THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010 

                                                Big “I” National News

Virtual University
What’s the VU for YOU? An Award Winning Resource!
Take advantage of the library, classes and the Ask an Expert service.

Most independent agents and brokers are seeking ways to stay ahead of the competition. A sure-fire approach is to ensure your staff is highly trained, has professional accreditations and has access to exclusive insurance, business and technical information. The Big “I”  Virtual University is a one-stop shop for education and other resources and is free for Big “I” member agencies. All members and employees need to access the resource and classroom center are a Web-accessible computer and a personal login provided by the Big “I”.

Once in the VU, agents and brokers will find a wealth of resources that can provide a competitive edge to any agency or brokerage firm. For instance, the VU’s unmatched research library is a virtual bookshelf for business, insurance and technology information. The information is cataloged by subject, business and professional skills, commercial lines, personal lines, life-health, financial planning, agency systems, general technology issues and the Internet.

And that’s just the beginning. The popular Ask an Expert service, consisting of 50 of the top minds in the industry, provides prompt answers to insurance coverage and technical questions, business operations queries and technology conundrums.

Consider that the VU provides a wide variety of online CE courses and other classes for your agency staff’s educational and professional development needs. Classes span from the free agency staff diagnostics to workers’ compensation experience rating and everything in between. CSRs also can take online courses to earn the valuable Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR) designation.

If all that doesn’t convince you to take advantage of the VU’s resources, the VU was honored with the 1st place award for Best Use of Learn.com e-commerce tools at Learn.com’s annual Empowerment Awards during the fifth annual Global Users Conference recently held in Florida.  The VU has used the Learn.com platform to deliver online courses for more than two years. The award was judged by a panel of experts, including external learning leaders and Learn.com subject matter experts.  Judging was based on evidence of success and accomplishment in meeting learning program objectives. The Big “I” was recognized for creating and maintaining a very user-friendly course catalog with multiple price points, and an interface making it easy for users to choose their classes and pay for them with an array of payment options.  The Big “I” also was recognized with a 2nd place award for having the largest number of sub-learn centers (through state associations) that are fully operational and generate revenue.  Learn.com has many prestigious clients like Four Seasons Hotels, Tufts University, Cirque du Soliel, Samsung Telecommunications America, Kennedy Center, St. Jude Hospital, Braille Institute of America, IBM Worklife, and Intuit, to name just a few.  Check out the Big “I” Facebook page to see the VU Team showcase their awards. To access the VU and all it offers, click here.

For questions about the VU, e-mail VirtualUniversity@iiaba.net.


Big “I” Markets
Travelers EPLI Market Available
Educate your small and midsize commercial accounts on the need for EPLI.

Looking for ways to market the need for employment practices liability? Consider these real life claim examples provided by Travelers of office decorum gone awry. Agents now have access to a stand-alone Employment Practices Liability market for private companies through Travelers.

• A female copywriter at a production company sued for sexual harassment, alleging that two employees of the company had made inappropriate comments about her physical appearance. Citing sexual harassment of a non-employee, the suit was settled for $100,000.
• An employee who voluntarily admitted to having a substance abuse problem won his wrongful termination case. Finding that the termination was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the jury awarded over $105,000 in past earnings, $100,000 in front pay, as well as another $250,000 for mental anguish, for a total award of $455,000. The company only had 19 employees.
• A Midwestern electronics company settled a class action lawsuit alleging a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) for $7.1 million. The suit was brought by approximately 800 former employees whose jobs were moved to Mexico after a downsizing at the company's U.S. facilities.
• After reporting multiple incidents of repeated sexual harassment by a supervisor, an employee alleges the supervisor began a systematic campaign to force the employee to resign. The court award in this retaliation/wrongful termination complaint was $210,000 for mental anguish, $360,600 in lost income, and $1.9 million in attorney's fees for a total loss of $2,440,600.

These cases of Employment Practices Liability illustrate how challenging it is for employers to navigate through all the issues related to human resource management. Be sure to offer all your small and midsized commercial accounts EPLI coverage. To access the Travelers product log onto www.bigimarkets.com and click on EPLI Wrap+ in the commercial markets menu.


Education
Sign Up for Nonprofit Executive Liability Webinar 
Learn more about nonprofit liabilities, exposures and sources of claims.

On April 14, at 2:00 p.m. ET, Diane Voit, CPCU, ARM and 25 year industry expert, will present a “Nonprofit Executive Liability: Unlocking the Mystery”. This webinar provides an overview of the operations of nonprofit organizations and the protections available to those organizations through an executive liability policy. Participants will learn about nonprofit organizations’ liabilities and exposures, including board member actions creating liability, volunteer liabilities and other sources of claims from volunteer and certification activities. The session will offer suggested risk management procedures to prevent losses arising from these activities. The presentation will include analysis of the combined D&O and EPLI policy wording, with an emphasis on policy provisions common to both coverages. Participants will gain a working knowledge of the defense and settlement provisions, application of the limit of liability and retention, operation of the extended reporting period and the importance of the application warranty and severability provisions. Click here to register and learn more about other webinars and access the webinar library.


InVEST
InVEST Now Accepting Applications for Professional Awards
Recognize an InVEST program liaison or teacher who is making a difference.

Is your InVEST industry liaison or InVEST teacher worthy of praise and recognition? Remember that InVEST offers awards that recognize your industry liaison or teacher.

The Dach Award is bestowed upon InVEST industry liaisons dedicated to their InVEST students and the Teacher of the Year award is presented to an outstanding InVEST teacher who goes above and beyond to make a positive impact on their students.

To nominate the best of the best, head to www.investprogram.org to learn more about the brief application process. The application deadline is April 9, 2010.

For more information on these awards or the InVEST program, contact Jennifer Robinson 800-221-7917; jennifer.robinson@iiaba.net.


Trusted Choice^®
It’s Back— Trusted Choice^® Marketing Reimbursement Program Returns
Make smart marketing pay you back.

Last year, hundreds of Trusted Choice^® agencies took advantage of this brand investment opportunity. Through the Marketing Reimbursement Program (MRP), Trusted Choice^® agencies can earn up to $500 to use toward marketing expenses incurred in 2010. If you are a Trusted Choice^® agency, now is the time to reap the rewards.  Add the Trusted Choice® logo to your agency’s materials,  such as business cards, letterhead, envelopes, agency signage and logo-wear, or create an online presence with the logo and pledge, and your agency has made the first step toward earning up to $500. To learn more about the MRP program, visit www.TrustedChoice.com/MRP or contact Ines Hoyle at 800-221-7917; ines.hoyle@iiaba.net.


Big I Advantage
Why Your Business Should Think FedEx First
Big “I” members can receive discounts of up to 26% on select FedEx services.

When it comes to your business, reliability is critical. FedEx has made its name on delivering shipments on time and intact.  Here are some of the many reasons to think FedEx first:

• Faster than UPS. Reliable and cost-effective, FedEx Ground is faster to more locations than UPS Ground.  And FedEx offers overnight delivery to more zip codes than ever.
• Time-critical delivery in the U.S. and abroad. FedEx Express delivers in one, two or three business days by a certain time. You can even request same-day service.
• More than 50,000 convenient drop-off locations nationwide. FedEx offers convenient, easy-to-locate FedEx Express^® Drop Boxes, including many at Post Office^® locations.
• Reliable office services. With more than 1,800 convenient FedEx Office locations, you can print signage, business stationery, brochures and more. FedEx will even help you pack and ship your boxes.
• Provides you with vital information online. Free FedEx electronic shipping tools let you manage every phase of the shipping process more easily and cost-efficiently – especially billing.
• Offers a money-back guarantee. FedEx offers a money-back guarantee, which covers qualifying shipments to virtually every U.S. address, plus 220 countries and territories worldwide.
• Reach your global potential. FedEx offers a variety of international services to more than 220 countries or territories.

Sign up now and save. Take advantage of special Big “I” member discounts of up to 26%* on select FedEx® services. To enroll in the discount program or learn more, go to enrolladvantage.fedex.com/4739 and enter passcode ZFT3SF or call 1-800-MEMBERS between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST Monday-Friday. Enroll today and start saving!


Best Practices
Order the 2009 Best Study Update
Learn from the best to thrive in a soft market and difficult economy.

Since 1993, the annual Best Practices Study has served as a tool to help agency owners and managers understand how their business operations perform and measure up to the top performing firms across the country. It is a “must have” resource for agencies that want to become the best they can be despite soft markets and an ever-changing industry. The 2009 Best Practices Study Update demonstrates that although positive revenue growth was difficult to achieve, Best Practices agencies continued to invest in new production talent.

To order the 2009 Best Practices Study Update click here. For more information, e-mail BestPractices@iiaba.net.