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T H U R S D A Y , J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 0 5
Internet Ads Start Sunday | States Raise the Bar | Major Industry Initiative Underway to Improve Commercial Lines Download | Dairyland Insurance Company Agency Agreement and 2005 "More" Profit and Growth Sharing Agreement Reviewed | Summer is Time to "Think Flood" | Why Contribute to the 2005 InVEST Silent Auction? | Industry News
T R U S T E D C H O I C E®
Internet Ads Start Sunday
While you’re surfing the Internet over the next month, take the time to go to www.homestore.com to check out the new Trusted Choice® Web banner ad.
The online ad campaign begins this Sunday and runs through July 16. Bonus placements could extend its duration to July 30. Trusted Choice® will announce a new end date if the campaign is extended.
Homestore.com is the Internet’s largest real estate Web site. Web surfers go to the site to find or sell a home; buy, build or rent a home; finance a home; find a mover; furnish and decorate their home; remodel and maintain their home; and much more.
Each month, Homestore.com and its network of Web sites draws millions of consumers seeking information and services related to their home. In a typical month, Homestore.com attracts 10.5 million unique visitors. In all, Homestore.com attracts 7% of the monthly Internet population in the United States.
Other Web sites in the Homestore.com network include realtor.com, homebuilder.com, homestore.com, rentnet.com, welcomewagon.com, and seniorhousingnet.com. These sites, too, will feature the Trusted Choice® ad.
The site is a great match for Trusted Choice®. The demographics of Homestore’s audience are a major part of the Trusted Choice® core audience. And, consumers will be exposed to Trusted Choice® at a time when they are contemplating a major life decision (i.e. a home purchase) that will require insurance coverage.
The campaign, which coincides with the traditional peak home-buying and –selling season, is expected to result in nearly 60 million impressions or views of the ad and the Trusted Choice® logo by consumers during its nearly month-long run.
For more information, contact Jeff Myers at 800 221-7917; jeff.myers@iiaba.net.
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I N S U R P A C
States Raise the Bar
InsurPac’s fund raising is gaining momentum. Already, 11 states have eclipsed what they raised for the entire 2004 year. Congratulations to the following states for their hard work: Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
InsurPac Board of Trustees Chairman Bill Hofmann credits this increased participation to a growing awareness of what InsurPac does on behalf of the independent agency system. "These states’ commitment to InsurPac has been tremendous," he says. "They understand the important role that InsurPac plays in the legislative process and are educating their membership. Achieving our goals means more support for the legislators who represent you in the halls of Congress. One-hundred percent of your InsurPac contribution goes to making sure our voice is effectively heard by our lawmakers."
States showing the most significant improvement are Virginia, Arizona and Wisconsin. Under the leadership of Virginia InsurPac Chairman David Priest, donations have quadrupled since 2004. Arizona Chairman Jim Farmer has helped his state nearly double its 2004 contributions, and Tom Helbach has Wisconsin on fire with InsurPac education and support. Agents across the country are stepping up like never before. "Keeping agents informed and engaged is the first step to successful fund raising," Hofmann says. "These InsurPac Chairmen know what it takes to turn numbers around. Their performance indicates their dedication to making InsurPac a number one priority."
A new workshop instituted at the National Legislative Conference in April played a key part in this year’s early success. InsurPac chairs had the opportunity to discuss successful fund-raising tactics as well as areas that needed improvement and their possible solutions. A question-and-answer panel helped chairs generate new ideas on PAC participation and support. For more information, contact Jennifer Dlugasch at jennifer.dlugasch@iiaba.net.
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A G E N T S C O U N C I L F O R T E C H N O L O G Y
Major Industry Initiative Underway to Improve Commercial Lines Download
During the past year, the Agents Council for Technology (ACT), working closely with ACORD and agency management system user groups, has undertaken a major initiative to make commercial lines download more accurate and effective for independent insurance agencies and brokers.
ACT’s Commercial Lines Download Work Group, which drew broad participation from carriers, vendors, agents and user groups, recently released a series of important recommendations toward this end.
"Our accomplishments to date demonstrate the industry’s strong interest and commitment toward fixing past problems and working towards successful implementation of commercial lines download," says Donna Barr, assistant vice president, Marsh USA Inc., Private Client Services Division, co-chair of the ACT Commercial Lines Download work group and chair of the ASCnet Interface Committee for Applied Systems users. "We have three key accomplishments to date to improve commercial lines downloads: the development of an ACORD implementation guide to give carriers and vendors more specific guidance in implementing these downloads, the crucial addition of an agency testing process by carriers to make sure the downloads sent are accurate, and the development of three prototype documents to assure that agents get the information they need to implement these downloads in their systems successfully."
With ACORD’s important help, the work group developed the ACORD CLDL Implementation Guide for the five major commercial lines—BOP, property, general liability, business auto and workers’ compensation. This guide, which is now in the final ACORD approval process, identifies for carriers and vendors the minimum data elements agents need to receive in the CLDL process in order for the information to be sufficient. The guides also inform agents as to what they can expect when they receive commercial lines downloads.
ACT’s recommendations are contained in its report, "ACT CLDL Work Group Review of Accomplishments & Next Steps; Recommended Agency Testing Process" which is available in the "Technology Reports" section of the ACT Web site.
The third major component of ACT’s work was to develop prototype documents, which are easily adaptable to individual carrier and vendor processes, in order to help assure that agents receive the information they need to implement a particular carrier’s downloads in their specific systems successfully, with a full understanding of any idiosyncrasies in that carrier’s downloads. These documents, which are included in the ACT report, include: a Carrier/Vendor Certification Document, an Agency Testing Checklist, and an Agency Testing Results Document.
The next step for the work group will be to develop education and training programs to assist agencies in implementing CLDL successfully. The staff support of the work group for this phase will move from ACT to AUGIE which is led by the agency management system user group officers and managed by ACORD, because of the predominant role the user groups will play in carrying out this systems specific training and education of agents.
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L E G A L A D V O C A C Y
Dairyland Insurance Company Agency Agreement and
2005 "More" Profit and Growth Sharing Agreement Reviewed
IIABA’s Office of the General Counsel has completed its review of the Dairyland Insurance Company Agency Agreement and 2005 "More" Profit Sharing and Growth Sharing Agreement. Some provisions of concern in the Agency Agreement are that: 1) The agreement can be amended on only 30 days notice, including changes to the commission schedule; 2) The agent must indemnify the company; 3) The agent does not own its expirations upon certain terminations of the agreement; and 4) There is no renewal/run-off provision. Big "I" members can access the reviews by clicking here. For more information, contact Kathleen Graber at 800- 221-7917; kathleen.graber@iiaba.net.
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F L O O D P R O G R A M
Summer is Time to "Think Flood"
Despite all the advancements in weather forecasting technology, tropical storm Arlene confounded meteorologists' warnings of the storm turning into a hurricane. Instead, the storm hit the Gulf coast this weekend and broke up into a group of thunderstorms that left 1,000 residents without power Sunday as heavy rains hit the area. While Arlene did not create the havoc it could have, it did serve as a reminder that hurricane season is fast approaching and, with it, the need to make sure all of your customers who require flood insurance have it. It also highlights an opportunity to touch base with your existing flood insurance customers to roll their policy over to Big "I" Markets.
A flood rollover of either a single policy or an entire book of business occurs when the policies upon expiration date are moved from NFIP direct or a Write-Your-Own carrier to another carrier. Any flood policy can be rolled over except those in the NFIP Repetitive Loss Program. When your agency completed a sub-producer profile for Big "I" Markets or the Big "I" Flood Program, you qualified for additional benefits for rolling over business. By rolling over your business to the Big "I" Flood Program, you can enjoy the benefits of a tiered commission schedule; as your volume grows, so does your commission. Flood volumes more than $10,000 could qualify you for a direct appointment with Selective. Direct agents have the ability to do zone determinations, quotes, process applications and policy inquiry. First year rollover commissions are higher than renewals. Our base commission is 16.5% but can be negotiated if your volume is over $250,000.
The Big "I" Advantage staff is here to help you through the entire process of quoting and policy issuance and claim processing. By participating in the program you are helping to support your state association and its efforts to keep dues down and benefits to members on the rise. And agencies that commit $5,000 in rollover business are rewarded with a free Cabela's Rain Jacket! Click here to learn more and download your rollover information today!
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I N V E S T
Why Contribute to the 2005 InVEST Silent Auction?
Proceeds from the 2005 InVEST Silent Auction support InVEST’s annual scholarships, awarded to graduates pursuing higher education with an emphasis on insurance. This year $44,000 in scholarships were presented from proceeds generated by the 2004 Silent Auction. InVEST, a 501(c)3 educational trust, relies solely on your tax-deductible contributions.
The 2005 InVEST Silent Auction will be held this September during the Big "I" Convention in New York City. Due to space limitations, it will feature a total of 30 items from the following categories: Great Getaways, Gems & Jewelry or Gizmos & Gadgets. Additional donations are welcome and will be reserved for the next auction to be held in April 2006 at the Big "I" event in Washington, D.C.
Our ability to help students, especially those in at-risk communities, develop the skills they need to pursue professional entry-level positions upon graduation depends upon your financial assistance. Donating an item to the InVEST Silent Auction is a great way to show your support and help raise scholarship dollars to help program graduates succeed. Click here to download a contribution form. For more information, contact Sandra Skipper at 703-706-5437; sandra.skipper@iiaba.net.
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