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Industry News

Trusted Choice^®
New Trusted Choice^® Television Ads Available

Trusted Choice^® has two new tag-able TV ads for member agents to use. The first ad focuses on the Pledge of Performance, which resonates well with consumers, and uses six different Trusted Choice^® agents from around the country to recite different tenets of the pledge. This ad began running nationally on The Weather Channel on Sept. 8, just in time for hurricane season. The second ad emphasizes commercial lines and focuses on rebuilding a business following a disaster. In 2005, Ray Murphy, owner of Daniel’s South Beach Restaurant in Bay St Louis, Miss., bought a wind policy from his Trusted Choice^® agent on a Thursday and then his restaurant was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina on Sunday. This ad really shows how Trusted Choice^® agents are there for customers and businesses following a disaster. The ads can be found in the Agents/Brokers section of TrustedChoice.com, under Advertising – TV Commercials. Trusted Choice^® strongly encourages you to utilize these new ads and run them on local cable or network TV with your agency information in the ad’s tag-able section.

Also, as  a continuation of last year’s advertising plan, Trusted Choice^® commercials will air for two weeks out of every month on different national cable TV stations. Both ads will be utilized in the advertising schedule. The national cable TV ad schedule is as follows:

• Oct. 13 – 26   Fox News
• Nov. 3 – 16    CNN
• Dec. 8 – 21    The Food Network
• Jan. 5 – 18    The Travel Channel
• Feb.2 – 15     The Weather Channel
• March 9 – 22  Fox News
• April 6 – 19    The Travel Channel
• May 4 – 17    Fox News
• June 8 – 21    The Food Network
• July 7 – 20     CNN
• Aug. 17 – 30   The Weather Channel

Detailed show schedules for national advertising are also available on the Web site under Ad Flight Schedules.

You will need your agency username and password to access these areas of the secured “Agents/Brokers” section of www.TrustedChoice.com. If you do not have this login information, send an e-mail to Trusted.Choice@iiaba.net to request it.

For more information, contact Jenner Gohr at 800- 221-7917; jenner.gohr@iiaba.net.


Best Practices
2008 Best Practices Agencies Revealed

Since 1993 the annual Best Practices Study has served as a tool to help agency owners and managers understand how their business operations perform and measure up to the top performing firms across the country. It is a “must have” for agencies that want superior performance through soft markets, hard markets and an ever-changing industry. The Big “I” and Reagan Consulting congratulate the 2008 Best Practices Agencies for their continued success. This year’s release, the 2008 Best Practices Study Update, demonstrates that while positive revenue growth was difficult to achieve, Best Practices agencies continued to invest in new production talent. The majority of agencies with revenues of more than $2.5 million hired at least 1.5 new producers during the last fiscal year, with the largest agencies hiring an average of 9.4 new producers. The average starting salary across all the revenue categories ranged from $52,000 to $95,000. The largest agencies, those with revenues of more than $25 million, tended to hire more experienced producers while those in the lower revenue categories tended to hire producers with less sales and/or insurance experience. This year’s study seems to indicate that Best Practices Agencies are proactively taking steps to grow even in a very soft market and during tough economic times. Click here to review the 2008 Practices Agencies and click here to learn more by obtaining the 2008 Best Practices Study Update. For more information email BestPractices@iiaba.net.


InVEST
New Mexico Association Recognizes the War for Talent

With the help of InVEST and input from other industry professionals, the IIA of New Mexico has developed and launched a nine-week insurance program at Central New Mexico Community College. Jeff Straight, education director of the IIANM, led this project after attending the recent InVEST State Champions Workshop in Westfield Center, Ohio.

"Hearing the statistics related to (the) war for talent was especially eye opening and got me fired up,” Straight says. “We need to wake up and look around. The industry will be in tough shape if we don’t bring people in.” 

Through ongoing collaboration with CNM Community College and the CNM’s Workforce Training Center, the program was designed to offer innovative, customized training and skill development to students who have decided to make career changes. The program, which kicks off Oct. 21, will consist of two modules. The first module is scheduled to run for five weeks and will introduce the basics of insurance, and prepare students for the state insurance licensing exam. Upon completion of the first module, students have the option to go directly to work in the industry or continue on to the second four-week module comprised of computer and insurance management system training.

Additionally, once students have completed the program, they will have the opportunity to be placed with local agents who are in need of new talent.

“What we are trying to accomplish is to have a steady flow of people going through the program and therefore come into our industry,” Straight says.

Would your state like to shine in the InVEST spotlight? Share what your state is doing to tackle the war for talent and promote the insurance industry. For more information, contact the national staff at 1-88-221-7917. For more information about this training program, contact Straight at 505-999-5802; jeff@iianm.org.

InVEST a 501 (c)(3) educational trust, is dedicated to improving insurance literacy and attracting new talent to the industry. For more information, visit www.investprogram.org.


Big I Advantage^SM
Save with Hertz

Big "I" members enjoy special year-round discounts from Hertz on daily, weekly, weekend and monthly rentals for business or pleasure for members traveling in the U.S. and worldwide. The Big “I” discount code for Hertz is CDP #0034948. Call 1-800-654-2210 or visit www.hertz.com when making a reservation. Present your Hertz Member Discount Card at the time of rental. To receive a card, e-mail Elif Wisecup at elif.wisecup@iiaba.net.