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Industry News

IIABA NEWS
Big “I” Honors Minkler, Alba, Florida Agents

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America has honored two agent leaders and one of its state associations for their legislative accomplishments in 2007. Honors went to the following recipients this week at the Big “I” National Legislative Conference and Convention:

* Tom Minkler of Clark-Mortenson Agency in Keene, N.H. was presented the Sidney O. Smith Award for his tireless work in promoting the legislative goals of the Big “I”, including in his role as government affairs chairman.

* The Florida Association of Insurance Agents was honored with the Maurice Herndon Award for its great work in a difficult legislative environment in 2007.

* Vinny Alba received the Barney Burns Award for his work as the New York InsurPac chairman.

Currently serving as chairman of the government affairs committee, Mikler has been a true voice for agents on the Hill. He has testified numerous times before both House and Senate committees on national issues important to independent agents and brokers, including insurance regulatory reform. He has been a member of the Agents Advocacy Fund Committee since 2005, and he participated in the NAIC Advisory Committee on Producer Licensing in 2007. An avid supporter and major donor of InsurPac, he served as the InsurPac Chairman for the state of New Hampshire.

The Florida Association of Insurance Agents has excelled in just about every aspect of government affairs: lobbying, grassroots, InsurPac, and more. The state has proven its commitment to InsurPac, eclipsing its 2007 contribution goal by $17,000. Agents have relationships with every member of Congress in their state delegation, creating a valuable grassroots network used by the national and state association. FAIA has continued to improve the insurance marketplace despite their catastrophe exposure and difficult legislative environment. In the face of serious threats, political pandering and public pressure, the association has been a constant voice in the insurance marketplace debate and has responsibly voiced the concerns and views of independent agents and the consumers they serve.

Vinny Alba was born in 1925 and served his country honorably during World War II and he now serves the independent agency system as the New York InsurPac chairman.  Since taking over as chairman, New York has more than doubled its support of InsurPac.  Working with his state leadership, he implemented a charitable matching funds campaign to increase InsurPac participation.  He personally contacts hundreds of prospective donors via personal phone calls and hand-written notes every year, and is a constant advocate for political involvement.

The Smith Award is given annually by the Big “I” and the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia to an individual agent or broker for outstanding service to his or her peers and the national association in the field of government affairs. It is named in honor of a Big “I” past president and Georgia agent who was instrumental in focusing the association and its members on legislative advocacy.

Also awarded annually by the Big “I”, the Herndon Award is bestowed upon the state association whose legislative achievements the previous year on behalf of IIABA and its members have been deemed most outstanding. The honor is named after the former head of IIABA’s government affairs operation. Herndon, who died in January 2003 at age 91, directed the association’s Washington D.C. office from 1949 to 1976 and was known as “Mr. Washington” to agents and brokers across America. He is fondly remembered as an extremely effective leader of the Big “I” government affairs and grassroots operations.

Barney Burns award to recognize outstanding work for Insurpac. The award is named after former Big “I” President Barney Burns, who founded InsurPac in 1975, and served as chairman of its Board of Trustees until 1983.  During these years, Barney worked tirelessly to educate agents about the importance of being politically active and contributing to InsurPac.    


InVEST
InVEST Spring Edition Newsletter Available

The spring edition of the InVEST newsletter is now available. The newsletter is intended to inform InVEST liaisons and teachers about the free products, services and publications available to InVEST program participants. The spring edition of the newsletter features scholarship and awards data as well as other exciting information about the InVEST program. To view the newsletter, visit www.investprogram.org. If you have any questions or story ideas, contact Amber Williamson at 800-221-7917; amber.williamson@iiaba.net.

A 501(c)3 educational trust, InVEST introduces high school and community college students to insurance and the more than 350 diverse careers available within the industry giving students a new outlook on the future. The program offers insurance agencies, brokers and carriers a diverse and talented group of entry-level recruits.


ACT
Independent Agency Carriers See Gains in Real-Time Transactions

Less than a year after the launch of an industry-wide campaign to improve the efficiency of communications between independent agents and carriers, several leading national and regional carriers are reporting their real-time rating and policy inquiry transactions have doubled in 2007, according to an industry coalition.

The Real Time/Download Campaign (www.getrealtime.org), supported by independent agents, trade associations, carriers and technology providers, isn’t advocating a specific technology, but a workflow approach that frees up more time for agencies to sell, process and service business. Most agents can leverage tools already contained in their agency management systems or comparative raters.

At Chicago-based CNA, usage is up by some 10 to 15% a month. The carrier embarked on an aggressive implementation and communication program last year, and continues to work with agents to drive increases.

“Our system allows us to see when an agent has a problem using Real Time,” says Barbara Flanigan, CNA vice president, business insurance. “We can then pick up the phone and call to see if we can help.”

Peerless Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets company based in Keene, N.H., set a goal to see its number of transactions double in 2007.

“We achieved that,” says Peerless Insurance Agency Interface Manager Dee Dee Forte. “We saw more than 300,000 real-time transactions by the end of the year.”

At Westfield Insurance, usage more than doubled.

“We saw a 105% increase from Jan. 1, 2007 through the end of year,” says Steve Copley from the Westfield, Ohio-based organization. “It’s been a desktop-by-desktop endeavor. One of our objectives for 2008 is to educate our field marketing staff so they better understand the benefits of Real Time and can help move agents and brokers forward.”

“These preliminary numbers indicate we’re making inroads industry-wide to help agents, brokers, vendors and carriers improve workflows by using Real Time and Download,” says Lisa Parry Becker, Real Time/Download Campaign co-chair, vice president of sales and marketing at William B. Parry Agency in Langhorne, Pa., and a director of ASCnet, the Applied Systems user group.

About the Real Time/Download Campaign: Launched in April 2007, the campaign is dedicated to improving the competitiveness of the independent agency distribution channel. Participants include independent agencies and brokers, carriers, technology providers, user groups and agent and industry associations. The campaign goal is to double the use of real time in the first year. Most-recent numbers show more than 20,000 real-time transactions are performed industry-wide each business day through agency management systems; this figure excludes real-time rating transactions processed by comparative raters.

More information, visit www.getrealtime.org.


IIABA NEWS
ACSR Scholarships Available

IIABA, in close cooperation with the National Association of Insurance Women International (NAIW), continues to offer a scholarship program to further promote and assist insurance agents and brokers’ commitment to excellence.

During NAIW’s annual convention in June, the Big “I” and NAIW will award the following scholarships toward IIABA’s Accredited Customer Service Representative designation (ACSR): Two full scholarships to take all classes required to earn the ACSR personal, commercial or life-health designation; and one scholarship to take an ACSR personal, commercial or life-health class. 

“We are thrilled to be partnering with NAIW to offer their members and our own association members the opportunity to continue their education and gain valuable technical and professional training,” says Madelyn Flannagan, Big “I” vice president of education and research. “The ACSR designation is an important one—it promotes and recognizes the professionalism of customer service personnel in the insurance industry.”

Scholarship recipients will gain critical professional development skills, improve their customer service tactics, retain accounts and reduce their agencies’ E&O exposure. In addition, they will be able to take advantage of earning their designation online via the Big “I” Virtual University.

Applicants must be current and active members of the NAIW and in good standing. They must also work full-time at a Big “I” member agency and have one year experience in the insurance industry. Scholarship recipients must complete and achieve the ACSR designation within three years or take the ACSR class within one year and expect to continue their career for the next three years in the insurance industry. To obtain an application, which must be postmarked by April 25, click here.


BEST PRACTICES
Best Practices Tools Sharpen Agents’ Competitive Edge

Insurance industry business is not “business as usual” anymore. Increased competition from direct writers and banks; recruiting, hiring and retaining producers; technology and workflow issues and agency perpetuation are just some of the challenges independent agents face today. The goal of IIABA’s Best Practices series is to help agencies be the best they can be––to overcome and combat these challenges––so your agency can continue to grow and prosper long into the future.

The Best Practices tools are designed to help you do just that by providing the information, resources and guidance needed to work smarter, more efficiently and more professionally to enhance performance, maximize results and increase agency value. 

Take a look at the multiple tools in the Best Practices portfolio:

• Annual Best Practices Study. This study is the heart of the program and gives detail on the inner workings of today’s most successful agencies, provides benchmarks against which you can measure your own agency’s performance and offers guidelines on how to use the study as a tool to improve operations and maximize potential. 

• Agency Self-Diagnostic Tool. This unique resource helps agents evaluate their agency’s performance, identify strengths and weaknesses and develop a plan to increase an agency’s value.  It’s a great starting point for any agency new to Best Practices.

• Best Practices of Crisis Management. No one expects the worst to happen to their agency, but with this tool, agents can be prepared and ready to take action. It includes an interactive CD to develop a personal plan, and is of value to both an agency and its clients.

• Joint Agency/Company Planning Tool Quick Step. Developed jointly by agents and companies, this Microsoft Excel document is designed to help build collaborative planning relationships with companies to further your mutual success.

• Customer Service Made Simple. Learn how to raise the value of a business by raising the level of service provided to customers. This results-oriented idea book contains information-packed pages filled with practical suggestions and useful tips.

• Five Practices of Highly Effective Leaders. Skip the trial-and-error approach and get four-star results from five proven practices for overcoming new and difficult challenges.  This handbook lets agents profit from the experience of 18 leaders who successfully guided their agencies through periods of change and uncertainty.

• Best Practices of Business Perpetuation & Management Succession. Obtain an analysis of privately held businesses, both inside and outside of the insurance industry, and their experiences with ownership transfers. The study provides practical information and planning tools to independent agents who are currently or will soon be addressing the issue of business perpetuation, whether internally or through a merger or acquisition with a third party.

• Top Producers: Discover, Train, Reward. Find out how to recruit, interview, train, compensate and retain top producers. The study is more than 125 information-filled pages and includes a section on sample producer contracts.

• Best Practices of Leading Sales Organizations in the United States.  This guide provides an examination of the skills, approaches and management of the leading sales organizations in the country. It offers practical ways to improve the agency sales environment and takes a look inside and outside of the insurance industry.

Join the growing list of agents who are implementing Best Practices to effect improvements in performance, value and prepare for the future to ensure long-term success. For more information, or to obtain on order form, visit www.independentagent.com and select “Best Practices” or e-mail BestPractices@iiaba.net.