June-July2018 by BIG Independent Group

by Jon Spaugy, BIG CEO

BIG TIMES EDITORIAL JUNE/JULY 2018

DON’T CHOKE ON OUR DUST

After spending so much time and effort planning the convention, it’s hard to believe it’s all over. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not about to gear down and am running full steam ahead on BIG events coming up soon. Our BIG Baseball Night at Angel Stadium is coming up in July, the Northern California Minivention is slated for September, and there will be plenty in between. It will be a full summer, believe me. But looking back on the convention, I can’t help but being very proud of what BIG has become. I know I am the face of BIG, along with Adam Meyerson, but a successful convention is far from an individual accomplishment. Every person involved in the planning and execution of the convention, as well as every other BIG event, is a volunteer. We have no paid staff, just a group of dedicated individuals interested in helping BIG members achieve success. If you did not come to this year’s convention, you missed out on a great deal. Attendees enjoyed a full day of informative seminars, a great hospitality party, a two-day trade show, and of course our annual BIGGIE awards. The food was great; the conversations – both business and personal – were awesome; and, by all accounts, everyone had a productive and enjoyable experience. Our guest speakers were outstanding. Oscar Garcia, CEO of Uulala, taught us a little about blockchain technology and introduced an innovative new program offering what is effectively an alternative banking solution for Latino customers. Laird Rixford, president of Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC) spoke about technological revolutions; specifically what’s working, what’s not, and where technology is taking us. Jon Heim, our stalwart

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legal expert, explained how employee misclassification can quickly become a human resources nightmare (see “Sidebar” in this issue). I love this industry. I love putting on the convention every May, not to mention the other BIG events taking place throughout the year. What makes every BIG convention, baseball game, cruise, meeting, and minivention special is our people. Not just those volunteers who comprise the BIG “staff,” but everyone who brings at least one thing back to the office with them. Something that makes their business run more efficiently and helps it grow. Maybe a successful business relationship that evolved from a meeting at a BIG event. That’s why BIG exists. We help our members prosper. If we are not doing that, please let me know. In the meantime, just watch us evolve and become even BIGGER and better. Just don’t choke on our dust!

Get Active, Get Involved, Get BIG!

Nine Magical Words That Guarantee You Whatever You Want By Bill Gough, Hall of Fame Member That’s an attention getting and powerful promise, right?! That was my goal! Now, that I have your attention … read this lesson and take action on something that works really well when you use it. In the few minutes it takes you to read these next couple of pages, I’m going to give you those life-changing words … PLUS … how you and your winning team can use this powerful technique to increase agency new business, referrals, cross-sells, retention, life insurance, win-back campaign, and/or anything else your heart desires. I have used these simple, but influential, words that have created hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions for my Insurance agency and for many Insurance Agency Owners just like you! Before giving you these words, here is how I discovered a simple nine-word phrase about a decade ago after some massive failure on my part. In 2006 I began mailing my own agency newsletter (yes, paper and ink with a stamp) to ONLY my best clients. Our referrals, retention, and cross sales improved so much we added all my clients and referral sources (COI’s) to my agency newsletter mailing list. Next, we added people to our newsletter-mailing list that was my “Dream Client List”. A “dream client” is someone that looks like they’d be a good “fit” for our agency. High value homeowners with multiple cars, and many of them have “toys” that we can insure too. This “dream list” of our ideal clients is VERY PROFITABLE for new business sales. For me, at the time, these were 200+ people not insured with our

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agency that belonged to my country club, rotary club, and church because I had access to these lists with their mailing address. One day, after a couple of agency newsletters were mailed to our “dream list”, I was having lunch in the 19th-hole at my country club when a very successful business owner on the “dream list” sincerely complemented me on our newsletter. I was completely caught off guard, and my response was HORRIBLE. Basically, I told him about how much effort goes into this every month, costs, blah, blah, blah. Sadly, I did this to another person on the “dream list” before it hit me that I’m spending/investing money trying to get “in the door” of these ideal prospects and they’ve opened that door only to have me slam it shut because I had “no script” prepared when I received a comment about the newsletter. I went to work on this immediately, and came up with a couple of easy to answer questions to get the new business results we desired from our “dream list”. The first question is simply “who is their current provider”.

This question is designed to be easy to answer and get them engaged before the “Magical Question” and moment of truth to getting what we’re after … permission to quote.

One thing that I strongly suggest is PRACTICE by role-playing how you’re going to use this technique in your agency right now today. Also, do not let this be a one hit wonder and slowly dissipate into the abyss.

Over the years, I have revised the words and have come up with other ways to use it or a variation of it for our agency to get more referrals, cross-sell quotes, life insurance, policy reviews, and even a variation of it to put in my restaurant of choice for family dinners. (Mastermind members coming to my office in November and others that knows my wife Vanessa please let’s keep this little secret between us okay. I promise I can easily teach you this simple phase that saves time and frustration of choosing a restaurant, when a common answer is, “I don’t care”.)

You know the old saying; it worked so well we stopped using it to look for the next new thing.

The Magical nine-word question is… “Would you have any objection to me reviewing your ____________?” You fill in the blank with what is appropriate. Whether it is home and auto insurance, life insurance, boat insurance, motorhome, motorcycle, etc. For referrals after a successful new business sale or during a policy review you can say, “Would you have any objection to me talking with some of your friends and family members about their insurance?” Or with an assumptive question of … “I assume you’d be okay with me talking with a few of your friends and family members about their insurance. Let’s take one-minute, Mr. Jones … please tell me just one of your friends who could benefit like you from our services?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bill Gough started his career in insurance in 1984 with Allstate working in a booth at a Sears Department store. Since the early 90s Bill’s agencies have consistently ranked in the top 1-5% of all Insurance Agencies across the country. Bill has won 117 insurance sales awards in personal lines (including life insurance) and small commercial, but none of these awards mean as much to Bill as the philanthropic work he does through his son’s memorial charitable fund. Since his son’s death in January of 2007, Bill has donated over $750,000.00 with a goal to donate $1,000,000.00 by November 2018 - exactly 10 years after starting BGI Systems. Bill founded BGI Systems to help other insurance agency owners to achieve the level of success he has seen throughout his career by teaching real world proven systems, strategies, and processes that he has developed throughout his career. Learn more about Bill Gough & BGI Systems by going to www.BGISystems.com Be sure to check out how to Skyrocket Your Referrals with a FREE DVD! **You only have to cover the shipping**

You can also use these powerful words in letters, emails, and text messages. Okay, so now that you have this info, what should you do next? How about writing out a plan by yourself or better yet with a team member to begin using this powerful script. Two heads usually work better than one, and your team member will feel appreciated.

100 DEADLIEST DAYS OF SUMMER BEGINS AS YOUNG DRIVER AT-FAULT COLLISIONS TREND UPWARD The 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are recognized as the deadliest for teens, as collisions involving young drivers spikes sharply during this period.This year the Department of Insurance, the California Highway Patrol, Impact Teen Drivers, and the insurance industry are hoping to turn the tide by teaming up with the Ford Motor Company’s Driving Skills for Life Program to educate young drivers about the dangers of driving impaired with a unique behind-the-wheel experience. “One mistake or poor decision can lead to painful and life-altering consequences from fines and increased insurance rates to the unthinkable—injuring or killing another person,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “Educating young drivers and building their behind-the-wheel skills is one of best investments we can make.” Launched in 2003, the Ford Motor Company’s Driving Skills for Life program is designed to help improve young drivers’ behind-the-wheel skills beyond what they receive in basic driver education courses and teach them about risks, including distractions and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. “Traffic collisions are the number one killer of teenagers in America. New drivers often don’t recognize dangerous driving situations,” said CHP Valley Division Assistant Chief Ryan Stonebraker. “Driving under the influence of any amount of alcohol or drugs, or even the slightest distraction, like reaching for a cell phone, can have devastating repercussions.” While efforts to educate young drivers about the dangers of distractions and driving under the influence of alcohol are well established, the legalization of re-

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creational cannabis presents a new opportunity for parents to talk with their teen drivers about a new impaired driving hazard, as a recent survey by the Property and Casualty Insurers Association of America found. “Our survey found that many Californians are hearing the messages warning against distracted driving, but too many people appear to have nonchalant attitudes about the dangers of drug-impaired driving,” said Armand Feliciano, Vice President Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. “We need more research, public awareness, and sound public policy surrounding the dangers of marijuana-impaired driving to help save lives and reduce crashes.” James Lynch of the Insurance Information Institute added, “There is substantial evidence supporting that THC impairment leads to a higher rate of motor vehicle crashes, and the chance of an accident increases with consumption.” This year’s focus is on impaired driving and uses Ford’s newly designed Drugged Driving Suit, which simulates being under the influence of marijuana and driving impaired, as drivers navigate a controlled course. Students will perform some basic tasks (walking in a straight line, catching a ball, etc.,) while wearing the suit. Leaders in law enforcement, insurance and safety will be on hand to discuss the effects of impairment on a driver’s ability to operate a vehicle safely and the consequences for drivers arrested for impaired driving. Source: California Department of Insurance (www.insurance.ca.gov)

Sidebar with

Harper &

Heim

Lawyers

By Jon S.Heim, Attorney, Harper & Heim

THE NEW ABCS OF EMPLOYEE CLASSIFICATION In California the employee classification game is now over. At BIG Independent Group’s recent convention in Indian Wells, we discussed Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, S222732, an April 30, 2018 opinion of the California Supreme Court that fundamentally changes employment law and effectively ends independent contractor status for individual insurance producers.

1. The Employment Classification Issue For decades, California has applied a common law, multi-factor test to distinguish independent contractors from employees. Several times have we addressed that test, and a later, related “economic realities” overlay, as they applied to individual insurance producers. By and large, most producers were employees under even these now largely antiquated theories. And never was there such a person as a “1099 employee.” In recent years, courts and public agencies have discerned social ills in the practical effect of these common law employment classification theories. The California Supreme Court opened Dynamex with the following summary of these concerns. Under both California and federal law, the question whether an individual worker should properly be classified as an employee or, instead, as an independent

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contractor has considerable significance for workers, businesses, and the public generally. On the one hand, if a worker should properly be classified as an employee, the hiring business bears the responsibility of paying federal Social Security and payroll taxes, unemployment insurance taxes and state employment taxes, providing worker’s compensation insurance, and, most relevant for the present case, complying with numerous state and federal statutes and regulations governing the wages, hours, and working conditions of employees. The worker then obtains the protection of the applicable labor laws and regulations. On the other hand, if a worker should properly be classified as an independent contractor, the business does not bear any of those costs or responsibilities, the worker obtains none of the numerous labor law benefits, and the public may be required under applicable laws to assume additional financial burdens with respect to such workers and their families. Although in some circumstances classification as an independent contractor may be advantageous to workers as well as t businesses, the risk that workers who should be treated as employees may be improperly misclassified as independent contractors is significant in light of the potentially substantial economic incentives that a business may have in mischaracterizing some workers as independent contractors. Such incentives include the unfair competitive advantage the business may obtain over competitors that properly classify similar workers as employees and that thereby assume the fiscal and other responsibilities and burdens that an employer owes to its employees. In recent years, the relevant regulatory agencies of both the federal and state governments have declared that the misclassification of workers as independent contractors rather than employees is a very serious problem, depriving federal and state governments of billions of dollars in tax revenue and millions of workers of the labor law protections to which they are entitled.

2. The Modern ABC Test Based on this perception of public policy, the California Supreme Court adopted a broader and simpler test for distinguishing employees from independent contractors, known among courts and attorneys as

the “ABC test.” Although here the Court expressly limits the ABC test to wage and hour orders, we predict that it will be applied in other contexts, and anyway wage and hour orders are what most concern individual producers and their employers. [U]nless the hiring entity establishes (A) that the worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact, (B) that the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business, and (C) that the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business, the worker should be considered an employee and the hiring business an employer under the suffer or permit to work standard in wage orders. The hiring entity’s failure to prove any one of these three prerequisites will be sufficient in itself to establish that the worker is an included employee, rather than an excluded independent contractor, for purposes of the wage order. Note that all three of these ABC elements must be proven to establish independent contractor status, and that it is the employer’s burden to prove them.

Moreover, meeting Tests A and especially C would be difficult too. (Bona fide office subleases to independent production businesses may affect this analysis, on a case-by-case basis.) An employer who misclassifies employees is liable for civil penalties of $5,000 to $15,000 per misclassified employee, or $10,000 to $25,000 a head if misclassification is deemed a pattern or practice. (Lab. Code, § 226.8.) A misclassifying employer may also be charged for back employment taxes and worker’s compensation violations. If your insurance brokerage hires individual insurance producers or CSRs, they are employees by law, no matter what they and your brokerage agree or say. Best for all parites if this now confirmed reality is recognized and honored by all from the outset or from now on. Otherwise, the future may bring problems – to you. Call Jon Stanley Heim at (510) 725-7593, or e-mail him at jshinslaw@gmail.com or harperandheim@gmail.com.

3. Hirers of Insurance Producers Flunk The Modern ABC Test We at Harper & Heim, Lawyers do not see how the foregoing “Test B,” as it’s called, can be met by any insurance brokerage that hires an insurance producer or a customer service representative. A brokerage sells and services particular lines of insurance. To do so, the brokerage employs individual producers and CSRs. Those workers do not “perform[] work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business.” That one test cannot be met, so the producers and CSRs are employees as a matter of law, regardless of contrary intent, flexibility of hours or exclusivity of employment.

5 ESSENTIAL TRAITS EVERY ENTREPRENEUR NEEDS By Randy H. Nelson

Entrepreneurship remains alive and well in America with thousands of people starting new businesses each year. But the success of those businesses is another matter. About half will fail in their first five years, according to Gallup. So why do some new businesses go belly up after a short existence while others prosper? Often it all comes down to the qualifications of the person who started the business. Anyone can start a business because no real qualifications are required to do that. But not everyone is qualified to run a business once it’s off the ground and that’s a huge factor in why so many fail. There are five essential traits that every entrepreneur needs to improve the odds of business success: • Discipline. It’s important to be disciplined within yourself to help move your organization forward and to produce good leadership decisions within a managerial team, Nelson says. An entrepreneur who is disciplined understands that they don’t know what they don’t know.

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This self-knowledge makes it clear how the entrepreneur’s shortcomings may be affecting his or her company, and so helps the entrepreneur make better decisions for the long run. This entrepreneur also understands that, for the business to succeed in the long term, a transition must occur from the business being about “me” as its entrepreneur/CEO, to being about the overall needs of the company. • Leadership. To help a business succeed, it’s important that the entrepreneur understands that leadership within a company entails knowing your responsibilities and role, and knowing when to share or even delegate responsibility. • Self-awareness. In some cases, the person who created the company may not be CEO material and needs to understand that and find someone else to fill that role. You have to take into consideration your own needs and desires and the needs and desires of the company. It’s about the self-awareness journey through which you evaluate your skills and interests in each key aspect of managing a growth company.

• Understanding of issues and challenges. Within any company’s life cycle, numerous issues and challenges may arise. To lead a successful business, the entrepreneur needs to understand and acknowledge that four issues in particular may pose a challenge to his or her efforts to become the Qualified Entrepreneur: insistence on autonomy; unwillingness to build structure, cultivate expertise or delegate; boredom; and failure to engage in self-examination. • Self-assessment. It’s a bit ironic that entrepreneurs who are good at holding others accountable for their performances don’t take time to gauge how well they are doing themselves. It’s important for the success of your business that you be able to do self-performance reviews.

achievement was at the Fast 50 awards ceremony in the Raleigh, N.C., area when NSTAR, a 13-year-old company, and Orion, a 23-year-old company, were awarded the rankings No. 8 and No. 9, respectively. Nelson now runs Gold Dolphins, LLC, a coaching and consulting firm to help entrepreneurial leaders and CEOs become Qualified Entrepreneurs and achieve their maximum potential. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Miami University, Ohio, and was awarded the Admiral Sidney W. Souers Distinguished Alumni Award there in 2011.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Randy H. Nelson is a speaker, a coach, a Qualified Entrepreneur, a former nuclear submarine officer in the U.S. Navy and author of “The Second Decision – The Qualified Entrepreneur” (www.randyhnelson.com). He co-founded and later sold two market-leading, multi-million dollar companies — Orion International and NSTAR Global Services. His proudest professional

WE ARE PROUND TO SHARE THE WINNERS OF OUR 2018 “BIGGIES”

Everyone gets caught up in the comparison game. BIG was pleased to bestow our BIGGIE Awards for the 9th year in a row at our annual convention held recently in Indian Wells, CA. As always, the awards were given to insurance professionals, companies and industry advocates for extraordinary contributions to insurance producers and the industry as a whole.

GIE Awards are just our way of saying thanks.”

Nominees and winners are selected through a poll of BIG members and associates. This year, an email survey was sent to 6,327 contacts in California , 3,686 of those were independent agency owners. Over 600 surveys were returned, and the top five from each category were selected for the poll. A list of nominees was sent to over 6,000 contacts and, generated over 11,000 votes.

Nominees: Anna Harris – Progressive, Laurena Marquez – Aspire Insurance Agency, Lisa Valdez – Infinity, Nancy Orozco – Alliance United, Cesar Romero -- Kemper Specialty California.

“BIG is honored to spearhead these efforts to recognize the dedication of these outstanding individuals and companies. They are instrumental in pushing the insurance industry forward and contribute to the success of producers, here in California and across the country,” commented BIG CEO Jon Spaugy. “The BIG-

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Here are the nominees and winners of the 2017 BIGGIE Awards: WINNER: Standard Marketing Representative of the Year - Cesar Romero -- Kemper Specialty California

WINNER: Standard Agency of the Year - City Best Insurance Nominees: Strong Tie Insurance, Academy Insurance, Rapid Insurance, Quiroz Insurance, City Best Insurance. WINNER: Standard Carrier of the Year -- Kemper Specialty Nominees: Alliance United, National General, Infinity, Progressive, Kemper Speciaty

WINNER: Preferred Marketing Representative of the Year – Missy Alizadeh -- Mapfre

Nominees: EZ Lynx, Vertafore/FSC, Hawksoft, LightSpeed Voice, Record Guardian

Nominees: David Aragon – Progressive, Nancy Trejo – Safeco, Jeff Hahn – Safeco, Blane Bardsley – Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, Missy Alizadeh – Mapfre.

WINNER: Technology Company of The Year -- ITC

WINNER: Preferred Insurance Broker of the Year – AIS Auto Insurance Specialists Nominees: Beach & O’Neil Insurance, Key City Insurance, J.B. Wright Insurance,, Pauma Valley Insurance, AIS Auto Insurance Specialists.

Nominees: Record Guardian, EZ Lynx, Hawksoft, Applied Systems, ITC WINNER: Premium Finance Company of the Year -Top Premium Finance Nominees: AFX/IBEX, Capital Premium Finance, GAAC, Cypress Premium Finance, Top Premium Finance.

WINNER: Preferred Carrier of the Year – Safeco

WINNER: Agency Group of the Year -- Iroquois Group

Nominees: QBE, Mercury, Mapfre, Stillwater, Safeco.

Nominees: Networked Insurance, WIAA Group, Superior Access, SIAA, Iroquois Group

WINNER: MGA of the Year – Builders and Tradesmen’s Insurance Services Nominees: Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, RIC, RMIS, Tapco Underwriters, Builders and Tradesmen’s Insurance Services. WINNER: Vendor of the Year – Record Guardian

2018 BIG Legend Award -- Andy Bloom “I would like to point out that, in many categories, the margin for winning was razor-thin,” said Adam Meyerson, a longtime BIG leader and emcee of the awards presentations. “Our industry has a great deal of talent associated with it, and the BIGGIE awards are just our small way of recognizing that.”

CAN YOUR STAFF SOLVE CHALLENGES WHEN FACED WITH OBSTACLES? By Dana Borowka, MA, CEO of Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC Today is the day to look beyond… to look at the many opportunities and the open horizons that can be in store for you and your organization. This is the time to rally the people that you work with and begin to collaborate and gather ideas in the following areas: Improving efficiency Raising the customer service bar Explore opportunities Operational processes Cost efficient ways to do things differently Identify specific traits in people that you’d like to add to your team How to better mentor staff members Those are just a few areas to explore. Looking out into the future, you’ll want to take advantage of some of the fresh talent that will be available. However, you’ll need to be very selective as to who you’ll want on your team. Managing down just doesn’t work any longer. Understanding the strengths of an individual will help to promote a positive environment where people will want to share ideas that might not have been considered in the past. This is the time to build a positive reputation so your company is a magnet for attracting top talent. Thinking Outside of the Box I was at a restaurant recently and asked to see if an item that I didn’t see on the menu was available or if I had overlooked it on the menu. They didn’t have the item, but the staff response set me back. The server stated, “Our goal is to think out of the box. To do

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what we can to please the customer so that positive word of mouth is shared and that will result in more business for us!” Isn’t that what we all want: team members that will think out of the box, positive word of mouth about our business, to increase revenue? What we all need are people like that on our team. So the million-dollar question is: how do we get staff members to think along those lines and how can we attract people like that? What Is Driving Your Top People? Learn what is driving your top talent people. If you help them to succeed you’ll create a high level of retention and become a magnet for recruiting. Here are some action items for you to consider: “Use” an in-depth work style and personality assessment during the hiring process and for current staff. “Use” the data to manage, which in turn will reduce the learning curve for new hires and help to better understand current staff members. “Place” individuals in positions that they can succeed in based on their strengths. “Take” the time to constantly mentor and create plans to help individuals grow. “Identify” traits of individuals that you want in your organization and target those individuals through spe-

cific messages in ads, on the web, through networking, and association gatherings. For your A players (your major contributors), play to their strengths and help them grow. Don’t ignore them just because they are doing well. These are the individuals that if they don’t feel engaged in helping the organization to continue to grow and improve, they’ll leave. For your B players, nurture them through mentoring so they can become A players down the road. For your C players, measure and possibly remove them if they are eating up your time. Never spend 80 percent of your time and energy on the people who are producing 20 percent of your results. Peel the Onion But don’t write those C players off too fast. A small hotel chain had reservation reps that were not meeting the volume level that was being required. The manager thought they were just C players and was a very unhappy camper with his team. That person was placed in a different department and a new manager came in who sat down with each individual and then with the group. She discovered that 24 hours before a guest was going to arrive at the hotel property that a high percentage were calling in to verify the reservation and to get directions. This used up valuable call time, so as a team they brainstormed together and came up with a brilliant idea. Since the reps were asking for email addresses why not send an email confirmation 24-48 hours prior with a fun page welcoming the individuals and include links for weather and directions. Guess what happened? Calls were reduced and the reps were able to take more calls for new reservations with less hold time. All because the manager took the time to ask questions to peel the onion back to identify the underlying issue. When the reps were asked why this topic hadn’t been addressed in the past they simply responded, “No one asked and we never thought of it.”

Set Your Sights on the Future Make the most out of this environment by helping others in your team to be successful, build a positive reputation, ask your team for ideas and contribute to the well being of the entire organization, train staff to mentor others, and be on the look out for adding fresh talent to your team. Remember, it is important to be precise in what you are looking for and do a thorough job interview by asking probing questions, doing reference and background checks, and utilizing an in-depth work style and personality assessment. This is the time to set your sights on the future, deal with the present by supporting your team, and ask for input. Set your organization on a course for long-term success by using proactive and collaborative mentoring, management, and vision. We’d love to hear about your successes. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dana Borowka, MA, CEO of Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC and his organization constantly remain focused on their mission statement – “To bring effective insight to your organization.” Dana has over 25 years of business consulting experience and is a nationally renowned speaker, radio and TV personality on many topics. He provides workshops on hiring, managing for the future, and techniques to improve interpersonal communications that have a proven ROI. He is the co-author of the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code”. To order the books, please visit www.lighthouseconsulting.com. If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com, and www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Andre Urena

Head of Latino Strategic Partnerships, Uulala

By Don Lukenbill Marketing rep, agency owner, association founder, Latino community activist, technology advocate. Pick out any two or three and you have a true Renaissance man. Combine them all (and more) and you have just been introduced to Andre Urena. It is not an exaggeration to say that most insurance professionals have not only heard of Andre, but know him personally and can recount one or two unforgettable shared experiences. But what about the man behind the curtain? We though it would be interesting to find out what makes Andre who he is today and maybe get a little insight about his plans for the future. BIG TIMES MAGAZINE: Andre, you are approaching legendary status in the insurance industry and have worn many hats. Tell us how you got your start in the business. ANDRE URENA: I started in insurance because my father, Alvaro Urena, was a CFO of an insurance general agency in Studio City, CA. He brought me in and I worked in customer service, helping insurance agents and brokers. From then I became a Marketing representative and got to meet a lot insurance producers early on. BTM: What was it about being an agency owner that appealed to you? AU: As a wholesaler of insurance, I saw the profit margins there were in retail insurance and how there was a real need for more ethical and professional insurance agents and brokers in the Latino communities. My friend and former partner Richard Wetzel and I decided to start a retail insurance agency in Van Nuys. It was called Oasis Insurance Services, Inc. Richard really taught me how to get appointments from insurance companies, even at a time in which most companies had an “appointment moratorium.”

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BTM: After building a successful business, you opted to sell and just be a principal. Why? AU: Timing in life is everything and I had a choice as we all did as insurance retailers: Do we stay the same and shrink, or do innovative things and grow? The choice was obvious then and is obvious now, grow or die. I never done well being mediocre, I am successful only when I embrace change. BTM: In the midst of all this, you were still running the Latin American Agents Association. BIG’s Jon Spaugy can attest to the difficulty of balancing the two. What do you have to say on the subject? AU: The Latin American Agents Association was born by Latino insurance producers, like me. We were fed up with producing significant amount of business and getting paid the lowest insurance carriers commission levels. United we are stronger, and leveraging our membership to get fairer treatment from insurance companies was our ultimate goal and we achieved it. Jon and I share the pain of wanting to demonstrate to our peers all that we know and all that can be done in insurance retail. We both know how difficult it is to develop engaging content and speakers for the member meetings. To get insurance producers interested enough to drive to a meeting is difficult: you are competing with their family time and their “off” time. Our

goal was to bring the most insightful information to affect their bottom line positively and make it fun.

what they learned while attending our events or the connections they made because of the LAAA.

When you run your own agency, is hard to balance your time and resources with a trade organization, so you’d better derive value from it. I don’t know how we did it, but we did and it was worthwhile! I learned so much by listening to a lot of different parties. My hat is off to Jon for keeping that torch alive in an age of constant information coming at you.

BTM: The association also morphed into something else. Tell us about that.

BTM: The LAAA also put on a successful convention. What are your thoughts on the usefulness of the convention experience? AU: Our convention was designed to get you out of your comfort zone, to introduce yourself to other, to speak to insurance company personnel as equals. Only then could insurance agents figure out what was expected from them in order to get the bigger rewards. We also demonstrated the strength of the Latino community which was untapped back then. Funny thing is that the Latino community still untapped. There are over 40% of unbanked or underserved Latinos who represent ONE TRILLION DOLLARS that is not part of the formal economy. BTM: While the association had a good run, it finally closed its doors. What happened? AU: I grew my retail business, Oasis Insurance Services, Inc. became Confie Seguros, that later became Confie Holdings and we started to buy insurance agencies similar to ours.We bought many retail name brands and agencies, they all operate under the name Freeway Insurance today. This whole process started demanding more and more of my time. Then I sold my business interests in insurance and moved to Panama and Costa Rica to work on other projects. The LAAA was being managed by other capable board members and they kept the organization relevant for a few more years. I simply had lost touch with the “Day In Day Out” operational aspect of retail insurance as I had moved on to other industries, The LAAA was a labor of love and I invested a lot of my time in it. I am very proud of what we accomplished. To this day, I hear people talk about the LAAA events. But most importantly, I hear about

AU: Actually, the LAAA did not morph into something else, I did. I became very committed to immigration causes while traveling and living in Latin America after my insurance years. Having a residence in Rosarito exposed me to the constant Latin migration process. The family suffering when a loved one is deported is tragic and it breaks the family nucleus for generations to come. BTM: This is where the LAIA comes into play. AU: Yes. A few years back, my friend Greg McKewen and I decided to start the Latin American Immigration Association (www.latinimmigration.org) to help insurance agents, income tax preparers, and other community trusted advisors as to how to do immigration paperwork ethically and professionally. The LAIA has had tremendous success and continues to grow with well over 2,000 professionals trained throughout the country. I am very proud of what we’ve done there and where Greg and his group will take it in the future. Because of our new venture, Uulala.io, I had to sell my LAIA ownership to Greg. I am wise enough to know that I can not be involved in everything. There are only so many hours in the day and Uulala, as well as being the SW Trade Commissioner for my homeland of Costa Rica, is enough to keep me busy every waking hour. BTM: Now you find yourself involved in a different enterprise. This isn’t necessarily a part of the insurance industry, but still helpful to producers. Explain AU: I am excited to present Uulala.io, something we’ve been working diligently for the last year and a half in creating this application. Our CEO and Founder, Oscar Garcia, who recently presented at the BIG convention, designed a Smart Phone app that helps the underbanked or unbanked communities keep more of their hard earned money by lowering their everyday banking and financial fees. The people that make the least

amount of money are usually the ones that pay the highest fees and wait in line the most. With Uulala, we give these consumers their dignity back. All insurance agents serve these consumers. We are partnering up with insurance agencies to allow them to offer our app. help their consumers save, and in exchange Uulala shares the revenue with the insurance retailer. We offer many benefits such as money remittance, credit building, payday loans, check cashing, etc.

BTM: Let’s close with a bit of personal questions. If you could go back and talk to Andre Urena in 2008, what would you say to him?

BTM: For those of us not entirely familiar with “bitcoin,” can you give a quick tutorial?

BTM: Let’s fast forward to 2028. What do you want to hear from future Andre Urena ?

AU: With something as complex as Bitcoin, there is no quick lesson. The easiest way to understand Bitcoin is to teach yourself through documentaries and videos on the subject. I always recommend Netflix’ Bitcoin Documentary first, then watch it again with pen and paper handy. Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency coin to enter the market, there are now and I believe there will always be value in this coins it was the first one.

AU: Future Andre in a decade from now will be either running for City Hall in whatever city I live in at that time or running for president of Costa Rica. I am just finishing my autobiographical book, “Mi Vida En La Movida” (My life in the movement) which will be released on November, 1st, 2018 at my 50th B-Day Party. I lived a full life thus far and I have a lot to contribute to mankind. Future Andre is all about going back!

People get stuck on just understanding Bitcoin and being discouraged by its volatility, however if you look at a graph of Bitcoin, year after year, you will see the its value always rise towards December and drops in January, so buy in January and hold is my suggestion if you are looking to Bitcoin as an investment vehicle. There are 1565 cryptocurrencies out there today and more popping up everyday. More importantly is the “OpenLedger” Technology created by Bitcoin called Blockchain. Blockchain is a digital ledger in which transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency are recorded chronologically and publicly.

BTM: In a few sentences, tell us about your philosophy for success.

The Blockchain technology is being applied today in ALL industries as it makes it nearly impossible to hack information. Blockchain technology gave us at Uulala the ability to lower the costs of the traditional financial transactions. Go to:tokensale.uulala.io to learn more. Several high profile insurance agencies such as Veronica’s Insurance, Auto International Insurance, ASAP Insurance, Safer Insurance, and many others, including insurance company personnel have invested into Uulala since early on because they know where we are going. Join us as a “Beta Tester” of our technology and secure your place on our map!

AU: I am very excited about what we are doing with Uulala.io. This will be the company that will define my legacy. Our impact will be huge. We will help our partners (insurance agents) make money while saving their customers money doing the things they already do. Five million users in three years is our objective. Be part of this tremendous growth potential or watch us thrive on the sidelines. The choice is yours to make. I encourage you to reach out to me, look at the Dream Team we assembled and test our technology for yourself.

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AU: I would say to myself a decade ago: Pay more attention to the details and manage your everyday life directly instead of having others do it for you. I would also say to myself a decade ago: You are about to have a lot of fun, lol!

AU: To me, success is not necessarily material possessions. Success is how well you are regarded by those that matter along the way. I pride myself of being very successful because I’ve kept those relationships that matter alive and prospering for decades. I keep those individuals that contribute something positive in my life very close to me. BTM: Any final thoughts?

BIG CONVENTION SPEAKERS BROUGHT PLENTY TO THE TABLE

By Don Lukenbill At the recent BIG convention in Indian Wells, there were a trio of speakers who offered insight and expertise in a variety of business building and efficiency applications. Everything from new business opportunities to managing new technology to employee classification was covered. OSCAR GARCIA FROM UULALA The Saturday mid-morning speaker slot belonged to Uulala’s founder, Oscar Garcia. He discussed a truly underserved population segment – the Latino community – and how his company plans to simplify banking for this demographic, especially older, less tech-savvy Latinos. Essentially, the insurance agency acts as a depository for customers utilizing the Uulala app. They bring a deposit to an agency, which electronically loads the amount into the app. According to Garcia, the Latino market is worth an estimated $2.3 trillion a year. A great deal of this buying power is not attached to the “formal economy;” that is, bank-based expenditures (credit cards, loans, etc.) In these communities, there are usually just a few bank branches with long lines in those that are open. Available ATMs charge high fees and non-bank ATMs are unable to receive deposits. The opportunities offered by Uulala, says Garcia, are helping Latinos build positive credit history, give them have the ability to conduct non-cash based transactions, and provide another service that will bring customers into the agency. The Uulala program is a way to ease customers into the credit-based economy while allowing them to conduct “banking” business with someone they know and trust – their insurance agent. “Treat customers well and they will refer four more customers,” said Garcia.

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LAIRD RIXFORD FROM ITC (INSURANCE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION) Laird Rixford, president of ITC, had an interesting story to tell. He applied, by fax no less, to ITC when he was 19 years old and was hired as a network tech. He left in 2001 to start consulting company that focused on banking, mortgage and of course insurance. In 2008, ITC acquired his company and Rixford came back on board as vice president of product development and marketing. In 2014, he was named president of ITC. Rixford’s talk centered around what is and is not working in technology, specifically how it impacts and relates to insurance agents. He also talked about the importance of agents to companies, explaining that as salespeople for different companies, agents are lead generators. Insurance is about relationships, said Rixford, and agents provide that one-to-one experience with customers. As is well-known in the industry, happy customers play an important role in referrals, which is, of course, is huge in lead generation. He encouraged everyone to leverage technology as it suits them best. Utilize social media, agency websites to create new customers. Elevate lead and customer management. When a lead comes in from your website, automatically send an email response. Generate a fundamental quote and send to the potential customer, then have a CSR follow up with a phone call. When they purchase a policy, send a “congratulations” email. Make sure they remain engaged with your agency, especially after they become a customer. Birthdays, anniversaries, etc. all can be marked with a single Ironically, the same technology that drives a wedge between personal contact can also bring you and your customer closer together. “’This is how we’ve always done it’ is a dangerous mantra, said Rixford. “There’s a new way of doing business and it’s time agents embraced the future.” JON HEIM, HARPER AND HEIM LAWYERS As is BIG tradition, our Sunday keynoter was insurance attorney extraordinaire Jon Heim. He spoke a bit about rescission policies, that is, the practice of rescinding

policies after a claim has been filed. Heim noted that insurance companies are growing more aggressive in not only denying claims, but effectively retroactively canceling the policy. He explained that to rescind a policy, the insurer has to prove that the customer misrepresented something on the application. However, unlike other businesses, this misrepresentation can be unintentional and not fraudulent.

as a “1099 employee,” and employers can be on the hook for $5k to $10k for each misclassification. He explained that in order to be considered an independent contractor, a worker must be 1) Free from employer control, 2) Engaged in something other than regular business, and 3) Be involved in an established trade. “If you have any 1099 employees, get rid of them,” advised Heim.

Heim also spoke about misclassification of employees as independent contractors. As you can read about in his “Sidebar” piece in this issue, there is no such thing

Obviously, if you missed the BIG convention, you missed out on some excellent insight from top experts in their fields. But there is always next time.

Oscar Garcia

Laird Rixford

Jon Heim

INDEPENDENCE DAY

Fun Facts

thJuly of

Independence

day

Often the biggest bash of the summer, Independence Day, or simply the Fourth of July, often means barbecues, a day at the beach, backyard parties, and naturally fireworks. Sometimes lost in the revelry is the true meaning of the day, the reason we are celebrating. While most people understand that Independence Day is marking the formal break between the original 13 colonies and Great Britain, many donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence on July 2nd, 1776. Two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson. In fact, John Adams believed that July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence, and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest. So, whether you enjoy our shared freedom on the 4th only, or stretch it out for three days in honor of our 2nd president, here are some fun facts to talk about around the bonfire. George Washington issued double rations of rum to all his soldiers to mark the anniversary of independence in 1778, and in 1781, several months before the key American victory at Yorktown, Massachusetts became the first state to make July 4th an official state holiday.

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Only John Hancock actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. All the others signed later. The average age of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence was 45. The youngest was Thomas Lynch, Jr (27) of South Carolina. The oldest delegate was Benjamin Franklin (70) of Pennsylvania. The lead author of The Declaration, Thomas Jefferson, was 33. The only two signers of the Declaration of Independence who later served as President of the United States were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. President John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe all died on the Fourth. Adams and Jefferson (both signed the Declaration) died on the same day within hours of each other in 1826. Congress made Independence Day an official unpaid holiday for federal employees in 1870. In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday. The 4th of July is the biggest day of the year for hot dogs. More hot dogs are eaten on this day than any other day of the year. Estimates place the number of dogs eaten on this date at 155 million, or enough to stretch across the American nation more than 5 times over.!