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July 28, 2010
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| In this Issue
• 'Ask Tim' Podcast Takes Mystery Out of NY No-Fault Insurance Law
• Get IIABNY 'Situation Room' Updates on Your Mobile Phone
• New Federal Law Leaves Day-to-Day Insurance Regulation at State Level
• Attn. NYAIP Producers: AIPSO to Introduce Revamped Website; Registration Required
• Attorneys Keidel, Weldon to Address Social Media Exposures During Webinar
• Fall Education Classes, Web CE Offer Variety in Meeting BR License Renewal Deadline
• Learn How to Calculate Fair Market Value at Aug. 5 VU Webinar
• The E&O Report, August 2010
"Additional Questions from the Annual E&O Loss Control Seminar" (Member login required)
| Hot Links Local Events | Education Calendar | E&O Reports | Capitol Reports | The Situation Room | Technology
Word on the Street Podcast | Ask Tim Podcast
| 'Ask Tim' Podcast Takes Mystery Out of NY No-Fault Insurance Law
Rumors circulated for months that Tim Dodge, IIABNY director of research & media relations, might be a fan of comedian Stephen Colbert, who is host of the Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report." Now, there’s hard evidence Dodge is probably a member of the "Colbert Nation" as we discover in the latest episode of the "Ask Tim" video podcast series. Dodge, who doubles as host of the podcast, borrowed a popular feature of "The Colbert Report" to explain the complexities of New York’s no-fault insurance law. See how Dodge managed to add "The Word" to the "Ask Tim" vocabulary of insurance education, then check out his "Ask Tim" blog for more information on this and other issues not covered by the podcast. If you are a member with a technical or research question that you think should be featured in a future "Ask Tim" episode, you can submit your ideas by giving Dodge a phone call at (800) 962-7950, ext. 229, send an e-mail message to him or complete an online form. Your question might be featured on "Ask Tim." If you are already using a news reader or aggregator, subscribe to "Ask Tim" by clicking on the "Subscribe to my Podcast" link in the left column of the Weblog. If you want to subscribe and aren't already using a news reader or aggregator, here are links to a couple of the many software applications available: Bloglines and AmphetaDesk. | | | Top of page | | | Get IIABNY 'Situation Room' Updates on Your Mobile Phone
Be the first to get breaking news on the producer compensation disclosure regulation, important legislation and marketplace developments. Sign up today to receive IIABNY news alerts on your mobile phone. Simply text "iiabny" (without the quotation marks) to 67553 or enter your phone number in the application on our website. Standard text and messaging rates apply. So as not to send excessive numbers of messages, we will send them only when we are posting breaking news to The Situation Room page on the website. IIABNY will use your cell phone information only for sending these text alerts and to contact you should a catastrophe affect your area of the state and prevent us from reaching your office to provide assistance. | | | Top of page | | | New Federal Law Leaves Day-to-Day Insurance Regulation at State Level
Last week, Pres. Barack Obama signed the "Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act" into law. The 2,300-page bill was drafted in response to the recent financial crisis and is the most sweeping piece of financial reform legislation since the Great Depression. It includes a number of provisions intended to prevent future bailouts of financial firms, monitor systemic risk and regulate products such as derivatives, mortgages and credit cards. This effort has come a long way over the past year and ultimately included several major victories for the Big "I." As previously reported in IIABA’s Insurance News & Views newsletter and by IIABNY, the majority of this legislation does not apply to insurance and leaves the day-to-day regulation of insurance at the state level. Title V, the insurance title of the bill, includes surplus lines and reinsurance reform and creates a Federal Insurance Office, which will serve as a non-regulatory insurance informational office at the federal level. The office will also play a role in representing U.S. interests with international insurance agreements. Throughout the legislative process, IIABA fought hard to ensure that the office would have limited authority and that insurance agents and brokers would not be subject to mandatory data requests from the FIO. These changes are reflected in the bill that was signed into law. | | | Top of page | | | Attn. NYAIP Producers: AIPSO to Introduce Revamped Website; Registration Required
AIPSO, which provides administrative and management services for state automobile insurance plans, recently distributed an e-mail notification to all parties signed up for its e-mail alerts. The notification anounced AIPSO’s new website. The new version of the website is seen by AIPSO as a major step forward in shifting delivery of its services and products from a paper-based process to an integrated Web system, as well as establishing AIPSO.com as the primary interface for customers seeking to do business with the organization. The redesigned AIPSO website and all AIPSO-managed Plan websites, including the New York Auto Insurance Plan, will be far more user-friendly than their predecessors, according to AIPSO. The sites will feature: simplified log-in for users introduction of a search box easier, more self-intuitive site navigation for users enhanced security features (complying with generally accepted industry standards) a reliable and flexible platform for future enhancements
An on-line tutorial previewing some of the features that the redesigned website will offer is now available under Announcements on the AIPSO home page. All of the content that appears on the current versions of AIPSO and the Plan websites will be migrated to the new versions. All parties signed up for the e-mail alerts will continue to receive the alerts, but in order to access a Plan’s electronic manual or circulars, they will now be required to register (or re-register) at the redesigned website, providing basic information (including e-mail address as well as a user name) and a password (at least eight characters and containing at least one upper case letter, one lower case letter and a number). If you have any questions regarding the redesigned AIPSO/plan websites, e-mail them to AIPSO. A video tutorial previewing the new website is also available on the current AIPSO site. | | | Top of page | | | Attorneys Keidel, Weldon to Address Social Media Exposures During Webinar
Jim Keidel and Chris Weldon, partners with the law firm of Keidel, Weldon & Cunningham, LLP will join Paul Banuski, IIABNY marketing and communications coordinator, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 5 for part three of IIABNY’s social media Webinar series "The Counter-Revolution: Manage Your Risk in a Social Media World." The trio will address social media errors and omissions exposures, along with privacy issues, advertising rules, employment practices liability issues and other potential social media risks. Keidel and Weldon will offer information on how to manage these risks and exposures associated with employee use of social media use in your agency. Agency principals, producers, sales and marketing managers, human resource managers and IT staff can benefit from this Webinar. The purchase of one link allows conference-style viewing for your entire agency. Note: this Webinar is not approved for continuing education credit. Part 1 of the Webinar series, a free introduction originally offered live on July 8, is archived on the IIABNY Web site. | | | Top of page | | | Fall Education Classes, Web CE Offer Variety in Meeting BR License Renewal Deadline
Sublicensees on an agency’s corporate Broker (BR) license must earn 15 continuing education credits by Oct. 31 in order to renew the agency’s license. The IIABNY Fall 2010 Education Calendar offers a variety of courses presented by experienced instructors at convenient locations across New York state to help brokers meet the CE license requirements by the deadline. Check the Fall 2010 Education Calendar for a complete list of dates, locations, instructors and topics. New Web CE dates and topics have also been recently added. Tim Dodge, IIABNY director of research and media relations, will present the Web CE version of "Can They Do That?" at 10 a.m. Aug. 17. Dodge, who is also host of the "Ask Tim" video podcast series, will provide information regarding regulations that govern agents, brokers and insurance carriers in New York. All personal and commercial lines staff can benefit from this Web CE course, which is approved for two continuing education credits for all licenses. At 11 a.m. Sept. 16, instructor Jill Gidge will present a new Web CE program, "Commercial Property Endorsements - What to Use and When!" which is approved for one CE credit for PC, BR, C3 and PA licenses. Additional Web CE dates and topics will be added soon. | | | Top of page | | | Learn How to Calculate Fair Market Value at Aug. 5 VU Webinar
An agency valuation estimates the fair market value of your business at a point in time. The same agency may have a variety of values depending on the circumstances. An agency that experienced the unexpected death of its principal would certainly have a different value than the same agency with a healthy owner intent on continuing his career. If you think that when you retire or die you or your family will get some magical multiple of revenues, think again. That philosophy will either cheat you out of the just value of your agency or serve as a shock when you are offered a price far different than you expected. How much is your agency worth? In the simplest terms, the value of an agency is its sustainable future earnings power under the specific circumstances that generate the valuation. Whether the agency maintains its current owners, perpetuates internally or perpetuates externally, its value can only be determined by a pro forma estimate of its continued earning power under each circumstance. To learn more about agency valuation, register to attend a new Big "I" Virtual University Webinar, "De-Mystifying Agency Valuation," scheduled from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 5. The Webinar will be presented by Al Diamond, president of Agency Consulting Group, Inc., a Virtual University expert and well-known, hands-on consultant to the insurance industry. For more information on the Webinar, send an e-mail message or read the promotional flyer (pdf document). For more information on agency valuation, go to the VU Research Library (login and password required). | | | Top of page | | |
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