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T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 0 7 Industry News TRUSTED CHOICE®
Midwest Family Mutual Insurance Co. Joins Trusted Choice® Midwest Family Mutual Insurance Company, based in Minnetonka, Minn., is the newest independent agency system insurance company and first insurance company with headquarters in Minnesota to join the Trusted Choice® brand movement.
“Midwest Family is very pleased to join the ranks of Trusted Choice® as a company partners,” says Ron Boyd, CEO of Midwest Family Mutual Company. “There is no doubt branding has a marked influence on consumer preferences. Many of our competitors are already spending large sums of money on brand promotion dollars to attract customers to their door. Midwest Family is, and for 116 years has been, 100% dedicated to the independent agency system of insurance marketing. As a result, it makes perfect sense to get involved with promoting the Trusted Choice® brand. Also, we fully expect that our future new agency appointments in our current and expansion states will be focused on Trusted Choice® agencies.”
“We are pleased to welcome Midwest Family Mutual into Trusted Choice® ,” says Dave Evans, executive director of Trusted Choice®. “Midwest Family Mutual selects their agents to provide the best in ‘value added’ service to their consumers – an approach that mirrors the Trusted Choice® brand promise.”
Founded in 1891, Midwest Family Mutual is a multiple line property-casualty insurer actively writing personal and commercial lines in seven Midwestern states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. Future expansion plans for the A- rated company include the states of Missouri, Kansas, Indiana and Ohio. More information can be found on the company’s web site at https://midwestfamily.com/.
“We eagerly look forward to assisting Midwest Family Mutual and their agents with implementing the Trusted Choice® message into all that they do,” says Bob Rusbuldt, Big “I” President & CEO. “We were pleased to learn that the company is committed to growing the awareness of the Trusted Choice® brand among consumers, the agency community, and the entire insurance industry.”
Trusted Choice® was launched in 2001 by the Big “I” and several independent agency companies to highlight the benefits independent agencies and brokerage firms offer consumers—choice of companies, customization of policies and advocacy support. Trusted Choice® is promoted through a combination of national, state-level and local-agency advertising, promotional and marketing activities; insurance company branding; public relations campaigns; and Internet communications.
TRUSTED CHOICE®
Tip Sheet from Trusted Choice® Consumer Study on High-Tech Electronics Last week’s edition of IN&V featured a story on the consumer survey by Trusted Choice® and the Big “I” regarding insurance coverage on high-tech electronic gifts. Along with the survey results, the Big “I” gave consumers a series of tips on some common and important coverage exceptions for electronic items. Due to high demand, we wanted to provide it to everyone this week. For a copy of the sheet, click here.
LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE & CONVENTION
Register Now and Win an iPhone The Big “I” Legislative Conference & Convention will be April 2-4, 2008 in Washington, D.C. The annual event offers agents an opportunity to participate in advocacy, innovation and exhibits not available anywhere else. CNN political analyst Paul Begala and the host of MSNBC’s Tucker, Tucker Carlson, will address attendees at the general session on April 4 at 4:30 p.m. The Big “I” is looking for early registrants to be entered in a drawing for one of three iPhones. Three names will be drawn from the registration system at 12 p.m. EST on Feb. 1, 2008. The three recipients will be listed on the Big “I” Web site and will be contacted to coordinate delivery. Those who have already registered don’t need to do anything else. Those registering at 12:01 p.m. EST or later on Feb. 1 will not be eligible for this opportunity. All attendees registered through Feb. 14 will receive over a 20% discount (exclusive of company representatives). Click here for more details about the event or to register online.
YOUNG AGENTS
Calling All Young Agents Calling all outstanding Young Agents Committees! Have you recently accomplished something you would like to share on the Big “I” National Young Agents Web site? Tell us your story: do you have a thriving event, an effective communication tool, or a member of your Young Agents group who has become a valued leader? Your stories and successes will be shared on the Big “I” National Young Agents page in the “Young Agents Spotlight” section, Young Agents Connection page and possibly featured in an upcoming issue of Insurance News & Views. The goal of the Big “I” National Young Agents page is to make it more platform-oriented for Young Agents to share information, brochures, ideas and goals. Visit www.independentagent.com and click on Young Agents to see where your story will be posted. For more information or to submit your story, contact Katie Cosgrove, manager of the National Young Agents program, at 800-221-7917; katie.cosgrove@iiaba.net.
BIG “I” FLOOD PROGRAMSM
Big “I” Flood and Selective Offer Agent Incentives Big “I” Flood Program and its company partner Selective Insurance are offering incentives for agents and their staff from Dec. 1, 2007 to Feb. 29, 2008 who write or roll new flood policies into the program using either Big “I” MarketsSM or Selective’s Flood Online® system. Click here for the details. For more information contact our resident flood guru Linda Mackey at 800-221-7917; linda.mackey@iiaba.net.
InVEST
Looking for Your Future Workforce? InVEST Who will perpetuate the independent agent system five, 10 or even 20 years from now? How do we help educate consumers about an industry that will affect real-world financial decisions? The answer is InVEST.
For more than 30 years, volunteers, association staff and educators nationwide have been the driving force of this one-of-a-kind program that educates high school and college students on insurance, financial services and risk management. As a 501c(3) educational foundation, InVEST fuels the future of the independent agency system by developing a diverse pool of future insurance professionals. Furthermore, by instituting this program in high schools and colleges, educators provide students with knowledge that will affect their financial life, from a first car to retirement. InVEST teaches real-life skills.
InVEST thrives because of dedicated industry volunteers, staff and educators. Be an industry expert in your community and build relationships with a diverse pool of future employees. Gain respect among educators and neighbors by helping students become educated consumers. InVEST provides all the tools you need to start an InVEST program, speak publicly about insurance, start an internship program, host a job-shadowing day and so much more. Contact InVEST national staff at 800-221-7917 or visit www.investprogram.org to learn how you can help fuel the future of the independent agent industry.
VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY
You’ve Got an Expert at VU No matter how much experience you have, no matter how much knowledge you’ve picked up along the way and how good your research skills are, you’re going to get stumped sooner or later. Wouldn’t it be great if there were someone out there who knew everything? Someone who never got stumped, flustered or confused? And wouldn’t it be great if that person were just a phone call away, 24/7? Well, we’ve got the next best thing: “Ask an Expert” from the Big “I” Virtual University.
Available to all Big “I” members, “Ask an Expert” is the go-to area of the VU for questions that just can’t be answered in the Research Library, classrooms or student lounge. And taking advantage of this feature couldn’t be easier. Members simply log in and fill out a form and their question gets routed to one of our 50+ experts. Questions are tracked and responses are compiled so that the questioner can expect an answer usually within three business days, and often much sooner than that.
The VU experts have handled more than 10,000 requests so far, on topics ranging from coverage and claims issues to questions about agency valuation. No matter what your question—from the simplest issue to the most complex—the VU experts either know the answer or will find someone who does.
So next time you find yourself stumped, don’t bang your head against the desk. Simply surf the Big “I” Virtual University and open up a dialogue with the best minds in the business. Visit the Big "I" VU at www.iiaba.net/VU. to find instructions on getting your login ID and password to access this free resource.
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