e-Insight - February 2022 by Big I Illinois

FEBRUARY 2022

INSIGHT How to

Increase

Insurance Sales in the

Digital Age Building a Sales Culture in Your Agency The Road to Predictable Growth Requires Alignment

Plus

Why Prospects Ghost You and What To Do About It

INSURANCE PROGRAM MANAGERS GROUP CLAIMS MANAGEMENT SERVICES

IN THE WORLD OF INSURANCE, CLAIMS DO HAPPEN. IPMG’s Claims Management Services division (CMS) is that partner. As a full-service claims management company, IPMG CMS accepts the responsibility and expects to be held accountable for the results we achieve on behalf of our clients.

SERVICES AND RESOURCES: » » » »

» » » » » » » » » »

Workers’ compensation claims management Property and liability claims management Auto liability and physical damage claims management Professional liability claims management » Strong emphasis on public entity and long-term care sectors Nurse case management Risk management/loss control Medical bill review Pharmacy benefit management Aggressive litigation management Utilization review Electronic claim reporting with immediate acknowledgment and adjuster assignment 4-hour assigned adjuster contact on every claim Online claim review including adjuster notes and financials Industry leading analytics with national database for benchmarking purposes

INTERNAL QUALITY CONTROL AND COST CONTAINMENT PRACTICES: » Adjuster book of business analysis – to ensure workload does not affect service levels » Closing ration analysis – a monthly review to ensure adjusters are achieving maximum production » Claims diary tracking » Formal litigation handling guidelines and practices » Comprehensive medical bill review – average 59% cost reduction » Pharmacy benefit program – average 35% cost reduction » ISO claims search » Medicare section 111 data reporting and compliance

For more information please contact:

MIKE CASTRO

BOB SPRING

Sr. VP, Claims Management Services Mike.Castro@ipmg.com 630.485.5895

VP, New Business Development Bob.Spring@ipmg.com 630.485.5885

Editor & Graphic Design - Rachel Romines

Advertising - Tami Hubbell

February 2022

CONTENTS 15

8 13 15

How to Increase Insurance Sales in the Digital Age

18 24 26 28 29

Why Prospects Ghost You and What to Do About It

Save the Date: Insurance Industry Legislative Day Building a Sales Culture in Your Agency By Kelly Donahue-Piro

Want Different Results from Hiring Producers? Then Use a Different Approach By Daniel Smith

By Steli Efti

The Road to Predictable Growth Requires Alignment By Roger Sitkins

By John Chapin

Introducing Catalyit Six Common Causes of Agents’ E&O Claims By Tabitha DeGirolano

In This Issue

The Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois (IIA of IL) has been providing members with a sustainable competitive advantage since 1899.

7 9 10 17

Brett’s 2 Sense Trusted Choice Industry

e-Insight

30 32 33 34

Associate News Board of Directors Profiles IIA of IL News Classifieds

info@iiaofil.org | www.iiaofil.org | (800) 628-6436 or (217) 793-6660 | Fax: (217) 793-6744 WINNER

2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021

Insight is the official publication of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois (IIA of IL). The magazine is published monthly for the members of the IIA of IL, with the office located at 4360 Wabash Avenue, Springfield, Illinois 62711-7009; Consumer Website: www.ChooseIndependent.com. The IIA of IL welcomes letters discussing concerns of the insurance industry, articles, editorials, other matters of interest to the membership. The editor reserves the right to edit and select submissions for publication. Address submissions for review to Rachel Romines at rromines@iiaofil.org. For advertising information, contact Tami Hubbell at thubbell@iiaofil.org.

ADVERTISERS

Board of Directors Executive Committee

Regional Directors Region 1 | James Sager (618) 322-9891 | jball36@hotmail.com Region 2 | Ray Roentz (618) 639-2244 | ray.roentz@hwcrins.com

ACUITY

APPLIED UNDERWRITERS

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY GUARD INS. GROUP

ENVISION

GRINNELL MUTUAL

INDEPENDENT MARKET SOLUTIONS

2 Cover Tip

IPMG OMAHA NATIONAL

UNITED FIRE GROUP

WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE CO.

IIA of Illinois Staff Director of Information and Technology Shannon Churchill - (217) 321-3004 - schurchill@iiaofil.org

Director of Government Relations Evan Manning - (217) 321-3002 - emanning@iiaofil.org

Director of Education and Agency Resources Brett Gerger, CIC - (217) 321-3006 - bgerger@iiaofil.org

Office Administrator Kristi Osmond, CISR - (217) 321-3007 - kosmond@iiaofil.org

Accounting & Admin Services Tami Hubbell, CIC - (217) 321-3016 - thubbell@iiaofil.org

Director of Communications Rachel Romines - (217) 321-3024 - rromines@iiaofil.org

Director of Human Resources, Board Admin Jennifer Jacobs, SHRM-CP Director of Membership Services Tom Ross, CRIS, CPIA - (217) 321-3013 - jjacobs@iiaofil.org - (217) 321-3003 - tross@iiaofil.org Sr. Vice President/Chief Financial Officer Mark Kuchar Products & Services Administrator Janet White, CISR - (217) 321-3015 - mkuchar@iiaofil.org - (217) 321-3010 - jwhite.indep12@insuremail.net Chief Executive Officer Phil Lackman, IOM Director of Prof. Liability & Ins. Products Carol Wilson, CPIA - (217) 321-3005 - plackman@iiaofil.org - (217) 321-3011 - cwilson.indep12@insuremail.net Central/Southern Marketing Representative Lori Mahorney, CISR Elite - (217) 415-7550 - lmahorney@iiaofil.org

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DEC

SALES IMPACT REPORT & WORKSHOP IDENTIFY YOUR SELLING STRENGTHS and the BUYING BEHAVIORS o{YOUR PROSPECTS

Master the art of selling by learning how your sales style influences buying decisions.

Whether you are new to selling or a seasoned sales veteran, the Maxwell Sales Impact Report & Workshop will undoubtedly guide you to impactful results. This report helps you discover your selling style and ways to maximize it. It also offers awareness of the various buying styles of your clients. If you sell any product, service, or a combination thereof, this report will equip you to: • IDENTIFY YOUR PREFERRED STYLE OF SELLING and understand your sales strengths and limitations. • LEARN HOW TO CONNECT WITH POTENTIAL BUYERS and find out what makes them tick. • USING THE MATRIX OF CUSTOMER BUYING STYLES, learn how to sel I to every type of person. • Receive a detailed SALES IMPACT REPORT and get a clear picture of how to improve your sales RESULTS and PERFORMANCE.

Find out more at www.iiaofil.org/Education

Sales Too often, agents focus on educational programs that provide them with a more in-depth look into various products such as commercial casualty, commercial property, and even deeper dives into specific products such as workers’ compensation or equipment breakdown coverages. This is all good and needed, but agents tend to neglect the largest aspect of what they do, and that is selling. Company products don’t differ very much hence ISO forms. If company products varied that much, ISO forms would not exist. At the end of the day, in the independent channel of selling, the consumer is buying you, the agent. If you merely present products and your knowledge of products, you will find that your time in this industry will be short-lived. You need to learn how to sell not only your products but yourself. As I have said in previous articles, product knowledge is valuable, and a designation behind your name, such as CIC, CPCU, etc. will impart that to consumers without saying a word. If you don’t hone or sharpen your sales skills, you will consistently lose business to agents that are working on their sales techniques. In today’s world, sales have changed so much due to consumers having changed drastically and how they do business in this digital world. Agents need to be able to assess potential clients quickly and be able to pivot even quicker when they identify how particular consumers prefer to do business. The age-old adage, “You only get one chance at a first impression,” has never rung truer. Due to COVID and the digital age, the marketplace has never been larger. Agents can solicit and quote risks from nearly anywhere. It used to be that you worried about competitors within 25-50 miles, and now geography doesn’t matter to some consumers. We know that price will drive most transactions, but good sales training can help you to get consumers to seriously consider other factors that may make paying a little more acceptable and a viable solution. Many insurers have training programs that provide product and sales training for a substantial cost to your agency. Some of these insurer programs can cost $5,000 or more per agent. For many agencies, this is not a viable option due to cost, but what is the actual cost to your agency if you consistently lose business to competitors who are doing sales training?

Brett’s 2Sense One of the courses the association is offering is the “Sales Impact Report & Workshop,” which is a Maxwell Method of Selling program. I personally took the assessment for this workshop and was astounded by the report that it generated. The assessment literally took me 20 minutes, and the report was frighteningly accurate. I have taken many personality assessments throughout my career, and none have been more accurate. The workshop does a deep dive into what your assessment means and helps you identify your selling style. You will get a clear picture of how to connect with potential buyers, in-depth learning of how to use the matrix of buying styles, and provide you with a clear picture of how to improve your sales results and performance. This workshop will even help you better understand relationships with co-workers or employees on a much deeper level in order to better achieve your agency’s organizational goals. This is the ultimate sales class that will most definitely provide you and your agency with a competitive edge. For what the course provides you, the price is a steal. The instructor, Steve Bellman could sell you your own shirt at $10 more than you paid for it and make you think that you got a deal (it’s scary how good he is and what he teaches). You may find upcoming classes at www.iiaofil.org/education. Regardless if you take the association’s course offering or not, you need to really consider doing something sooner rather than later in educating yourself and your staff on how to sell more efficiently and effectively in order to keep pace with your competition. In the near future, the association will look to offer more sales-related education offerings to provide you with a complete educational experience. In hindsight, I should’ve had Steve Bellman write this article, and our server would have crashed due to all the registrations. Should you have any questions regarding this issue, do not hesitate to reach out to me directly. As always, this is just Brett’s 2 Sense, and I hope it was helpful. If you need any clarification or have any suggestions for future articles, please email me at bgerger@iiaofil.org.

Brett Gerger | IIA of IL Director of Education & Agency Resources bgerger@iiaofil.org | (217) 321-3006 february 2022

insight

SAVE THE DATE

Monday, March 21 Virtual • 2:00 - 4:00 pm

More information coming soon to

www.insurancelegislativeday.org

Thank You! Agents

We appreciate your support in 2021 and wish you the very best for the new year.

Commercial Lines | Personal Lines

See state availability at www.guard.com

insight

february 2022

Free to do what's right for you.SM

TrustedChoice.com’s Best of 2021: What IA Success Looks Like 2021 was full of unknowns. Whether you spent it at home or in the office, you proved this year that digital-forward, independent agents are the future of the insurance industry. This past year, we put our best foot forward to support the network of dedicated IA agencies who keep us the #1 online resource for connecting insurance shoppers with independent agents. Here are a handful of ways we did it.

New Features: New Advantage Subscription Options This year, we launched a variety of new subscription types. No matter what stage of business your agency is in, we made sure there’s an Advantage subscription suited to your needs. Be understood, found, recommended, and even referred with an Advantage subscription designed to get any agency noticed online. TrustedChoice.com’s Site Redesign Independent agents got a leg-up on the homepage this year. The TrustedChoice.com site overhaul features a live data feed of real, local referrals and boasts a more mobilefriendly interface with better accessibility and performance for a higher Google ranking. National IA Directory Redesign We redesigned our National Directory of Independent Insurance Agents to include all Trusted Choice agency partners and help consumers easily find Advantage agencies online. Shoppers can now browse according to city and state and enter their needs into the shopper funnel to explore a list of matching Advantage agencies. Agency Profile Redesign With features like a bolder call-to-action, more data for team member profiles, links to company partners, and increased Search Engine Optimization (SEO) performance, we’re helping Advantage agency profiles stand out more than ever. New Resource Center We revealed a new Advantage website for the IA channel. It is a one-stop place for agents and insurance companies to learn how to maximize their digital footprint, get insight and news from industry influencers, and connect with new insurance providers. And SO MUCH MORE! It is our goal for 2022 to continue innovating and helping independent agents, just like you, be found online. Let us give you a boost this year. Upgrade to the Advantage subscription of your choice, and enjoy all of 2021’s features as well as what’s in store for 2022. Join our network of dedicated, independent insurance agents today. Go to www.trustedchoice.com/advantage for details.

february 2022

insight

INSIGHT | industry

Fourth Quarter 2021 Personal Lines Rates Up 4.25%

2021 Marks Tenth Consecutive Year of Rate Increases

By MarketScout

Personal lines rates were up 4.25 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. Homeowners, personal articles, and auto rates all moderated slightly from the third to the fourth quarter 2021. Richard Kerr, CEO of MarketScout commented, “The composite national personal lines market continues to steadily adjust rates as necessary without year-overyear massive rate increases. However, for CAT exposed properties, rate increases can be dramatic; as much as twenty-five to forty percent in areas such as the wildfire corridors of California or Southern portions of Florida.” The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research conducted pricing surveys used in MarketScout’s analysis of market conditions. These surveys help to further corroborate MarketScout’s actual findings, mathematically driven by new and renewal placements across the United States. Summary of annual personal lines average rate increases 2021 to 2021.

A summary of the fourth quarter 2021 personal lines rates is set forth below.

Personal Lines Homeowners under $1,000,000 value

Up 3.7%

Homeowners over $1,000,000 value

Up 6.3%

Automobile

Up 4%

Personal Articles

Up 3%

MarketScout, an insurance distribution and underwriting company headquartered in Dallas, compiles the Commercial and Personal Lines Market Barometers. The firm is a Lloyd’s Coverholder and MGA for U.S. insurers. MarketScout owns and operates the MarketScout Exchange as well as over 40 other online and traditional underwriting and distribution venues. 10

insight

february 2022

industry | INSIGHT

Property and Casualty Rates Up in Fourth Quarter 2021 Annual Composite Rate Increases Continue for Fifth Year in a Row The fourth quarter 2021 composite rate was up 5.8 percent as compared to up 6.8 percent for the third quarter 2021. By line of coverage, the biggest rate increases in the fourth quarter were for umbrella, property and directors and officers liability. However, every line of coverage except BOP had the same or a lower increase in the fourth quarter as compared to the preceding third quarter. Rates moderated for all account sizes with medium sized accounts ($25,000 premium $250,000 premium) moderating the most at plus 5.3 percent in the fourth quarter as compared to plus 7.3 percent in the third quarter. All industry classifications were assessed lower rate increases in the fourth quarter with habitational rates moderating the most at an increase of 7 percent as compared to plus 9 percent in the third quarter 2021.

The following graphic reflects rate changes in US commercial insurance for the last 20 years.

By MarketScout

Richard Kerr, CEO of MarketScout noted, “The fourth quarter 2021 reflects moderation in rate increases. However, when comparing rates for the entirety of 2021, rates did increase from plus 5.6 percent in 2020 to plus 6.6 percent in 2021.” The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research conducted pricing surveys used in MarketScout’s analysis of market conditions. These surveys help to further corroborate MarketScout’s actual findings, mathematically driven by new and renewal placements across the United States. A summary of the fourth quarter 2021 rates by coverage, industry class and account size is set forth below.

By Coverage Class Commercial Property

Up 8.3%

Business Interruption

Up 6%

Up 5%

BOP

Up 5.3%

Medium Accounts - $25,001 – $250,000

Up 5.3%

Inland Marine

Up 4.3%

Large Accounts - $250,001 – $1 million

Up 6.7%

General Liability

Up 5.3%

Up 6.7%

Umbrella/Excess

Up 11%

Commercial Auto

Up 6.7%

Workers’ Compensation

Up 0%

By Account Size Small Accounts - Up to $25,000

Jumbo Accounts - Over $1 million

By Industry Class

Professional Liability

Up 6.3%

Manufacturing

Up 6.3%

D&O Liability

Up 10.3%

Contracting

Up 6%

EPLI

Up 8%

Service

Up 5.7%

Fiduciary

Up 1.7%

Habitational

Up 7%

Crime

Up 1.3%

Public Entity

Up 3.7%

Surety

Up 1.3%

Transportation

Up 10.3%

Energy

Up 5%

february 2022

insight

It shouldn’t take a four-foot diameter oak tree in your customer’s kitchen to find out who you can trust.

BUT SOMETIMES IT DOES. And that’s the Silver Lining®.

Building a Sales Culture in Your Agency: Insurance Sales Coaching By Kelly Donahue-Piro When you’re trying to build a sales culture in your agency, there’s one key to unlocking your team’s sales potential: insurance sales coaching. If you have people of all different levels of sales skills now trying to strengthen this one area, insurance sales coaching is vital. It’s like taking a caterpillar and trying to transform it into a butterfly. Insurance sales coaching is the element that can help you get there. “We’re trying to take that caterpillar and transform them into a butterfly, and coaching is really the key to this.” Yes, insurance sales coaching takes time from leadership and management, but we believe it’s necessary, and that everyone can become better at coaching. Here’s what else you need to know about insurance sales coaching: You Need a Plan Having a plan for your insurance sales coaching is vital. If you simply try to shift to a sales culture and don’t provide resources for your team, it’s like sending them up a creek without a paddle. Everyone thinks they’re great at crossselling, everyone thinks they don’t miss quotes, everyone thinks they’re doing just fine. But it’s up to leadership and management to come up with a plan to successfully coach their team to new heights. Set One Target

Get Help if You Need it You don’t have to tackle coaching alone. Coaching might seem overwhelming, but there are tons of resources out there to help you. For example, you can use training resources, or approach your training in a group format. If there’s one thing that’s for certain about building a sales culture, it’s that it takes time. Change won’t happen overnight, but by using insurance sales coaching, you can help ensure that your entire team is well-equipped to shift to a sales culture. Kelly Donahue-Piro, founder and president of Agency Performance Partners, is a no-nonsense effectiveness expert who has helped hundreds of insurance agencies identify and capitalize on sustainable improvement opportunities. Her specialties include agency culture assessment and change; management and supervisory coaching and benchmarking; customer retention strategy development; digital marketing strategy, planning and implementation; and sales planning, management and skill-building. Kelly is an engaging speaker who is available to conduct in-person and online agency success presentations that complement her firm’s one-on-one on-site and virtual consulting practice. Connect with her on social platforms, via email at kelly@agencyperformancepartners.com, or by phone at (401) 415-6205.

A big mistake with insurance sales coaching is that sometimes too many targets are set. When you’re coaching, you should sit down with a team member, have a meeting, and set a target. And generally it is just one thing at a time. Maybe someone needs to strengthen their closings, work on their multi-lining, or get more leads in their pipeline. You can then meet with them every two weeks until that goal is up and running.

february 2022

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Want Different Results from Hiring Producers? Then Use a New Approach By Daniel Smith For years I’ve talked to agents about their strategy in hiring producers. Typically, they’d love to hire a producer that already knows in insurance and can hit the ground running on day one. They’d also like to pay them somewhere around or below the market rate and then let them earn more once they’ve proven their abilities. Add that to the non-compete and non-solicit agreements, and then pile on the length of time for them to be vested and/or gain any ownership stake – and you don’t really have an attractive offering. I’d like to submit a different approach that I have seen lead to a lot of success: Hire a Salesperson That Knows an Industry It is highly likely that your agency has specialties. Even if you’re a generalist, you still probably focus or have a larger book in certain areas. Hire someone that has a background in your areas of specialty, and then teach and/or train them on insurance. If your agency has a strong service and support staff, the insurance piece will be someone that can be developed faster than the relationship and sales piece. However, if you hire someone with industry relationships they can build on (e.g. hiring an alcohol distributor rep will bring restaurant and bar relationships, hiring a freight broker will bring trucking/transportation relationships, hiring a real estate or title agent will bring personal lines relationships, etc.) then you have a path to sales growth. Invest in Their Development Put your money where your mouth is. Give them learning goals as well as sales goals. Have them participate in your sales meetings and calls. Give them a path to their own financial growth. Have your staff work with them to understand their areas of expertise. As they get better, they’ll be a bigger asset for your agency and increase your value. Afraid they’ll leave after they learn? Give them reasons to stay (ownership paths, bonuses, etc.) instead of scaring them with legal agreements. february 2022

Treat Them Like Partner As your producer develops, get feedback and input from them. Wondering about your sales processes and service procedures? Want to know if you’re really getting ROI on that AMS, CRM, etc.? Ask the people that use these things the most, including producers. Their opinions may help you save or even make more money. The owners still get to make the decisions, but they will be more informed. Feed What They Care About There is a lot of talk about the multigenerational workforce and how we all “don’t get” each other. Want to improve that with your producers? Find out what they care about and support it. Do they want to support their community and charities? Develop a donation matching program or give them time during the year to volunteer. Are they in the midst of building a family? Offer flexible scheduling for them or hybrid schedules. Are they focused on building their book and their success? Help them find additional mentors and potentially pay for sales coaching. These aren’t all “one size fits all” approaches, but they can be adapted to almost any producer-hiring scenario. They will also be dependent on the culture of your agency. If you care about, involve, and want to help your staff succeed first – the above should be easy. If you care about yourself, your profits, and your legacy first – the above may prove difficult. The interesting thing is, if you really do the former, you’ll still achieve the latter. Daniel Smith, CAE is the Chief Marketing Officer and Co-founder of Market Retrievers, a digital marketing firm focused on building and implementing strategies for independent insurance agencies. He previously worked for the independent agents association in Tennessee for over 14 years and served as the CMO and COO. He is also a licensed P&C agent. He may be reached at dsmith@marketretrievers.com. insight

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e INSIGHT -

online journal at www.iiaofil.org/Resources/Insight

FE BR UA RY

20 22

INSIGH T Ho

Increwato se Ins uranc

e Sale s Digitain the l Age

Buildin g a Sa les Cu lture in The Ro Your A ad to P gency redicta ble Gro wth Re Plus quires Alig W hy P and W rospects Gho hat To Do Abost You ut It

nment

10 Awesome Insurance Sales Tips for New Insurance Agents By Annette Gannon

In this month’s e-Insight. february 2022

insight

How to

Increase

Insurance Sales in the

Digital Age

12 modern strategies the experts are using to boost sales By Steli Efti

Insurance, as with every industry, has been constantly evolving over the years. New technology and innovations have filled a once mundane, generic industry with new life. That said, the insurance industry as a whole is continuing to grow. In fact, according to studies by Policy Advice, in 2015 insurance carriers contributed more to the US GDP than banks for the first time in history, and the trend has continued up to now. There’s insurance for pretty much everything you can imagine now: Besides the most common insurances of years past, you can insure everything from a dancer’s legs to a pianist’s fingers, or even get insurance to cover damages caused by alien abduction! Over time, though, what customers expect of an insurance firm has also changed. For example, a study by Bain & Company found that 79% of consumers will use a digital channel for insurance interactions. They also found that customers have much higher expectations for their interactions with insurance firms, requiring more seamless interaction that’s convenient for the consumer. How can insurance firms, both old and new, continue to please their customers and increase sales while adapting to the modern world of insurance?

12 Strategies to Boost Your Insurance Sales Process in the Modern Age of Insurance While some of these strategies have stood the test of time, others are new methods that you should be including in your insurance sales process. Learn these strategies to become a master of the modern age of insurance.

• First, you’ll show them you’re an expert in the kind of insurance you sell • Second, you’ll establish trust by taking an interest in them and their needs To do this, find ways to explain the insurance options and coverage in simple terms. Don’t spend hours monologuing on insurance coverages and options: instead, give them a simple explanation and use questions to dig into what they really need. “You have to bring it down to the customer’s language,” explained Avi Ben-Hutta of Coverager in one interview. “Work with the premise that if you guide them, they will buy. It’s a matter of building confidence, especially in personal lines.” While it may take some extra time, positioning yourself as an advisor and educator from the start of your relationship will help you gain (and keep) the trust of your prospects. 2. Give fewer options This psychological hack may seem like the opposite of what you should do. While giving more options may feel like the best way to win new customers, evidence shows that the more choices people are given, the less likely they are to purchase something. This idea was called ‘the paradox of choice’ in psychologist Barry Schwartz’s famous TED Talk. He shows that having too many choices can actually paralyze us.

1. Be an educator and advisor, not just an agent

For your insurance sales, that means giving more choices can actually paralyze your prospects and cause them to put off making a decision.

For the average consumer, insurance is confusing and frustrating.

To reduce the options available, however, you need to know exactly what your prospects actually need.

Whether you’re selling life insurance to individuals or business-related insurance to companies, it’s unlikely your customer is really familiar with the types of insurance available to them.

What’s the best way to find that out?

What they do know is this: Choosing the right insurance policy with the right company is a big decision. That’s why, before you even think about selling, you need to establish credibility and trust with your prospect. We asked insurance expert Don Bailey how the sales process for insurance differs from a typical sales process. He responded: “Since the insurance sale involves an intangible product (a promise), the credibility of the seller is critical. Given that, the sales cycle is often longer than a tangible product sale.” Here’s where being an educator and advisor comes in. By helping the prospect understand how the insurance works and taking an interest in their particular needs, you’ll do two things: february 2022

“Listening,” insurance expert Don Bailey told us. “Listening drives more sales than talking ever will. It’s essential to learn about your client and understand them. When you do, they’ll trust you, and you’ll make the sale.” Don’t give your prospects a thousand options to choose from themselves. Listen to them, and you’ll be able to give them what they actually need. Thus, by giving fewer options, you can actually boost your insurance sales. 3. Personalize the insurance experience In today’s world, customers demand a personalized experience. In fact, based on research from Accenture, 77% are willing to share their usage and behavior data in exchange for lower premiums and personalized coverage recommendations. continued...

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By diving into the data and personalizing the experience for your customers, you’ll develop a more loyal bond and will stand out from the crowd. That said, only 22% of consumers say that the companies they do business with tailor their experience based on personalized data. If you take a step forward in personalization for your customers, you’ll stand out from the crowd and increase insurance sales. How much could this benefit you? Well, the same study found that 58% of consumers say they’d switch half or more of their spending to a provider that excels at personalizing experiences without compromising trust. “The era of the insurance generalist is over,” Don Bailey, partner at Bristlecone Partners, told us. “The seller must be an expert in the customer’s risk environment.” So, go beyond the basic data. Try different lead discovery tools. Find out more about your customers. If you sell home insurance, for example, learn about the habits and records of the homeowners. Maybe you can lower the premium for a customer who lives in an area where there are much fewer break-ins than the average for their state, or has received much better maintenance than average. By diving into the data and personalizing the experience for your customers, you’ll develop a more loyal bond and will stand out from the crowd. 4. Hone your storytelling skills Most insurance agents have a few great horror stories that they keep up their sleeves to hard-sell a prospect when the time is right. Don’t be that insurance agent. Instead, hone your storytelling skills to create an emotional connection without falling back on fear. In the end, fear is not the most powerful purchase motivator. Sure, buying insurance is all about preparing for tragedies and the risks associated with life. But there are good stories you can use that don’t lead with fear. For example, someone who sells life insurance has probably had the experience of giving a check to a family in need that allowed them to stabilize their lives. • An agent that sells health insurance may have helped a parent with low income get an expensive treatment that saved their life. • A life insurance agent could have helped set up and deliver on a policy that gave grieving family members what they needed to get through difficult times. • A home insurance agent may have seen how having the right policy helped a family whose home suffered damage during a storm. Stories like these, when used properly, can help motivate a prospect to purchase without using lowball tactics like 20

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fear-based selling. 5. Create Smart Views to organize leads by their policy expiration date The best way to boost your insurance sales is to make sure that your leads don’t fall through the cracks. For example, let’s say you reach out to a prospect that’s interested in switching insurance companies, but their current policy doesn’t expire for another 6 months. This prospect is likely to purchase insurance from you, but it’s your job to make sure they don’t get lost in the cracks until the timing is right. That’s where using a tool like Close CRM can help. In Close, you can create custom Smart Views, allowing you to group leads together by your own criteria. In this case, you can create lists that tell you when to follow up on certain prospects. Using the example above, you could create a custom status for your prospects that tells you when their policy expires. Then, build Smart Lists that groups those prospects together based on when you need to follow up. You can also use Close to set reminders to follow up with certain prospects at a certain time. That way, no lead will slip through the cracks. 6. Build relationships virtually by using the communication methods your prospects prefer There is no ‘best’ communication channel for all of your prospects. You need to be ready to take on all forms of communication with your prospects and build a completely seamless conversation over different channels. When we asked insurance expert Don Bailey which is the biggest change in the insurance sales process he’s seen in the last year, he responded: “The move towards virtual selling. It’s a relationship business, and now relationships must be forged and fostered on a virtual basis.” Remember: The goal is to get your prospects to purchase, so you need to create a simple line from awareness to a closed deal. To accomplish this, you need to do two things: • First, get a deeper understanding of the journey your customers take • Second, make sure your communication from different channels is centralized in one spot First, to get a deeper understanding of your customer journey, you’ll need to dig into the data and research. You can start by looking at current customer data, pinpointing where they entered from, how they became aware of your company, and what communication channels they used to get to a purchase decision. february 2022

Since there is no one-size-fits-all solution for communication, you’ll need to understand all of the different methods your customers use and love. To get a deeper look, talk to your customers. Use surveys to find out more about your customers’ communication preferences. What do they like or dislike about communicating with your firm or agents?

John F. Carroll of InsuranceSplash shares his thoughts: “Don’t brag about your iPhone app if the prospect doesn’t have a smartphone and don’t oversell the convenience of an agency website with online customer service if your client prefers to speak to a human on the phone. In either case, they’ll perceive that they’re paying extra for benefits they don’t value.”

Once you have this information, it’s time to make those communication channels seamless.

Also, remember that there is a value that doesn’t have a price tag: For example, the insurance policies you sell can give peace of mind or well-being to a family who needs it. Those feelings are a priceless value that you’re bringing to your customers.

So, if a customer comes in through a form on your website, can you easily pick up the conversation via phone or email? Using the right CRM system, you can smooth out communication and build a process that attracts your customers instead of frustrating them. For example, let’s say a prospect that’s interested in car insurance inputs information about the kind of car they drive, where they live, and how long they’ve had their license into the form on your website. That information must be automatically stored in your CRM, otherwise, you’ll end up asking the same questions over again when you get them on the phone (which, let’s face it, is frustrating for them and for you). With a CRM like Close, you can manage phone calls, virtual meetings, emails, and SMS messages through the CRM itself. But it gets better: You can also integrate Close with all of your favorite marketing and communication tools, like Drift, Facebook, Intercom, 99Inbound, and more! That means your interactions with prospects across all channels will be saved in your CRM. You’ll not only boost productivity, you’ll create a seamless experience for your prospects and customers.

8. Establish a cross-selling system One surefire way to increase your insurance sales is to cross-sell and upsell to your current customers. If you sell multiple types of insurance, there’s likely another policy this customer might need. The key is to know when to cross-sell insurance to a customer. In insurance, it’s best to focus on the immediate needs first, then follow up later on to offer them another policy they may need. To make sure you follow up at the right time, be sure to get the X-dates on policies they have with another company. Save the follow-up date in your CRM 4-6 weeks before their current policy’s X-date, and you’ll be coming in at the right time when they’re thinking about that particular policy. In Close, setting specific follow-ups is easy. Just go into the prospect, add a task, and set the follow-up date. Then, a reminder will pop up in your inbox right when you need it.

7. Sell based on value, not on price

9. Measure your results and adjust accordingly

Since prospects are automatically attracted to a lower price-tag, does that mean you should try to offer the lowest price?

We know you’re a hustler, and you’re doing your best to get new insurance sales using different channels.

In a word, no. Even though this method may win you a sale today, you’re much more likely to be replaced by a cheaper competitor in the future if the customer doesn’t understand the value of having their insurance policy with your company. To sell insurance effectively, you need to base your argument on value, not on price. When you can prove to a prospect the value of what you’re offering, that will not only sell them today: it will help them stay loyal to your company in the future. Value-based selling only works when you understand what’s valuable to this particular customer. For example, you can show the value of your updated communication systems but only do so once you understand how they like to communicate.

But, which of those channels is really working for you? To better direct your efforts, you need to measure results and see what brings the biggest ROI. For a quick overview of the situation, start by analyzing your current customers based on how you found them. Do you see a pattern in your top customers and the way they found you? Are there certain methods that you’re using now without much success? To take a deeper dive into what’s working and what’s not, you’ll need to set up sales analytics and a proper sales pipeline. While this will take more time, it will allow you to analyze your sales process and understand where you can improve. continued...

Insurance is a relationship business. You need to build trust in your prospects before they’ll even think of buying from you, which is why listening to them and guiding them with real advice is so essential to winning deals. february 2022

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MEMBERSHIP MEANS MARKET ACCESS FREE MARKET ACCESS FOR YOUR AGENCY WHEN YOU NEED IT Let’s face it – Independent agents need good markets to be competitive. Greater access means more opportunities for success. WE’RE HERE TO HELP. Independent Market Solutions creates company relationships for agents who may be unable to secure appointments on their own. Through association membership, agents can access multiple insurance carriers and grow their business into long-term, direct appointments. 22

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WWW.IIAOFIL.ORG/IMS

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You’ll be able to answer questions such as:

12. Know your competition

• How many leads did I get this month from Facebook ads? • How many insurance sales did I make this year from leads that came from referrals? • Which lead generation method generated the most profit during the last 6 months?

Keep your friends close but your enemies closer: this is especially important in business.

With the right analysis tools in place (like your CRM), you’ll have a clear view of what’s working. Then, you can refocus your efforts on the methods that bring you the greatest success.

It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on your competitors. Know who they are, how they’re gaining customers, and what specifically they’re offering.

10. Maximize your referral sales If you’ve ever gotten a referral from a customer, you know how valuable those leads can be. A referral is more likely to become a successful customer for two reasons: • If they trust the person who recommended you, they’ll trust you more from the start • The customer who recommended them knows both you and the person, so they’re more likely to fit what you’re offering So how can you maximize these valuable referrals? Although most people are willing to give a referral, too many insurance agents forget to ask. So, make asking for a referral part of your process. As soon as the deal is closed, ask your new customer if they know anyone who could be interested in a better insurance policy. Once you have a few referral sales, measure the results. If you see that those referrals are valuable enough for your business, you can even step up your game by offering a reward to customers who bring referrals. Something simple, such as a gift card, a free meal at a local restaurant, or a small discount on their policy, could be enough to motivate your customers to refer more of their friends. 11. Set aside time to work on customer retention While increasing your insurance sales with new leads is important, remember that giving your current customers some love will also help you build your revenue. So, spend some time building your relationship with current customers. Be available when they need you. For example, how responsive are you when a customer calls to make a claim? Are you as available to them then as you were when you were first signing them? Another way to retain your customers is to offer regular revisions of their policy. When you spend a little bit of time looking over their current situation during the year, you can make sure they have the best policy, or that they’re getting all the discounts they’re entitled to. That will help your customers feel confident about the services you’re providing and will help prevent them from churning to get a discount with another company.

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So, what is your competition doing to get more insurance customers?

There are several ways this benefits you: • Find out what methods are working for them: For example, maybe they’re offering a gift card for every quote they give. Is this attracting new customers to them? Can you offer something similar? • Learn what their policies include (or don’t include): How do their policies compare with yours? Can you improve your offering to compete better? • Respond better to objections: If your prospects are comparing policies with different companies, your understanding of your competitors helps you respond better to their objections. Keep tabs on what your competitors do online, how their website is set up, and what promotions they’re running to build new clientele. You can also call your competitors as a prospect to get a better understanding of their process. All this will give the insights you need to build your own sales process and beat your competition.

Adapt to the Modern Age of Insurance Sales The insurance industry will keep on changing. But by using this mixture of old and new sales techniques, you’ll be able to keep closing deals and giving your customers what they actually need. Remember: Insurance is a relationship business. You need to build trust in your prospects before they’ll even think of buying from you, which is why listening to them and guiding them with real advice is so essential to winning deals. More than that, you’ll need to build your virtual selling skills to adapt to the digital age of insurance sales. With these strategies, you’ll be able to provide for the changing needs of your customers. But to organize and analyze your results, you’ll need an agile system for tracking and reporting your insurance sales. This article originally appeared on the Close blog: https://blog.close.com/insurance-sales/ Steli Efti is the CEO & co-founder of Close, a sales CRMs for startups and SMBs with customizable workflows popular in the insurance industry. Agents and brokers around the world turn more leads into lifelong clients with Close’s simple yet powerful communication features. Learn more and try Close 100% free for 14 days at https://close.com/ insurance-crm/. insight

The Road to Predictable Growth Requires Alignment

By Roger Sitkins Creating predictable and systematic, not sporadic, growth is one of the goals for most agencies. But if that’s true, why are most agencies achieving only a 5% growth rate? Here’s a blinding flash of the obvious (BFO): Your current business model is perfectly designed for you to achieve your current results! In other words, if you have a 5% growth rate, you have a 5% business model. If you are happy with only 5%, stay the course. Keep doing what you’re doing. But if you want to have 2X your current growth, it’s time to update your business model. First, let’s take a look at the characteristics of agencies that get stuck in the 5% business model: • They probably have producers who spend most of their time in non-sales-related activities. • Their pipelines are dripping with suspects. • Their closing ratio is substantially below 50%. • They have a high percentage of part-time clients. • They ignore the 80/20 rule. • Fewer than 5% of their clients give them a referral. • Their team uses less than 50% of the capabilities of their agency management system. Despite all that, it’s still a great business. If that’s the way you operate, you really don’t have to work that hard and you can still be semi-successful, which is great compared to the rest of the world. Of course, you’ll have regrets eventually (I’ve always warned about the semi-successful trap). So if your goal is to be disappointed over missed opportunities, stay the course!

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Assuming you want to 2X your growth, you’ll need to create a predictable and guaranteed 2X business model. What might that look like? As I envision this, it should consist of four phases: Alignment, Green Zone Focus, Retention and Referrals, and Obtaining New Ideal Clients. Phase One: Alignment. Have you ever been driving along and noticed that the vehicle in front of you is obviously out of line? You can see that the body of the vehicle and the wheels are not properly aligned, yet the driver continues moving down the road, seemingly oblivious to the situation. This is something we see way too often in agencies - the lack of alignment between the various departments. Think of these departments as wheels on a car: Sales, Service, Leadership, and Administration/Operations. To achieve a 2X growth rate, all four must be properly lined up. An aligned agency realizes that all of its departments should have a common goal, but it also appreciates the different roles within the organization. The common goal should be to retain and obtain ideal clients. Further, there must be constant communication between four departments, and a culture of accountability. Finally, as proof of alignment, there should be a one-page business plan (a summary of the overall business plan) that everyone can rally around. Otherwise, your agency is out of alignment.

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Regrettably, most agencies don’t have a strategic business plan, or if they do, it’s a voluminous document that gets filed away electronically and rarely, if ever, read. However, when agencies have a dynamic document that can be summarized on a single page, it becomes something that people can easily access and discuss. It should include a mission statement, a vision statement, critical success factors, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and, finally, The One Thing (the single thing you do that enables everything else to fall into place).

Phase Four: Obtaining New Ideal Clients. In case you haven’t heard, commodity-based/price-only selling is a tough game to play successfully. To play at a higher level today, you must have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP that totally differentiates you in the marketplace. Your USP leads to obtaining new ideal clients.

We’ve seen that when agencies are aligned according to a plan that everyone supports, employee engagement grows dramatically. And when employees care about their work, productivity soars.

Maybe you’re used to hearing, “You insurance people are all the same!” or, “Sure, you can give us a quote.” That’s a sign you’re playing the wrong game. You can easily be replaced and, trust me, you will be.

Phase Two: Green Zone Focus. You may recall the two different zones I discussed in a previous article: Red Zone and Green Zone. As the name suggests, The Green Zone consists of the four key activities and strategies that create more “green” (a.k.a. money). They are Sales, Relationship Management, Continuations, and Pipeline Development.

Here’s a question for you and every producer in your agency: How do you think your next great new client wants to meet you? If your focus is on securing future ideal clients, not replicating average clients, they want to be referred to you. They want someone they trust to make an introduction. And they want an expert in their industry or specific business type to provide advice and guidance that their current agency is not providing.

Having an aligned team creates a strong division between sales and service, which frees producers to invest the majority of their time in the Green Zone. Time Spent Selling (TSS) is a new KPI. Our 2X model calls for producers to be in the Green Zone 80% of the time. Phase Three: Retention and Referrals. Once we have the two foundational phases in place, Alignment and Green Zone, we focus on retaining ideal clients and earning referrals from them. As I’m sure you’re aware, retention starts with changing your focus from renewing accounts to continuing relationships. While I know you’ve heard this before, what have you done in this area? How have you changed? My focus here is on the top 20% of your accounts that generate 80% of your revenue. It’s about having a critical path that you actually follow. This should include your policy installation appointment, your risk management plan, your six-month promise/stewardship report, marketplace strategies, and guaranteed continuations. It’s about delivering such an amazing client experience that they all become raving fans and multipliers. By that I mean they multiply themselves when you ask The Ultimate Question: “On a scale of one to 10, how likely are you to refer a friend or associate to me?” If you rate an eight or higher, ask them for a name. However, if the response is five or less, that’s a red flag. You need to find out what’s going on with that account. (FYI: The Ultimate Question is a book of management case studies by Fred Reichheld, showing the link between customer satisfaction and long-term success. If you haven’t read it yet, I strongly urge you to do so ASAP.)

If you don’t have a unique message and you’re still selling based on price only, you’re in a race to the bottom, and that’s a race you do not want to win.

The Bottom Line How would you describe the way your agency operates? Is it aligned or misaligned? Are all four wheels out of sync and giving you a rough ride? Or are they lined up perfectly, with everyone moving in the same direction so that your agency runs smoothly? Remember, same goal and different roles equals total alignment. What’s keeping you from operating optimally? What adjustments are needed to get your agency aligned? Are you committed to achieving significant, ongoing growth or are you just spinning your wheels? It’s your choice. This article is part of the “Rough Notes Winning Strategies” series. Roger Sitkins is the CEO of Sitkins Group, Inc. Visit www. sitkins.com to learn more.

“Integration of goals with varying roles is key”

Imagine how extraordinary it would be if even 50% of your top 20% gave you a referral to your future ideal clients? Most agencies couldn’t handle that amount of new business, but what a great problem to have! You’d grow your revenue by 40%.

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Why Prospect

Ghos What

As salespeople we’ve all had the situation where a decision maker told us they were interested, asked us to follow-up at another time, and now after several follow-up calls and e-mails, we can’t get ahold of them and can’t get them to return our calls. So, why are prospects ghosting you and what can you do about it?

The #1 reason you get ghosted: The prospect was never really interested to begin with. Solution: Make sure people are actually interested. If someone tells you to get back to them at another time, you can’t let that sleeping dog lie, you’ve got to ask some questions to make sure there’s actual interest. It’s as simple as saying, “Absolutely, I’d be happy to call you then. Let me ask you, are you truly interested or are you telling me to call you back because you just don’t want to tell me ‘no?” Keep in mind that the average person does not like to say ‘no’ so instead, they tell you to call back at another time so they can get rid of you for now. If they say they are truly interested, you have to go at least one question deeper and ask something like, “So, is there a particular reason you’re interested in looking at what I have?” Ideally, you’ll get into at least the first few questions of your Initial Appointment Questionnaire. That way you can qualify them a bit further. Either way, it’s important to ask direct questions in a nice way to ensure someone is truly interested. The above works well for most call-me-at-another-time situations. That said, if they give you a long time frame like, “call me back in three months”, open with, “Sure, I’d be happy to call you back then. Let me ask you, what will be different in three months?”

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Bottom line: ask at least two questions to gauge interest. The average salesperson won’t question perceived interest because they don’t want to lose the lead. They’d rather pretend they have a real lead when they don’t.

Reason #2 you get ghosted: While the prospect may have been interested on the initial call, they’ve forgotten why, they may have even forgotten who you are and that you even called on them. Solution: Treat your follow-up calls like a cold call. First, why does someone forget why they were interested or even, who you are? Simple, once you left their office, or ended the phone call, their regular life ensued. They got back to their 73-item to-do list, the 52 hours of work stacked up on their desk, the 46 e-mails in their e-mail box from this morning, oh, and the school nurse called because Johnny fell down during recess and injured his knee and he might have to go to the doctor. After three or four days of this, they get your follow-up call and e-mail. Do you think the prospect: a) remembers specifically what you talked about, b) remembers why they may have been interested in talking to you further, c) is in the same state of mind as the first time they spoke to you, and d) even remembers who you are and that you spoke at all? Especially if this is only your first follow-up call, the odds of the answer being ‘yes’ to all of those questions are astronomically low. To remedy this, it’s imperative that you remind them why they were interested in talking to you. After you identify yourself on the follow-up call, immediately give them your WIIFT (what’s in it for them) Statement, as you did on your cold call.

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st You and t to Do About It By John Chapin For example, an insurance agent might say, “Hi, John Smith with ABC Agency, just following up as promised. Again, I’d really like to see if we can save you up to 23.4% on your workers’ comp insurance.” Also, if they mentioned some things on a previous call, or calls, as to why they are interested in hearing from you again, repeat those. So, for example, after giving your name at the beginning of the call you might say, “Again, I’m getting back to you because I know you were interested in (whatever one, two, or three primary things they were interested in).” A quick note here: you want to use as few words as possible and you want to get the reason or reasons out quickly but, it’s critical to remind them of why they were, or might be, interested in talking to you. By the way, you want to use this format on all follow-up calls, whether it’s the second, third, or nineth call. People need to be reminded of the benefits you can provide. They have too many other things going on to remember the reasons they should be talking to you. Whatever you do, avoid the typical follow-up call, “Hi, it’s John Smith from ABC Company, just following up as promised”. Nine times out of ten, the prospect is thinking “who?” or, “Hm, what exactly did we talk about and why did I agree to talk to him again?” Then they delete the message. Bottom line: on every call, after you identify yourself, remind them of what’s in it for them to talk to you again.

Reason #3 you get ghosted: The prospect is simply super-busy. Solution: Be persistent with your follow-up. Back to the 73-item to-do list, 52 hours of work, 46 e-mails, and all the other things people deal with during the day. People are busy and you’re not always their top priority. Keep in mind that 81% of appointments are set

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after the fourth contact and 80% of salespeople never make it to the fourth contact. You have to follow-up with people at least 13 times before leaving your final message about calling them again in six months.

Reason #4 you get ghosted: The prospect already made a decision that doesn’t involve you. Solution: Persist with your follow-up and ask for “the courtesy of a quick response.” Here are some other things to keep in mind… • Use different contact methods to reach people. • Try reaching people at different times throughout the day. • Stay positive and keep a good attitude. • Always schedule your next call at the end of the current call and lock it down. • Speak with energy and enthusiasm, though not over the top, and speak clearly. • Again, always give people a compelling reason or two to talk to you. John Chapin is a motivational sales speaker, trainer and is the author of the 2010 sales book of the year: Sales Encyclopedia. John can be reached at johnchapin@ completeselling.com.

ghost·ing :the practice of ending a relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication. insight

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6 Common Causes of Agents’ E&O Claims by Tabitha L. DeGirolano, RPLU E&O Risk Management Specialist Executive Commercial Lines Underwriter Utica National Insurance Group Why do insurance agents receive errors and omissions (E&O) claims? Often it is for failing to execute basic transactions that take place many times each day in your agency. The following are some of the most common reasons that agents experience E&O claims:

FAILURE TO PLACE/RENEW COVERAGE For a variety of reasons, an account can “fall through the cracks,” leading to coverage not being bound. Often, this is only discovered once a client submits a claim and realizes there is not coverage in place. Alternatively, coverage may be bound, but not at the terms expected.

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CERTIFICATES OF INSURANCE Many claims begin with a mistake made on a certificate of insurance. This can be the result of listing incorrect limits, including additional insureds that are not covered under the policy, or confirming coverage when the policy has been cancelled.

FAILURE TO OBTAIN/MAINTAIN PROPER COVERAGE For P&C agents, this is the most common source of E&O claims. When a client doesn’t receive the coverage they requested or expected, they look to the agent for relief. A lack of a thorough risk analysis is often the root cause of these problems. For renewals, failure to recognize and communicate coverage changes can result in a coverage gap for your client.

FAILURE TO GIVE ACCURATE INFORMATION/ADVICE

When an agent is not effectively communicating the product they are selling, a client may believe that they were not provided with adequate information to make an informed decision on coverage. This can be of particular concern when an agent works with a wholesaler on a product they lack expertise in. Limit recommendations can be a pitfall for agents when a client finds out they do not have sufficient coverage for a claim.

FAILURE TO NOTIFY OF CANCELLATION/REPLACE COVERAGE

When agents set the precedent of notifying clients of pending cancellations, failure to do so can result in a claim when a client has a loss after the cancellation. Failing to offer to assist the client in replacing the cancelled coverage can be another area of exposure.

Claims that are reported to the agent, but not forwarded to the carrier in a timely manner can result in a denial of coverage. Additionally, an agent may not report the claim under all policies that could respond. This is often an issue when excess or umbrella coverage is in place. An agent may advise a client that “they will be covered” or “there is not coverage” rather than instructing the client to submit the claim to the carrier for coverage determination.

REPORTING OF CLIENT CLAIMS

Many claims can be successfully defended with good, uniform procedures and thorough documentation. Instituting appropriate loss control measures can help agents avoid claims while better servicing their clients. In upcoming articles, we will explore each of these common causes of E&O claims in more depth and provide guidance on loss control measures. For now, check your office procedures to make sure your agency is not making any of the mistakes noted above.

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INSIGHT | associate news Thank you to our Associate Members.

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IMT Insurance West Bend Mutual Insurance Co.

Bronze Level A. J. Wayne & Associates AMERISAFE AmTrust North America Auto-Owners Insurance Co. Badger Mutual Insurance Company Berkshire Hathaway Guard Insurance Companies Chubb ClickVSC Columbia Insurance Group Continental Western Group Cowbell Cyber CRC Group Donald Gaddis Company, Inc. Donegal Insurance Group EMC Insurance Encompass Insurance Encova Insurance Foremost Choice Property & Casualty Foremost Signature Auto & Home Forreston Mutual Insurance Company Frankenmuth Insurance Grange Insurance Homeowners of America Insurance Company Illinois Mine Subsidence Ins. Fund Illinois Public Risk Fund Indiana Farmers Insurance Insurance Program Managers Group J C Restoration 30

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J M Wilson Kemper Liberty Mutual/Safeco Insurance Madison Mutual Insurance Company Marble Box Marsh, Berry & Company Maximum Independent Brokerage, LLC Mercury Insurance Group Midwest Insurance Company Nationwide Pouch Insurance Previsor Insurance PuroClean Emergency Restoration Services RT Specialty - Naperville Restoronics Sensa, Inc. ServiceMaster DSI Society Insurance Specialty Risk of America Synergy Select The McGowan Companies Travelers UIG - The Agent Agency United Fire Group Utica National Insurance Group W. A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc./Interstate Risk Placement Western National Insurance Westfield february 2022

associate news | INSIGHT Donna Murphy Retires from Rockford Mutual Insurance Company Rockford Mutual Insurance Company (RMIC) has announced the retirement of Donna Murphy, Wisconsin Marketing Representative.

Murphy studied Marketing and Communications at Alverno College, Milwaukee WI and holds both AAI and CPIA insurance designations. Murphy started with Rockford Mutual in 2011 as a Marketing Representative servicing the Chicago territory and the Southeastern territory of Wisconsin. Eventually, Murphy was moved to Wisconsin full time for the entire Eastern portion of the state. “So many thoughts come to mind when I think of the past 10 years with RMIC” said Murphy, “RMIC is like family and I have always felt part of a smart, supportive, and honest team. At RMIC, every day and everyone counts and I’m sure always will.”

Kate Rosenwinkel Named 2021 Rockford Mutual Insurance Company Associate of the Year

Rockford Mutual Insurance Company (RMIC) looks to recognize an exceptional associate every year with our Associate of the Year Award. Our Assistant Manager of Commercial Underwriting, Kate Rosenwinkel, is RMIC’s 2021 recipient. Rosenwinkel joined Rockford Mutual in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Systems from Bradley University as a Data Entry Specialist. She was quickly promoted to a Commercial Underwriter where she spent several years gaining vast knowledge and experience in the commercial space. In 2018, Rosenwinkel received her third promotion at Rockford Mutual as the Assistant Manager of Commercial Underwriting. Peers note Rosenwinkel’s positivity in the workspace and steady contributions to bettering the Commercial Underwriting Team. Congratulations Kate Rosenwinkel!

“We at Rockford Mutual wish Murphy the very best in her retirement and appreciate all that she accomplished for Rockford Mutual. She will be missed, but know she will be moving on to new and exciting things,” says Shane Heeren, VP – Marketing/Sales.

Rockford Mutual Insurance Company Announces Staff Changes

Rockford Mutual Insurance Company has announced the following staff changes: Crystal Gulley joined Rockford Mutual on December 29, 2021, as a Customer Service Specialist II. Crystal holds an Associate of Arts degree from Rock Valley College and a Medical Assisting Diploma from Rasmussen College. She is currently working on her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. Dan Yesbeck has been promoted to Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Information Technology on December 10, 2021. Dan will continue to oversee our software development and infrastructure team and help grow Rockford Mutual Insurance Company into a strong competitor within the property and casualty market. Jamie Keltner, previously a Claims Representative for Rockford Mutual, has transitioned into Underwriting as of January 10, 2022. Molly Beckford was promoted to Farm Underwriter on December 13, 2021. In her new role, she will be responsible for maintaining and growing Rockford Mutual’s Farm book of business. Tracey Anderson joined Rockford Mutual on January 10, 2022, as a Claims Representative. Tracey holds an Associate of Arts degree in Retail Business Marketing from Ray College of Design.

february 2022

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Board of Directors Profiles These board members are returning to the IIA of IL Board of Directors after previously serving in different roles.

Bill Lawrence, CIC AIS Board President

P/L/R Insurance Services, Inc, Bloomington, IL President Year You Started in Insurance: 1999 What do you feel are major challenges facing our Association today? Revenue and relevancy. Considering all the mergers and acquisitions, we need to find new sources of revenue. We also need to maintain our relevance with the next generation of insurance leaders. What suggestions do you have to respond to these challenges? Continue looking for opportunities to help agencies succeed by offering products and “back of the house” services that most of our members don’t have the resources for. It would be great to help smaller agencies compete by connecting them with markets, providing HR assistance and Training assistance, for example. We need to continue to engage young agents by showcasing our services and offerings such as, why government affairs is so important, why our education opportunities are superior to many other options offered, et cetera.

What do you see at the greatest benefit to IIA of IL membership? Government advocacy and insurance education. What prompted you to get involved in the Association? I think it’s important to give back. If all of us sit on the sidelines reaping the benefits of the organizations to which we belong, there wouldn’t be anybody keeping the organizations alive. The staff does an amazing job, but without member participation, organizations die.

Lisa Lukens, CISR Elite Education Chairperson

Saliba Insurance Services, Inc, Herrin, IL Year You Started in Insurance: 1981 What do you feel are major challenges facing our Association today? The biggest issue facing the Association today is the consolidation among agencies creating larger organizations to network and fewer opportunities for membership within the Association. The Association is also competing for time and relevance from these larger organizations as these organizations evolve and have their own resources for training and development space. What do you see at the greatest benefit to IIA of IL membership? The greatest membership benefit is the advocacy that the Association brings to its membership. With access to Springfield and members of the legislature, the Association is continually monitoring legislative initiatives and their impacts to our membership and consumers. 32

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What prompted you to get involved in the Association? I enjoy serving on the board. The work of the association is vital for all local agents and agencies. It is important as agents and others involved in the industry to volunteer and serve on committees to support the association. february 2022

iia of il news | INSIGHT

Education Classes february

1 2 7 8 9 10 15 15 16 17 22 23 23 24

Pre-Licensing-Property & Casualty Virtual E&O Roadmap to Personal Auto & Umbrella Insurance Webinar E&O-Roadmap to Homeowners Endorsements Webinar Agent’s E&O Duties, Best Practices, Operations Webinar E&O Roadmap To Cyber & Privacy Insurance Webinar CISR-Elements of Risk Management Virtual Pre-Licensing-Life & Health Virtual Flood Insurance, FEMA, and the NFIP Webinar E&O: Identity Theft, Red Flags, and Money Laundering Webinar CISR-Insuring Personal Auto Exposures Virtual CISR-Personal Lines Misc. Virtual E&O - Roadmap to Policy Analysis Webinar CIC-Commercial Property Virtual The Evolution of Ethics in Insurance Webinar

New Members

march

1 2 3 7 9 10 10 15 16 22 23 23 24

Pre-Licensing-Property & Casualty Virtual E&O Roadmap to Personal Auto & Umbrella Ins. Webinar CISR-Insuring Personal Residential Property Virtual E&O-Roadmap to Homeowners Endorsements Webinar E&O Roadmap To Cyber & Privacy Insurance Part Webinar CISR-Insuring Commercial Property Virtual Agent’s E&O: Defenses and Preventions Webinar Pre-Licensing-Life & Health Virtual E&O: Identity Theft, Red Flags, and Money Laundering Webinar CISR-Personal Lines Miscellaneous Virtual CIC-Life and Health Virtual E&O - Roadmap to Policy Analysis Webinar Why Good People Do Bad Things: Agency Ethics Webinar

member agency A & S Insurance Services, LLC Bolingbrook, IL Hickey Financial Corp. DBA Hickey Insurance Pros Cary, IL The Lavin Insurance Agency Schaumburg, IL

associate copper ISU Insurance Agency Network Mt. Pleasant, SC february 2022

For information regarding IIA of IL membership or company sponsorship, contact Tom Ross, Director of Membership Services, at (217) 321-3003, tross@iiaofil.org.

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INSIGHT | classifieds for the insurance professional by the insurance professional

INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENCIES WANTED

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GALO Insurance Agency, Inc (847) 832-0888 steve@galoagency.com

Visit www.ciagonline.com for contact information.

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17. We are an Independent family-owned agency located in the Chicago area. We are looking to expand through growth and acquisition. If you have a small to medium sized agency and are looking to sell, call or send us a message. We are strictly looking for Personal Lines and Small Commercial accounts with preferred companies.

AGENCY/AGENTS/PRODUCERS WANTED

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OPPORTUNITIES/SPACE AVAILABLE/RETAIN OWNERSHIP

13. We are a 100 year old Northbrook agency looking to discuss any mutually beneficial opportunity. Our producers, mergers, clusters and agency purchases receive 50% commissions on new and renewal business without any expenses. We can provide: office space, phones, agency management system, service renewals and changes. The companies we represent are: Badger Mutual, Employers Mutual, General Casualty, Guide One, Hartford, Kemper, Progressive, Rockford Mutual, Safeco, State Auto, Travelers and Met Life. Contact:

Dan Browne will provide an agency evaluation/appraisal at little cost to you. Please call:

Nancy Solomon Martini, Miller & Schloss, Inc. (847) 291-1313 Ron@martini-miller.com

Dan Browne or Cathy Hall Forest Insurance (708) 383-9000 www.forestinsured.com/mergers-acquisitions

We Make Hiring Easier

+ CareerPlug’s hiring software helps agents attract more qualified candidates, identify the right candidates with confidence, and improve hiring results. CareerPlug will provide IIA of IL members access to a free account that can be used to post jobs, manage applicants, and improve the organizations’ employment brand. Association members can also access a “Pro” version of CareerPlug for a special rate to take hiring to the next level.

Learn more about CareerPlug and check out the brand new IIA of IL job board at

www.iiaofil.org

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february 2022

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