More Information about Georgia Insurance Agents Alliance Membership at www.Georgia-Agents.com
EXPRESS “What You Don’t Know Can’t Help You!” … Eddie K. Emmett, Editor / Publisher
How Insurance Agents can “Out-Google” Google In This Edition HOW INSURANCE AGENTS CAN “OUT-GOOGLE” GOOGLE............... 1 M AKE YOUR WEBSITE MOBILEFRIENDLY ....................................... 4 TOP EXCUSES FOR NOT ASKING CUSTOMERS FOR REVIEWS ............. 6 CREATE VIDEOS ............................. 8 2015 IS GOING TO BE THE YEAR OF THE VIDEO ..................................... 8 HOW TO GET YOUR LIMITED SUBAGENT LICENSE .................... 11 NON-COMPETE AND NON-IRACY ... 16 TEN TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TERMINATIONS Q&A .................... 18
Google will soon be offering to compare and sell auto insurance.
HOW
Type “Google Compare” in your browser and read the bad news.
ARE YOU CONFIRMING COVERAGES THAT HAVE BEEN DECLINED ? .................................. 26
You can’t “Out-Google” Google but you can “Out-Local” Google. And all of it is free. Back in 2009 the major Search Engines, Google, Yahoo & Bing, realized that most consumers want to transact with local businesses. It is called “Organic Search” as opposed to “Pay Per Click”. The Search Engines set aside prominent space on Page #1 for Insurance Agencies that complete the following 8 steps.
FYI Express
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Create the Perfect Website. It’s the only Internet Real Estate you truly own. Here’s an example of a Perfect Website: http://preview.accuagencywebsi tes.com/GMKN31 You can get one for $99.00 setup & $35.00 per month at www.AgencyThrive.com.
Continued on page 2
February 2015
More Information about Georgia Insurance Agents Alliance Membership at www.Georgia-Agents.com
“Out-Google” Google Continued from page 1
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It may seem odd, but one huge factor in your Google+ Local rankings has to do with your listings on other sites - particularly online business directories. Every time you’re listed on one of those sites, you’ve got what’s called a “citation.”
Claim Your Local Search & Citations It doesn’t do any good to have the Perfect Website if no one knows your agency exists!
Citations are important because, to Google, they are “mentions” of your business on sites that Google generally trusts to have accurate info on local business.
Try this experiment: One at a time, type into your browser the types of insurance products sold through your agency. You don’t have to worry about inputting the city … Big 3 knows where you is!
Any time the name, address, and phone number of your business are published online together, that’s a citation.
If you don’t show up on Page #1, your agency is invisible as far as Local Search is concerned.
Want to see how many Search Engines and Online Directories are waiting to be claimed by your agency? BTW … it’s free! Go to http://www.Synup.com
GIAA Members may download this excellent “How To” booklet for free:
GIAA Members may download this excellent “How To” booklet for free: Free “How to Claim Top Listings”
It has everything you need to claim your online listings: •
Screenshots
•
Embedded Hyperlinks
•
Easy Explanations
•
Suggestions for content
•
The only thing it doesn’t have is a calculation of what your time is worth.
•
It takes up to a month of steady work to claim all the listings you need.
•
Continued on page 4
So … how much is YOUR time worth?
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February 2015
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“Out-Google” Google Continued from page 2
4 Make your website mobile-friendly Imagine a user looking at your site on a mobile device. Can the user easily read your page and find the necessary information or is too hard to use? The desktop version of a site might be difficult to view and use on a mobile device. The version that's not mobile-friendly requires the user to pinch or zoom in order to read the content. Users find this a frustrating experience and are likely to abandon the site. Alternatively, the mobile-friendly version is readable and immediately usable.
Mobile is critical to your business and will continue to be so – whether you’re blogging about your favorite insurance product, working on your agency’s website, or selling insurance products to potential clients. Make sure visitors can have a good experience on your site when they’re visiting from their mobile devices!
In the USA, 94% of people with smartphones search for local information on their phones. Interestingly, 77% of mobile searches occur at home or at work, places where desktop computers are likely to be present.
GIAA Members get free training on how to make their websites mobile-friendly.
Test your site for free at: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobilefriendly/
Join today at www.Georgia-Agents.com Continued on page 6
FYI Express
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February 2015
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More Information about Georgia Insurance Agents Alliance Membership at www.Georgia-Agents.com
“Out-Google” Google Continued from page 4
5 Ask for and monitor Online Reviews Why are online reviews worth the effort? There’s one reason that towers above the others:
https://www.whitespark.ca/review-handout-generator
Reviews are the main way to build a solid reputation online.
Top Excuses for Not Asking Customers for Reviews
You may know that already. But “reputation” is a vague term most people don’t define.
http://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/2013/08/29/topexcuses-for-not-asking-customers-for-reviews
I’m referring to two main benefits: If you have a good reputation (1) someone other than you is explaining why you’re good, and (2) potential customers can read the reviews and form an opinion as to whether you’re a good fit for them.
21 ways to get Online Customer Reviews http://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/2012/04/13/21ways-to-get-customer-reviews-the-ultimate-list
Respond quickly to all reviews by setting up Google Alerts Set up Google Alerts for your agency: http://www.google.com/alerts FYI Express
Continued on page 8 Page 6
February 2015
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We are now accepting new appointments. Find out more by calling Sharon at 1-800-239-2358 x213 or visiting us at nationalsecuritygroup.com.
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More Information about Georgia Insurance Agents Alliance Membership at www.Georgia-Agents.com
“Out-Google” Google Continued from page 6
6 Create Videos
80% of Your Online Visitors Will Watch a Video, While Only 20 Percent Will Actually Read Content in Its Entirety Your Website Is 50 Times More Likely To Appear On the First Page of a Search Engine Results Page If It Includes Video 90% of User Say That Seeing a Video about a Product Is Helpful In the Decision Process An Introductory Company Email That Includes a Video Receives an Increase Click-Through Rate By 96%
2015 is going to be the Year of the Video Videos Increase People’s Understanding Of Your Product or Service by 74% 75% Of Users Visit the Marketer’s Website after Viewing a Video 80% of Internet Users Remember the Video Ads They Watch Online 26% of Internet Users Look For More Information after Viewing a Video Ad 22% of Internet Users Visit the Website Named In a Video Ad They Viewed
GIAA Members may download a Step-byStep Guide to YouTube Marketing for free.
GIAA Members may download Animated Video software & online tutorials for free.
After Visiting a Video Ad, 12% of Viewers Purchase the Specific Product Featured In the Ad Website Visitors Are 64% More Likely To Buy A Product on an Online Retail Site after Watching A Video Click-Through Rates Increase 2-3 Times When Marketers Include a Video in an Email FYI Express Page 8
Here’s a sample: http://youtu.be/pBNbqxXP7L4?list=UUdScMM7TDqnXrh RRVte0jPQ Continued on page 10 February 2015
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More Information about Georgia Insurance Agents Alliance Membership at www.Georgia-Agents.com
“Out-Google” Google
Scan this QR Code to get a better idea of what an impact it would make on prospective clients:
Continued from page 8
7 Start Marketing with QR Codes
Or you can create a QR Code like this one to increase your Facebook “Likes”.
Continued on page 12
GIAA Members can create their own “Mini-Mobile Sites” and QR Code Marketing for the growing number of folks who rely on their Smartphones. FYI Express
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February 2015
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More Information about Georgia Insurance Agents Alliance Membership at www.Georgia-Agents.com
“Out-Google” Google Continued from page 10
www.Georgia-Agents.com
8 Create a Facebook for Business Page
https://www.warriorplus.com/o2/a/tmpf6/0 Facebook’s Fan Page lets you gather as many fans as you want. It also provides a way to interact with a large scale of customers. You can set up Facebook Fan Page links on all of your business’s online media outlets, which lets online users go to the fan page and directly interact with your company. This increases your SERPs presence, as well as increasing customer participation and brand recognition.
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GIAA Members may download “How To” Videos & Tutorials on setting up and maintaining a Facebook for Business page. Join today for only $99.00 per year. www.Georgia-Agents.com
FYI Express
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February 2015
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More Information about Georgia Insurance Agents Alliance Membership at www.Georgia-Agents.com Honest, competent people. Not a faceless, soulless Tips for Your Success – corporation.
Let NSD Pay your Utility Bills
Your page needs to instill some trust in people who are looking at it for the very first time. Here are 4 easy ways to make your Google+ Local page give off good vibes: 1. Include pictures of real people, preferably of you and your staff/workers. Show customers that you're human.
Let's just say that you sell ONE NSD policy for $50 with a net cost to NSD of $10... You just earned an easy $40!
Also, see this post I did: http://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/2014/04/01/10classy-google-plus-local-cover-photos-and-how-tomake-yours-better/
Now, let's pretend that you only sold one per day... Now you are at $200 a week! (Doesn't seem too bad right?)
2. Try to ensure that negative customer reviews aren't high up on your Google page. If a negative review shows up at the very top of your page, start getting more positive customer reviews coming in, so that the negative one doesn't remains up there, sticking out like a sore thumb and scaring away customers forever.
By only selling ONE NSD policy each day, your agency can earn $10,400 this year! (Whoa.. and that's only ONE per day.. What if you sold two... or even FIVE?) http://www.nsdmc.com
Will your Google Local page bite? If I'm a local customer, that's the first thing I want to determine when I see your business's Google+ Local page. Will I regret spending another 10 seconds on your page?
(For more on how to get more Google reviews, check out this giant blog post I did: http://bit.ly/11rmwCM) 3. In your short "Description" don't write in the thirdperson. Say "we." "We specialize in..." rather than "Specializes in..."
If I call you on the phone, will I be treated rudely or clobbered with a sales pitch?
Preferably make this little blurb informal, not stuffy and "professional." It should be something you'd say to a customer face-to-face - not what you think a newspaper reporter would say about your business. Don't be like "The Jimmy" from Seinfeld.
If I'm a potential customer, I want to find out all of this now - or I'm going to look at your competitors down the street, and I'm taking my wallet with me.
(Linda Buquet has a good (and funny) thread in her forum about how to get creative with these descriptions: http://bit.ly/PtcOKW)
You need to pay attention to the first impressions your Google page gives. Any local visibility you have is useless unless people can determine the following about you in the space of about 5-10 seconds:
4. Respond to any reviews customers have written on your Google page. Yes, even the positive ones. It shows you're paying attention and that you give a hoot about what your customers think.
-That you may offer the services they just typed into Google
Scary Google+ Local pages are easy to come by. I'm sure you've seen your share of them. But here's a prime example, in case you're not sure what I mean by not-sogood vibes: http://g.co/maps/tg42h
Should I even bother visiting your website?
-That your business actually exists -That other customers have done business with you and lived to tell others about the experience (in the form of reviews) -That you won't rip them off -That they might benefit by visiting your website, calling you, or stopping by. I know that sounds like a lot to get across, but it's not.
You can invest time and/or pay someone to help get your local rankings up in Google. And that's absolutely essential. But you'll wind up with the greatest number of customers if you also make sure your Google+ Local page immediately comes across as inviting. Spend a few minutes making sure your page gives off an inviting first impression.
You don't necessarily need your Google+ Local page to look warm and fuzzy - though that probably wouldn't hurt. But it does need to look like it's run by people. FYI Express
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Godspeed to you. Phil localvisibilitysystem.com February 2015
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More Information about Georgia Insurance Agents Alliance Membership at www.Georgia-Agents.com
NON-COMPETE AND NON-PIRACY WHAT ARE THEY AND HOW CAN THEY BE APPLIED? By Al Diamond of Agency Consulting, Inc.
A non-competition agreement is traditionally defined as the prohibition of a person from competing against a former employer. A standard definition is “a contract that restricts participation in a certain market by a company or individual under specific circumstances.” Quite often an employer, an insurance agency for purposes of this article, requires an employee, such as a producer, to sign a non-competition agreement as a condition of employment. Sometimes an agency realizes that it is at risk to losing employees and having them compete with the agency and attempts to implement a non-competition agreement on existing employees. We are NOT attorneys and don’t purport to define the laws of the various States pertaining to non-competition. However, we do act as Expert Witnesses on cases regarding common practices of insurance agencies and many times these court cases revolve around unfair competition of former employees.
The first question you must ask is, “Why should my agency employ any form of noncompetition wording?” We have spent years helping agencies generate more value in their asset, the book of business owned by the agency that generates revenues and, subsequently, income and earnings that build the insurable and transferable value of the business. How much would your agency be worth if the employees who produced that book of business or service employees and maintained the relationships between the agency and its clients were free to leave and solicit those customers AT WILL? Obviously, the value of any insurance agency changing hands under that circumstance would be minimized. So the reason you want to establish the clear and total “ownership” of the book of business is to establish and maintain the value of your agency when you will need to sell or transition ownership. That means that if you NEVER intend to sell it, nor do you expect any residual value from the future conduct of the book of business after your ownership ends, you don’t need a non-competition agreement in place with your employees.
Of course, that also implies that during your ownership of the agency, any departure of a producer or service employee could affect you far beyond simply finding a replacement. They could leave and market themselves as having access to hundreds or thousands of the clients with whom they established relationships or about whom they had access while employed with you. Of course if they “steal” confidential information about your client from your files, you may have a cause of action, but not if they simply call the client and offer them services from their knowledge and memory of the client. So it becomes apparent that a non-competition agreement is important to an insurance agency.
The Second Question is, “What’s The Difference between Non-Competition and Non-Piracy?” There have been a myriad of problems applying noncompetition agreements over the years as the courts have determined that a non-competition agreement can not stop someone from practicing their chosen profession in the community in which they live. Since most of the traditional non-competition agreements have been written with geographic considerations (i.e. noncompetition within 25 miles of the former employer), many courts have routinely invalidated the entire agreement because of this consideration. The answer is to change the definition of “NonCompetition” to eliminate geographic considerations and include a separate “Non-Piracy” consideration in employment agreements and contracts. Our definition of Non-Competition is different than the traditional definition. Non-Competition is “the prohibition for an “X” year period of a former employee from assuming or accepting the insurance products of the clients or of influencing the clients to move to another insurance entity or of accepting any remuneration from another insurance entity related to the clients of the former employer that the employee produced or renewed on behalf of the employer or for which they had service or administrative responsibilities.” Notice, that the definition prohibits the former employee from “assuming or accepting” the insurance products of the agency’s clients, not just from soliciting them. The clients, of course, can go wherever they wish to fulfill their insurance needs. Continued on page 18
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February 2015
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NON-COMPETE AND NON-PIRACY Continued from page 16 However, if this agreement is properly executed, while the client may leave your agency, the former employee may NOT become the client’s agent for some agreed-upon period of time. A Non Piracy Agreement is more liberally defined as “The prohibition for an ‘X’ year period of a former employee from 1) assuming or accepting the insurance products of the clients or active prospects of an agency or of influencing the clients to move to another insurance entity or 2) accepting any remuneration from another insurance entity related to the clients of the former employer for whose confidential information they had access.” Clients are further defined as “a) current clients with current policies at the time of the employee’s departure, b) current prospects who were contacted by an agency employee within the last twelve months for the purposes of establishing and building a relationship toward the sale of insurance products or c) clients who had an active policy within twelve months prior to the employee’s departure.”
How Long Should a Non-Compete/NonPiracy Agreement Be Enforced? The period of time that would be acceptable to courts for a non-competition or non-piracy agreement really relates to the general fairness doctrine. We impose noncompetition and non-piracy agreements to keep former employees from unfairly using confidential information regarding the agency’s products and its clients to which the employee became privy while actively employed at the agency. We should have no problem with the employee using his/her knowledge to pursue his/her career. But they shouldn’t be permitted to use information for which they were compensated by the agency about the agency’s clients. The fairness doctrine would have the prohibition from competition or acceptance of those clients for a time “reasonable” for the agency’s information to be accessible in the public domain or to become ‘stale’ and no longer useful in the solicitation of the client’s policies. A second issue is a reasonable time period to permit the agency to replace the relationship management role for which the former employee was compensated with another current agency employee. This ‘levels the playing field’ to permit open competition between the agency and the former employee.
When Should Non-Competition and NonPiracy Agreement be Executed and For Whom? In our opinion, every new employee should sign both agreements as a condition of employment. This is the most secure protection for the agency. The employee didn’t have to take the job if he or she didn’t agree with the prohibition against unfair competition once they leave the agency’s employ. In order to protect the agency, all current employees who deal with clients from a sales or service standpoint should also sign Non-Competition and Non-Piracy Agreements. However, if this might be viewed as a further limitation of the employee’s rights, it can only be done safely with some form of compensation that a court would be considered reasonable for the acceptance of the perceived limitation on the employee’s previous rights. This means that the consideration for the signing of the agreement must be sufficient for a court to agree that the employee was reasonably compensated for the elimination of his/her ability to freely competed with the agency should he or she leave. We are not trying to propose any legal agreements as the result of this article. Our goal is to explain the logic behind the implementation of Non-Competition and Non-Piracy Agreements for the protection of the books of business of insurance agencies. Appropriate legal advice should be solicited to create any legal agreement to adhere to the laws of your State. Reprinted from The PIPELINE, the national newsletter for agency principals. The PIPELINE is published by Agency Consulting Group, Inc., a leading consulting firm for independent agents in the U.S. for over 30 years. Call 800-779-2430, Visit www.agencyconsulting.com for information about the content of this article or PIPELINE subscription information.
Typically the time period acceptable to ‘stale’ current information about the agency and to permit fair replacement of the relationship management role is the balance of the current policy periods and two successive renewals, between two and three years.
FYI Express
Info at www.FYIExpress.com Page 18
February 2015
www.underwritersinsider.com
9
More Information about Georgia Insurance Agents Alliance Membership at www.Georgia-Agents.com Alternatively, if you calmly explain the reasons for termination to the employee and are generally respectful By Robin Thomas, Managing Editor and positive, the employee will appreciate your action and may accept it as fair, even if he does not like the Editor's Note: These question and answer HR decision. And, you will send the signal to your other Matters E-Tips articles are taken from real questions employees that you will treat them in a similarly positive submitted by our subscribers, a unique feature of the HR and fair manner. Matters Tools and Resource Center online service. As to the second goal, protecting your organization Involuntary terminations are an unpleasant part of from litigation, the best advice is to follow a well-defined any manager's job. If handled improperly, poor process of checks and balances. employee morale and lawsuits will likely follow. You should be able to show the business-related Here are ten tips for smoothing the process and reasons for the termination decision and to document reducing the stress for everyone involved. that you treated the employee in a fair and consistent Q: We recently terminated an employee, and the manner. To attain this second goal, you should make the meeting did not go well. The employee was very following ten steps part of your termination process: surprised about the decision and became angry, and the 1. Follow your policies as closely as possible, manager responded by saying it was not her decision especially your progressive discipline policy. A and she did not agree with the termination. Now we are government agency or court faced with an employee's concerned the employee will file a lawsuit, though there claim typically will look first at whether the employer really is no basis for a claim. followed its normal policies and procedures. Thus, you How can we handle terminations more effectively in should make sure you have considered the following the future? questions: A: No one likes to be the bearer of bad news, and -- In cases of performance problems, did you give the notice of termination probably is the worst news you can employee an opportunity to improve? deliver. Most managers, regardless of the underlying -- If the employee violated a work rule, is termination justifications, get stressed out just thinking about firing the appropriate discipline based on your policies and an employee. And to make matters more difficult, many past practice? employers are wary of terminating even their least effective employees for fear of discrimination or wrongful -- If you didn't follow your policies as written, do you discharge lawsuits. have a business- related reason to justify your decision, such as the nature or severity of the employee's (Download free 43-page Termination of Employment actions? decision-maker kit including model policy template, HR best practices, legal background, and COBRA analysis.) 2. Treat employees as consistently as possible. Most courts do not require you to treat every employee exactly Terminations don't have to be traumatic, though, or the same, or to follow the exact procedures for each automatically result in a legal claim. If you focus on two employee, in order to be consistent. Rather, they look to important goals and follow the ten steps below, you can see if you treated "similarly situated" employees (those make terminations less stressful for everyone and help employees with similar jobs, performance histories, your organization stay out of court. length of employment, etc.) in a similar manner. Any time you have to deliver the termination decision, 3. Investigate thoroughly before terminating, you should have two goals in mind: (1) the sending of as particularly in cases of misconduct (such as violations of positive a message as possible to the employee being work rules, harassment, or theft). The investigation terminated, as well as to the rest of the workforce; and should provide sufficient documentation of the reasons (2) the protection of the organization from litigation. for the termination and show that you followed the The first goal may sound unattainable – how can a organization's policies. termination ever be a positive experience for the person 4. Make sure the termination is not a surprise. In being terminated? Even though the news of the most cases of ongoing performance problems or termination itself may not be pleasant, your handling of it misconduct, the employee is not fired for a first offense, can directly affect the employee's reaction and will send with the exception of incidents involving egregious a message to your other employees. Thus, for example, behavior. Accordingly, the employee should have been if you are rude and insulting to an employee during the warned about performance problems, given an termination meeting, you will offend the employee and opportunity and timetable for improvement, and advised send a message of disrespect to your other employees. of the consequences for not improving.
Ten Tips for Effective Terminations Q&A
Continued on page 22 FYI Express
Page 20
February 2015
More Information about Georgia Insurance Agents Alliance Membership at www.Georgia-Agents.com -- Attendance at the meeting. Typically, two employer representatives, normally the immediate supervisor and Continued from page 20 a representative of the human resources department, should be present so that one can act as a witness to And, even in the cases of serious misconduct that the discharge conference. warrants immediate termination, the employee should be aware of the likelihood of this consequence from the -- Final paperwork. Have necessary items such as employer's handbook or other distributed policies. the COBRA health insurance continuation notice and final pay available. 5. Analyze the risk for legal claims as a result of the termination. 8. Give the employee a factual reason for the termination. Do not avoid giving a reason and rely on the For example, you should consider the potential for "at-will" relationship (which technically allows employers the following claims: to terminate any at-will employee at any time and for -- Discrimination, especially if the employee was not anylawful reason or even for no reason). Also, do not treated consistently and is a member of a protected call the termination a "layoff," if the termination is in fact class (such as female, disabled, minority, over 40, etc.); the result of performance problems or work rule violations. These misguided attempts to "soften the -- Wrongful discharge, if policies were not blow" can lead to claims of discrimination or wrongful consistently applied; discharge since the employee will likely assume that you -- Violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act, if are hiding the "real" reason for the termination. the employee was terminated while on leave; Instead, you should be factual and should not -- Failure to accommodate claims under the elaborate or interject personal opinions. In addition, don't Americans with Disabilities Act, if the employee was try to minimize the reason for termination to spare the terminated for nonperformance of the job and had health employee's feelings or indicate that you don't agree with problems; and the decision. These comments can be used against you in a lawsuit. -- Wage and hour violations, if overtime or wages due
Ten Tips for Effective Terminations Q&A
were not properly paid. If you have reason to believe the employee may file a claim, you should consult legal counsel. You also should consider asking the employee to sign a release agreement (a waiver of the right to sue the organization in exchange for some benefit, such as money). This step could limit legal exposure if you do not feel the termination decision was handled properly or if there is little documentation showing you followed your policies correctly. 6. Carefully document the reasons for the termination. The employee's personnel file should accurately reflect the reason for termination and include such items as performance appraisals reflecting problems and suggested improvements, counseling memos, written warnings, and investigation results that document the employee's involvement. 7. Plan the termination meeting. In particular, you should make sure you have considered the following issues: -- Timing of the termination. Friday afternoon may not be the best time since the employee has only limited options to take any positive actions to respond to the termination (such as look for a new job). In this situation, the weekend becomes a fertile time for getting angry about the action and considering litigation. Thus, terminating earlier in the week probably is better.
9. Allow the employee to leave with dignity. While terminated employees should not be allowed to linger so long as to be disruptive to coworkers, you should allow enough time for employees to say goodbye and gather belongings. Avoid having a security escort unless there is a legitimate concern about potential property damage or theft or undue interference with other employees' work. 10. Limit discussions of the termination to those individuals who have a legitimate need to know about it. Typically those people include the employee's immediate supervisor, your supervisor, and legal counsel. Doing otherwise can lead to claims of defamation, invasion of privacy, or other personal injury. HR Matters E-Tips is a free service of Personnel Policy Service, Inc. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ppspublishers.com/ezsignup.htm Š 2014 Personnel Policy Service, Inc. All Rights Reserved. HR Matters is a registered trademark of: Personnel Policy Service, Inc. 4965 US Highway 42, Suite 1000, Louisville, KY 40222 Tel: 1-800-437-3735 - Fax: 1-800-755-7011
FORWARD THIS ISSUE: We invite you to forward HR Matters E-Tips to a colleague or friend. -- Privacy. To preserve the employee's dignity and privacy, notice of termination should be given in a private meeting. FYI Express Page 22 February 2015
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Commercial general liability auto exclusion Consider the situation above but instead of a son driving his father's vehicle imagine an employee driving his employer's car and driving home a customer whom he has been entertaining.
If you have the knowledge to see the problem, you will also have the ability to discover the solution.
The employee stops at another customer's business and
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employer for its employee's actions.
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sustains the broken leg. The rest of the story is the same with the same tragic ending. However, the widow sues the insured
The CGL Coverage Form also has a very strict aircraft, auto, or watercraft exclusion but the question for the courts is whether it applies. Click here to review the PF&M Commercial Liability Coverage Aircraft, Auto, and Watercraft Exclusion Analysis.
A very bad combination
Liquor-related losses
A tragic event occurred in 1975 but we are presenting this court case now as a valuable reminder of how alcohol and cold temperatures can be fatal. A young man used his father's car
The tragedy of this court case is that a person died due
to drive an intoxicated friend home. The young man decided to
to a combination of intoxication and negligence. If the
stop at a local bar on the way home to get a drink while the
parties could do it all over again, they probably would
friend remained in the car. He stumbled while leaving the bar
have done things quite differently.
and broke his leg.
Your customers will probably appreciate a timely
The young man was taken to the hospital, but he did not
reminder at this time of year when the weather can be
communicate the information about the friend. The
treacherous, and spending time inside drinking with
temperature dropped to dangerous levels that night and the
friends and clients is common.
young man's friend died because of the low temperature.
Click here for an emarketing article you can use in your
The young man's father's Homeowners insurer denied
various communications to encourage customers to be
coverage when the friend's widow filed a wrongful death
aware of how drinking can affect them and others.
lawsuit against the father's son. Click here to see if the courts agreed with the carrier that the death was due to a motor vehicle and was not covered.
Homeowners motor vehicle exclusion The 1975 and the current Homeowners policies are similar in
www.Georgia-Agents.com
that both exclude motor vehicle-related incidents. Another similarity is that, as in 1975, parties continue to disagree with respect to accidents that occur in or around automobiles that are not necessarily directly related to operation of the vehicle being excluded. Click here to review the PF&M Homeowners' Motor Vehicle Exclusion Analysis.
www.Georgia-Agents.com FYI Express
Page 24
February 2015
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How are you confirming coverages that have been declined ? electronically or possibly delivered over the phone. It is important to make it clear that “no coverage is bound at this time”. In addition, if the client contacts the agency to advise them of the rejection of the coverage, the agency should promptly respond by e-mail referencing the original request and confirming the insured’s decision and date. An e-mail from the client is ok but many agencies indicate that they struggle to get this degree of confirmation from their clients. So, if they won’t send it to you, you send it to them.
Agents E&O Tips http://www.agentseotips.com/ Posted on February 9, 2015 by Curt Pearsall While it would be nice if your clients bought every coverage you proposed, unfortunately that is not the reality. So whether the client is brand new or one that you have had for a number of years, there will be coverages that you proposed that they decline. One of the keys involves the manner in which you not only record their declination but also secure / provide written confirmation of their decision. There are a number of issues that an agency needs to deal with regarding declined coverages. An obvious key one is that the confirmation reflecting the declined coverages is handled promptly. This does not mean when the policies are delivered or when you get around to it, it means promptly or said another way “as soon as possible”.
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Some agencies will use the proposal and request that the client sign off on those coverages that were not purchased. This method is popular but not necessarily totally effective. If an agent were going to use this approach, the key is that they secure the signature of the client on ALL declined coverages. Without this degree of discipline, the client could contend that since they did not since off on it, that means that they wanted it.
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Probably the most advocated position involves a written confirmation of some sort back to the client memorializing their decision. This can be handled by a couple of different ways:
The Independent Insurance Agent.
Provide the insured with a manual or electronic copy of the new or renewal proposal marked up with each change and the revision date. Upon binding, provide a “thank you for your business” letter that includes a point-by-point reference to the accepted and declined coverage. There are also times where the client requests a midterm coverage proposal, maybe for cyber coverage or an umbrella. While it may have been personally delivered, there is also the chance that it was sent to them FYI Express
Page 26
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