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                                                     Industry News

InVEST
Donate to Support InVEST Student Scholarships

InVEST seeks agents’ help in tackling the war for talent through donations to the 2010 InVEST Silent Auction, which benefits student scholarships.

With the new streamlined schedule planned for the 2010 Big “I” Legislative Conference and Convention, the InVEST Silent and Live Auctions will be held during a Young Agents hospitality event on March 4, 2010.
 
The Big “I” is thrilled by the response from past auction participants and appreciate members’ consideration in making a tax deductible donation to the auction. To make the process even easier, this year donations may be made by filling out a simple, online form available here. 

Once the form has been submitted, Big “I” staff will be in touch to coordinate additional details in the coming months. 100% of funds raised from donations will be awarded to students through scholarships.
The deadline to be included in the auction catalog is Dec. 15, so act fast!

Not sure what to donate? Items that have been hot in the past include Tiffany & Co. jewelry, electronics like iPods and GPS systems and sporting event tickets.

For more information, contact Jennifer Robinson at 1-800-221-7917; jennifer.robinson@iiaba.net.

Big “I” Markets
Habitational Market for Independent Living Communities Available

To tap into independent living housing communities and increase agency revenue, start with MiddleOak's^® WORLDS APART^® habitational policy for this ever-increasing segment of the insurance marketplace. The MiddleOak WORLDS APART senior housing program is for owners of independent senior housing. Assisted living, rehabilitation, group home and daycare facilities are ineligible.

With Big "I" Markets, agents not only have access to a senior housing market but they also have access to DirectMailNOW, a tool to help the agency with print marketing campaigns. DirectMailNOW is available through the Member Marketing Activity Center (MMAC) and allows members to order pre-designed postcards to send out to prospects. It will even mail them for you if you upload an existing senior housing prospect list. For those who need to create a prospect list, ProspectNOW is another feature of MMAC that quickly finds habitational opportunities in a specific area, though it won't filter to occupancy type. To quickly create a senior housing prospect list, simply type 55+ housing or similar terms into an Internet search engine. The result will be multiple Web sites that enable a search for local independent living facilities. Members can also type the information into this template and upload it in DirectMailNOW. Those who order 100 or more habitational postcards from MMAC and MiddleOak will be reimbursed for 25% of the cost. Also, those who order a MiddleOak-eligible habitational-specific prospect list and habitational postcards will receive 25% off both.

MiddleOak can offer, for those customers who qualify, a comprehensive policy with hard-to-match coverages such as unlimited/uncapped guaranteed replacement cost and the WORLDS APART Advantage Package endorsement with several of the most-requested coverages. For a complete list, log on to www.bigimarkets.com. For specific coverages and limits, contact Sherre Sidwell at sherre.sidwell@middleoak.com or call 800-622-3780 ext. 5117.

The targeted marketing offer through MMAC expires Dec. 31, 2009. To redeem the offer, e-mail Sidwell and let her know you wish to participate.

MiddleOak is financially rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company and has been serving the needs of agents for more than 170 years. The Habitational program is currently available to members in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. It is expected to become available in more states in the near future.


Big “I” Markets
Contractors Liability and Equipment Coverage Markets Available

Writing liability insurance for contractors has never been easy for agents, brokers or carriers. It takes a special understanding of the business. That's where the experts of A.D. Carlton Insurance come in. They are a Big "I" Markets provider that specializes in construction contractors and can assist member agents in placing general liability for virtually any type of construction contractor. They have markets for homebuilders, roofers, artisan contractors, general contractors, steel erectors, crane operators and nearly any construction trade imaginable.

Member agents have access to A.D. Carlton through Big "I" Markets. Until recently, the submission process was somewhat confusing and cumbersome. After receiving valuable feedback from the user satisfaction surveys, Big “I” staff has implemented changes to the workflow on Big "I" Markets that improves the process. Just answering a few questions in the Quote Request section was not providing enough information to properly gauge and rate the risk.  Now, those questions have been deleted and it only takes seconds to create a submission. Once the quote detail is set up, the user will be instructed to submit Acords 125 & 126 and five years of loss information if the insured has had prior coverage. The underwriter will respond within two business days with a quote/premium indication, a request for more information or a declination.

In addition to general liability insurance, A.D. Carlton also specializes in equipment coverage, builder's risk, and installation floaters. Members can find both of these markets by logging into www.bigimarkets.com and selecting contractor's liability or contractor's equipment from the commercial lines product menu. Those with questions about the new workflow can contact Aimee Fawns at 800-221-7917 ext. 5408; aimee.fawns@iiaba.net.


Big “I” Professional Liability
Join the Agency Shield Program Webinar on Oct. 28

The Agency Shield Program^TM is an online insurance agency E&O self-assessment program that enables an agency to review its processes and procedures to identify potential exposures to E&O claims. Join the Swiss Re ASP^TM team for a webinar providing a live hands-on demonstration of how the process works and how it will ultimately help your agency improve workflows to avoid E&O claims. A walk through of the ASP process will be included, from completing the self-assessment survey to updating project tracking sheets. Participants will also learn about the support available during the entire process. Upon completion of ASP, agents may be eligible for a 10% credit on their Swiss Re E&O policy. The webinar will be conducted on Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. EST. Click here to register for this 30 minute presentation.

Big “I” Flood Program
Learn About NFIP Changes with Flood Webinar Recording

Those who weren’t able to participate in the recent webinar that reviewed the Oct. 1 changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) still can. Topics covered include premium and deductibles, basic limits, leased properties, presentment of premium, grandfathering rules, applications and general change forms and the new building diagrams. The webinar as presented by NFIP’s trainers, H2O Partners, can be viewed on the Big “I” Education webinar library. To learn more about the Big “I” Flood program, visit www.iiaba.net/Flood. 

Virtual University
VU Presents Webinar on Overcoming Call Reluctance

Agents who experience moments of doubt and hesitation when making prospecting calls are not alone. According to recent sales behavior research reports, hesitation in calling prospective clients is responsible for more failures in sales than any other single factor. The only clear predictor of success in generating new sales is the number of contacts made with new prospects and existing clients on a consistent basis. Call reluctance is a career-threatening condition that hinders the initiation of contact. Everyone is subject to some type of call reluctance behaviors and, happily, there is an answer. All call reluctance types can be recognized, evaluated and overcome.

Join Tom Redmond of the Redmond Group for this important webinar. Redmond’s methods are effective for experienced and inexperienced business developers and managers, and can be applied to a typical sales approach, product launches, cross-selling, referral harvesting and even cold calling on new prospects.
Click here to register for the webinar.