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July's 2009 edition of La Voz
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“Southern” & “Last Chance” Seminars
July 2009
"The Voice" of Independent Agents since 1934
Win an iPod Shuffle!
La
Voz
Better manage your agency with lessons from the pros!
More Info View Webinar
Increase retention with these quick and easy newsletters.
More Info View Webinar
Cross-sell Current Book of Business with MMAC!
More Info Webinar Coming Soon
Consider Us Your Agency’s New Print Marketing Team!
More Info View Slideshow
Page 2 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
IIABA and IIANM are ideally positioned to create an electronic bridge between product providers and independent agencies. IIABA has the technological expertise, systems and industry contacts; IIANM has local marketing and educational ability, as well as close relationships with agents. Together IIABA and IIANM can bring product providers to agents' desktops and make agents aware of what products are there and how to take advantage of them.
The Big “I” ADVANTAGE
You will need to log-in in order to view more information.
Please contact Rachel for your log-in information.
Products & Services
www.bigimarkets.com
The IIABA Member’s Soft Market Solution
Personal & Commercial Lines List Prospecting!
More Info
Intuitive Online Insurance Leads Generation Tool!
More Info View Webinar
*We are offering access to MMAC at an INTRODUCTORY ANNUAL FEE OF $18.96!
Why $18.96? The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America association was founded at the turn of the 19th century, (1896 to be exact) and we are celebrating how far we have come together by offering this great new service to our members.
Not yet signed up for Big "I" Markets login? Click here to sign up for Big "I" Markets for free! For more information on this exciting new member service, please contact [email protected] or 800-221-7917 Ext. 5464.
Ps: Don’t miss out on this introductory offer! Take advantage of MMAC today and receive $100 towards hot Insurance Leads!
$100
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Page 2 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
La Voz
IIANM Staff
2008-2009 Officers
“La Voz is a monthly publication of the Independent Insurance Agents of NM
1511 University Blvd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87102.
(505) 843-7231. Fax (505) 243-3367. Web site www.iianm.org.
President/CEOThom Turbett, CIC
VP Of Membership ServicesLorri Gaffney
Director Of CommunicationsRachel Sheffield
Director Of Insurance ProgramsCarmen Reese Porter, ACSR, CISR
Director Of Education Jeff Straight, CIC, LUTCF
Receptionist / Member Services Associate
Renee Trujillo
ChairAngela VasquezVice-ChairAlma Franzoy-CapronSecretary/TreasurerKathy YeagerNational DirectorPatty Padon, AAI, CIC, LUTCFImmediate Past ChairSam Conlee
Big I Advantage 02
Tech Talk 08
IIANM's Annual Convention Incentive - 10% off in July! 18
Partners Program Company Listings 26
Southern Seminar Registration 28
Last Chance Seminar Registration 30
Win an iPod Shuffle! 32
Education Edge 33
July's Clickable Calendar 34
Odds n Ends 35
Features
This publication is intended to provide ac-curate and authoritative information on the subject matter covered, but is distributed with the understanding that neither IIANM, nor any contributing author, publisher, contributor or advertiser is rendering legal, accounting or any other professional service and assume no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. Further, the electronic links to our advertisers and/or contributors found in this publication are provided as a courtesy to our readers and do not necessarily indicate an endorsement by IIANM.
News items from members of Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico and the general insurance industry are encouraged. The advertis-ing deadline is the fifteenth day of the month, preceding publication.
Advertising rates are available upon request.Please contact Rachel Sheffield at [email protected] for details
What's New @ VU? 05
Big "I" Junior Golf Classic Qualifier 06
The New Sales Manager 11
Ten Very Good Reasons to Have Your...Take a Writing Course 12
Nat. Survey Finds Americans Want Choice in Health Ins. 14
L&H Trends - College Costs Outpace Inflation 15
Obama Administration Proposal Does Not Call for New Fed... 16
New Laws Affecting New Mexico Drivers 17
Predicting a Hard Market 20
Clear Signs of Firming Commercial Prices 21
How Much to Charge Your Brother-In-Law 22
Cash Management Services: What Difference Can They Make 25
Agents Remain Customers' Top Choice 27
American Mining 13
Burns & Wilcox 07
Colonial General Insurance Agency, Inc. 04
InsurBanc 23
Market Finders, Inc. 10
Midlands Management Corporation 27
National Lloyds 24
New Mexico Mutual 36
Safeco Insurance 16
Transwestern General Agency 09
Trustco, Inc. 14
Advertiser Index
Monthly
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Founded in 1985, Colonial General Insurance Agency, Inc. is a wholesale General Agency providing quality insurance products to the Independent Insurance Agent.
Colonial General specializes in both standard and non-standard business. Our Property and Casualty business includes:
♦ Commercial Auto
♦ Commercial Contract
♦ Personal Lines
♦ Professional Liability
With 2,500 active producers under contract, Colonial General operates in eight states throughout the South-West. Our offices are located in Murray, Utah and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Most of all, we pride ourselves in our friendly customer service and our ability to help our producing agents with their many insurance needs.
♦ Preferred BOP ♦ Property ♦ Inland Marine ♦ Professional Liability ♦ Commercial Liability ♦ Workers Compensation
♦ Truckers ♦ Physical Damage ♦ NB Mexican Truckers ♦ Local Radius ♦ Garage ♦ Intermediate Radius
♦ Masterpiece Company ♦ Standard Company ♦ Umbrellas ♦ Stand-alone Liability ♦ Vacant ♦ Seasonal ♦ Dwelling Fire ♦ Homeowners
Commercial Lines/Brokerage Department
Transportation Department
Personal Lines Department
Preferred Commercial Lines Division
Avoid monthly or annual membership fees, use Colonial General for your Preferred Business Owners Policies. We have several markets available to give you the best quote possible. For additional information contact your underwriter.
Please contact our Utah office for all your Transportation needs!
P.O. Box 571770, Murray, Utah 84157 Phone: (801) 562-1188 Wats: (800) 594-8900
Fax: (801) 562-2218 Toll Free Fax: (800) 332-9285
You will never pay a fee to access our companies. No volume or binding contracts.
P.O. Box 14770 Scottsdale, AZ 85267 8475 E. Hartford Drive, Suite #100 Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Phone: (480) 991-7889 Wats: (800) 848-8860 Fax: (480) 948-1394 www.colonialgeneral.com
Colonial General Insurance Agency Colonial General Insurance Agency
Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009 Page 5
Founded in 1985, Colonial General Insurance Agency, Inc. is a wholesale General Agency providing quality insurance products to the Independent Insurance Agent.
Colonial General specializes in both standard and non-standard business. Our Property and Casualty business includes:
♦ Commercial Auto
♦ Commercial Contract
♦ Personal Lines
♦ Professional Liability
With 2,500 active producers under contract, Colonial General operates in eight states throughout the South-West. Our offices are located in Murray, Utah and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Most of all, we pride ourselves in our friendly customer service and our ability to help our producing agents with their many insurance needs.
♦ Preferred BOP ♦ Property ♦ Inland Marine ♦ Professional Liability ♦ Commercial Liability ♦ Workers Compensation
♦ Truckers ♦ Physical Damage ♦ NB Mexican Truckers ♦ Local Radius ♦ Garage ♦ Intermediate Radius
♦ Masterpiece Company ♦ Standard Company ♦ Umbrellas ♦ Stand-alone Liability ♦ Vacant ♦ Seasonal ♦ Dwelling Fire ♦ Homeowners
Commercial Lines/Brokerage Department
Transportation Department
Personal Lines Department
Preferred Commercial Lines Division
Avoid monthly or annual membership fees, use Colonial General for your Preferred Business Owners Policies. We have several markets available to give you the best quote possible. For additional information contact your underwriter.
Please contact our Utah office for all your Transportation needs!
P.O. Box 571770, Murray, Utah 84157 Phone: (801) 562-1188 Wats: (800) 594-8900
Fax: (801) 562-2218 Toll Free Fax: (800) 332-9285
You will never pay a fee to access our companies. No volume or binding contracts.
P.O. Box 14770 Scottsdale, AZ 85267 8475 E. Hartford Drive, Suite #100 Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Phone: (480) 991-7889 Wats: (800) 848-8860 Fax: (480) 948-1394 www.colonialgeneral.com
Colonial General Insurance Agency Colonial General Insurance Agency
The VU is Now Tweetinghttp://twitter.com/BigIVU
Bill Wilson promises that you won't find any "tweets" like "Had a great philly cheesesteak sandwich for lunch, 32 minutes ago" or "Saw Star Trek, great flick, popcorn stale, 2 days ago." What he plans on using this service for is important and/or time-sensitive announcements about the VU and other re-sources. He doesn’t plan on twittering every new article added to the VU, but he'll try to flag significant additions and keep you posted on breaking news and upcoming events of interest.
"Ask an Expert" Mini-Seminars Now Available Online
At this year's annual Big "I" Legislative Conference and Con-vention, we presented twenty-two (22) "Ask an Expert" mini-seminars at the trade show during exhibit hall hours on April 30 and May 1. Five VU faculty members and a couple of guest speakers presented a different topic every 20 minutes. Each mini-seminar lasted15 minutes with a 5-minute break between each one. Subjects ranged from personal and commercial lines coverage gaps to agency management issues to technol-ogy tips. The full audio and PowerPoints are now available:
"Ask an Expert" Mini-Seminar Series
You will need your log-in to view the series. If you are unsure or do not have a log-in, please contact [email protected]
Free E&S E&O Webinar
"How To Avoid the E&O Pitfalls in the E&S Business" Excess and Surplus lines markets serve a valuable need for insurance agents and the public in general but just like when agents work with admitted carriers, placing business with E&S markets can expose the agency to E&O claims if not done properly. This archived May 2009 webinar explores the E&O issues of placing insurance in the Excess and Surplus lines market and working with E&S brokers. Highly knowledgeable panelists discuss the following: where E&O claims occur with the placement of E&S risks; why and when to use the E&S market; laws affecting E&S markets; considerations for select-ing an E&S broker; duties of the producing agent or broker; and more! Click here to access the webinar:
How to Avoid the E&O Pitfalls in the E&S Business
You will need your log-in to view this webinar. If you are unsure or do not have a log-in, please contact [email protected]
What’s New @ VU?
New Features:
• Search. Our search engine is now more functional. Click the link to search the entire VU!• Language Translation. Click the link to browse the VU in NINE languages!• Ask an Expert. This service is now forms based and has been streamlined to improve responsiveness and accuracy.• Library. • Special Terrorism Resource Page. • Consumer Articles. • Research Library.
Have You Visited New Mexico’s Learning Center?
Our cutting edge online services make it possible for today’s insurance professional to get the critical training and knowl-edge transfer that they need, whenever and wherever they happen to be! Our unique combination of industry knowledge, technical expertise, and custom curriculum make the VU’s online course offerings valuable assets in your educational portfolio.
Page 6 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
The Trusted Choice Big “I” Junior Classic is sponsored by the Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexio (IIANM). Teens through age 18 who have not started college and will not reach their 19th birthday before July 30, 2009, were eli-gible.
Seventy New Mexico junior golfers participated in a match play tournament starting June 7th at the Santa Fe Country
Club. At the end of the four day tournament, James Lee and Chanet Florina were chosen to represent New Mexico at the national tournament. IIANM sponsored the tournament, but Sun Country PGA organized and handled the event. This year the Big I Junior Championship will be held at the Dornick Hills Golf and Country Club in Ardmore, OK on July 25-30th.
The Trusted Choice Big “I” Junior Classic is the second oldest national junior golfing tournament, ranked only behind the USGA Junior Championship. Since the Big “I” Junior Classic was created in the late 1960s, junior golf - as well as the golf-ing scene overall - has boomed. The Big “I” Junior Classic has become one of the premier events on the Junior Golf Circuit and is consistently ranked as one of the top tournaments by the juniors themselves.
The Big “I” Junior Classic is designed to foster good sports-manship and healthy competition among junior golfers. These tournaments are sponsored by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA), its affiliated state and local associations and a select group of property/casualty insurance companies.
Players qualifying for the National Tournament have played at sites such as Yale Golf Course in Connecticut, Pinehurst Number 7 in North Carolina, Tournament Players Course (TPC) at the Woodlands near Houston, Silverado Country Club in California, and Oak Tree Country Club, Edmond, Oklahoma. This year the National Big “I” Junior Classic tournament will be held at the Dornick Hills Country Club in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
The Big “I” Junior Classic has watched many PGA and LPGA golf pros come up through the ranks, but none so popular as the famed Tiger Woods, who won the Junior Classic National title twice (1990 and 1992). Other notable national winners are Justin Leonard, Bill Andrade, and Robert Tway.
Also during the week, golfers will participate in the National Long Drive Championship. The players hit three qualifying drives during the semi-finals to participate in this event.
At the National Tournament local resident and country club members have volunteered to be host parents for the Big “I” Junior Classic players. This dedication is one of the unique features of the tournament and it provides additional support for the junior players.
The Big “I” Junior Golf Classic Qualifier
Winners Representing New Mexico are:
Girls: 1st Girl on left: Chanet Fiorina, Santa Fe, N.M.Girl on Middle left: Jordan Debrine, Albuquerque, N.M.Girl on Middle right: Arrianna Estrada, Belen, N.M.Girl on right: Erin Beck, Albuquerque, N.M.
Boys: 1st Boy on left: Sam Saunders, Albuquerque, N.M.Boy on Middle left: Patrick Beyhan, Albuquerque, N.M.Boy on Middle right: Simon Miller, Albuquerque, N.M.Boy on right: James Lee, Albuquerque, N.M.
Page 6 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
Who has the ability to handle all your specialty insurance needs?
Albuquerque, New Mexico(866) 643-8538 / (505) 822-0018 / fax (505) 822-0092
scottsdale.burnsandwilcox.com
Global Resources. Local Relationships.
Professional Liability
Umbrella & Excess
Employment Practices
Commercial Property
Products Liability
General Liability
Commercial Auto
Personal Lines
is
The
is
TheAnswer
Your Specialty Insurance Professionals
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Page 8 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
I'm constantly amazed by how often I come across spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors on Web sites.
Note that I didn't include e-mails in that statement. It's not so amazing that the same errors exist in e-mails, because we all—myself included—tend to fire off e-mails too quickly, with-out re-reading them for errors. We should, of course. E-mails, however, are usually sent to one person, while Web sites are for many people to see, and should be proofed by someone other than the person who writes the text. Otherwise, we see what we expect to see when we try to proofread our own material.
Here are a few of the most common errors that I find on agency (and vendor) Web sites.
ACORD
There is one (and only one) correct way to spell ACORD, and this is it. It's spelled with all capital letters, and only one "C." ACORD is one of the oldest organizations in the insurance industry. All of us know what it is and its purpose, and many of us are active in it and/or know many of the key players. There is no excuse for us to get it wrong, especially on our Web sites.
It's and Its
This is one of the most vexing sets of homonyms for many people. When "it's" is used as a contraction for "it is," people almost always get it right. That's easy. When it is used as the possessive form of "it," however, it is an exception to the normal rule that the pos-sessive form of a word has an apostrophe followed by an "s" on the end. Take a moment
to re-read the paragraph on ACORD, which intentionally has the two versions of "it's" and "its" in it. One can say "Mary's face" using the apostrophe, but the possessive form of "it" is always "its," without the apostrophe. Here's a simple rule that will always keep you safe: The only time to use "it's" (with the apostrophe) is when you are using it as an abbreviation for "it is."
CSRs, MGAs, and others mnemonics
Virtually all agencies have Customer Service Representa-tives, and there are probably more CSRs than all other agency employees combined. A mnemonic is a word where each letter stands for a word, and the letters should be capitalized (CSR, not Csr or csr). Most of us get the capitalization right, but we get the plural and possessive forms wrong. The plural of a mnemonic is the mnemonic with an "s" on the end; there is no apostrophe when it is pluralized. The plural forms, for these two examples, are CSRs and MGAs. It is only when the word is used in its possessive form that we use the apostrophe, such as "The CSR's job…" or "The MGA's best program…" (As with most plurals that end in an "s," the plural possessive form for these would be "all our CSRs' computers" or "many MGAs' programs.")
Your and You're
It is only my unwavering faith in our education system that makes me believe this mistake, which I mostly see in e-mails, is caused by a combination of working too fast and proofread-ing too little. We all know that "your" is the possessive form of "you" (as in "Your policy…") and "you're" is a contraction for "you are" (as in "You're going to receive…"). Or, to put it together: "You're going to receive your endorsement soon."
100s and 1000s
If you were to write these as full words—which I strongly rec-ommend—you would definitely write hundreds and thousands, without an apostrophe. These words are neither possessive nor contractions, yet they're often written—incorrectly—as 100's or 1000's. I suggest you always spell these out, but if you must use the short form, please omit the apostrophe.
Common Web Site and E-mail Errors
Page 8 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
G. Barry Klein is a former insurance agent who maintains UltimateInsuranceLinks.com as an industry service. He can be reached at [email protected].
Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009 Page 9
Improve WiFi Reception
According to a report recently issued by Mass Consultants Ltd. in the UK, many of the WiFi connection problems encountered by users are not a result of configuration problems on the devices themselves, but interference from other devices using the 2.4GHz bandwidth used by WiFi stations. Many people believe that WiFi problems in densely populated urban areas are due to congestion. They contend that there is simply too much data to push through the available channels. However, Mass Consultants' research shows this isn't the case. The report goes on to say, "It only requires a single device, such as an analogue video sender, to severely affect WiFi services within a short range, such that a single large building or cluster of houses can experience difficulties with using a single WiFi channel." If you're having trouble at home, you might check your house for likely sources of interference and switch to a different channel. Some of the more common problems are baby monitors, microwave ovens, and wireless security cameras
Burglary, Robbery, and Theft
A dead giveaway that a Web page was written by a non-insur-ance person—probably a Web site developer or a Webmas-ter—is when words that have very specific meanings in the insurance industry are misused. We all know that burglary is breaking into unoccupied premises, robbery is taking by force or threat of force, and theft is any act of stealing, including (but not limited to) burglary and robbery.
Ellipse…
An ellipse is that series of dots that is intended to imply that there is more of something, or that something is omitted. Written properly, an ellipse can start immediately after the last letter of the word that precedes it, or there can be one space in front of it. It always, however, should have exactly three dots and should always have a space after it.
Inconsistency
It is perfectly fine to use either C.P.C.U. or CPCU, or for your phone number to be 800-555-1212 or 800.555.1212, but be consistent throughout your Web site. Larger, formal organi-zations often have a stylesheet that defines rules for how all documents, Web sites, and advertising should be written. Consistency applies to type sizes, fonts, and logos as well, by the way.
Page 20 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * September 2008
www.marketfindersnm.com
Since 1977New Mexico’s Locally Owned Managing General Agency
Representing some of the most financially strong and innovative insurance companies in the specialty marketplace!
Top-Tier Markets For:
Commercial / Public AutoGeneral LiabilityProperty / VacantsGarage / DealersLiquor LiabilitySpecial EventsInland MarineDirectors & Officers LiabilityProfessional Liability / E&OCommercial UmbrellaWatercraft / Motorcycles / ATVsPersonal UmbrellasHomeownersMobile HomesDwelling Fire / Vacants
At Market Finders, Inc., our mission is to professionally provide quality specialty markets and service to the Agents of New Mexico.
Market Finders, Inc.4910 Alameda Blvd NE - P.O. Box 90280Albuquerque, NM 87199
Phone: (505) 822-8711Fax: (505) 822-1165Toll Free: (800) 530-8711
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Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009 Page 11
Phone: (505) 822-8711Fax: (505) 822-1165Toll Free: (800) 530-8711
Every agency, regardless of size,
currently has a sales manager. Who that
person ends up being varies depending on the
type, size, and com-position of the agency. Following are at least four different types of
sales managers that you might see in an
insurance agency.
Agency Owner: This is the default position for many agen-cies, especially smaller ones. The agency owner typically is the person who produces new business. If there are additional producers, the owner may try to manage them. Often, how-ever, they are on their own to produce new business.
Producer: In many agencies, producers manage themselves. This is especially true for very successful producers. The agency owner, who doesn't want to "mess up a good thing" usually leaves the producer alone as long as the producer consistently brings in new business. The "not so successful" producer is also left alone and must figure out how to bring in more new business. This typically leads to burnout. The pro-ducer leaves for another agency or industry.
The Best Producer: When an agency is big enough, manage-ment may decide that they need someone to specifically mo-tivate other producers in the agency. Oftentimes, this "some-one" is the agency's best producer. Unfortunately, this often doesn't work out very well. A very good producer may not have the skills and patience necessary to mentor other producers and teach them how to effectively increase their sales.
Specific Position: A well managed and forward-looking agen-cy will see the need for an individual who is specifically trained to manage a group of producers. This true sales manager will be able to mentor, motivate, educate, and hold their produc-ers accountable. In the most successful situations I have observed, this sales manager does not have any responsibility for producing new business. Instead, this person's full-time job is to help others produce new business.
The job description for a traditional sales manager goes some-thing like this: "encourage, facilitate, motivate, train, badger, and beg for more sales." The primary method used to increase sales—and thus revenue—for the organization is to simply hire more producers whom the sales manager can "encourage, facilitate, motivate, train, badger, and beg for more sales."
The traditional role of a sales manager, as described above, needs to change. Our organizations need to adapt in order to continue to be successful.
Consumers of all types have changed how they research and obtain information on products and services they want to purchase. As a result, traditional marketing techniques used by agencies are not nearly as effective today. The sales manager of the future needs to begin exploring, experimenting with, and implementing marketing programs that will attract consum-ers and help them learn about the products and services an agency offers.
Job description at a glance
The new sales manager should be:
A multi-channel marketing manager.Traditional networking techniques used in the past still work, but to a limited degree. The agency will need to begin explor-ing multiple ways to contact, educate, and attract the new consumer into a specific and well-defined marketing system.
A prospect manager. A key to success will be the ability to maintain information about prospects so that the agency can communicate with them and send targeted marketing pieces for products and services. Currently most agencies manage prospects haphazardly using Outlook, standalone software, Excel spreadsheets, or perhaps the agency management system. This has to change.
A campaign manager. Consumers today have choices. They are no longer interested in buying when you want to sell to them. Creating a marketing system that allows you to consistently be in front of prospects so they will think of you when they are ready to buy will be criti-cal to long-term success.
A Web marketing manager. One of the major changes in how people buy products and services is that they use the Web to conduct research. Cur-rently, very few agencies utilize search engine optimization to help make their Web sites visible when someone searches for an insurance product. It is becoming critical that the agency become better at utilizing tools that increase "findability." Agencies must also know how to effectively use Google ad words to generate traffic to the agency Web site. All of this pre-supposes that you already have an agency Web site that you want people to see. If not, the first step will be to redesign and build an effective agency Web site.
The New Sales Manager
continued on page 13...
Steve Anderson , The Anderson Agency Report
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Page 12 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
Mark Twain once said that everyone talks about the weather but no one does anything about it. I often feel
that the same is true about claims writing skills. Many claims executives bemoan the fact that their new hires "can't write" (i.e., make errors of style, punctuation and grammar that col-lege graduates shouldn't make). But, when it comes to sched-uling writing training, it seems as if writing seminars are always superseded by everything from system installations to annual picnics.
If each adjuster writes just 10 letters a week, that's 500 letters a year. If each letter has 5-10 errors or stylistic gaffes - and that estimation is not far-fetched! - the adjuster is displaying thousands of errors in front the insured.
Do these errors lose customers or play a part in bad faith lawsuits? I believe they do. Do these errors undermine the pro-fessionalism of a claims department? Certainly.
Now, since some carriers have more than 100 claims profes-sionals on staff, we are talking about displaying tens of thou-sands of problems in correspondence to insureds and claim-ants - and that's just in a single year.
Form letters help a bit but don't solve the problem. The only way to really solve the problem is to invest in the training that would help each adjuster conquer writing problems, gain confidence in writing, and not procrastinate when it comes to writing. If an adjuster is on the job for ten years, that adjuster, with proper training, has now eliminated making thousands of errors. Many of those errors lead to more lost time as the adjuster plays telephone tag with the insured.
When I hear the reasons why claims executives keep writing training off their priority list, I feel like reminding them of the silent snafus buried in each letter - errors that affect the bottom line as well as the morale of the department.
Here are ten good reasons to sponsor a writing seminar within your claims department:
They may not have taken one recently. Skills get rusty. Bad habits become harder to dislodge.
They write constantly. Some claims professionals spend as much as 25 hours a week writing claims correspondence, reports, e-mails, and log notes.
Carelessness is costly. If you think writing seminars are expensive, try paying compensatory and punitive damages to a plaintiff because an angry adjuster turned a log note into a nasty-gram that was discoverable in a bad- faith lawsuit.
Poor writing wastes corporate time. Many carriers have all let-ters reviewed by executives. What a waste! Teach adjusters to write well and you free up a lot of executive time.
Poor phrasing angers insureds. Language that is abrupt, stodgy, vague, or overly technical or complicated alienates adjusters from insureds. This can result in bad feelings and even lawsuits.
Writing errors reflect on the entire company's competence. A spelling mistake, punctuation error, capitalization glitch, or sloppy format undermines all the marketing efforts to make your company look professional.
Sending adjusters to the local community college for help is like letting a general practitioner do brain surgery. With all due respect to college profs, they may understand writing but are not steeped in the nuances of the insurance industry. Claims writing is a skill and needs to be taught by someone comfort-able with the insurance business as well as with general writ-ing.
Form letters are not the answer. Even the best collection of "form" letters won't solve your company's writing issues be-cause poor writers are not skilled enough to use these letters as a starting point; the letters wind up sounding lifeless.
"We have other training priorities." Saying that you'll get to writing skills "right after the new system is installed" is often as heartfelt as a New Year's resolution. While there will always be some arcane-but-sexy training to distract claims people, claims correspondence --and its writing errors - are often sent day after day and year after year without being checked, revised or modernized.
"Our claims people have been in the field for 20 years." While one may become more adept at handling claims over a career, many experienced adjusters simply perpetuate the poor writ-ing skills they learned - or didn't learn - 20 years ago. Many veteran insurance professionals say : "I wish I had this type of class much earlier in my career!"
Ten Very Good Reasons to Have Your Claims Professionals Take A Writing Course
Page 12 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
Writing problems are subtle. They can take the form of stodgy or convoluted writing. They can display themselves in para-graphs and sentences that are too long for a reader's comfort. They can chip away at readability by the leaving out or over-use of commas, hyphens, and apostrophes. They can waste time as do redundancies, hedgy language, and off-putting jargon. Mix all these with a dollop of lawyer-like old fashioned phrases, policy language that is often obtuse, and a handful of format issues (such as "re" lines that often require a translator) and you have a serious thwarting of what an insurance com-pany strives to achieve: believability, trust, and a professional touch.
Gary Blake is Director of The Communication Workshop. He has presented on-site seminars in Effective Writing For Claims Professionals at more than 150 insurance companies throughout North America.
He may be reached at 516-767-9590; e-mail: [email protected]; web site: www.writingworkshop.com.
A social Web facilitator. Utilizing the social Web is one component of your overall mar-keting strategy. The new sales manager will work on creating friends and fans for the agency. The sales manager should facilitate the creation and maintenance of an agency blog. He or she should also experiment with other social Web tools such as Twitter, YouTube, and a whole host of others yet to be created.
A results tracker. The new sales manager must track what's successful and what isn't. The sales manager must be able to create and use an effective prospecting and campaign marketing system. For example, Google Analytics enables you to know precisely which prospects have visited your Web site. Tracking this information allows you to tweak what you do to attract more individuals who are interested in what you have to offer. The job description of the new sales manager should be: "to help the agency create multiple inbound channels through which prospects and clients will learn about the products and services offered by the agency." Instead of simply hiring more producers to increase revenue, a better strategy would be to increase the number of good qualified prospects for every producer.
continued from page 11...
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Many opposed to government run health care system
The majority of Americans want choices when it comes to their health insurance options, according to a new national
survey by Trusted Choice® and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”).
The study found that more than 56% of the respondents who have health insurance are against or are not sure how they feel about a government operated health care plan. It also found that even those who favor the proposal have concerns about choice in care. About 23% of those in favor of the government plan would no longer support it if it was their only option or provider.
Of all survey participants, more than 85% said it was important to have a choice of insurance companies and the ability to change health plans.
“This national study further demonstrated that Americans want and deserve choices in their health care,” says Robert Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “If some of the proposals in Washington come to fruition, millions of Americans might be faced with limited or no choice in health care because the private sector wouldn’t be able to compete over time.”
The Big “I” is concerned about how customer relations would be handled by the federal government and cites the IRS and FEMA as examples of troubled agencies with government help lines.
“Should a government operated public plan be implemented, the IIABA is not only concerned about funding and the agent’s role, but how consumers would obtain information, service, and professional advice and guidance,” says Rusbuldt. “Will we have to call a government hotline in Washington to get answers on health plans or coverage?”
The survey was conducted for Trusted Choice® via telephone by International Communications Research (ICR), an indepen-dent research company in Media, Pa. Interviews of a nation-ally representative sample of 928 households were conducted in June 2009. For more information about ICR, go to www.icrsurvey.com.
For more information on the survey results or to request an in-terview with a national spokesperson or local insurance agent in your area, contact Sue Nester, Big “I” broadcast media director, at (703) 706-5448 or [email protected]. Print journalists should contact Margarita Tapia, Big “I” director of public affairs, at (703) 706-5473 or [email protected].
Trusted Choice® educates consumers about the benefits of using independent agents and brokers for their insurance needs: choice of companies, customized policies and advo-cacy support. Trusted Choice® is the consumer marketing identity for over 10,400 independent insurance agencies and brokerage firms and 53 leading insurance companies. For more information, go to www.TrustedChoice.com.
NATIONAL SURVEY FINDS AMERICANS WANT CHOICE IN HEALTH INSURANCE
L&H Trends
by Dave Evans
Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009 Page 15
Agents can help customers address rising tuition costs and plan for the future.
There is quite a disparity between the cost of college tuition in the 1980s and today. In fact, statistics reveal that college
costs have skyrocketed over the past 25 years --- attending college now costs 439% more than it used to. The increase in tuition and fees between 1982 and 2006 has put college out of reach for many Americans and is greatly increasing the debt burden of those who do enroll, according to the National Cen-ter for Public Policy and Higher Education. Comparatively, the Consumer Price Index rose only 106% over the same period, the cost of medical care increased 251% and the aver-age family income increased just 147%.
Adding to the high cost of college is the tightening credit market which has made col-lege loans more difficult to access. University endow-ment funds have also taken a hit, which may decrease the amount of financial aid col-leges can provide. Rising state government deficits are also translating into higher tuition costs at state schools. Har-vard recently announced that its endowment fund lost $8 billion in four months, and, the California state university system announced it will reduce the statewide entering class by 10,000 students next year.
While little can be done to slow the increase in tuition, inde-pendent insurance agents can help their insureds battle rising college costs by sharing two important lessons. First, most families underestimate the amount of life insurance their chil-dren would need in the event of a parent’s premature death. Given today’s higher college costs, an adequate amount of life insurance to pay for a dependent’s college tuition can range from $100,000 to $200,000 depending on the children’s ages and whether they attend a state university or private college.Second, there are several tax efficient ways to save for col-
lege, such as prepaid tuition plans available through states (Section 529 Plan) or private colleges. President Barack Obama has indicated his administration will help Americans pay for college by creating the new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, covering two-thirds of tuition at the average public college or university and making community college tuition completely free for most students. Credit recipients will be
required to conduct 100 hours of community service in ex-change. Presumably, higher wage earning families will not be eligible for the credit.
Independent agents can help their customers decide how best to pay for college with solutions including permanent cash value life insurance, ROTH IRAs, mutual funds and prepaid tuition plans. The most important concept agents can impress on their customers is to start saving for their children’s college educations as early as possible.
College Costs Outpace Inflation
© 2009 Safeco Insurance Company of America, a member of the Liberty Mutual Group, 1001 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98154. All rights reserved. Safeco and SafecoNow are registered trademarks of Safeco Corporation. The Safeco logo is a trademark of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
The new Safeco gives you the resources of a national carrier and the relationships of a regional. Custom built to help independent agents like you grow.
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Tofindoutmore,contactyour local Safeco representative, Linda Murray, at 505-286-4668.
Plan seeks federal information office on insurance.
The Big “I” supports President Barack Obama’s decision not to propose a complete overhaul of insurance regulation in the administration’s report titled “Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation”.
In a big win for the Big “I,” the Obama administration’s pro-posal retains the current state regulatory system and does not directly call for the creation of a federal regulator. It also does not even mention measures that would allow for an optional federal charter. The proposal also clearly states that any changes to the insurance regulatory system that weaken or undermine important consumer protections should be discard-ed. The Big “I” will continue to make the point that the state regulatory system has done and will continue to do a solid job of protecting consumers, and ensuring that they receive the insurance coverage they need.The president’s plan calls for the creation of a federal Office of National Insurance (ONI) and a “modern regulatory framework for insurance.”
If crafted properly, the Big “I” has said that it could potentially support the creation of an Office of Insurance Information as it
has been previously introduced in Congress. The Big “I” is also cautiously optimistic that the president’s plan will not be used as a precursor to federal regulation and that this proposed ONI will be designed to work with the existing state system to protect consumers and the marketplace.
The Big “I” has long supported increasing regulatory unifor-mity and believes that such reform can best be accomplished through targeted federal measures to improve the state system. The Big “I” sent a letter to the Obama administration urging opposition to any financial services regulatory reform efforts that could imperil the strength and stability of the state system of insurance regulation, but supporting such national standards in certain areas.
The Big “I” supports targeted reforms where necessary and appropriate to help bring needed efficiencies to the regulatory system while maintaining the viability of the state insurance regulatory system and the 13,000 professional regulators who have an effective track record with respect to solvency and consumer protections.
Margarita Tapia is Big “I” director of public affairs.
Obama Administration Proposal Does Not Call for New Federal Insurance Regulator
Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009 Page 17
valued at more than $2,500 but less then $20,000 were a third-degree felony). The definition of car theft includes activities such as receiving or transferring a stolen or misappropriated vehicle, damaging or tampering with a vehicle in an attempt to steal it, or altering or changing its serial numbers.
Safety Task ForceLawmakers approved the creation of a driver - and highway- safety task force to examine issues such as allowing teens to start driving before they receive behind-the-wheel training and testing older drivers who exhibit diminishing capabilities. The attorney general has been asked to convene the task force by August 2009 and recommend changes to the Motor Vehicle Code by September 2010.
Reducing Diesel EmissionsTwo hundred diesel engines from the municipal fleets in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Los Alamos will be retrofitted with new, cleaner equipment, reducing particulate pollution by 20 percent. Retrofitted vehicles will include garbage trucks, heavy equipment, street sweepers, and off-road vehicles.
Disability ParkingMotorists who display disability parking placecards or registra-tion plates can park in limited-time parking spaces for an unlim-ited period at no extra charge. The law is effective everywhere in New Mexico except at airports, which can charge long-term parking fees for vehicles arked for more than 24 hours.
by AAA New Mexico
Ignition InterlockA new law going into effect July 1st closes a loophole that had allowed some convicted DWI offenders to avoid installing an ignition interlock device on their vehicles. The device is a type of breathalyzer installed in the car’s dashboard that checks the driver’s breath-alchohol content before starting the car. If court ordered, DWI offenders are required to drive at least six months with such a device. Until now, some offenders were avoiding the penalty by signing a sworn affidavit that they do not own a car or do not drive, then driving without consequenc-es. The new law requires offenders to carry a special restrict-ed driver’s license that notes the interlock requirement, much as drivers with poor eyesight have licenses that require them to wear eyeglasses whenever they drive. Further, if offender does not own a car at the time of the conviction, whenever the offender does obtain a vehicle, he or she must install the device for the required six-month period and carry the special restricted license. During that time, the offender must drive without incidence of alcohol or drug use and without tampering with the device.
Car TheftAs of July 1, car thieves face tougher conviction penalties - especially repeat offenders. The first conviction will include 18 months in prison, the second will carry a three-year sentence, and a third conviction will now carry a minimum sentence of nine years in prison. The vehicle’s value no longer dictates the severity of the charge (previously, thefts of vehicles worth less then $2,500 were a fourth-degree felony; thefts of vehicles
New Laws Affecting New Mexico Drivers
Registration Form
IIANM’s 75th September 30th & October 1st, 2009Isleta Casino & Resort
Albuqueruque, NMAnnual Convention
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Thursday, 10/1/09
$40 Industry Breakfast (CEO Panel Discussion)
$25 Poker Tournament
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$220 - Full Registration (Does not include golf or poker)
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Those wanting to play golf & have a full registration are given priority to play. However, you may only want to play golf & every effort will be made to accommodate you. Please call Lorri at (505) 999-5805 or e-mail [email protected] for details.
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10% Off!in July
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10% Off Registrat ions Received in the month of July!
“I have enjoyed my time at all of the IIANM conventions I have attended. The meetings with other agents and carriers are really helpful in getting your arms around what’s going on in the industry. The golf tournament is always 1st class. There is never a shortage of food, libations or good times. If you want a couple of days to relax, reload and see old friends then join me at the convention.”
~Bruce V FosterCress Insurance Consultants, Inc.
Sponsors & Exhibitors: Click HERE
Page 20 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
Page 20 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
Upward pricing trend is clear compared with a year ago.
Commercial property-casualty rates have stopped falling—that’s one of the main findings of a June 15 study released by global professional services firm Towers Perrin. The firm reports that the quarter-to-quarter price change for the first three months of 2009 is approaching 0%, compared to 2007-2008 when quarterly rates fell by 5% or more. The commercial insurance market has not seen stable or increasing prices for five years. What do these results mean for P&C pricing in general?
Towers Perrin developed the Commercial Lines Insurance Price Monitoring Survey (CLIPS) in 2005 and has gathered similar information since 2003 to help writers of commercial insurance see how their pricing history compares to others and provide information about loss ratios. CLIPS obtains pricing data from insurers that reflects changes in prices in addition to cost change information. Participants represent a cross section of U.S. P&C insurers that include many of the top 10 commercial lines writers and top 25 insurance company groups.
Unlike other sources of industry information, which can take nine months to publish year-end analyses, CLIPS data is timelier because it was released less than three months after the close of the first quarter of 2009.While detailed CLIPS data on more than 20 lines of business, geographic areas and account sizes is only available to participating insurers, aggregate data is released for general consumption. The graph below indi-cates that commercial P&C price levels are currently creeping upward from their low point a year ago.
Source: Towers Perrin's Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS)
Agents should consider the composition of their books of business, geographical location, exposure to catastrophes and differences from lines of business written when comparing to a general average. In addition, there is an important distinction between insurer rating actions and final premiums. That is, CLIPS tracks insurer pricing history; however, it does not track the rate base that base-rates are applied to.
Ultimately, it is the combination of the two that results in the premiums charged to customers and what agents see in premium increases and decreases. It may well be that rating bases across the various lines (for ex-ample, payroll, gross receipts or property values) will continue to fall, leading final premiums to remain largely unchanged or declining. On the other hand, some analysts are projecting relief from the economic recession which, with stable insurer rate actions and an increase in rating bases, will result in a rise in premiums. Time will tell.
Clear Signs of Firming Commercial Prices
Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009 Page 21
Page 22 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2003
Imagine, for a moment, you are the owner of a company that builds fancy lawn
chairs and your pesky brother-in-law wants a set of lawn chairs at cost. You agree to sell them at cost, but how much does it actually cost build a lawn chair? Below are your company’s expenses:
Which of these expenses should you include to determine your brother-in-law’s price? Most people would agree that materials and direct labor should be included and most would agree that since your brother-in-law is going to pick up the chairs himself, no transportation expense would be included nor would sales commission. Also, most people agree that ‘at cost’ implies no profit. Operating expenses, like rent and benefits, is the only category then that is not clear cut. Should you charge your brother-in-law for these expenses?
To build the lawn chair, the factory has to have insurance. Electricity is required as is factory space and staff to manage the computers, answer the phones and keep the books. Ben-efits are required to get and keep quality employees. It cost money to buy tools. These expenses are all required so they should be included, right?
Your wife, who is accusing you of being a cheapskate, be-lieves you would have to spend this money regardless of whether her brother buys a lawn chair or not, and therefore these costs are not directly attributed to his particular chairs. According to your wife then, the ‘at cost’ amount should be $90. Setting aside the fact that you don’t really like your brother-in-law, you feel strongly the price should be $110. But, how do you convince your wife?
Since you and your wife are discussing this over dinner at a trendy restaurant, you cite a recent Wall Street Journal article showing that restaurants often charge $5-$10 for a salad that costs them less than a $1. They charge $22 for salmon that costs them $2.50. In fact, just to breakeven, they average a markup of 300% over their food costs. If they only averaged a 200% markup, they would likely go out of business. In other words, all those little things, like rent and insurance, really add up. Just because those costs cannot easily be attributed to one specific meal or one specific lawn chair, does not mean those costs should be ignored.
Your wife is peering at you dubiously over her wine glass as you cite yet another Wall Street Journal article, so you decide
you need another example closer to home. She works for a regional telephone company so you ask why phone calls should not be free. It does not cost the phone company anything extra for a person to make a call. The lines, exchanges, and computers are already there.
“Yes,” she says, “but we all have to pay collectively for the lines, the maintenance, and staff to keep the system running.” Bingo! Every customer also has to pay for all those behind-the-scene costs that enable us to build lawn chairs!
What do lawn chairs have to do with insurance sales? Not much, except operating expenses. Agencies too must consider operating expenses when making sales. Many agency own-ers would exclude operating expenses when selling to their brother-in-law. In fact, most exclude these expenses when selling to strangers.
How can agencies exclude operating expenses when they do not even set prices? Agencies do not ignore operational costs by setting prices too low (though by negotiation with compa-nies for lower rates they do contribute to low prices). Agencies ignore operational costs when they determine producer com-pensation. An agency’s commission usually covers (though not always, according to our studies) producer and CSR compensation, advertising, and other selling expenses. The price, however, does not usually cover those expenses plus all operating expenses. As a result, the Academy of Producer In-surance Studies (APIS) found that the average agency spends $1.02-$1.04 for every $1.00 of commissions earned (Growth and Performance Standards, APIS, 2000).
Selling one more policy at less than full cost does not make much difference, but most insurance agencies sell too many producer serviced policies at less than full cost. Selling in this manner is like an alcoholic’s life philosophy: the first drink did not do any damage so let’s do twelve more. Sell enough insur-ance at below cost and you end up in the hole, spending $1.03 for every $1 of commission.
To stop the bleeding, ask yourself, “How much can I afford to spend to make a sale?” Again, on any individual sale, operat-ing expenses do not make much difference. But on a producer’s book, which obviously requires rent, computers, electricity, non-CSR staff, and so forth, these expenses make a huge difference.
For example, the scenario below is quite common:• Producer’s book $170,000 commission• Producer’s cut $68,000 (40% of the agency’s commission)• CSR $30,000 (the average agency has one CSR for every producer)• Benefits $9,800 (10% of producer’s and CSR’s compensation, including employment taxes)• Sales Costs $27,200 (16% of commissions, national average for medium sized agencies*)• Operating Expenses $61,200 (36% of commissions, national aver-age for medium sized agencies*)TOTAL $196,200Profit/Loss -$26,200
How Much to Charge Your Brother-In-Law?
Item Cost per Chair Running TotalMaterials $60 $60Direct Labor $30 $90OperatingExpenses $20 $110Transportation $3 $113Commission $5 $118Average Profit $5 $123
by Chris Burand
Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009 Page 23
Page 22 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2003
*Growth and Performance Standards, APIS, 2000Earn $170,000. Spend $196,200. And this does not even include management or owner compensation, staff other than the CSR, benefits for anyone other than the producer and CSR, profit sharing, or profit!
The average agency spends at least 10% (including a lowly 7% profit margin) more than they charge their commercial clients. Can agencies increase prices 10%? Most salespeople would say they can not and still keep the business. The only other alternative then is to cut expenses and/or increase productivity, both primarily through producers because the average producer does not produce enough business for what they are paid. Because many operational expenses do not increase with book size, it is critical agencies motivate producers to get past their book’s breakeven point and get rid of producers that fail. For most agencies at current producer
compensation levels, a general rule-of-thumb is producers must generate $200,000-$250,000 in commissions to break even. (Please note: each agency must determine their own break even point because it varies considerable from agency to agency and it even varies between different departments within the same agency.) Another alternative is to use a more innovative compensation system that pays only for profitable business rather than any and all business. For example, pay bonuses/assess penalties for high/low hit ratios and high/low retention rates, pay nothing for small accounts (you define Asmall’), and pay less for small books.
Start your agency on its way to making money on its sales, rather than losing money. Take a detailed look at ALL the costs of making a sale. Do not let your brother-in-law or your producers leave you holding the bill for your operating expenses!
by Chris Burand
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Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009 Page 25
During this economic downturn, independent agencies are rightly focused on client service, operations, and technology as key factors in their competitiveness in 2009. Every indepen-dent agency has a secret weapon to heighten their profitability: their banking relationship.
Independent agencies can and should expect their banking relationship to help them reduce costs, enhance revenues, and improve efficiencies. Agencies have a significant opportunity to use their banking relationship to their advantage.
All banks offer deposit products such as checking and savings accounts. But independent agencies are not like many other businesses. They have unique cash management opportu-nities by virtue of monthly fluctuations in premium payment vol-ume. A bank that recognizes this difference will offer a variety of specialized deposit products, competitively priced, to help agents facilitate cash management and maximize value.
Here is what you should be looking for:
Optimize the earnings credit on your bank accounts. Through the earnings credit applied to its bank account, an agency can offset the cost of services provided in conjunction with the ac-count. Charges such as monthly service fees, checks paid and items deposited fees can pile up, but an agency can reduce the impact of these expenses by optimizing its earnings credit. Earnings credit rates and funds availability vary by bank, so be sure your bank is competitive and that there is no minimum balance to apply the earnings credit.
A good banker will help the agency set a target balance at the right level, considering the agency’s cash-flow patterns over the course of a year, greatly minimizing fees and adding to the bottom line.
Review bank investments to optimize the rate of return. It’s important to make sure your bank offers a variety of investment products with flexible terms to accommodate your unique cash flow needs. You need the flexibility to ac-cess your money on your schedule, so finding the right mix of investments is essential. Cash management tools that provide the liquidity and high investment returns desired by agencies are matching maturity CDs (certifi-cates of deposit) and CD ladders. Matching maturity CDs allow you to match the maturity dates to financial priorities. CD ladders allow you to distribute money over different maturities and receive a higher, blended rate of return on investments.
Cash Management Services: What Difference Can They Make to an Independent Agency?
You may want to consider a sweep account to take advantage of float in your operating account. The excess cash is auto-matically transferred into an investment account. By doing so, the agency puts money to work when it would otherwise sit idle. (In New Mexico, such accounts may be used for insur-ance trust accounts.)
Look for opportunities to use technology: Your bank might offer online banking and remote deposit. However, it is important to read the fine print. Ask your banker about monthly fees, and if there’s an option to run them through your account analysis. Carefully check out the product features offered and see how they fit in with your operations. Does your bank provide: client support, appropriate levels of security and controls, and reli-able equipment? Inadequacies in any of these areas can be costly to your agency in the long run. In addition, with remote deposit there can be the purchase or rental fee of the equip-ment to consider.
These opportunities are there for agencies, and have been for many years. But many bankers simply do not realize an agen-cy’s unique needs. If they do, they may not take the initiative to discuss them with agency owners. It’s up to the agency leader to take the initiative and ask about banking services.
Agency owners have a lot of priorities. But if they take the time to view and understand banking services as an opportunity to improve their bottom line, they’ll make their agency more com-petitive by reducing costs and increasing revenues.
Mary C. Grazen is Executive Vice President and Chief Opera-tions Officer of InsurBanc, a federal thrift dedicated to provid-ing banking products and services to independent insurance agents. Visit www.InsurBanc.com.
Page 26 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
Page 26 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
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Survey shows customers prefer purchasing insurance from agents.
Despite the increasing popularity and availability of insurance online, nearly three-quarters of customers would rather purchase insurance through an inde-pendent agent, according to a recent survey from Accenture.
“The key takeaway for the independent agent is that your customer may be looking to shop product or gain information about the insurance company, and you need to be involved in that process,” says Michael Costonis, executive director of Accenture’s North American Insurance Practice and Global Claims Lead. “With one in six consumers looking to change companies and 27% of consumers asking for more information on the products, there is a window of opportunity for the inde-pendent agent to further demonstrate value to the consumer.”
Although they are the most likely demographics to explore insurance products online, younger (ages 18 to 24 years old) and more affluent customers with incomes of more than $60,000 also prefer to consult with an agent and demonstrate the strongest need for guidance in selecting and understand-ing insurance, according to Accenture.
“The younger generations tend to research online, but they buy from someone they know,” says Ashley Whitney, vice president of Harbor Brenn Agencies in Petoskey, Mich. “I’m finding that when you have a relationship with (young people) that extends outside of a business relationship, they are easier to deal with (in a business context). Facebook and Twitter put a personal face on business and you feel you know them bet-ter because of the interaction online.”
Rick Dinger, president of Crescenta Valley Insurance in Glen-dale, Calif., also sees social networking as the tool of choice to attract customers who conduct online research but ultimately
Agents Remain Customers’ Top Choiceseek a personal relationship and guidance from an insurance professional. Dinger says advertising through Facebook has “become an unbelievable draw for new business”
because the ads can be tailored to customers’ interests and geographical location.
Accenture’s survey also shows that younger and more affluent customers are the most likely to switch insurers. Dinger says the most affluent customers are often underinsured, so the survey’s results may reflect their search for a variety of prod-ucts in an increasingly complex and competitive marketplace. Younger customers’ inclination to shop around may reflect their view that purchasing insurance is, as Whitney puts it, “a difficult pill to swallow.”
According to Accenture, younger customers are the most uncertain about coverage and 43% question whether their car-rier will be able to provide coverage in the current economy, while 26% of customers older than 45 years old share similar concerns. Whitney says any uncertainties, regardless of a cus-tomer’s age, can be cleared up by sitting down and discussing insurance options with an agent.
One-quarter of consumers surveyed said they lack adequate information about the impact the economy will have on their life insurance policies, which also demonstrates an opportunity for agents to advise concerned insureds. However, Costonis believes the agent’s ability to explain complex products will benefit customers long after the recession has passed.
“The preference toward agents…demonstrates the fact that consumers prefer advisory-style services for more complex products,” he says. “As the economy stabilizes, we still believe that the agent will remain at the heart of more complex insurance transactions.”
by Veronica DeVore
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Register Here
705 S. TelshorLas Cruces, NM 88011
(505) 522-4300 or 866-383-0443Reservations may be made at the rate of $88 per night
(single or double occupancy) until June 30, 2009. Please state that you are with the Independent Insurance Agents of New
Mexico to receive this special rate.
Property / CasualtyLife / Health
Continuing Education
Two Full Days of Instruction + Ethics(15 hrs of CE)
$240.00 (Regular Cost)$195.00 (IIANM Member Cost)
One Full Day of Instruction + Ethics(8 hrs of CE)
$140.00 (Regular Cost)$100.00 (IIANM Member Cost)
One Half Day of Instruction(4 hrs of CE for AM class or
3 hrs of CE + Ethics for PM class)$75 (Regular Cost)
$65 (IIANM Member Cost)
Ethics Only(1 hour of CE)
$45 (Regular Cost)$35 (IIANM Member Cost)
Bill Agency (IIANM Members only)
Check made payable to IIANM
Charge my card:
Number:
Exp. Date:
Signature:
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(Lunch is on your own)
15 Hours of Continuing Education for the Insurance ProfessionalIIANM’s 13th Annual Southern Seminar
From the Wild, Wild West to the Best of the BestCelebrating 75 Years of Independents in New Mexico
Class Details:Wednesday, July 15th : Thursday, July 16th :
Property/Casualty Pre-Licensing Exam Review *You can register for this class online at www.iianm.org - click on “Education Calendar”
or call Jeff Straight at (800) 621-3978 or email: [email protected]
July 15th & 16th / 8am - 5pm
Ethics
4:00 – 5:00 pm / Both Days, July 15th & 16th
“Commercial Lines: related coverages” Betsy Carlson, CIC, RPLU, ASLI with Western Assurance Corp.8 to 12 noon / 4 CE hrs
Betsy will discuss Related Commercial Lines Cover-ages: DIC, Ordinance of Law, Hired/Non-Owned Auto, Fiduciary, Travel Accident, Intellectual Property, Cyber Security, D&O, and EPLI to assist agents in protecting clients from excluded perils in standard insurance poli-cies. This class will identify the exclusions and what policy form is appropriate to cover the exposure. It will give the agent practical tools to identify companies of-fering coverage and estimated premium.
“Implied Coverages”
Betsy Carlson, CIC, RPLU, ASLI with Western Assurance Corp.1 to 4 / 3 CE hrs
This class is designed to expose insurance agents to the potential of mis communication and alleged misrepresentation of a product. The result is that the courts are claiming that the agent represented the cov-erage and thus constituted coverage when the insur-ance company did not intend to cover such a loss.
“Group Health Insurance”
Carole Henry with Lovelace Health Plans8 to 12 noon / 4 CE hrs
The purpose of this class is to take an in depth look at Group Health Insurance including the basic concepts. The discussion will include the features and benefits of the various Health plans and how they are under-written and priced. Additionally, it will investigate the impact of New Mexico regulations have on pricing and underwriting for small employer groups. The case studies will look at underwriting submissions and com-mon mistakes which are made.
“BLT of Annuities” - (Basic Life Training)
Manny Mansour, LUTC, AAI with Nationwide Insurance1 to 4 / 3 CE hrs
Does the word annuity bring fear and dread to your heart? Come to this class and learn everything you ever wanted to know about annuities. A basic but much needed for anyone dealing with annuities “101” class plus issues that seasoned and new agents are interested in when starting a basic approach in selling Annuities.
“A Renewed Look at the CGL”
Jack Cleary, CPCU, ARM with Cleary & Associates8 to 12 noon / 4 CE hrs
Has it been a while since you took a close look at the CGL? Perhaps it is time to dig into it again. Jack will discuss the basics plus cover some of the “finer” points of the CGL. Come and spend some time with our old friend – CGL.
“Certficates of Insurance & Additional Insureds”
Jack Cleary, CPCU, ARM with Cleary & Associates1 to 4 / 3 CE hrs
This class will discuss types of insureds such as Named Insured, Additional and Miscellaneous Insureds under the CGL, Commercial Auto, Umbrella, and Workers Compensation policies. Other topics include: Intercompany Products Suits, Separation of Insureds, Subrogation among Insureds, Cross Liability, Additional Insured Endorsements, Application of Exclusions to Insureds, Forms of Business Organizations, Ownership and Insurance Problems, and Discontinued Operations Problems.
“COBRA Updates”
Sue Bisbee with Infinisource 8 to 12 noon / 4 CE hrs
Sue will bring us to date on COBRA. The penalties and Enforcement, TAMARA, Who Must Comply, Qualified Beneficiaries, Qualifying Events, COBRA Extensions, COBRA Coverage, COBRA Notifications, Election and Time Frames, Terminating Events, COBRA Premiums and lots more.
“Consumer Driven Health Care (CDHC)”
Sue Bisbee with Infinisource 1 to 4 / 3 CE hrs
CDHC – what is it and how does it work? Sue will explain this and more. She will review CDHC basics, trends, and tools: FSA, HRA, HAS and Wellness pro-grams. Plan design options, comparison charts, and decision making framework discussion will help you work with your clients.
Name:
Organization:
Address:
City, State & Zip:
Phone: Fax:
E-mail:
Please see other side for class descriptions
Wednesday, September 2nd
Thursday, September 3rd
AM
PM
ethics
AM
PM
ethics
For more information, please contact Jeff Straight at (505) 999-5802 or (800) 621-3978 or [email protected].
Fax Registration To:(505) 243-3367
Registration Form
Class Choices
Location Information
Hilton Albuquerque1901 University Blvd. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87107
(505) 884-2500 / 800-374-6835
Reservations may be made at the rate of $100 per night until August 30th, 2009. Please be sure to state you are with the
Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico to receive this special rate.
Ethics Only(1 Hour of CE)
$45 (Regular Cost) $35 (Member Cost)
Mail Registration to:
IIANM1511 University Blvd. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87102
(800) 621-3978
Prices
One Half DayOne half day of instruction
(4 Hours of CE for AM class or 3 Hours of CE + Ethics for PM class)
$75 (Regular Cost) $65 (Member Cost)
Entire SeminarTwo full days of instruction + Ethics (15 Hours of CE)
$240 (Regular Cost) $195 (Member Cost)
One Full DayOne full day of instruction + Ethics (8 Hours of CE)
$140 (Regular Cost) $100 (Member Cost)
Bill Agency (Members Only)
Check made payable to IIANM
Charge my card:
Number:
Exp. Date:
Signature:
Method of Payment
Your Time is Running Out! September 2nd & 3rd, 2009
15 Hours of Continuing Education for the Insurance Professional IIANM’s 20th Annual Last Chance SeminarFrom the Wild, Wild West to the Best of the Best
Celebrating 75 Years of Independents in New Mexico
Class Details:Wednesday, September 2nd : Thursday, September 3rd :
“Commercial Crime in the 21st Century”
Dan Myers with Professional Insurance Educators of Indiana
8 to 12 noon / 4 CE hrs
ISO has totally restructured the Crime Program. This seminar will cover all details of the New Crime Program. This will be an excellent opportunity to learn the new program because every class code, form, endorsement, rule, and rating procedure is new.
“Inland Marine Coverages”
Dan Myers with Professional Insurance Educators of Indiana1 to 4 / 3 CE hrs
This seminar will take a look at the development of Inland Marine coverages and its purpose and uses. The discussion will include Builder’s Risk, Installation Float-ers, Contractor’s Equipment, and Surface Carriers.
“Group Health Insurance”
Carole Henry with Lovelace Health Plans8 to 12 noon / 4 CE hrs
The purpose of this class is to take an in depth look at Group Health Insurance including the basic concepts. The discussion will include the features and benefits of the various Health plans and how they are underwritten and priced. Additionally, it will investigate the impact of New Mexico regulations have on pricing and underwrit-ing for small employer groups. The case studies will look at underwriting submissions and common mistakes which are made.
“Health Care Legislation and NM”
Anne Sperling, CSA, LPRT with Daniels Insurance, Inc.1 to 4pm / 3 CE hrs
Anne will be discussing the 2009 Legislative requests made by the Legislative Health and Human Services Subcommittee. She will discuss the comprehensive health care reform strategy. Anne will also be discussing how the requests turned into statute and how the state will move forward based on the legislative outcome. She will also weave the national health care discussion into the NM discussion.
“A Renewed Look at the CGL”
Jack Cleary, CPCU, ARM with Cleary & Associates8 to 12 noon / 4 CE hrs
Has it been a while since you took a close look at the CGL? Perhaps it is time to dig into it again. Jack will discuss the basics plus cover some of the “finer” points of the CGL. Come and spend some time with our old friend – CGL.
“Certficates of Insurance & Additional Insureds”
Jack Cleary, CPCU, ARM with Cleary & Associates1 to 4 / 3 CE hrs
This class will discuss types of insureds such as Named Insured, Additional and Miscellaneous Insureds under the CGL, Commercial Auto, Umbrella, and Workers Com-pensation policies. Other topics include: Intercompany Products Suits, Separation of Insureds, Subrogation among Insureds, Cross Liability, Additional Insured En-dorsements, Application of Exclusions to Insureds, Forms of Business Organizations, Ownership and Insurance Problems, and Discontinued Operations Problems.
“COBRA Updates”
Sue Bisbee with Infinisource 8 to 12 noon / 4 CE hrs
Sue will bring us to date on COBRA. The penalties and Enforcement, TAMARA, Who Must Comply, Qualified Beneficiaries, Qualifying Events, COBRA Extensions, COBRA Coverage, COBRA Notifications, Election and Time Frames, Terminating Events, COBRA Premiums and lots more.
“The Impact of Wellness Programs on Premium Rates”
Jim Campbell with Wellness Improvement Experts1 to 4pm / 3 CE hrs
The objectives of this class are to educate the mem-bers regarding resources and their use to maintain and expand their client base in the face of continually increas-ing health insurance premium rate increases. Drivers of those increases that are within the control of clients will be identified. The class will provide members with information to communicate proven ways for clients to mitigate future rate increases by addressing those drivers to maintain or expand current client coverages. Specifi-cally, attendees will learn how to create added value for their clients by reducing needs for employee health care utilization. Attendees will learn the critical components of effective wellness programs for client’s employees that will produce high returns on investment to offset signifi-cant portions of future health insurance rate increases for clients. The result will be greater client good will, loyalty and retention.
Ethics
4:00 – 5:00 pm / Both Days, September 2nd & 3rd
We would like to invite everyone in the Association to celebrate our collective success in this endeavor, so throughout 2009, we will be announcing a number of fun and informative initiatives to
commemorate this milestone year.Every month La Voz will feature a trivia question where the answers can be located on
our web site and Membership Directory.
This month's trivia question is:
"Can you name the three Officers of the Young Agents Organization?"
Win an iPod Shuffle!!
Email your answers to [email protected] by July 15, 2009. On July 18, there will be a drawing for the winner from the correct entries.
Look out for next month issue of La Voz for your next chance to win!
From the Wild, Wild West to the Best of the Best!IIANM Celebrates our
75th Anniversary in 2009!
Last month's WINNER!!Flora Hendren Western Assurance Corp, Albuquerque, NM
HINT: If you do not have access to a hard copy of our Membership Directory, you can find it online on our site. Look for “Member Resources”, then “Member Directory”.
Page 32 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009 Page 33
Full Name:
First Name for Badge:
Agency / Company:
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Telephone:
Fax:
The pre-licensing classes are designed to be a review for the state licensing examination. We recommend that students be familiar with the study material prior to attending class.
Study materials are NOT included in class prices.
Pre-Licensing Classes
E-Mail:
Method of Payment:
Bill Agency (Members Only)
Check Enclosed (Payable to IIANM)
M/C Visa Disc Amex
Amount: (all prices include tax)
Card No:
Exp. Date:
Signature:
( )
Send in your registration:
Fax in:(505) 243-3367
Mail in:1511 University Blvd. NEAlbuquerque, NM 87102
Give us a call:(505) 843-7231 (800) 621-3978
Go on-line:www.iianm.org or E-mail:
The FINE PRINT: IIANM reserves the right to cancel/reschedule classes. Please call ahead to verify when classes will run. Decisions will be made three days prior to class. Cancellations received after 5 business days, will be assessed a $50.00 cancellation fee. Cancellations received on or after deadline and ‘no shows‘ will forfeit the registration fee altogether. A substitute is always welcome, with no extra fee, but prior notification would be appreciated.
Class Name/Date:
( )
Instructor: Jack Cleary - July 7 - 8 8am - 5pm Instructor: Kitty Leslie - July 15 - 16 8am - 5pm Las Cruces
Instructor: Kitty Leslie - August 11 - 12 8am - 5pm
Property & Casualty Review Class (2 days)
Regular Price: $150 Member Price: $120
Click here for a full listing of our education program.
Life & Health Review Class (1 day)
Regular Price: $115 Member Price: $90
Instructor: Manny Mansour - July 9 8am - 5pm Instructor: Bob Ouellette - August 13 8am - 5pm
Insurance Education Programs in New Mexico are critical to a successful and profitable career in the insurance industry. Every year, we offer exciting opportunities to expand your professional horizons. All of these education programs are designed to help insurance agents thrive in the most competitive of marketplaces.
EducationEDGEIIANM’s
Pre-Licensing Study MaterialsTo see a list of what is available and to purchase your study materials online, click here.
Page 32 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009
Page 34 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 200
Cla
ssifieds
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
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8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23
P&CPre-licensing
Class
P&CPre-licensing
Class
L&HPre-licensing
Class
Looking to fill a position within your agency? Trying to find a job but don‘t know where to look?
Whether you are looking for somewhere new to share your special skills or an employer looking for quality, professional employees, we are there to lend a helping hand.
The staff at IIANM knows that ‘Teamwork Makes Us Stronger‘ and we want to help all interested individuals find that perfect fit.
Click here to take advantage of IIANM‘s Job Bank.
Where Will You Find Your Next Great Hire?
- Click on a class to register online - CE ‘ continuing education hours
4
5 6 7
1 2
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27 28
25
26 29 30
July's Clickable Calendar
AAI 83/BAgnecy / Company Relations
8 CE
Commercial Auto
(ACSR 8)8 CE
E&OWorkshop
8 CE
Odd
s n Ends
31
Office
Closed
Southern Seminar in Las Cruces
15 CE (including ethics)
P&CPre-licensing
Classheld both days
CANCELLED
Page 34 Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 200
Governor Bill Richardson signed a bill declaring “Under New Mexico Skies” the official state cowboy song. Inspired by the historic Turquoise Trail, the song pays homage to the beauty and the ranchers of New Mexico. Penned by songwrit-er Syd Masters of Edgewood, the tune was chosen by the New Mexico Music Commission from a field of 26 entries.
Odd
s n EndsDo you know your U.S. history? Here are some 4th of July facts to ponder and share:
• Three presidents died on July 4th: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams in 1826, and James Monroe, in 1831. Calvin Coolidge was the only president born on July 4th, in 1872.
• The Massachusetts General Court was the first state legislature to recognize July 4th as a state celebration, in 1781.
• The first recorded use of the name "Independence Day" occurred in 1791.
• The U.S. Congress established Independence Day as an unpaid holiday for federal employees in 1870. They changed it to a federal paid holiday in 1931.
• The Declaration of Independence was approved in a closed session of the Second Continental Congress on July 2nd, 1776, but most of the delegates didn’t sign it until August 2nd. While John Adams expected Americans would celebrate July 2, the date
Fun factoids for a festive Fourth!
Refreshing Cucumber Salad (5 STaRS!)
INGREDIENTS• 2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced • 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced • 1 large tomato, halved and sliced • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise • 1 tablespoon white vinegar • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
DIRECTIONSIn a medium bowl, toss together the cucumbers, red onion and tomato. Gently stir in the may-onnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper until coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * July 2009 Page 33
Find Out What’s Happening this Month in New Mexico.
The New Mexico Tourism Department has a great online Calendar of Events that lists daily art exhibits, shows, festivals, classes & fairs all over the state.
Click here to see what’s happening in your area.
Create a Calendar
If you travel a lot, this site lets you to set up a “world clock” with cities
important to you. It lists monthly Celestial events and it also helps with calendar questions, such as what the date will be in 500 days.
TimeAndDate has more: calen-dars, yes, but even better, it has the time all over the world, and it can help you calculate the best times to call so you won’t wake someone out of a sound sleep”.
This site was listed as one of the the “50 Best Travel Websites to Browse”.
www.timeanddate.com
SM
SM
PO Box 27825 • Albuquerque, NM 87125-7825
1.505. 345.7260 • to l l f ree 1 .800.788.8851
www.NewMexicoMutual .com
S A F E T Y @ T H E J O B S I T E
PEACE OF MIND @ THE OFFICEC U S T O M E R S E R V I C E @ I T S B E S T
Insuring New Mexicans @ work for over 17 years
SM
SM
