FALL 2012 • VOLUME 30 • ISSUE 4 INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS OF IOWA
Meet Your 107th President
n o s l h o P Paul
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President’s Report A CHALLENGING YEAR AHEAD Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa 4000 Westown Parkway West Des Moines, Iowa 50266 (515) 223-6060 • FAX (515) 222-0610 800-272-9312 (In-State only)
Advertising Editor Melissa Meiners
The issues of Health Care and Crop Insurance (Farm bill) will continue to cut into our incomes and will encourage all of us to fight for our livelihood but also will force many of us to look for other creative income sources. by Paul Pohlson Page 5
National Director’s Report THE “MERKLE BONER” REVISITED…OR TRUSTING YOUR TEAMMATES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS President
Don’t make a Little League mistake in a major league game or you will forever be an ignominious footnote in sports history and potential life parable.
Paul Pohlson - Grinnell
by Dean Brooks, CPCU, CLU, ALCM
President-Elect
Page 7
Terry McDonald, CIC - Iowa City
Treasurer Scott Morningstar, CPCU - Lisbon
National Director Dean Brooks, CPCU, CLU, ALCM West Des Moines
Directors Jerry Mease - Winterset Eldon Hunsicker - Ottumwa Terry Friedman, CPCU - Dubuque Tim English, CIC - Dyersville John Dalton - Council Bluffs Steve Madsen - Marshalltown David Rowley, CPCU, CIC, AU - Spirit Lake Scott Wirtz - Emmetsburg Jamie Krist, CIC, MBA - West Des Moines
Past President Brian Petersburg - Decorah
IIAI OFFICE STAFF Chief Executive Officer Bob Skow, CPCU, CAE bob@iiaiowa.org
Membership Operations Coordinator
In This Issue Meet Iowa Independent Agents 107th President - Paul Pohlson Page 9
The Reality of Texting for Insurance Agencies Page 19
Advertisers We would like to thank our advertisers for their support. This magazine would not be possible without them. THANK YOU! 9 ACUITY 30 Amerisafe
IIAI’s 106th Convention Highlights
4 Burns & Wilcox
Page 24
21 EMC Insurance Co.
Planning for the Future – Your Board of Directors is Engaged by Bob Skow, CPCU, CAE Chief Executive Officer Page 31
20 Celina Insurance Group 35 Big “I” Professional Liability 2 The IMT Group 18 Integrity Insurance 22 Iowa Mutual Insurance Co. 8 Merchants Bonding Co. 8 M.J. Kelly Company
Melissa Meiners melissa@iiaiowa.org • Ext. 15
22 NAU Country
Technology & Communications Administrator
17 Pekin Insurance
Jeanne Reynolds jeanne@iiaiowa.org • Ext. 17
Membership Services Coordinator Marilyn Paul, CPCU, AIT, AAM, CPIW marilyn@iiaiowa.org • Ext. 11
6 Northern States Agency 30 Ringwalt & Liesche Co. 6 Scobie Group 23 SECURA Insurance Co. 33 West Bend 29 Western National Insurance
Membership Services Coordinator Brenda Kluger, MBA, CIC, CISR, CPIW brenda@iiaiowa.org • Ext. 14
Customer Service Representative Megan Kincy megan@iiaiowa.org • Ext. 16
Receptionist Cindy Grim cindy@iiaiowa.org • Ext. 12
MISSION STATEMENT: The Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa will be an unrelenting advocate of the business, professional and p olitical interests of its members; doing so by working in the p ublic’s best interest and with the highest e thical standards. Viewpoint is a publication of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa. Viewpoint is published quarterly: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Viewpoint is mailed to Iowa insurance agents, Iowa Home Office Executives, Affiliate members, and other state associations and organizations.
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president’s REPORT
PA U L P O H L S O N
a challenging year
ahead.
I
want to thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to be your 107th President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa. It is truly an honor to serve you. The coming year will again be a challenging year for all of us in Iowa, as well as other agents across the country. The issues of Health Care and Crop Insurance (Farm bill) will continue to cut into our incomes and will encourage all of us to fight for our livelihood but also will force many of us to look for other creative income sources. You are the best when it comes to creativity and innovations. I have no crystal ball that will tell us what will happen with either of those issues, but I can assure you that your Board of Directors, Bob Skow, and the wonderful Association Staff are all committed to doing whatever it takes to assure the issues are properly and fairly addressed at both National and State levels. I ask that you dig into your pockets and give generously to the PAC’S, as your gifts of money are very important for the coming year. Your volunteerism is also crucial, please consider helping as you are asked, but if you do have any interest in helping, please call the Big “I” office in West Des Moines and offer your assistance. Get involved!
I encourage you to use some programs offered by your National and State Associations. I have used them myself and have found them to be extremely helpful. Such things as:
3) Virtual University –
1) Trusted Choice Advertising –
• Please look into this opportunity to get your agency name on a Trusted Choice TV or Radio ad. The exposure is amazing and the cost is very economical for the number of ads you will actually have run on your behalf. Total Media is the firm we have been using for a number of years now, so contact Gene Smith or Julie Derrer at 563.344.9034 or jderrer@totalmediaqc.com
• I have personally used Total Media since the Big “I” decided to do advertising and it has paid off each time I have used the advertising.
• The other issue is the amount of people who comment on having seen our agency on the TV ads, which I never hear when doing ads in our local media.
2) Big “I” Markets –
• If you have not used this service using the Big “I” website, get in-touch with the Big “I” office in West Des Moines and get a pass-
word and ID and begin looking at what is offered through this market website.
• This is a program I use almost everyday to give me information and answers to questions from customers and also to help better understand claims. It is an essential part of my day.
Well, enough for my first article. I will write more in future issues on these and other topics. As I close, I want to thank Brian Petersburg for doing such a wonderful job during his 106th Presidency. His hard work this past year has been outstanding, and we will miss working with Brian in the months and years to come. Thank You Brian for your years of service to the Association. I challenge you to get involved in the Association through your contributions of Time and Money. Volunteer as often as you can. I am so honored to be your 107th President of the Iowa Independent Insurance Agents Association.
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national director’s REPORT
DEAN BROOKS, CPCU, CLU, ALCM
the “merkle boner” revisited... or trusting your
teammates.
F
all is here, bringing with it beautiful Iowa weather, although more rain sure would be nice. Football is in full swing and professional baseball is wrapping up. Thankfully so for the Brooks-Jankowski household, where Ms. J is a long-suffering Cubs fan. As I write this, the Cubbies are well on their way to losing over 100 games this season, a point of no small consternation for her. Speaking of the Cubs, I was recently reminded of the infamous “Merkle Boner” story. It is one of the enduring great “uh oh” stories in sports. The year was 1908 and the Cubs and New York Giants were playing the deciding game for the National League pennant. With two outs in the ninth and the score tied, Fred Merkle of the NY Giants was the runner on first base while his teammate, representing the winning run, waited at third base. The Giants hitter sent the ball sharply into the outfield grass, ostensibly driving in the winning run and clinching the National League title, and a spot in the World Series, for the Giants. As the ball shot into the outfield and the third base runner scampered home, a rowdy celebration began amongst the Giants players. Fred Merkle ran from first base to join all his teammates in this celebratory moment. At the same time, an alert Cub player retrieved the ball,
planted himself directly on top of the second base bag and got the umpire’s attention, at which point Merkle was called out by force at second, thus nullifying the game winning run. The game was declared a tie and was replayed. You know the ending – the Giants lost the replayed game and the Cubs won the pennant that year. Fred Merkle, in a moment of boyish exuberance, had made a mistake that cost his team the National League title and a berth in the World Series. And his play has gone down in baseball history as the “Merkle Boner”. There are many analogies to be drawn from this story, not the least of which is to keep your wits about you and finish your designated job even while the celebration begins. Your teammates trust that you, and everyone else on the team, will do your respective job before celebrating the “win”. Don’t make a Little League mistake in a major league game or you will forever be an ignominious footnote in sports history and potential life parable. I was thinking about the importance of a team effort and trusting your teammates while sitting through the National Board meetings in Atlanta in early September. These meetings bring together representatives from all fifty states and the District of Columbia who determine overall direction of the Association. Imagine
The year was 1908 and the Cubs and New York Giants were playing the deciding game for the National League pennant. With two out in the ninth and the score tied, Fred Merkle of the NY Giants was the runner on first base while his teammate, representing the winning run, waited at third base. The Giants hitter sent the ball sharply into the outfield grass, ostensibly driving in the winning run and clinching the National League title, and a spot in the World Series, for the Giants
.
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Rest assured, these Boards and committees have always taken a measured approach to the business of the Association for which they are responsible. Every move is well thought out with the overriding consideration of “how will it benefit the members?” in every participant’s mind. The “players” on these boards and committees are all professionals in every sense of the word.
the wide range of issues represented by such a large and diverse group. The mere fact we can move the business of the Association forward is a testimony to the trust we all have in one another. As an Association, we are now in the middle of another project that will require both trust and teamwork. Your National Association is engaged in an ambitious self-assessment to be sure we are utilizing volunteers’ time, financial resources, and staff resources to most effectively serve member needs. The over-arching question focuses on why do members belong to the Association and what do they get for their membership. In short, are we hitting the mark as your Association? By way of brief background, IIABA currently provides approximately 52 programs for the benefit of member agents. The governance model includes a 51 member Board of Directors, a seven member Executive Committee elected by the Board, 17 standing committees, six task forces, five subsidiary boards and three affiliated investment entities.
Why is it then we are re-evaluating the Association programs and structure? The answer is deceptively simple: the necessity to stay relevant and vibrant as an organization. The needs and expectations of our members change over time and the Association must change to
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reflect that. This includes evaluating the governance model, the current committee structure, the programs currently offered, the relations between the National and State Associations, who our competition is, and where we will need to be five and ten years from now. How your Association will look when this process is finally completed is yet to be decided. Probably just a little different, perhaps a lot different but all options are under consideration. One thing is certain – we have a team in place that will make the right decisions without leaving first base too soon to celebrate. There is a lot of work to be done before the celebration but I am confident the end result will be an even more responsive and effective Association that will build on the already great history of winning traditions. If you have any comments or questions about our National Association, please feel free to contact me by phone at 515-868-0484 or email at dbrooks@mfhins.com
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Iowa
Independent 107th Agents President
n o s l h o P l Pau L
Viewpoint: We are in Grinnell, Iowa visiting with the 107
President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa, Paul Pohlson of Ramsey Weeks, Inc. Paul, tell us about growing up in Iowa. th
Paul: I grew up in Ottumwa and went through Ottumwa schools. For two
years I attended Ottumwa Heights College which is now Indian Hills Community College and finished at Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa. I worked at Ottumwa Heights College for a year after I graduated from college. I grew up in a single parent family with two sisters. My father died when I was ten years of age after a three-year illness. Therefore, I was raised by three women in my life.
Viewpoint: How did you end up in the insurance business? Paul: Interestingly enough I spent about ten years living in Davenport run-
ning federally funded Headstart Preschool Programs. I was approached by a life insurance agent in the Davenport area wanting me to consider selling life insurance for him. Quickly, I told him I wasn’t interested in being an insurance agent because my mother had a bad experience with an agent when my father died. The agent had treated my mother poorly and even at age ten I told him how I felt about his handling of affairs with my mother. An opportunity at a State Farm agency later became available in Grinnell which is where my wife Debby is from. I was hired and worked there for two years. Then, I came over to the Independent Agent side by joining Ramsey Weeks, Inc. in 1981. Now, 31 years later, I am one of the owners.
Viewpoint: When was the Ramsey Weeks Agency started? Paul: Ramsey Weeks actually is a later name for this agency. It began in 1923
as The Ramsey Agency. A lot of funny stories exist of transgression from a tiny, one-person office to the next generation of the Ramsey family who worked cleaning a dance hall in order to make the rent. In 1969, Bill Weeks (deceased) joined this agency and brought in the Life Insurance and Real Estate part of our book of business. Today, we have a staff of 12 people (three in Real Estate and nine in Insurance). There are two Principals, Jim Ramsey and myself.
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Darcy Swick, oversees Personal Lines Operations.
Kevin Kolbe hard at work.
Viewpoint: What companies does the agency represent? Paul: Primarily we sell for Allied, Cincinnati, Progressive and EMC Insurance Companies.
Viewpoint: What is the split of business? Paul: We sell about 70% Commercial Lines and 30% Personal Lines today. Also, we have a Financial Services Department in this office.
Viewpoint: Tell us about your office structure. In this office we have Dustin Smith (my son-in-law) is our Financial Services person; Darcy Swick, Personal Lines Vice President and Kevin Kolbe, Vice President of Real Estate. Lori VanStouwe is our Commercial Lines Customer Service person, Laura Schultz is a Personal Lines Customer Service Representative and Cindy Pollock works in Claims and is our Bookkeeper. Teresa Phipps is our Receptionist, Karen McNalley is our Closer for our Real Estate transactions and Penny Gable is
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a Real Estate Sales Person. Jim Ramsey is a Principal who works with our larger Commercial accounts like Grinnell College, an account he has serviced since 1934. I am Vice President of this agency and work with all kinds of insurance lines, everything from Dram Shop to Bonds, Commercial Lines and Personal Lines, etc.
Viewpoint: What is the market territory? Paul: The market territory is primarily Grinnell and Poweshiek County. We do filter out into other places in Iowa, mostly counties surrounding Poweshiek County. We have licenses in 15 other states where we do business. Our Commercial Lines customers have opened up offices in other states; therefore, we do business for them in those states as well. Some Personal Lines customers have moved out of Iowa and we continue to provide services to them.
Viewpoint: What agency management system are you using?
Grinnell College, one of Ramsey Weeks clients.
Paul: Our office is using the AMS 360 System. However,
we are not online with AMS, we use a vendor called Signature Technology in Des Moines that stores all of our data and takes care of our software for us. Our backup is off premises and we use their file servers. I would recommend this type of service to other agencies.
Viewpoint: Is the agency paperless? Paul: The agency is fully paperless in Personal Lines and we
are about 50/50 in Commercial Lines. Personal Lines was an interesting process for us. We started approximately 15 years ago and struggled with transactional or “T” Filing. Our office had meetings probably twice a week for months trying to get staff onboard to consider the first step in going paperless. We did visit other paperless agencies and I highly recommend making visits. Some staff left because of the proposal, we hung in there, had transactional files and then finally went into scanning full blown one day. From that point forward or about the last five years, we have been paperless in Personal Lines. It is a slow process, but it is working in Commercial Lines too.
Viewpoint: Ramsey Weeks has of reputation of being a
smart insurance marketer. What are the tools your agency uses to get your name out in the community and to establish a presence in surrounding counties?
Paul: Being from a small community, we obviously feel we
should support some of the people who buy insurance from us so, we are fortunate enough to have a local newspaper that is published twice a week. We advertise in this newspaper, in a Shopper that goes around the county, and on the local KGRN radio station. School events are a primary place we advertise and we provide 15,000 pencils to the Grinnell-Newburg School District every year for the kids. Teachers take handfuls of the pencils for their classrooms and it is a fun thing to do. We are actively involved in the Trusted Choice® TV advertising that the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa has provided. Radio, television and local print media are our primary means of advertising.
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Grinnell colorful business district.
Viewpoint: Advertising is always a huge intangible. Do
you feel the investment is worth it and how do you gauge its worth?
Paul: You never know how or if advertising really works. But,
in the last few years of doing the Trusted Choice® advertising…a gentleman called the office and asked if I was that guy that is on TV that he always sees advertising an agency called Ramsey Weeks. He asked if I was the trustworthy looking guy with gray hair. I thanked him for the compliment, said yes and he asked me to come to his farm about 55 miles north of Grinnell. I did go to the farm and talk to him about insurance, and that one account paid for my whole advertising budget for the year.
Viewpoint: What do you see for the future of this business over the next 10-20 years?
Paul: Funny you ask that question, I have read all the arti-
cles over the years about the demise of the independent agent
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because of internet and so forth. Just like the Walmart example that towns dry up with the event of Walmart, we have learned to work with the Internet situation. In my opinion, we are still in a relationship type business. I have people in here daily that are asking advice on their insurance. I think there is a need for the insurance agents to adapt with what is coming down the line in terms of automation and technology. I really see us continuing to have offices and I see this office expanding outside of Poweshiek County. The expansion will probably come with some young people I know who are looking at starting a career. I think they are really “people, people” and they have personalities to really talk to people. I think we will be a viable organization and I think we have to adapt, use the internet. We are currently redesigning our webpage for our office, we are more into Facebook, and are trying to connect with our customers every way we can. Quite frankly, it is the younger people we are trying to attract and they are on Facebook, the Internet, and are buying real estate on the Internet. We just did a survey and got a pretty good response asking customers about a need for us to have a website and if
Receptionist Teresa Phipps.
Commercial Lines Customer Service Representative Cindy Pollock.
it was used. It was amazing the ages of people who responded back to us. We had a real broad spectrum and they said they look at our website. Redoing our website has been a challenge; we finally went to a professional firm. We tried to use people from Grinnell College, hired an IT person or two, but got tired of trying to piece it together. We decided we needed a developed website that would be more interactive for our customers, so we hired a firm who specializes in it.
Viewpoint: It sounds like Ramsey Weeks has embraced
automation and advertising. Have you grown as a result?
Paul: Yes, we have grown as an agency. When I came into the
agency 30+ years ago we had six employees and now we have 12 to service more people. We really get a lot of responses off our website. We have all embraced it, not all at the same time, but we have embraced it.
Viewpoint: Tell us about your family.
Paul: My wife’s name is Debby and she works at a local
Optometrist’s office in the mornings only. We are proud parents of two children. Our daughter Sarah and her husband, Dustin Smith, moved back to Grinnell six years ago with our two grandchildren. Our son Scott and his wife Amy live in Johnston, Iowa and they have a seven month old daughter. Debby and I follow our grandchildren around to sporting activities, we jointly own some real estate property with our daughter and son-in-law, and our daughter Sarah is the new Grinnell High School girls swim coach. Sarah was a swimmer for years in the past and now we will begin following the swim team again.
Viewpoint: What community activities are you involved in? Paul: Presently, I sit on a Board of Directors for the Iowa
Valley Community College District which serves Marshalltown, Iowa Falls and Grinnell. I am finishing a rewarding 12-year term on the Grinnell Public Library Board and helped raise money
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Paul and Customer Service Representative Karen McNally.
to build a new 10-million dollar library here with six million of private donations raised. I sit on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Low Income Housing Board and have been Treasurer of our local church.
Viewpoint: Tell us about Grinnell. Paul: Grinnell is just shy of ten thousand people. Grinnell
College adds so much to our lives. They offer a lot of free events and is usually doesn’t require a ticket. Weekends are full of everything from Fine Arts to Sporting events at Grinnell College. They are a big part of this office because we insure Grinnell College and they make a real difference in our community. This year they will have close to 1,500 students on campus.
Viewpoint: Grinnell as a community has done a nice job
maintaining core business, streets are maintained and it is a beautiful community. Tell us about that.
Paul: We have a great City Manager named Russ Behrens who
in just a couple of years has helped this community along. Our downtown is not as retail as it used to be, but it does competes with the Walmart. Downtown has quilting shops, antique shops, shoes & clothing stores. Just in the last five years Grinnell has built a
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new public library and an aquatic center (which has already paid for itself with admission charges). Grinnell College has added some new buildings and it is a beautiful campus. Our downtown streets, sewers and waterlines have all been replaced removing any decaying and problematic areas. The community is clean and well landscaped, and our main streets have a lot of flowers.
Viewpoint: Tell us about your involvement with the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa Association.
Paul: It has been the best journey of my life and I really enjoy
every part of it. I started out as a young agent and kept asking the Association to define what a young agent age was, because I enjoyed people who were all young agents and then we all had to leave because of our age. I used to go every summer to Okoboji for Young Agents Conferences with my family and we met a lot of other families who attended those annual trips. Many are still lifelong friends of ours that we still have dinner with at least quarterly. Then I was asked to chair a committee on Automation and I thought that was a great thing to do and be a part of the Association. I was elected to the Board of Directors. I think as one of my fellow Board members has said in the past, Terry McDonald from Iowa City, it really is a career commitment. You really have to want to do this, to be on the Board of Directors it
takes a lot of time, but it is also a lot of fun. You hear everything that is going on in terms of insurance in Iowa and around the country. For me being a part of the Association and being on the Board has always been fun, because I like to read about insurance and like to know the latest about what is going on. I read about it, am very well informed, and the Association has obviously propelled that for me.
really advise my clients the best way that I can. I worry about the Errors & Omissions. Did I miss something? I want to give them the best product and coverage that I can provide. We have standards in place in our office that we go by when we sell a policy. We aren’t always looking at the price and more often we are looking at what they really need for coverages.
Viewpoint: You are always attending IIAI special events,
The other thing that bothers me is that I have learned so much about insurance because of the Association, and I wish other members of the Association would take more time to get involved like I have done. I think they need to know how the Association can benefit them in insurance, and help them succeed.
what have you gleaned from participating in Rural Agents Conference and Annual IIAI Convention?
Paul: All of the great speakers I have listened to have given
me such great information. I always try to bring back something with me that I can use with my customers. For example, one particular situation was the value of farmland and the average cost of farming in Iowa. So, I started talking to my farm customers about the need for additional liability limits because of the value of their land. My customers didn’t really know that or think about what their exposure was. Whether I sell to them or not, it is just a lot of information I can glean from the meetings.
Viewpoint: As an insurance agent in Iowa, is there anything in this business that keeps you awake at night?
Viewpoint: Thanks Paul for letting us come visit. Do you have any parting words?
Paul: I want members to know that you are part of a tremen-
dous State Association with a great staff of people that work on your behalf. They are top notch people, we have a great staff. I think our Association CEO, Bob Skow, is a person that works tirelessly for us and the next time you see him you should thank him for all the work that he does at the Capitol or drop a note to the Association saying thanks for all their hard work.
Viewpoint: We thank you for all of your hard work and
Paul: I have this horrible scratch pad of paper at my house
we look forward to you being the President in 2012/2013. Thank you.
that I will jot notes to myself. I always worry about whether I
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The Reality of Texting For Insurance Agencies by Pat Alexander About this article: Clients are increasingly texting their agents and preferring to receive texts from their agents, creating the challenge as to how agencies manage this form of communication. In this article, the author discusses the challenges agencies face with texting, how agents can send texts to their email to document the conversation and how agents can use their email to send texts to their clients who prefer this method of communication. We are hopeful that more efficient ways to attach texts to agency management systems and to send texts from these systems will be developed in the future.
D
uring every meeting I have attended in the last few months, there have been questions and discussions on “should an agency allow texting by its clients and staff and if so, how do we control Errors & Omissions and documentation in our agency management system?” Empowered clients are going to communicate with agents in the manner most convenient to them, so the real issue becomes how is the agency going to manage texting if the client prefers to use it? In this article, I discuss several concerns agencies have with texting, current “best practices” for managing these communications, and the technology options for managing texts and importing them into your systems as I understand them. There may be other options and not everyone uses Microsoft Outlook. Your technology professional should be able to assist you with the details.
Agency Concerns 1. If clients are texting staff members on their personal phone, a number of issues come to my mind: a. What if your staff member is on vacation where their phone is not functioning or they are just too busy to take care of the issue?
b. What if your staff member is ill and not able to pay attention to incoming messages on a real-time basis? c. What if the individual is actually no longer a staff member? d. What if the individual says they will take care of the request and does, but doesn’t document in the system and something is not correct? I have heard more than one agency principal flatly state that they weren’t going to allow any texting. Others don’t see any way to stop people from texting but don’t know what to do with it and how to set parameters. A number of people commented that it was seamless to attach an email, voicemail or other documentation in their agency management system, but not so texts. Since it is difficult to manage the capture of the text information, they want to ban receiving texts. We need to remember that capturing email information in an agency management system was not always easy. Once upon a time we copied the emails and pasted them into an activity or note since we couldn’t attach anything to our agency management systems. Through communication with the
various agency management vendors from their user groups, the vendors enhanced their systems to handle email attachments. From this grew the ability to easily attach various other attachments and we hope vendors will create streamlined workflows for capturing texts as well, possibly as a part of their mobile apps. The initial attachment functions were “clunky”, but as time and technology have progressed, this function has become more streamlined. In today’s world, texting is a reality. It is not only your young clients that are engaging in this act. Texting eliminates telephone tag, and results in an almost instant response. This is what many of us are programmed to want.
Current “Best Practices” I recommend you consider taking the following approach with regard to texting: 1. Do you want to be relevant to your client base? If so, then you must embrace this technology. 2. Set standards and best practices. These really are no different than handling face-to-face conversations, phone calls, emails, etc. Your standard should be that all conversations with the client or with others about the client’s account are to be documented in the agency management system or the system which you are using to collect client data. 3. Be pro-active and determine how to best receive texts at the agency level and educate your staff and clients. 4. If your client and someone in your agency are friends, inevitably there will be a text on a person phone. Define, train and implement the process to get this moved to an agency level as quickly as possible. I don’t see that there is any more of an errors & omissions exposure in receiving and responding to texts than there are in phone calls, emails or face-to-face conversations. The biggest issue I believe agencies have at this time is how to make this format work for them as seamlessly as possible.
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Forwarding Texts to Email Here are some thoughts I have on this process that I have picked up from users who have already addressed this issue: 1. As soon as the initial text is received on a personal phone, forward it to your business email address. Text a response back to the client from your business Outlook account. The client’s text response will come back into the email which will let you accumulate the stream of the conversation which can then be attached to the agency management system. 2. Some phones will allow you to capture an entire text conversation. In this case it could be acceptable that the conversation continue on that phone and then be captured and sent to the business email address for attachment into the agency management system. This would be the best approach when the conversation is just a question and answer session. 3. It is important for everyone in the agency to learn how their specific phone works for text forwarding: a. iPhone – http://iphonefaq.org/ archives/97335; Another approach is to take a picture of your iPhone screen when the text is showing, by pressing the on/off button on the top of the phone simultaneously with the application change button on the bottom front of the phone. This approach creates an image of the entire text message and the picture can then be emailed to your Outlook account.
b. Android Phones – Each manufacturer handles this in a different way and I find even some differences within a manufacturer between their phones. It is best to check the operating information for your specific phone for this function.
Sending Texts from Email Microsoft Outlook can be used as a tool to manage text messaging with your client. There are several steps to setting up and implementing the use of Microsoft Outlook. However, like anything else that you do, if you invest the time to research, implement and train a process, the rewards will be great. The best place to start the research is on the web at Set Up text messaging (SMS) in Outlook. http://office.microsoft.com/ en-us/outlook-help/send-and-receivetext-messages-sms-HA101823438. aspx#_Toc261416088 Microsoft has done a really good job here of explaining the options available for using Outlook and providing lots of screen shots.
Implementing an Agency Text Address I also recommend that the agency implement a way to receive text messages directly. I understand from my tech friends that many VoiP phone systems can have a number set up for receipt of text messages. I am also advised that this works differently with every system and that you will need to work with your phone system provider to get this set up and implemented. Once set up, someone
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in your agency will need to monitor this number during business hours so that the expected immediate response can be managed. If your agency does not have a VoiP system, another option available for receiving texts at a number that you control is to set up a Google Voice number at https://www.google.com/voice. In the Settings section of your Google Voice account, you will find a place to show the email address for Text Forwarding. When you receive these text messages, they should then be forwarded to the Outlook email address of the individual in your agency who will be handling this client. Once the number is set up, you should promote it to your clients, so that those who want to communicate in this manner can do so. When agency employees receive text messages on their phones, they should let that individual also know there is a number that is attended during business hours and would get attention even when the employee is not available. Finally, some important points about texting to keep in mind: 1. If the client texted you, that is how they would like to communicate, so at least your initial response should be in a text. 2. If the client texted you, they expect an immediate response as that is what the common expectation is with texting. 3. Your employees should know the agency’s procedures for documenting text messages in the agency’s system, just as they would other communications from clients and business partners. Patricia Alexander, CIC is a consultant, coach and mentor with many years of experience in retail agency and MGA settings. She may be reached at pat@ patalexander.com. Alexander developed this article for the Agents Council for Technology (ACT), part of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. ACT’s Web site is www.independentagent. com/act. This article reflects the views of the author and should not be construed as an official statement by ACT.
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IIAI’shighlights 106th Convention
Capital Steps bring the House Down!
The 2012 IIAI Convention and Trade Show held September 19th and 20th at the Sheraton Hotel, West Des Moines, attracted almost 600 Insurance Professionals. By all accounts this year’s Convention was nothing short of fantastic. Keynote Speaker National Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Sal Giunta inspired and spell bounded the audience with his story of War in Afghanistan. The Industry Leaders Panel had the room packed and Dr. Bob Hartwig’s review of the Iowa Insurance Marketplace Performance did not disappoint. Always popular, Steve Anderson did two days of programming; one program on Cyber Liability and a second on the Virtual Insurance Agency. Both programs received rave reviews. IIABA CEO, Bob Rusbuldt, gave his take on the upcoming elections and issues impacting agents. IIAI President, Brian Petersburg, presented three Presidential Citations, and gave members an update on the condition of the Association. The banquet and show by the famous Capitol Steps truly was a major hit. The singing and political satire took on everyone from the two Presidential Candidates to Congress and the Supreme Court. If you didn’t attend, the following quote from one of the attendees sums it up, “This was one of the best insurance conferences I have ever attended. The speakers had me taking tons of notes I can use in my agency to improve my operations. And, I have to say the Capitol Steps had me laughing until my side ached! I look forward to next year!”
IIABA CEO Bob Rusbuldt reports on agent issues on Capital Hill.
Automation Guru Steve Anderson talked about the virtual insurance agency idea.
President Obama visits with the Crowd.
Forrest Schnobrich receives National Governmental Affairs award with Bob Skow, CPCU, CAE and Brian Petersburg, present by IIABA CEO Bob Rusbuldt.
Key Note Speaker Sal Giunta.
Continued on page 26
Capital Steps showing Nancy Pelosi.
President Brian Petersburg presents Presidential Citations to Jamie Krist, CIC, MBA for his work on Technical Affairs issues.
Dr. Bob Hartwig Insurance Economist views Iowa specific loss history.
Tom Alger accepts a Presidential Citation on behalf of Iowa Insurance Commissioner Susan Voss, JD.
Joe Weinman, CIC, 2012 H.H. Red Nelson IIAI Agent of the Year with President Petersburg.
107th IIAI President Paul Pohlson being sworn in.
Iowa House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer accepts Presidential Citation for her legislative work.
President Brian Petersburg presented the C. Daniel Fulwider Young Agent of the Year Award to Justin Davis, AFIS and AIP of Town & Country Insurance.
Continued on page 29
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Planning for the Future –
T
he Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa’s Board of Directors is a dedicated lot, they spend countless hours on Association business and receive no compensation. In fact, their service takes them away from their agencies and families. Why do they serve? I think they all would say it is because they know what they do makes a difference, and the work is extremely important for the future of their business and all members’ businesses. We owe them all a big debt of graditude. Last summer, for example, they spent two days at a Board Retreat, talking and brainstorming about what is critically important to Iowa’s independent agents as we look into the future. In some ways it was rewarding, while in other ways a bit scary. They discussed increased competition, shrinking revenue sources, technology, higher customer expectations and changing markets which all are significant and seem to be permanent changes for our members and frankly, for the Association. With all that in mind, the Board set out on a well-planned project to focus on what our membership needs from this Association now and in the future. The Board wanted to be sure we just didn’t solider on — govern and communicate the same way, and deliver the same services as we have done in the past. They want to focus on those things the Association needs to continue to do, while adding important services and projects to help members be successful in the
Your Board of Directors is Engaged. B O B S K O W, C P C U , C A E – C H I E F E X E C U T I V E O F F I C E R
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” Charles Darwin (1809-1882) English Naturalist
future. Ways of doing things and professional development ideas are passed down through the generations without much challenge or innovative thinking. Your leadership decided the Association needs to embrace the new, shifting landscapes and change right along with it…even if we don’t like doing it. Clinging to conventional approaches and structures may allow us to feel good in the short run, but for the greater good, we may need to adopt different approaches and methods as
needed. By looking at our Association’s leadership, management, member markets, issues/problems, products and services, the Board project was designed to gain a better understanding of not only why this is critical, but also how to go about doing it as we move into the future. Following are some of the the key points the Board discussed during its two-day meeting. Continued •
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Traditional operating models used by IIAI for years need to be examined and evaluated. The Board identified six areas that seem to be changing: 1. Time — Members are busier than ever before and working more than ever before…we need to figure out ways to assist them and make access to things like education easier, and ways for them to work more efficiently. 2. Value Expectations — Members are entitled to ask “What do I get for my dues?” We need to show what they get for those dollars…we need to deliver cost effective services and perform advocacy that helps independent agents to grow market share. 3. Consolidation/Specialization — Reality is consolidation and specialization is impacting all of us and IIAI needs to understand this impact on us…as well as our members. More and more agencies are consolidating and companies are demanding larger books of business. 4. Generational Differences — Each generation has its own values regarding volunteer service, return for dues investment, and what groups to affiliate with. Today, most of our owners of agencies are Boomers (1946-64), but what expections and changes will happen as Generation X (1965-79), and Millennials (1980-) become owners and principals? 5. Competition — This not only impacts our members in their agencies, but it also is the case for IIAI. For example, there are numerous groups providing support materials, newsletters, magazines, etc. Online versus facetime education and training has changed the landscape. 6. Technology — Many of us are slow to embrace and change office technology because of conservative approaches and tradition. The reality is, we have to embace it and IIAI needs to be part of that evolution. For example, social media didn’t exist even five years ago. No question about it, this discussion made all of us uncomfortable! Many things
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were reviewed and we struggled…all decisions have an impact and in some cases, making changes are difficult to undo once we go down the path. But, it was agreed that the Iowa Big “I” has to position itself to better serve the needs of our members in the future. Hard work now will ensure your agency and this organization is poised for the future and will thrive — not just survive. After all, the business interests of our members are the reason we exist.
and knows what is going on, while allowing staff to manage the day-to-day operations.
The Board asked and discussed the following five key questions:
• The Board is looking at how many committees we really need; • Clearly defining the role of the committees and chairs; and • Ways to encourage members who have the knowledge or expertise in the given areas to serve.
• Do we need to overhaul the Association’s governance model and committee operations? • How do we empower the CEO and staff? • Who are our members and what will our member of the future look like? • Do we have adequate programs and services? • How could we build a robust technology framework for the Association, so we can better serve the needs of our members in the future?
“Overhaul Committees” — The Board is currently looking at ways to improve our committee process and make sure our committees are designed to engage members in a meaningful way, create networking and establish a pool of future leaders. The Board listed three important points:
“Empower the CEO and Enhance the Staff” — The day-to-day operations of the Association is run by staff with the objectives established by the Board…a great deal of discussion about the Association culture, the personalities of both the staff and volunteers, and history was part of
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) Thirty-fifth President of the USA
The first key area that was discussed was do we need to overhaul the Governance Model? Back in about 2002, we sort of did this…and much of the governance we have in place now is a reflection of that project. We used a Board Knowledge Based Governance Model…which lead to more transparency and subcommittees of the Board, etc. All Board members serve on subcommittees of the Board who drill down deep into a subject area and present those topics for discussion at a board meeting. For example, budget and audit is one subcommittee of the Board who closely examines all financial issues impacting the Association. Frankly, IIAI Board Members know what goes on in this Association and they know all the interworkings. I think it is safe to say the Board is very engaged and situations like what happened at the Iowa School Board Association would not be the case here. Our Board sets policy
the process. The Board looked at what the skill set of a future CEO might be, and if you were starting from scratch, what would the skill sets of the perfect staff look like? The Board feels members place a high value in a Trade Association that can provide expertise…what kind of expertise would the staff in the future have and what will be important skills? What kind of professional or industry knowledge will be required for the staff in the future? Back in 2002, it was suggested all staff be licensed as agents so we understood some of our memberships issues…today, everyone here is licensed. So, what do you think we need to be better at if we are going to meet your needs for the future? Today, we have two CPCU’s and a CIC on staff, and our collective staff experience is over 90 years here at the Association.
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“Members” — Industry consolidation and professional specialization trends have resulted in an unprecedented quandary for all of us. We have witnessed a significant decline in number of agencies (mergers), but not in the number of agents — at the same time, we have witnessed specialized professional organizations like CIC spring up from nowhere and provide, for example, education services that for years only we did. The reality is, we know many of the services we provide can be secured elsewhere. With that in mind, the Board looked at three areas: (A) how do
“You can’t expect to meet the challenges of today with yesterday’s tools and expect to be in business tomorrow.” Unknown Source
we continue to attempt to serve divergent interests and needs of members; (B) how can we organize and how should we be structured to meet member’s diverse needs in the future; and/or (C) should we focus solely on a more narrow area of services? As members earn their CEC hours from organizations like CIC, and other education programs like live webinars replace live face-to-face classroom situations, how do we pay the bills? Today, for us to break even on an Iowa held CEC class we need almost 70 agents in the room! While new technology like live webinars come with a membership time savings benefit, it makes the ability to hold live classes at our lying areas in the state more difficult. The Board will continue to look at cost effective ways for us to provide this important service to members. The Board must also focus on advocacy with the public, companies, legislators and regulators. Advocacy is one of the most important things we do…but remains one of the most costly. “Review Programs, Services and Activities” — when reviewing services and programs the Board applied the “Pareto Principle” or the 80/20 rule… to analyze the success and need for programs, services and activities determine what percentage of our membership is using the service? This is where things get
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tough…because it was agreed we have a number of services offered that are used by a small percentage of members, but, when needed, these services are very important and if we don’t provide them, no one will. The Board discussed the “Technology and Communication Consequences”… we often ask ourselves around here why don’t our members know about the services we provide or a legal issue that is very important to know about…we think we have called this important information, activities or legal changes to the attention in newsletters and emails, etc. Yet, often we find that emails are deleted without being opened or are not read. All of us get bombarded by emails, and so much time is spent trying to manage communications that it has become a huge issue. What do we do to help? The challenge here is to do a better job of communicating and designing information in a format that is easy to digest and easy to understand. Finally, “Bridging the Technology Gap and Building a Framework for the Future” occupied a fair amount of Board discussion. The Board is looking at major redefinition of an Association’s approach to technology — meaning the full scope of the Association’s information, communications and delivery systems, as well as the infrastructure required to operate them. One of the most common objections to adopting a new technology involves segments of the membership who are not ready for the change. For example, we print a newsletter and we email a newsletter…often, as with your agencies, we have created double the work…so much for technology saving time! The question is, do you want the information electronically and can we do away with paper? Is everyone ready for that? Many things we would like to continue doing or new things we would like to do come with a cost. The Board has to ask Where Is the Money Going to Come From? With consolidations, reduction in revenue, more is often being asked, but the ability to pay is becoming tougher. The reality of the situation is the independent agency system needs a strong trade group advocating for its members. Today, the need for lobbying and regulatory representation has never been greater, yet the Board is finding less than 20% of our membership is giving to our PAC’s. So while this is identified as
a critical service we need to provide, the participation in activities like Insurance Day on the Hill, donating to the PAC’s, and sometimes responding to grassroots alerts to call Members of Congress or State Legislators would suggest that some members don’t care to invest time or money to this cause. This is a real problem that the Board is looking at, and debating as to what is the best plan of action. The Board is looking at strategies for bringing about the changes we need to embrace for the future of our members. I think if the Association is going to have relevance in the future we must tackle the tough questions and make the necessary decisions today — leading to a strong future for our members. The bottom line is that we are looking at our operations closely…and we are evaluating what we do and need to do. At this point, the Board has agreed that much of what we do here at the Big “I” needs to continue, but we need to take a hard look at our operation, staff, and membership and ask how can we do this better? That is where each and every one of you come in…let us know what you think is important. What changes should we be making? What services are we not providing that you see as being critical in the future?
“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist and philosopher
IIAI has a detailed strategic plan, with goals and plans. The IIAI Board is working hard to help create an Association which will help each of you be more successful in the future. The Board is a good cross section of agents, some big, medium and small agencies are included. Urban and rural, and all parts of the state are represented. They do a great job, and I know each of them are more than willing to listen to what you are thinking. The current Board Members’ names are on the 2nd page of this issue, and their contact information can be found on our website which is www.iiaiowa.org under “About Us.”
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