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T H U R S D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 7 , 2 0 0 6 Industry News Trusted Choice® Branding Made Easy Is your Trusted Choice® utilizing the brand and logo to their fullest potential? To help your efforts, download the handy Trusted Choice® brand implementation checklist free of charge. This easy-to-use tool offers a series of action steps that will help your agency implement the Trusted Choice® brand and incorporate the logo. In as little as 10 minutes, you will begin maximizing the benefits of your agency’s membership in the brand program. For example, add the Trusted Choice® logo, a brief description and the Pledge of Performance to your sales proposals, direct-mail marketing campaigns and new policy mailers. Customers and prospects appreciate the Pledge. Or, order Pledge of Performance plaque to hang in office reception area. And that’s just a small taste of all you can do. So what are you waiting for? Click here to view the Trusted Choice® branding checklist, and get started today. For additional branding information/assistance, contact Jenner Gohr at 800-221-7197; jenner.gohr@iiaba.net. Brand Program Expands Advertising Plans
When it rains, it pours. Well, that’s true at least when it comes to Trusted Choice advertising during the next 12 months.
Beginning this month, Trusted Choice® will embark on a new advertising strategy to benefit your agency---and all 6,400 participating agencies. This new strategy calls for national cable television advertising for 12 consecutive months beginning in September and running through August 2007. That’s a whole year of nationwide Trusted Choice® television ads. Each month will feature numerous Trusted Choice® TV ads over a two-week period on a single national cable network. The first six months of the schedule are: o Sept. 11-24, 2006 The Weather Channel
o Oct.9-22 Fox News
o Nov. 6-19 Fox News
o Dec. 4-17 The Food Network
o Jan. 8-21, 2007 The Travel Channel
o Feb. 5-18 Fox News To see the detailed schedule for September on The Weather Channel, click here. The stations for the six-month period from March to August 2007 will be announced at the first of the year. This approach minimizes the amount of so-called dark periods—times when Trusted Choice® ads are not on TV—between ad flights. This means Trusted Choice® will be in the forefront of consumers’ minds for longer periods and it provides your Trusted Choice® agency and other participating agencies more predictable and plentiful local ad tie-in opportunities. Now your agency will have 12 opportunities to run ads locally that complement the national ads. Pick a minimum of one ad flight per quarter, and plan your local ad campaign by using the customizable ads provided in the “Agents/Brokers” area on TrustedChoice.com. (You will need your agency username and password to access this secured page. If you do not have your login information, e-mail Ines Hoyle at ines.hoyle@iiaba.net.) You don’t have to use just the TV ads to earn double-exposure. Print, radio and billboard ads are just as effective.
Start now by preparing your local ad campaigns. Agents who invest a little time and a small amount of resources in advertising can significantly raise the profile of their Trusted Choice® agency with local consumers—including existing and prospective customers. Don’t get left out in the rain – join in! Call your ad rep at the local TV or radio station or newspaper now to get started on tie-in ads for The Weather Channel in September and other months. For additional information, contact Jenner Gohr at 800-221-7197; jenner.gohr@iiaba.net. Virtual University Find Answers in Resource Library The Big “I” Virtual University contains a wealth of information for members and state association employees. VU’s one-stop shop has plenty of online CE courses, a plethora of articles and is home to the “Ask the Expert” question-and-answer forum. The VU Research Library is the single broadest and most comprehensive reference library in the industry. The library includes three main divisions: • Insurance Information. This division is further divided into personal lines, commercial lines and life-health and financial services. •Business Information. This division is devoted to agency management issues and general business and professional development skills. • Technology Information. This division includes information about how to more effectively use the internet and automation in your business. The VU also contains articles like “Workers’ Compensation and Illegal Immigrants” and “Why Some Agencies Can Sell and Others Can’t.” If you are looking for a particular topic, the user-friendly search tool does the work for you. This is a member benefit, so you must log-in to access the complete resource. If you don't know your user ID or password, e-mail your name and your agency’s name and address to logon@iiaba.net. For more information about the Virtual University, click here. Big “I” MarketsSM
Real Estate Reality Check Recent articles in USA Today and other papers across the country have heralded the screeching halt of the steam engine that was the real estate market. The go-go days of speculation that fueled escalating values, brisk new-home sales and overall market exuberance are apparently over. A tough market will make it harder for real estate agents, and it’s now more important than ever that they get and maintain real estate agents E&O coverage. That’s where you come in. Through Big “I” Markets, you have access to one of the best real estate agents E&O products on the market. Offered by Travelers, the First Choice real estate agents E&O product offers such options as: • Personal injury resulting from a covered professional service(s), Disciplinary proceeding defense expenses reimbursement up to $10,000. Increased liability limits available for those who qualify.
• Option to provide prior acts coverage without a retroactive date limitation, for those who qualify.
• Many extended reporting period options, including an unlimited time period endorsement option. Log into www.bigimarkets.com to access the real estate agents professional liability product. IA Magazine
September Issue Features NYT Roundtable IA has its finger on the pulse of insurance industry trends. Look for “All the Insurance Trends (Fit to Print)” in the September issue, a wrap-up of an industry roundtable hosted jointly by the New York Times and the Big “I” this summer. The roundtable featured carrier CEOs and agents talking about catastrophes, regulation, technology, market trends and more. The roundtable is part of an ongoing partnership between the Big “I” and the New York Times designed to help educate Times’ staff on insurance and the issues facing the industry. Look for the article in the September issue of IA.
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