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T H U R S D A Y , O C T O B E R 2 0 , 2 0 0 5 Get a Jump on 2006 Advertising Plans | Now is Time to Think Flood Insurance | SND Board Meeting Updates | Apply for a Grant | Young Agents Leadership Institute | Industry News T R U S T E D C H O I C E ®
Get a Jump on 2006 Advertising Plans Do you want to make an impact on local consumers in 2006? Start preparing your agency’s Trusted Choice® advertising and promotional plans now to secure the best deals and TV, radio and print advertising placements. By advertising locally, your agency can double its exposure, build name recognition and position it as the consumer’s Trusted Choice® for insurance and financial services. Leverage nationwide ad flights by running local ad campaigns using the Trusted Choice® "tag-able" TV, radio and print ads. The first step is to determine what media—TV, radio, print, outdoor or Internet—will most effectively reach local consumers. The next step is to contact the appropriate advertising representative to develop a media schedule with dates, times and rates. The tag-able ads are accessible here. These local marketing materials educate consumers about the value-added services—choice of companies, customized policies and advocacy support—your Trusted Choice® agency provides. With these ready-to-use advertising materials, it’s easy to insert individual agency contact information and to run them in local media. To preview and order the tag-able TV and radio ads, click here, log into the "Agents/Brokers" area and then click "Advertising." You can download the print ads directly from the Web site. Additionally, there is helpful information about how to launch a local Trusted Choice® advertising campaign. Trusted Choice® will announce before year’s end the dates for 2006 national advertising activities. For more information, contact Jeff Myers or Stacy Heatherington at 800-221-7917; jeff.myers@iiaba.net, stacy.heatherington@iiaba.net. T O P B I G “ I ” M A R K E T S
Now is Time to Think Flood Insurance As you read this, Hurricane Wilma is heading toward Florida as one of the strongest storms on record. In the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the more recent New England flooding, now is the perfect opportunity to remind all your customers about the importance of flood insurance. Everyone needs flood insurance. Not just beachfront property owners in Miami. The small, mountainous town of Keene, N.H., this past weekend received more than 11 inches of rain in 28 hours; its normal monthly rainfall is 3 inches. With substantial flooding in about 40% of this community of 20,000, the damage is severe. Bridges, office buildings, roads and homes have been destroyed. This small New Hampshire town never expected to be flooded, and the ramifications will run deep. Thomas Minkler, IIANH Chairman of the Board, of Clark-Mortenson Agency, Inc., and resident of Keene, N.H., writes in an e-mail: What makes this particularly painful is that most residents in this area choose to not purchase flood insurance, as flooding is such an unusual event in the western part of our state---we live in a mountainous region. All of our client annual reviews address flood coverage, but unfortunately, it often falls on deaf ears until something like this happens. We are telling an awful lot of people, "no coverage." It is a very helpless feeling not being able to help these folks when they need us most. Take the lessons learned from recent events and talk to all of your customers about flood insurance. Touch base with your existing flood insurance customers to roll their policy over to Big "I" Markets. 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. Big "I" Markets will help you through the entire process of quoting and policy issuance and claim processing. By participating in our program, you are helping support your state association and its efforts to keep dues down and benefits to members on the rise. Click here to learn more. For more information, contact Linda Mackey at 800-221-7917; linda.mackey@iiaba.net. T O P I I A B A N E W S
SND Board Meeting Updates The following is a summary of the State National Directors Board meeting from Sept. 9 to10, 2005, in New York City: President’s Report—President Grau commended the Executive Committee, Committee members and chairs, Bob Rusbuldt and staff for their work over the year. He noted that IIABA has proactively and effectively addressed the producer compensation disclosure issue, including adopting a policy on this key issue. He noted that the Professional Liability Committee has done incredible work, there is great momentum in Trusted Choice®, ACT continues to work hard to enhance business efficiency via technology, the Co-Branded Website program continues to have IIABA and state associations combine resources and collaborate effectively, Technical Affairs Committee is reinvigorated, the insurance and non-insurance programs and services are doing well and the Alexandria building mortgage is paid off. President Grau concluded by noting that the association is in the finest shape it has enjoyed for years and is well-positioned to serve its mission. He thanked everyone for the honor and privilege of serving the association as its president. CEO Report—IIABA CEO Bob Rusbuldt reported that the past 30 days have been very busy responding to the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. He commented that the IIAA Educational Foundation (a 501(c)3 organization) established the Big "I" Katrina Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to those in the insurance industry affected by this natural disaster, including member agencies and their employees. Rusbuldt noted that InsurBanc is administering the fund, so contributions (which are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law) can be made online. He also reported that IIABA is developing a membership campaign and will work on its implementation with interested state association. Hurricane Katrina—David Daniel (Executive Committee member from Louisiana) and Ronnie Tubertini (former State National Director from Mississippi and immediate past chair of the Government Affairs Committee) gave moving personal accounts of the damage and devastation in their communities and states due to Hurricane Katrina. They related stories reflecting the incredible commitment agents have to their policyholders and communities, such as agents taking people into their homes to stay, and using chainsaws to cut through debris to make a path to their agencies so they could take claims at folding tables as offices were destroyed and/or without power. The SND Board approved a contribution of $100,000 from the Contingency Fund to the Big "I" Katrina Relief Fund. President and CEO Q&A—President Grau and CEO Bob Rusbuldt held a joint Q&A session for the SND Board. One issue concerned the long-term effect of Hurricane Katrina, including on provisions in policy language. President Grau noted the commitment of IIABA to working with the industry on issues/concerns related to coverage and forms, and that all appropriate committees and staff will be engaged to work on this issue. Long-Range Strategic Plan (LRSP)—David Daniel, chair of the Planning Committee, reported that the Planning Committee will work to be sure that the LRSP remains updated, and that state national director input is timely solicited about changes needed on an ongoing basis. Finance Committee Report—Mike Moss, chair of the Finance Committee, reported that the association is in very good financial shape. He reviewed the 2004-2005 results and commented that total assets are more than $19 million and there is no long-term debt. He reviewed the proposed final budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year, and the Board of State National Directors approved it. Government Affairs—Ronnie Tubertini, outgoing chair of the Government Affairs Committee (GAC), noted that the work of the federal government affairs staff is outstanding in identifying issues early, updating the GAC about issues as they develop, monitoring progression of those issues and assuring that IIABA’s positioning and strategy are developed thoroughly and implemented effectively. Charles Symington, senior vice president for government affairs and federal relations, reported that Congress will spend considerable time during the next few months considering the immediate needs of those harmed by the recent natural disasters. He added that Congress already passed two emergency supplemental bills to provide in excess of $60 billion of help to those in need. Symington pointed out that the substantial criticism about relief efforts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is expected to include FEMA’s role as administrator of NFIP. He described two camps within the insurance industry on how to deal with a natural disaster risk: 1) Allow insurance companies to set aside tax-free reserves; and 2) Offer primary reinsurance companies (like for coverage of terrorism) the resources they need. IIABA will monitor and participate in the federal legislative activities on these issues. Symington also reported that it does not appear that the administration will support an extension of the current TRIA program. He added that there is broad bipartisan support for a solution to terrorism insurance in Congress, but no unanimous agreement on what it should look like. Various bills are expected in the House and Senate, but it is unclear what will move forward with the support of the White House. Symington gave an update about the status of the State Modernization and Regulatory Transparency (SMART) Act in Congress. He noted that it has been difficult to bring the entire industry together on the appropriate direction of insurance regulatory reform. He said that the he doesn’t expect a bill to be introduced this year. He added that there is support for optional federal charters (OFC) by some carriers. IIABA is opposed to OFCs and will continue to work hard on this issue. Wes Bissett, senior vice president of government affairs and state relations, reported that there has not been much regulatory activity recently on producer compensation disclosure, with the exception of a few states. He noted that IIABA prefers NCOIL’s approach to the issue rather than the NAIC’s. He added that IIABA is working hard to assure that carriers do not impose disclosure mandates on agents that are not required by law. InsurPac—Robb Dale, chair of InsurPac, stated that the new goal for InsurPac is to raise $2 million in a two-year cycle. Nathan Riedel, vice president of political affairs, noted that this year’s current pace is $60,000 ahead of last year’s pace. He also reported that the states that made their goals, to date, included Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. Riedel added that InsurPac is now able to accept online contributions. Board Steering/Election—Doug Ball, chair of the Board Steering/Election Committee, reported that Mike Miley (Indiana) was elected to the at-large Executive Committee position. He announced that there currently are three candidates running for the 2006 at-large Executive Committee position: Al Shank (Kansas), Dino Gavanes (Illinois) and Tommy Cook (South Carolina). InsurBanc—Rick Davis, chair of InsurBanc, introduced InsurBanc’s new president, David Tralka. Tralka commented that InsurBanc is growing and profitable and is doing business in more than 40 states. He welcomed anyone interested in doing business with the bank to contact him. Big "I" Advantage, Inc.—Garrett Ratcliffe, chair of IIAA Membership Services, Inc. (MSI), reported that MSI is responsible for the non-insurance products and services, which include IA magazine. He added that the IA was very successful during the past year. Mike Miley, chair of IIAA Agency Administrative Services, Inc. (AAS), reported that AAS is responsible for insurance products, including E&O, employee benefits, retirement and markets development. He noted the ongoing efforts to maintain the strength of all these programs. Matt Berry, chair of the Professional Liability Committee (PLC), reported that the IIABA-endorsed E&O program is very healthy. He reported that the PLC subcommittees (Competitive Strategy Subcommittee, Rating Basis Subcommittee, Additional Markets Subcommittee, Loss Data/Information Subcommittee, Loss Control Subcommittee) are important to the effective management of the program. Guest Speaker—Michael Brown, president and CEO of Harleysville, was a guest speaker. Harleysville recently joined Trusted Choice® as the 31st carrier supporting the branding movement. Big "I" Virtual University—Mike Donohoe, chair of the Big "I" Virtual University, reported that VU has 75 online classes for both CE and ACSR credit, and 40 experts answering members’ questions through the Ask An Expert service. Lisa Harrington gave an update on the Elite Sales Program, which is targeted to agents with three years of experience. She noted that the designation program is able to track an agent’s production after the program and is designed to enhance sales success. Trusted Choice®—Ron Smith, chair of Trusted Choice®, reported that Trusted Choice® has surpassed its 2005 goal of having 5,000 retail agency locations and has 31 participating companies. Executive Director Jeff Myers reported that Trusted Choice® engaged in TV cable advertising and online advertising with a heavy concentration occurring in May—Trusted Choice® month. Myers noted that there were two billboards advertising Trusted Choice® in Times Square in New York City during the Big "I" Convention last month—one sponsored by Drive Insurance and the other on the ABC Jumbotron, sponsored by Trusted Choice®. He commented that the States Grants Program was very successful in 2005 and will be continued in 2006. Myers emphasized the importance of continuing to focus on recruiting and retention of participating agencies. He announced the hiring of Stacy Heatherington as brand manager to work with the state associations individually on their recruiting and retention efforts. Trusted Choice® Big "I" Junior Classic—Bob Bramlett, chair of the Trusted Choice® Big "I" Junior Classic, announced the successful completion of the 2005 tournament. He added that the sites for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 tournaments had been selected. 2006 Convention—Ed Higgins, outgoing chair of the Convention Task Force, reported that the Task Force was charged to maximize attendance to this year’s annual convention, and has worked hard to assure that the program is robust and exciting. Rusbuldt emphasized that the annual convention will not be discontinued but rather will move to be held consecutively with the National Legislative Conference in the spring in Washington, D.C. Special Presentations—Rusbuldt recognized Bob Jartz (State Executive, Wisconsin) and Jeff Yates (Executive Director, Agents Council for Technology), for their 30 years of service to agents. President Grau gave Presidential Citations for outstanding service to the following individuals: Wes Bissett, Katie Butler, Patrick O’Brien, Jeff Albright, Bob Skow, Matt Berry, BeBe Canter, Doug Thompson and Roger Jean. President Grau announced that New Mexico won the L.P. McCord Education Award in the less than 250 members category, Alabama in the less than 460 members category and Washington in the less than 1,000 members category. T O P K A T R I N A R E L I E F F U N D
Apply for a Grant The Big "I" Katrina Relief Fund is now accepting applications for grants from affected agents. To download an application, click here. To read the Big "I" Katrina Relief Fund distribution guidelines, click here. The Big "I" Katrina Relief Fund has collected more than $300,000 to date. The fund will assist those whose lives were tragically altered by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. All donations will assist insurance industry colleagues, including independent agents, brokers, their employees and families in the impacted areas. Make checks payable to "Big ‘I’ Katrina Relief Fund" and mail to: Big "I" Katrina Relief Fund
c/o InsurBanc
10 Executive Drive
Farmington, CT 06032 If you prefer to contribute via credit card, please click here. All funds contributed to the Big "I" Katrina Relief Fund are tax deductible as charitable contributions. T O P Y O U N G A G E N T S
Young Agents Leadership Institute Save the Date! The Young Agents Leadership Institute will take place Sept. 8 through 10, 2006, in conjunction with the NBSD meeting planned for the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. For more information, contact Leslie Mularski at 800-221-7917; leslie.mularski@iiaba.net. T O P
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