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New Liberty Regional Agency Markets Contracts Include Enhancements |  Time Is Ripe To Join Trusted Choice® |  Sneak Peak at July Issue |  Register Online for Big "I" Markets |  Agency of the Year Awards Heat Up |  Personal Umbrella Program Partner Achieves A+ Rating |  Spotlight on Customer Service Excellence | Industry  News

L E G A L   A D V O C A C Y
New Liberty Regional Agency Markets Contracts Include Enhancements

The member companies of Liberty Regional Agency Markets have enhanced their agency agreements. The companies, which include America First Insurance®, Colorado Casualty®, Golden Eagle Insurance™, Hawkeye-Security Insurance®, Indiana Insurance®, Montgomery Insurance® and Peerless Insurance®, adopted the new agency agreement and began implementation on a regional basis beginning with America First Insurance, effective Jan. 1, 2005.

"IIABA was pleased to have the opportunity to work with Liberty RAM company executives to seek enhancements to the agreements, and appreciates the companies’ adoption of many suggestions we made," says Debra Perkins, IIABA executive vice president and general counsel. "Many provisions of the agreements were changed with IIABA input, and demonstrate the companies’ commitment to the independent agent channel."

Examples of changes made include: 1) Clarifying that the agent’s ownership of expirations is exclusive and encompasses the agent’s work product; 2) Narrowing the risk of an agent’s loss of expirations to individual policies that are not moved at the expiration of any mandatory renewal cycle, rather than having all ownership of all expirations lost at that time; 3) Providing that the agent not lose commission on noncancelable or guaranteed-renewable policies for violations of the agreement unless they are "material," so that merely "any" violation does not terminate the agent’s right to payment; 4) Revising the company indemnification language so that company liability under it does not have to arise only as a "direct result" of the company’s errors or omissions; 5) Requiring that a majority interest in the agency be transferred before the agreement can be terminated based on a sale, rather than a change of ownership of any size; and 6) Revising the provision on compliance with the privacy laws so the agent has to comply with all laws but does not have to adopt the company’s privacy polices.

To access the reviews, click here. You will have to log on as a member. For questions or additional information, contact Amy Hendricks at amy.hendricks@iiaba.net; 800-221-7917.

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  T R U S T E D   C H O I C E ^®
Time Is Ripe To Join Trusted Choice^®

Are you taking a wait-and-see approach before signing up your agency for Trusted Choice®, the consumer brand program for independent agents and brokers established by the Big "I" and several leading insurers? Are you waiting for it to become a success before taking the plunge?

If so, then the time is ripe! Last week the brand program reached its longstanding goal of 5,000 retail locations. Need more proof? Then consider the words of the agency principal whose agency became the 5,000th member:

"I have seen the Trusted Choice® advertising on television and have seen the logo displayed by other agencies here," says Lewis Lane, president of Lane Insurance Agency in Norwalk, Iowa. "Some things you just don’t want to jump into; so I wanted to learn more about Trusted Choice® before I signed up my agency. Also, like many other agencies’ owners, I wanted to see its success, and I have. I am excited to be the 5,000th participating agency and look forward to making the most of my agency’s involvement in Trusted Choice®."

Because the Trusted Choice® brand is becoming more recognizable to consumers, Lane and hundreds of other agency and brokerage firm owners have joined the brand program in recent months, pushing participation past the 5,000 mark.

It’s time for your agency to join the thousands of others across the country that are positioning themselves as the consumer’s smart choice for insurance and financial service. The Trusted Choice® brand highlights to consumers the benefits independent insurance agencies and brokerage firms offer consumers—choice of companies, customization of policies and advocacy support. In all, 29 insurers—10 national insurers and 18 regional companies—are Trusted Choice® company partners.

To join today, click hereand then click "Agents/Brokers" and enter your zip code to launch the easy online registration process. For more information, contact TrustedChoice@iiaba.net; 800-221-7917.

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  I A    M A G A Z I N E
Sneak Peak at July Issue

The July issue of Independent Agent magazine will hit the streets in a matter of days, just in time to slip into your bag for some pool-side summer reading. The issue contains "What Goes Up Must Come Down," an in-depth look at commercial lines’ pricing; "Armed Against Identity Theft," which details carriers’ identity theft coverage options; "What’s Behind Door No. 1?," a look at the whole vs. term debate; "Should You Branch Out?," which points out areas to address when contemplating opening a branch location; and more. And it doesn’t stop there—don’t forget to visit IAmagazine.com for the issue’s Online Extras as well.

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B I G   " I "   M A R K E T S
Register Online for Big "I" Markets

Members now can register online for Big "I" Markets, the online market access program available exclusively to Big "I" members. To register, members will need their IIABA login ID and password, agency tax ID number, agency E&O policy and their state agency/agent license information (where applicable). Click here to begin the registration process and be quoting in minutes.

The program’s wide range of products includes affluent homeowners, non-standard homeowners, renters, marine insurance and community banks. The all-star list of product providers includes St. Paul Travelers, The Hartford, Chubb, Fireman's Fund and RLI, among many more insurance names clients know and trust. As always, there are no access fees, no minimums, and no special software requirements to participate in Big "I" Markets. Plug into the power of this Big "I" member benefit at www.bigimarkets.com today. If you don’t know your agency’s login information, e-mail bigimarkets@iiaba.net.

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Agency of the Year Awards Heat Up

Registered Big "I" Markets agencies—while doing business—are vying for a place on the leader board for the Big "I" Markets Agency of the Year Awards. BIM agents compete in two categories: The Richard Petty Award will go to the agency with the most confirmed binders on Big "I" Markets for all of calendar year 2005. To be eligible to win, the agency must have a minimum of 10 submitted quote requests. The top five in this category include Cambridge Insurance Services with 80 quote requests, Sun Insurance Services with 44, BC Szerlip with 35, Virginia Commonwealth Corporation with 30 and Brown & Haynes with 27. The Babe Ruth Award will go to the agency that writes the most new premium on Big "I" Markets for calendar year 2005. There is no minimum number of quotes required to win in this category. The current top five agencies are BC Szerlip with $74,168 in written premium, ABH Insurance agency with $62,269, Feldman Agency with $47,427, Carpenter & Carpenter with $46,988 and Turner Insurance associates with $42,977. For more information, click here.

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Personal Umbrella Program Partner Achieves A+ Rating

On June 28th, 2005, RLI Group, RLI Insurance Company and RLI Indemnity all received "Superior" ratings from A.M. Best and iys Best’s Ratings service. Big "I" members writing RLI personal umbrella (PUP) and in-home business through the Big "I" endorsed relationship with RLI should note this affirmation of RLI's claims paying ability. When selling PUPs, it is very important to have a strong financial resume from the covering insurer. 

For more information on the Big "I" RLI Personal Umbrella Program, click here. Registered Big "I" Markets agents in certain states can access the RLI PUP here. Log into www.bigimarkets.com to check online availability in your state. Remember, you can't offer to write too many umbrellas.

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B E S T   P R A C T I C E S
Spotlight on Customer Service Excellence

Customers are expensive to acquire and even more expensive to lose. Today’s customer can be demanding, difficult and fickle. Getting customers and keeping them happy is a No. 1 priority in today’s competitive environment. You need new skills, new attitudes and new responses to stay ahead; customers change and if we don’t, we’re left in the dust.

Join Customer Care Coach® publisher, author and workshop leader JoAnna Brandi at the Best Practices Management Institute for a full-day of "continuous improvement." Her energetic style will keep you engaged and excited as you learn how to unleash the power of customer caring in your company. Learn to set your sights on creating consistently positive customer experiences. She’ll raise your customer consciousness and teach you to turn moments of truth into moments of magic.

IIABA’s Best Practices Management Institute will take place Sept. 11-12 at the Hilton New York in conjunction with the Big "I" Convention. Attend this unique event and the Customer Service Excellence session to experience:

Customer Service or Customer CARE?

· Explore the differences between service and care
· How to stay away from the satisfaction trap
· Understand the emotional bridge between satisfaction and loyalty

The Caring Environment

· Foundation principles of customer care
· Understanding what you bring to the "eco-system"
· Managing to thrive!

Turning Moments of Truth into Moments of Magic

· Learn how the customer keeps "score"
· Understand how expectations are formed
· Become a "manager of the moments of magic"

Creating the Positive Customer Experience

· The loyalty link – what’s love got to do with it?
· Understand the science behind happy customers
· Are you making your customers sick?

Romancing the Phone

· What to do when you feel yourself getting angry and impatient
· How to communicate company "policies" without losing customer good will
· Learn three great ways to close a call

The Inner Game

· What is peak performance and how do you get it
· Understanding energy gains and energy drains
· Moving out of the comfort zone

Experts advise that one of the top ways to increase agency value is to invest in growth. Developing producers and staffs with a strong sales and service culture are key factors; without these foundations in place it is difficult to grow and prosper in today’s highly competitive insurance marketplace. The Best Practices Management Institute has been designed for everyone in every agency. The program features three tracks: Producer Development, Customer Service Excellence and Owners and Managers Essentials.

For more information, visit the Best Practices Management Instituteto register and download the schedule of events or contact Jennifer Becker at jennifer.becker@iiaba.net; 800-221-7917.

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