F R I D A Y ,  S E P T E M B E R   2 2 ,   2 0 0 6

Industry News

Trusted Choice^®
Evans to Lead Trusted Choice^®

"Dave Evans’ communications expertise, along with his understanding of branding, his dedication to the independent agency system and his relationship with our company partners will inevitably lead to even greater growth and consumer awareness of Trusted Choice®," says Big "I" CEO Robert A. Rusbuldt. "Dave is highly respected by independent agents, brokers and company executives around the country and I have every confidence that he will work tirelessly to make Trusted Choice® a household name."

Evans, CFP, is regularly quoted as an insurance expert in broadcast and print media outlets, including CNN, CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the Washington Post. He is a frequent contributor to insurance trade magazines and authors a monthly column on financial services for IA magazine.

The new role will expand Evans’ communications and marketing responsibilities for the Big "I." Evans will continue to oversee the Big "I" communications department and serve as publisher of Independent Agent magazine, a natural fit that will create a new synergy for Trusted Choice®.

Current Trusted Choice® Executive Director Jeff Myers has decided to pursue other opportunities. "Jeff Myers did great work for Trusted Choice®, and we will miss him," Rusbuldt says. "We commend him for his commitment and dedication to building the Trusted Choice® brand."



Education
Earn Your AAI Designation

The Insurance Institute of America (IIA) recently approved new waivers in its Accredited Adviser in Insurance (AAI®) designation program. Insurance professionals holding the Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR) designation, a credential the Big "I" and the IIA jointly created, are entitled to the following waivers:

· AAI 81—Foundations of Insurance Production
· Segment AAI 81B, Personal Insurance, is waived for ACSR Modules 1-5, 10 & 11
· AAI 82—Multiple-Lines Insurance Production

Segment AAI 82A, Commercial Liability Insurance, is waived for ACSR Modules 4-9

The AAI designation program, which is specifically for agency personnel, teaches practical, real-world skills for staff to gain a competitive edge in the p-c insurance market. Students also may earn valuable CE credit for completing AAI courses.

To apply for the waiver, ACSRs should contact their Big "I" state association for more information. In addition to being available as a self-study program nationally, AAI is currently available in seminar format by state insurance associations in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Virginia.

Customer service representatives are a critical element in the success of every agency, and it is essential that they have the necessary technical knowledge and practical skills to serve their clients. The ACSR program can help those that want to build a firm foundation for their careers and provide them the tools they need to advance their professional skills and insurance education. Click here for more information about the ACSR program.



Diversity Task Force
New Strategic Plan Sets Objectives, Action Steps

The Big "I" Diversity Task Force met Sept. 15 during the 8th Annual National African-American Insurance Association National Convention. The task force announced that it has re-worked its strategic plan, which contains clear objectives with measurable action steps and target dates. The six goals of the task force align with the group’s mission. It will launch a new marketing campaign for the Associate in Insurance Agency Operations designation program. AIAO is a professional development training program for agents focusing on strategic planning, sales and customer service.

The Diversity Task Force congratulates Chairman Davis, NAAIA’s new president, and wishes much success to Aubrey Branch, the former president who was a wonderful resource to the task force on issues facing the minority agent population. We are also pleased to welcome our newest company partner, Encompass. For more information, contact Heather Owens at 703-706-5394; heather.owens@iiaba.net.



Big "I" Markets^SM
Contractors Market Now Available

Big "I" Markets recently procured a contractors market for both general liability and equipment. BIM has partnered with an experienced agency to bring you both markets. Target risks include construction contractors that are difficult to place with standard carriers. They can be residential and/or commercial, subcontractors or general contractors. Target contractor operations include roofing, steel erection (including fabrication), crane operations, millwright, excavation, grading, underground utilities, foundation, pile driving, demolition, home builders (including tract and custom homes), apartment construction, framing, masonry, swimming pools, street and road construction. Ineligible contractors are those with a significant pollution and/or professional liability exposure, scaffolding, nuclear, EFIS and oil/gas. 

This program is currently a five state pilot. At the conclusion of the pilot, BIM will provide full access for 15 more states. Additional states will be activated as they become available.

Arizona, California, Florida, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire and Rhode Island do not allow courtesy filings of E&S taxes. To access this program in these states, you will need to fax a copy of your E&S license to us at 703-995-4406 with a statement agreeing to file the taxes as required by your state regulation. Please make sure the statement includes your full agency name, address and phone number.

For complete details about this new product, log in to www.bigimarkets.com.


Best Practices
Help Secure Your Agency’s Future

Best Practices products offer a broad range of tools designed to meet your agency’s performance evaluation, research and management needs, including the "Agency Self-Diagnostic Tool," "Guide to Producer Contracts," "Customer Service Made Simple" and more. The Best Practices library continues to grow with the release of the "2006 Best Practices Study Update." This tool details the inner workings of today’s most successful agencies and provides benchmarks to measure against your own agency’s performance. It is best used in conjunction with the "2004 Best Practices Study" and the "2005 Best Practice Update."

Best Practices products effectively help agencies build success by understanding the past, analyzing the present and formulating a strategy for the future.

Key finding of the 2006 update include:

· Personal lines continue to be considered an important revenue source in the future by all revenue categories except the very largest agencies. Only 23.5% of agencies in the Over $25M category, versus 40% in 2004, indicated that personal lines would be an important revenue source for them in the future. On the other hand, the interest in individual l-h as an important source of agency revenues in the future dropped significantly in all revenue categories except the $10-$25M group where 27.6% versus 21.9% in 2004 said it will be an important source.

· Acquisition activity has slowed slightly, but the slowdown could be due to fewer agencies desiring to sell than fewer agencies desiring to acquire. The largest agencies are still active with 58% of them reporting an acquisition during their last fiscal year, but they are the ones with enough resources to win the bidding wars for available agencies.

· Net revenue growth rates dropped from double-digit rates to single-digit rates. The average growth rate was 7.25% for agencies with revenues under $5M and 8.5% for agencies with revenues over $5M.

· Best Practices Agencies remain very profitable. This is consistent with slight gains in productivity. Despite declining net revenue growth rates, revenue per employee, one of the most important productivity measures, increased in all but two study groups where it remained at past levels.

· Best Practices Agencies continue to hire new producers, especially agencies in the larger three revenue category study groups where more than 60% of the agencies reported they had hired new producers. Interestingly, there was a significant increase in the numbers that were hired from other industries versus the insurance industry.

Click here to access the Best Practices Gateway, where you can order the "2006 Best Practices Study," browse the latest research on top-rated agencies, rank performance against the Best Practices agencies, download useful tools to improve performance and share opinions and experiences on a variety of agency management issues. The gateway also provides a Performance Quick Check that lets you compare your agency’s performance in seven areas critical to agency value and to obtain an overall weighed performance score. With the score page, you can drill down to specific information for assessing and improving agency performance in seven areas. Readers also can review a complete menu of all available Best Practices resources, download samples and obtain ordering information.

For more information about the program, contact Madelyn Flannagan at 703-706-5437; madelyn.flannagan@iiaba.net

Young Agents
Young Agents Learn Skills for the Future

The  2006 Young Agents Leadership Institute took place Sept. 8 through 10 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside and featured numerous opportunities for Young Agents to learn new leadership and business development skills.

Keynote speakers Keith Harrell and Brian Bagley brought enthusiasm and knowledge to Young Agent attendees. After attending breakout sessions on membership development, political involvement and communications, Young Agents from across the country were able to walk away with the necessary tools to make their state Young Agents programs stronger.

The following YACs received awards:
Young Agents Committee Award: The Young Agents Committee of the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina
Young Agents Committee Award Runner-Up: The Young Brokers and Agent Committee of the Insurance Brokers & Agents of the West
Outstanding Membership Development Award: The Young Agents Committee of the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois
Outstanding State Committee Project: The Young Agents Committee of the Maine Insurance Agents Association
Young Agents Meeting Award: The Young Agents Council of the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents
Political Involvement Award: The Kentucky Young Insurance Professionals of the Independent Insurance Agents of Kentucky, Inc.
For more information, contact Katie Cosgrove at 800-221-7917; katie.cosgrove@iiaba.net

InVest
InVEST and SetWrite^TM Enhance Training for Students

InVEST, the only education program that strengthens the insurance industry by developing a large pool of qualified recruits, announced that SetWriteTM 3.0 Online Rating Software is now available to active InVEST programs nationwide. Rackley Rating, a Vertifore company, generously donated the software demo. The online rating tool will allow teachers and agent liaisons to show students what factors are involved in rating automobile and homeowner policies. SetWriteTM 3.0 enables agents to enter information once into a single interface and receive rates and related information directly from participating carriers in real-time. Users also will be able to access manufactured rates from carriers that have always been included in traditional comparative rating. This software will help enhance the simulation experience for InVEST students.

For more information and to register for the rating program, click hereor contact Sandra Skipper at 703-706-5437; sandra.skipper@iiaba.net.