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Greetings,
Welcome to the latest issue of the Independent Insurance Agents
of Oklahoma newsletter, your source for the latest insurance news in
Oklahoma.
The Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma association is
all about YOU, the independent insurance agent. We exist to serve you by
taking the lead in protection, education, legislation and reform. IIAO
helps YOU on the front lines and behind the scenes we are saving you time,
energy and money.
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Oklahoma News
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KAIROS RETURNING OCTOBER 24-25 IN STILLWATER
Mark your calendars for the return of the KAIROS Conference. This year's
agenda includes some of our most requested oil & gas topics plus a
tour of the OSU Athletic Facilities. Watch for more information coming
out at the end of this month - space is limited!
YOUNG AGENTS INVITE YOU!
The Young Agents of Oklahoma want to invite you to one of their upcoming
lunch bunch meetings. On August 28th, they
will meet at BJ's Restaurant in Oklahoma City. On September 25th, they
will meet at Baker's Street Pub & Grill in Tulsa. There is not a
better opportunity to meet fellow young agents and network with company
representatives. The only cost is your lunch! Click on the links above to
register - we will save you a seat!
ARE YOU USING THE CORRECT LOGO?
In September 2011, IIABA discontinued the use of the Big "I"
logo. Make sure you are using the Trusted Choice logo on your letterhead
and business cards. To download the latest copy of the logo, go to www.trustedchoice.com/logo,
scroll to the bottom of the page and click the link for the logo you
want. You will need your IIAO username and password to view the logos. If
you don't remember it, go
to our page and click on "forgot password" link below the
login box.
WHICH DO YOU PREFER: CRIMSON OR ORANGE?
All you OU and OSU fans, get ready to support your school along with the
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. During college football season, we will
be running a promotion to raise funds for the Food Bank. The winning
school gets bragging rights for a whole year! Watch for more information
coming soon!
BRAMLETT TO BE INSTALLED ON SEPT. 8
Oklahoma's Bob Bramlett will be installed September 8th in Atlanta as
2013 Chairman of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of
America. Join us at this exciting celebration as Bramlett becomes the
third Oklahoman to take the reins of the national association. The
installation will be held at a luncheon at the Westin Peachtree Plaza
Hotel in Atlanta. Oklahoma will host a reception in Bob's honor starting
at 5:00 p.m. Contact Dan Ramsey at IIAO for more information on tickets
for the installation. Don't worry if you can't make it to Atlanta - we
will be hosting a reception for Bob and Nanette at IIAO's office on
September 25th!
BITUMINOUS' KEM TO HEAD FOR HAITI
A group of oil-field operators, including Joe Kem from Bituminous
Insurance, will head to Haiti this fall to drill a water well. The trip
will take place from September 29 through October 6. Ken Murphy of Enviro
Clean along with Kem, will lead a group of 28 volunteers to drill the
well and pour a concrete slab to set up a medical clinic. The clinic is
being donated by Hospitals of Hope. Visit www.oilfieldmissiontrip.org
for more information on the trip.
Visit IIAO's website
for the most up-to-date news...
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Trusted
Choice/IIABA News
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 IIABA
NATIONAL COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
Oklahoma is well represented on IIABA committees! Congratulations to the
following individuals on their appointments - we know they will serve Oklahoma
and the industry well! IIAO Education Director Susie Current has been
appointed to the Big "I" Virtual University Committee.
Immediate Past Chairman Jed Dillingham has been selected for the IIABA
Health Care Task Force. New State Director Denise Johnsonwill start her
first year as State Director on the InVEST Board of Trustees. And
Ardmore's Jake Bramlett will serve on the Trusted Choice® Big
"I" National Championship Junior Golf Committee.
TRUSTED CHOICE® TO RAISE MONEY FOR MAKE-A-WISH® WITH SOCIAL
MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Trusted Choice®, the consumer branding program for independent insurance
agents and brokers, is launching a special social media campaign to raise
money for Make-A-Wish®. For every "share" from the Trusted
Choice® Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TrustedChoice)
during the month of August, Trusted Choice® will donate $10 to
Make-A-Wish.
The Facebook campaign will launch a year-long fundraising
effort involving the Trusted Choice® "Chopper for Charity."
Recently, a Trusted Choice®-themed custom motorcycle designed by the
renowned Orange County Choppers to raise money for Make-A-Wish was
unveiled by Paul "Paul Sr." Teutul, Sr., Orange County Choppers
owner and "American Chopper" star.
"Trusted Choice® is excited and proud to use social
media in such a positive way to raise money and awareness for
Make-A-Wish," says Dave Evans, Trusted Choice® executive director.
"Independent insurance agents and brokers have a strong track record
with countless charity efforts in their communities and this is one way
for all of us to join forces for a very worthy national campaign."
Trusted Choice® is committed to donating a minimum of
$100,000 and a maximum of $150,000 with this campaign. The chopper will
tour across the country as part of a promotion to raise money for
Make-A-Wish.
Visit IIABA's
website for more information on YOUR national association...
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Industry News
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INSURANCE REGULATION REPORT CARD
The R Street Institute recently released a report card grading the
insurance regulatory environments in each state. According to comments made
by R Street Institute, the Institute "will be taking a look each
year at the state-based U.S. insurance regulatory system, examining which
states are doing the best job of regulating insurance through limited,
effective, and efficient government. In this context, that means states
should regulate only those market activities where government is best
positioned to act; that they should do so competently and with measurable
results; and that their activities lay the minimum possible financial
burden on policyholders, companies, and ultimately, taxpayers." The
report card measures states on 14 objective variables to gauge the extent
to which their insurance regulatory environments embody the principles of
limited, effective and efficient government. Click
to view the full report.
WORKERS' COMPENSATION WEAKEST SEGMENT: COMBINED RATIO WORST
IN 10 YEARS
Workers' compensation, the largest commercial lines segment representing
approximately 18 percent of the nation's commercial lines net written
premiums in 2011, posted a statutory combined ratio of 117 percent in
2011, according to a new report released by Fitch Ratings. This is 9.5
percentage points worse than the commercial lines aggregate for 2011 and
the worst result in the past 10 years for the workers' compensation line
according to the report.
Fitch estimates that it will be difficult for the workers'
compensation market to have a combined ratio of 110 percent or better in
2012 or 2013 without significantly more price improvement. From a ratings
standpoint, overall underwriting performance is given greater
consideration than individual lines' results, according to Fitch.
However, workers' compensation is a source of significant underwriting
volatility for commercial lines insurers, and signs of a cyclical turn
from recent weak performance levels will promote stability in ratings in
the near term, according to the rating agency.
Fitch's report analyzes the workers' compensation market and
the factors currently influencing the market. In addition, it reviews the
results of the top 15 workers' compensation underwriters and the shifting
market composition over the last 5 years. The
full report "Workers' Compensation Insurance Market Update" is
available from Fitch.
INSURANCE AGENTS LOSE JOB SECURITY WITH OBAMACARE RULING
According to Forbes, the plight of more than 100,000 insurance agents and
brokers is at stake. The article predicts that the floodgates are about
to open for the mass firings of health insurance agents.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act dictates that
health insurers must spend at least $0.80 of every $1.00 in premiums
collected on health care in the individual and small group markets, and
$0.85 in the large group market. Click
here to continue reading on Forbes.com.
TOP 25 LIVING LEGENDS OF INSURANCE
From PropertyCasualty 360: Central to the definition of
"legend" is the notion that the fame achieved will be
enduring-that these are people whose accomplishments will be remembered
for a long, long time.
The figures selected as the industry's Top 25 Living Legends
easily meet that criteria-their contributions to P&C insurance have
been epic, monumental-and are sure to be discussed and studied for
decades to come. Each profiled visionary has fundamentally changed the
way insurance is done, likely forever.
Congratulations to this impressive list including #22 Dr.
William T. Hold and #16 IIABA's very own Robert Rusbuldt.
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Education
Bulletin
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A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO AGENCY E&O
Is it time to take an E&O refresher course to keep you agency error
free? Would you like to possibly save 10% on your E&O premium by
taking this class? Attend IIAO's next Errors & Omissions Risk
Management course in Oklahoma City on August 23 to refresh your knowledge
and receive 8 hours of continuing education credit. Contact Lyra Roberts regarding E&O
policy discounts and click
here to sign up for the course.
CALLING ALL NEW AGENCY EMPLOYEES
If you have a new employee who is brand new to insurance, or new to
commercial coverages we have the course for them. Both of these are
online courses and take less than 3 hours a week to complete, so your
employee is still in your agency getting acclimated to the way your
office works and functions. Click on each of the classes you are
interested in for more information.
-New
Employee Orientation
-Commercial
Coverage Basics
HELP CUSTOMERS PROTECT THEIR EARNING POWER AT CIC LIFE &
HEALTH
It sometimes takes years to develop a good client relationship. Your
insurance customers call you for all their insurance needs. They entrust
their homes, automobiles, and personal liability to you and your staff.
Why then would you want them to go somewhere else to cover their most
important asset - their earning power? At the CIC Life & Health you
will learn how to recommend the proper type of life insurance and
determine the amount needed, as well as how to use available personnel in
your agency to market it. Hurry
and sign up today to take this CIC Life and Health Institute today!
This class is approved for 20 hours of CE including 2 hours of ethics and
1 legislative credit.
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Calendar of
Events
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Click on the event name for more information about that
event or to register online.
- 8/9
- Energy Symposium, Houston, TX
- 8/13-10/5
- New Agency Employee Orientation, Online
- 8/13-10/12
- Commercial Coverage Basics, Online
- 8/15
- CISR Agency Operations, Tulsa
- 8/16
- CISR Agency Operations, Oklahoma City
- 8/23
- E&O Risk Management, Oklahoma City
- 9/12
- CISR Personal Residential, Tulsa
- 9/13
- CISR Personal Residential, Oklahoma City
- 9/19-21
- CIC Life and Health, Oklahoma City
Video Webinar Schedule - CE with no
test!
Visit the IIAO Education
Calendar online...
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FEATURE ARTICLE
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About this article:
Agents are being increasingly asked by their E&O underwriters whether
they encrypt their clients' personal data when it is being transmitted. This
article provides recommendations with regard to two major areas agencies
need to address - secure email and securing their websites when personal
data is requested. The article also discusses "encryption" and
major types of "personal data" that are the subject of the
various laws. Finally, the article outlines the type of resources that
are available on the ACT website to help agencies address the email and
website issues, as well as to develop and implement a comprehensive
agency information security policy and program for their agency.
Agency Strategies to Send
& Receive Personal Data Securely
by Jeff Yates
The Internet and mobility
revolutions have enabled agents and their clients to live in an
electronic world where the parties can work and communicate with each
other from anywhere, opening up wonderful new opportunities for agencies
to reach out to new consumers and provide their clients with enhanced
services and responsiveness. These developments, however, have multiplied
the security risks that agencies must manage in order to protect their
clients' personal data.
It is no wonder then that
E&O underwriters extending coverage for data breach to agencies
increasingly are asking their applicants whether they encrypt or use
other protective measures to safeguard this client personal data when it
is being transmitted. This article explores approaches agencies can take
to protect personal data in transit and then references a number of
resources to assist agencies.
Encryption
A common question agents ask is: "what is encryption?" When you
think of encryption consider those codes the military employs to keep
conversations unintelligible to the enemy. You can find many definitions
of encryption on the Internet, but I like this simple one from Microsoft:
Encryption is a way to
enhance the security of a message or file by scrambling the contents so
that it can be read only by someone who has the right encryption key to
unscramble it. For example, if you purchase something from a website, the
information for the transaction (such as your address, phone number, and
credit card number) is usually encrypted to help keep it safe. Use
encryption when you want a strong level of protection for your
information.
Requiring a strong
password to gain access to your system is an important security
procedure, but it is not the same as encrypting the data within the
system.
Personal Data
What are the types of "personal data" that are most sensitive
and need to be encrypted when transmitted? The definition of
"personal data" can vary by state and is contained in the state
data breach notification and privacy laws, as well as in various federal
laws, such as HIPAA (PHI - Protected Health Information). Insurers, too,
might employ various definitions of "personal data" in their
policies, so it is incumbent upon the agency to be familiar with not only
the specific laws but also the coverage definitions that apply to the
agency. Note also that the applicable state law is based upon the
residency of the individual whose personal data is being protected, not
the location of the agency. This is an important consideration for both
agencies writing business in multiple states and agencies writing
policies that cover individuals who reside in multiple states.
With all of the above caveats,
the most commonly mentioned types of non-public, individually
identifiable "personal data" covered in the laws are those such
as: social security numbers, driver's license numbers and other
government issued ids, debit and credit card numbers and pins, bank and
financial account numbers, and protected health information (PHI under
HIPAA). While often not mentioned in state laws, other particularly
sensitive personal data that should be protected includes information
commonly used for security verification (mother's maiden name, date &
place of birth, etc.) or sensitive insurance information (such as jewelry
schedules).
It is important for
agencies to know what types of personal information they collect, where
it is retained and who has access to it. They then need to decide whether
they really need to keep this sensitive information. For example, many
agencies no longer retain copies of bank checks and are careful only to
pass along credit card numbers to carriers, but not to retain them, so
that they do not become subject to the comprehensive PCI (Payment Card
Industry) compliance requirements. These agencies are also extremely
careful to shred this personal data as soon as it is no longer needed.
Further, if the agency
decides it must keep particular sensitive personal data, it should limit
access to it to only those employees who need to see it, to maximum
extent possible. This is particularly true for Protected Health
Information. Finally, the agency should be careful to make sure that this
personal data is kept off of PCs, mobile devices, thumb drives, where
there is a significant risk of loss or theft.
Click here to
continue reading.
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National Security Group
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