— Engineering News Record (ENR)
Apartment building owners/operators—Journal of Property Management
The selected publications match up with the campaign’s target audience: individuals within each targeted business sector who influence their businesses’ insurance purchases. The campaign, which runs through August, will feature full-page, four-color ads that will appear two to three times in each publication. Click here to see the complete B2B ad schedule. The two ads produced for this B2B campaign direct business owners to the Trusted Choice® Agency Locator at www.TrustedChoice.com to find a local agency. To view these ads, click here. Coupled with the nationwide cable TV ad flights, Internet ad campaigns, public relations campaigns and state association and local-agency advertising activity during Trusted Choice® Month, this B2B advertising campaign will boost awareness of Trusted Choice® agencies as well as logo recognition among business owners. For more information, contact Jeff Myers at 800-221-7917; jeff.myers@iiaba.net.
Trusted Choice® Month Rapidly Approaching
There are a lot of things you can do with 31 days. You can catch up on your soaps, take a couple naps, stop at quite a few red lights. But, better yet, you can put together an extensive national advertising campaign to promote Trusted Choice® Month!
On behalf of our more than 5,500 member agencies and 33 company partners, that is exactly what we did. May kicks off Trusted Choice® Month 2006, a month-long promotional campaign spotlighting the consumer brand for independent agents through a nationwide cable TV ad flight consisting of ads on popular cable networks like CNN, ESPN and FoxNews (Click here to view the May TV ad schedule.); Internet ads on high-profile, consumer-oriented Web sites; a targeted public relations campaign; a targeted print campaign featuring ads in business-to-business publications.
In addition to these Trusted Choice® activities, many Big "I" state associations and individual Trusted Choice® agencies will run state- and local-level advertising campaigns in conjunction with Trusted Choice® Month!
The question is how do you, as a Trusted Choice® agency, use this national ad campaign to your advantage? Start by tying your agency’s advertising to these nationwide ad activities by downloading or ordering tag-able TV, print and radio ads and running them in your agency’s marketing area. Click here to access the tag-able advertisements. Your local advertising campaign will give your agency twice the exposure for a small investment and help establish it as the Trusted Choice® for local insurance and financial services consumers. To learn how to purchase local broadcast or print advertising, click here. Act now to make the most of the 31 days in Trusted Choice® Month! For more information, contact Jeff Myers at 800-221-7917; jeff.myers@iiaba.net.
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