e-Insight - March 2021 by Big I Illinois

MARCH 2021

INSIGHT ONBOARD

RECRUIT

TRAIN

RECRUITING and

RETAINING

Young Talent

Plus

EDGE CONFERENCE INSURANCE INDUSTRY INDUSTRY LEGISLATIVE DAY

RETAIN

Commercial | Personal | Farm-Ag | Specialty

Tricia B., Personal Lines Underwriter

Tyler S., Specialty Lines Underwriter

Tyler H., Agribusiness Lines

Underwriter

Honest relationships SECURA’s team of insurance experts is making insurance genuine. They are here to support you and your clients. Our underwriting teams are quick to reply, open-minded, and know their stuff. Plus they are backed by our caring claims group who will get your clients back on their feet.

Interested in building a relationship? Contact us at secura.net/IL-agents.

Matthew B., Illinois Sales Manager

Betsy V., Commercial Lines Underwriter

Hear from our experts. Want to learn more about what SECURA has to offer? Scan the QR code or visit secura.net/IL-agents for more information about the SECURA team.

March 2021

Editor & Graphic Design - Rachel Romines

Advertising - Tami Hubbell

11 13 14 17 20 22 24 26 28 31 33

CONTENTS

Insurance Industry Legislative

IIA of IL Wellness Series: The ROI of Ending Stigma in Your Workplace

By Jason Finucan

2021 EDGE Conference Will Employers or Workers Have the Upper Hand After the Pandemic

By John Graham

Reaching the Next Generation of Insurance Talent: From Campus and Beyond

By David E. Coons

The Importance of Recruiting and Retaining Younger Talent for the Insurance Industry

By AmSuisse

Lessons Learned from Training Over 2000 New Producers

By Kenneth L. Fields

OnBoarding: Starting Your New Hire on a Path to Success

By Jennifer Jacobs

De-Myth-ifying Workers’ Compensation 10 Myths Busted

By Shawn-Michael Hall, Sr.

Don’t be Scared of E&O - Respect It!

By Curtis Pearsall

Crop Insurance Enhanced Coverage Option What is it?

In This Issue

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

6 7 9 10 19

Trusted Choice President’s Message Brett’s Two Sense Government

35 36 37 38

Farm Agents Council Associate News IIA of IL News Classifieds

e-Insight

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

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

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.

Board of Directors Executive Committee

Regional Directors

ADVERTISERS 40

APPLIED UNDERWRITERS

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY/GUARD INSURANCE CO

BIG “I” LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE

ENVISION HEALTHCARE

GRINNELL MUTUAL REINSURANCE COMPANY

INSURANCE PROGRAM MANAGERS GROUP

J. M. WILSON

Cover Tip 2

OMAHA NATIONAL SECURA

SOCIETY INSURANCE

UNITED FIRE

WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE CO.

Committee Chairs

IIA of Illinois Staff

Budget & Finance | Bennie Jones (312) 960-6200 | bjones@rmsoa.com

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

Education | Teresa Fleming, CIC, CISR (815) 849-5219 | tess@leffelmanassoc.com

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

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

Accounting & Admin Services Tami Hubbell - (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 - (217) 321-3013 - jjacobs@iiaofil.org

Director of Membership Services Tom Ross, CRIS, CPIA - (217) 321-3003 - tross@iiaofil.org

Sr. Vice President/Chief Financial Officer Mark Kuchar - (217) 321-3015 - mkuchar@iiaofil.org

Products & Services Administrator Janet White, CISR - (217) 321-3010 - jwhite.indep12@insuremail.net

Chief Executive Officer Phil Lackman - (217) 321-3005 - plackman@iiaofil.org

Director of Prof. Liability & Ins. Products Carol Wilson, CPIA - (217) 321-3011 - cwilson.indep12@insuremail.net

Central/Southern Marketing Representative Lori Mahorney - (217) 415-7550 - lmahorney@iiaofil.org

Find us on Social Media

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Trusted Choice® MARKETING REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM Trusted Choice has funds available to help Big “I” member agencies offset the cost of marketing expenses when leveraging the Trusted Choice brand. Members have three ways to access funds: Co-brand with the Trusted Choice logo* General Co-branded Marketing: Up to $750 in reimbursement when co-branding with the Trusted Choice logo on any consumer facing items. This could include Co-brand with the advertising costs, event sponsorship, branded giveaway business cards, store signage, logo has a lifetime max value of $750 per agency location) itemsTrusted and more.Choice (This program Digital Marketing Incentive: Additional $750 in Funds Available for 2021 Only! Open to all members. Must be used towards digital marketing efforts (video, social or web ads) and must include the Trusted Choice logo. Members can use any of the Trusted Choice customizable campaigns or can create their own ad.

*Co-branding funds and additional 2021 digital marketing funds are reimbursed at 50% of cost to agency with a max of $750 for each option.

Website Upgrade: Receive $500 for building a new site with one of our preferred partners. Partners include ITC, Forge 3, Titan Web, Advisor Evolved and Marketing 360. $500 is a ﬂat reimbursement and does not require member to spend above that amount. Option 2 reimbursement funds can only be used towards new websites created in 2021 and excludes add on services.

TrustedChoice.com Advantage Subscription Upgrade your agency’s listing on our lead generation site trustedchoice.com to an Advantage proﬁle and start getting referrals today. Upgrading will give you a premium proﬁle and allow your agency to begin receiving leads of active insurance shoppers. Trusted Choice will reimburse you $125 if you purchase an annual subscription.

For full program details or to submit a reimbursement request visit trustedchoice.com/agents today! 6

insight

march 2021

president's message | INSIGHT

Winter Wonderland I’m very glad February 2021 is in the history book. I’m guessing the groundhog saw his shadow. Up north, we have experienced record cold, lots and lots and lots of snow. In between the snowblower and shovel, there are many choices you can make. A) Sit in the warm house B) Have some warm hot chocolate and maybe a snack C) Shovel Glenn Horton’s driveway or D) Tell your kids we are going sledding. As you can see from the picture, I chose option D. Not sure how smart that was, but we had fun, and it brought back some terrific memories. I hope you were able to laugh at the weather and get out to do something fun. Anyhow, I’m hoping that senior members, parents, grandparents, and essential worker family members have been able to get a vaccine. It’s a wonderful gift and a huge step toward reclaiming our freedom. I was able to take my mom to get vaccinated in early February. Hoping the supply continues to grow so anyone interested can be vaccinated soon. I’m thankful that the winter snow has not impacted the entire state, but I know the cold and ice have been quite harsh throughout the state. I am fearful that by the time you read this we will be experiencing many client issues with ice dams and, later on, pipes bursting. I would assume that you may have passed along information to your clients prior to winter or recently that may have provided direction on preventing or mitigating any damage that ice dams or frozen pipes can do. I’m hoping that I’m worried about nothing and our clients can escape the chaos caused by either of these messy water problems. If you were not able to send anything out proactively this year, I encourage you to add a prompt to your calendar to include a winter preparation message to your clients later this year through an e-mail blast and social media. You never know when your advice may save a lot of clients from a nasty situation.

As we turn the page to the March edition of Insight, I would like to draw your attention to a wrap-up that is included from a very successful Virtual Farm Agents Conference. This edition also features great articles on recruiting and retaining young talent and information about our Virtual EDGE conference. If you have never attended EDGE, this would be an excellent opportunity to attend from the comfort of your home or office. EDGE will feature national speakers on several topics, including overcoming adversity, building deeper relationships, getting more referrals, and realizing your full potential. Check out all the details on pages 14-15. Lastly, we would normally be putting the finishing touch on our live State Legislative Day. This year, we have decided to have a virtual event which will be held on April 26 -27. More details are included within this edition and through future communication. We would love for everyone to attend. Have a great month.

George Daly - IIA of IL President - (708) 845-3311 - george.daly@thehortongroup.com march 2021

insight

CIC

PROGRAM

Agency Management

Commercial Casualty

Insurance Company Operations

Commercial Multiline

Life and Health

Commercial Property

Personal Lines

Professional Education for a Thriving Career CIC and CISR courses are eligible for CE credits and are update options for Insurance and Risk Management professionals interested in emerging marketplace trends.

CISR

PROGRAM Agency Operations

Commercial Casualty I

Insuring Commercial Property

Commercial Casualty II

Insuring Personal Auto Exposures

Life & Health Essentials

Elements of Risk Management

Insuring Personal Residential Property

Personal Lines - Misc.

www.iiaoﬁl.org/education

The Importance of an Insurance Designation/Certification There are a litany of designations to choose from in the insurance industry such as CPCU, CLU, CIC, CISR, REBC, FLMI, AIS, AIC, AINS, ALMI, ALB, ACS, WCS, AAI, AU... just name a few. Certifications are typically extremely narrow in their context, such as Workers’ Compensation Specialist Certification, which focuses on Workers’ Compensation. Designations are typically broad in their scope, such as the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Charted Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), as well as the Charted Life Underwriter designations. In this article, I will focus on the CIC, Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) and CPCU. In my 20+ years as a regulator, I was involved in over a thousand agent investigations. I never came across a CIC or CISR designee and came across less than a handful of CPCU designees (none of which resulted in any significant action). In my dealings with agents, the individuals that hold these designations are typically more dedicated and focused as the CPCU, CIC, and CISR designations involve a higher level of commitment that is, in my opinion, the equivalence of earning a master’s degree in insurance. While obtaining these designations is intensive and timeconsuming, I think the benefits far outweigh the negatives. Some benefits that I see are: - your resume will get more serious consideration for employment opportunities; - you can typically garner higher wages; - people will look to you for advice in those areas as people are well aware of the commitment that you have put forth; - you will gain invaluable product knowledge that your competitors may not have. I personally like to have my taxes done by a CPA and not an accountant. As the CPA has gained valuable knowledge throughout the process in achieving that CPA designation, just like an agent would earning their CIC, CISR, and CPCU designations. The biggest negatives of designations are time and cost. Employers will often pay all or a portion of the classes as long as you produce a passing grade. The IIA of IL offers scholarships in some instances. As for time commitment, it ends up being well worth it once you have obtained that designation and can sign those letters behind your signature. Is every designation worth the time and cost? I would say, “No.” However, the three that I highlight in this article, CIC, CPCU, and CISR, seem to be well worth the effort. If someone told you that you could increase your worth to your clients exponentially, increase your commission 25%+, and be more credible to your peers for a 6-18 month commitment, would you do it? I would think, and hope, that the answer would be yes. There is never enough time to do anything in today’s world, but we always seem to find the time if the endeavor is important. My question to myself in any situation is, “do I add value?” If not, why do it? It has never been more prevalent in our industry that we have to add value or the client will just go down the street, to the internet, or not purchase

B r e t t ’s 2 Sense at all. Designations are an easy way to add value as the information learned during class from the course materials, instructors, and classmates is invaluable. The information gleaned from these settings allows you to really become that five-tool player (baseball analogy) or swiss army knife (Brett analogy) for your clients. I think that what sets you apart from your competitors is your knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge to any given situation. Look around at the people you admire and respect in this industry, and my bet is that most of them hold a designation or two or four. I know most of mine hold designations. I asked some designees on the agent side and the company side of their thoughts, and the recurring theme was the knowledge they gained from their designations was invaluable. It was more about what they learned throughout the process rather than the designation. The other aspect I think that gets overlooked in this process is the networking opportunities with other agents as well as company personnel that are going through the process with you. The designees that I talked to all encourage their peers, coworkers, and employees to seek designations. One indicated that their commissions have increased 30% since obtaining their designations. It appears to them and me that their return on investment has been worth the time and effort. All of the individuals I spoke with for the article are very successful in this industry at what they do. Is it because they have a designation? I would say that it is a part of it, but more importantly, I would say that it is due to their insatiable thirst for knowledge. In processing the whole pros and cons of this do I get a designation or don’t I get a designation, I determined that I do not want to be standing in a group of my peers and be the only one without LETTERS behind my name anymore. This endeavor is important, so I will find the time. Therefore, I have decided to pursue my CIC designation starting in March 2021. I would encourage all those on the fence to join me on this journey. 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 march 2021

insight

INSIGHT | government

Legislative Update Spring Session will begin ramping up at the beginning of March. For the second year in a row we will have some new faces leading the caucuses. Last year, Senate President Don Harmon took over for retiring Senate President John Cullerton. Now, in the opposite chamber, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch will be taking over the chamber from retired House Speaker Mike Madigan. Not only has Speaker Madigan stepped down from the legislature but he has also stepped down as Democratic Party Chairman. Edward Guerra Kodatt will replace Speaker Madigan as Representative of the 22nd House District. However, as of writing this article, after being sworn in it appears, he may be forced to resign, citing “alleged questionable conduct.” Stay tuned for more updates on my Springfield Updates articles on the IIA of IL website. Vice-Chair Karen Yarbrough will serve as interim chair of the Democratic Party until the Democratic State Central Committee meets to choose a new chair. In other news, Governor J.B. Pritzker recently delivered his State of the State and Budget Address to the General Assembly. Rather than deliver the budget address in person to all 177 members in a joint session as is customary, this year’s budget address was pre-recorded and delivered virtually in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor outlined a proposed FY 2022 budget that allocates $41.6 billion in General Revenue Funds spending ($95.5 billion All Funds), which represents a $1.8 billion reduction over the previous fiscal year. The FY 22 budget does not rely on future federal assistance and does not increase the state’s income tax. Notably, the budget also does not include decoupling Illinois tax law from new federal business tax changes which was a priority of the Governor’s during the lame-duck session last month. In order to “live within our means,” operational spending remains flat over FY21. The budget includes a hiring freeze, $400 million in additional cuts, and reserves a $120 million surplus. The Governor proposes closing $932 million in what he characterized as “unaffordable corporate loopholes.” Republican legislators and the business community immediately called the plan a “massive tax hike on

insight

By Evan Manning business” and characterized the move as a “betrayal” of the budget compromise brokered during the Governor’s first year in office. The tax changes targeting businesses -- and their expected capture of funding-- include: • Capping the corporate net operating loss deductions at $100,000/ year ($314 million); • Aligning treatment of foreign source dividends to treatment of domestic sources dividends ($107 million); • Rolling back federal TCJA 100 percent accelerated depreciation ($214 million); • Accelerating the expiration of the exemptions for biodiesel ($107 million); • Reversing the repeal of the corporate franchise tax ($30 million); • Capping the retailer’s discount at $1,000/month ($73 million); • Reducing the tax credit for private school scholarships to 40% ($14 million); • Eliminating new add-on income tax credit for construction job payroll expenditures ($16 million); and • Removing the production-related tangible personal property from the MME sales tax exemption ($56 million). If you are interested in hearing more state legislative issues, please register for the Insurance Industry Legislative Day. The two-day event will begin on Monday, April 26 and will feature presentations by House Insurance Committee Chairman Thaddeus Jones, Senate Insurance Chairman Napoleon Harris, III, and Acting Director of Insurance Dana Popish Severinghaus. On Tuesday, April 27, we will have a state legislative roundtable presentation by Laura Minzer (Illinois Life and Health Insurance Council), Kevin Martin (Illinois Insurance Association), Evan Manning and Phil Lackman (Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois). View additional information on the next page. In addition, the Virtual Federal Legislative Conference will be held from April 13-16. Please save those dates and more information will be forthcoming in the next Insight Magazine, as well as future e-Weekly newsletters. Evan Manning is the Director of Government Relations for the IIA of IL. He can be reached at emanning@iiaofil.org or (217) 321-3002.

march 2021

Monday, April 26 & Tuesday, April 27

Virtual Event

4 hours CE

(Pending Approval)

Monday, April 26 - 2:00 - 4:00 pm

Presentations from Legislators and the Insurance Director House Insurance Chair, Thaddeus Jones, and Senate Insurance Chair, Napoleon Harris, III, will discuss current legislation in their respective committees, how they run their committee, and important issues being considered in their committees and in the General Assembly. They will also discuss important issues facing Illinois and employers. Acting Director Dana Popish Severinghaus will be presenting on issues facing the Department of Insurance, their legislative agenda, and how she plans to manage the Department.

Tuesday, April 27 - 10:00 am to Noon

State Legislative Roundtable Leaders of the associations will discuss important legislation and issues currently being considered in the General Assembly, provide insight into the legislative process, provide insider knowledge of the General Assembly and the new leaders of the caucuses. - Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Illinois Insurance Association - Laura Minzer, President, Illinois Life & Health Insurance Council - Phil Lackman, CEO, IIA of IL - Evan Manning, Director of Government Relations, IIA of IL, NAIFA IL, IAMIC, ISAHU

Registration Fee: $20 per person (includes all CE)

www.insurancelegislativeday.org march 2021

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PROTECT YOUR INDUSTRY. April 13-16, 2021 independentagent.com/events

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IIA of IL Wellness Series The ROI of

ENDING STIGMA

in Your Workplace By Jason Finucan Many companies view the challenges posed by mental illness and stigma in the workplace as either optional or last resort initiatives. Despite significant gains in awareness in recent years, mental illnesses like clinical depression or anxiety disorder are still treated far differently than physical illnesses. As a result of the confusion, isolation and lack of support created by stigma, far too many people are suffering in silence with untreated mental illnesses. Often, employers will only respond reactively, after a crisis or when lost productivity or morale have reached unsustainable lows. By then it can be too late.

Why Employers Should Start Now However, there is significant data that supports employers being proactive in developing their workplace culture and the soft skills of their managers in order to prepare for this challenge. Better responding to mental illness and eliminating stigma will lead to a long list of benefits, including: • A reduction in presenteeism • A reduction in lost productivity • Improved workplace morale and culture • The ability to retain and attract top talent • Supporting your employees For example, a recent WHO-led study estimated that for every USD $1 invested into treatment for common mental disorders, there is a return of USD $4 in improved health and productivity. There are several other examples, which can be found in a white paper I co-authored, A StigmaZero Workplace Pays in Profits – How breaking down mental illness stigma can

march 2021

improve your bottom line. This white paper was published in the Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences in 2018, and contains the results of exhaustive research into this topic. • A study of a US-based company saw a 302% ROI over a 2-year period after initiating programs to reduce workplace stigma towards mental illness • Another study of a UK-based company saw a 403% ROI over a 2-year period after initiating programs to reduce workplace stigma towards mental illness • In both cases, the ROI was realized due to reductions in lost productivity that was directly related to mental illness stigma

The Cost of Doing Nothing There are many reasons why ending mental illness stigma is a smart business decision, including the soft benefits such as improved workplace morale and supporting your employees. However, the hard ROI is also clear – and the cost of doing nothing is much greater in the long run. The companies that stand to benefit the most from the ROI available are the ones who are proactive and implement training initiatives now. Take a look at this blog to learn some of the things you can do right now. I also encourage you to read this article, published by People Managing People, a community for people managers and culture creators, on remote work and mental health during the Zoom era brought on by Covid-19. By Jason Finucan, Founder, Author & Instructor of the Create Your StigmaZero Workplace Program. This article originally appeared at https://stigmazero.com/2019/03/28/ blog-roi/. For more information on StigmaZero, visit www. stigmazero.com.

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t r i V

l a u

2021 Powered by:

conference

April 21-22

Virtual Conference

Designed to meet the needs of everyone in our industry

young agents, veteran agents, CSR’s Day and a Half Program Focused on Professional Development, Personal Growth, Leadership Skills, and Relationships

8 hours continuing education

Registration Fee: $60 per person

(Includes all education sessions & CE, time with exhibitors, and social event.)

General Session

John F. Nichols

John F. Nichols, MSM, CLU is a nationally recognized disability benefits consultant, the creator of disability products and administration systems and an expert witness in disability proceedings. He is a frequent speaker at an array of local, state and national meetings, including NAIFA’s National meeting and MDRT’s Main Platform. In 1993, John had a near-death experience from a water skiing accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Through six years of rehabilitation, he reached a level of recovery that less than 1 percent of all spinal cord injury patients attain.

Daily Victories

Through John’s personal story telling, you will learn how live a life of empowered relationships from the INSIDE-OUT. By implementing the strategies, you can choose the mental, physical and spiritual life that you want now and forever. This highly energized presentation will capture your heart, open your mind and touch your soul while inspiring to achieve your dreams and goals while living the life that is truly life. Audience learning Points: • Five Strategies for building your business • The mindset and specific tactics to overcome adversity • Elements to building deeper personal & professional relationships • Proven sales process • Creating a fulfilling and balanced life

Exhibitor and Sponsorship Opportunities Available 14

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march 2021

Education Sessions Stacey Brown-Randall

Stacey Brown Randall is a member of the business failure club, a contrarian on how to generate referrals and a supporter of the entrepreneurial dream. She is a threetime entrepreneur, author of Generating Business Referrals Without Asking, host of the Roadmap to Grow Your Business podcast and national speaker. Stacey has taught her “no asking” referral generation strategy to hundreds and hundreds of clients and audiences.

Productivity Demystified

There are many ways to generate leads or prospects to fill your pipeline. From traditional business development tactics like cold calling and networking events, to newer techniques like social selling, social media ads and thought leadership. While many of the traditional methods and new techniques work, one method is consistently overlooked: Referrals. The reason generating referrals from clients is typically overlooked is because of old-school advice we have believed for years. Either we have been taught referrals are random, sporadic, something you cannot control, or we have been taught the only way to control them is to ask for them. But what if there was another way? What if you didn’t have to ask? Join Stacey Brown Randall for a discussion on her 5-step process to generate referrals without asking.

Referrals... Without Asking

Do you ever get to the end of the day and wonder: “Where did the time go?” or “I know I worked all day, but what did I do?” Being busy doesn’t mean you are being productive. How you invest your time, get work done and manage information overload directly impacts your ability to be successful. Taking control isn’t just for “natural” planners and to do list makers ... using brain science and proven techniques everyone can work within their natural style to take control and use time efficiently.

Matt O’Neill

Matt O’Neill is the Chief Experience Officer for Beyond Insurance. He oversees the development of industry leading training tools, and is a coach and trainer to teams around the U.S. He has consulted with clients ranging from small independent consultants and insurance agencies to large national publicly traded organizations, aligning marketing technology with business goals. He has been featured extensively online in blogs and podcasts, is published in a national magazine and has shared the stage with digital marketing experts like Gary Vaynerchuk and Tom Ferry. Matt is renowned for motivating both experienced and new sales professionals through his engaging, interactive style. He leaves everyone with actionable insights they can implement for greater success.

Ten Secrets to Peak Producer Performance

A Peak Performer is one who is maximizing his or her potential for success. Peak Performers go about their business with clarity and a sense of excitement, purpose, passion and pride. While these individuals come from all walks of life and have differing skill sets, they share these secrets to success. Through this program, you will learn strategies to significantly increase your new business hit ratio, create a steady flow of qualified new business referrals and reduce outside competition on key accounts.

Dare to be Difference

In today’s dog-eat-dog business environment, it is essential that agents stand out in a crowded marketplace... to separate themselves from their competition. Simply put, to be different! In Dare to be Different, Matt O’Neill will convey that price is the enemy of differentiation. By definition, being different is worth something. Consumers are willing to pay a premium, redefine the buyer/seller relationship, erect barriers to the seller’s competitors and establish the seller as a trusted advisor when a differentiated platform offers perceived value in the marketplace.

www.ILYoungAgents.com march 2021

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28 Years and Counting Unlike many other carriers, West Bend believes in the value of long-term relationships. That’s why many of our personal lines underwriters, like Kim, have worked with their agents for so long. Her agents know her well and depend on her to work with them to write the best business. And that makes the relationships that much stronger.

Will EMPLOYERS or WORKERS

Upper Hand

have the after the pandemic? It’s been a year now since we came under the relentless domination of the coronavirus. After all this time, the picture isn’t pleasant. The end is uncertain and the implications for the future are far from clear. McKinsey reports that “75 percent of employees in the United States and close to a third in the Asia–Pacific region report symptoms of burnout. European nations are reporting increasing levels of pandemic fatigue in their populations. The number of those who rate their mental health as “very poor” is more than three times higher than before the crisis, and mental health issues are still likely to rise.” In spite of their severity, such figures should get our attention, but do they? Perhaps the most dangerous part of the coronavirus is its divisiveness. More often than not, outside attacks - wars, famines, and natural disasters bring us together to slay the dragon. But the pandemic has driven us further apart. Who would have thought life could take such a painful turn? Overnight, workers were told to leave their jobs and work from home. Not only did they do it, they liked it! Now, many are ready to refuse to go back to claustrophobic cubicles or vacuous open spaces where they lacked privacy. To express their pleasure of WFH, they remodeled their bedrooms, kitchens and basements, upgraded the Internet connection, purchased all sorts of digital devices and office equipment and didn’t miss a beat. They’re choosey, too. “You want me in the office? I don’t think so.” Some moved to Boise or some other place in the middle of nowhere that welcomed them with open arms and lower living costs. They donned their sweats, popped open a laptop, jumped on virtual meetings, adjusted the lighting, turned on a monitor or two, and went to work

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By John Graham

in their new $999 office chair or decided to stay in bed and make it their office that day. To the utter surprise to everyone, productivity went up. That’s just the first chapter. The McKinsey report also notes, “There is a veritable flood of new small businesses. In the 3rd quarter of 2020 alone, there were more than 1.5 million new-business applications in the United States - almost double the figure for the same period in 2019.” That’s not all. The 4th quarter found Apple ripe for success with the highest revenue in its history and the company wasn’t alone. All this adds up to an amazing, but totally counter-intuitive story. But what does it mean to all of us who must live it? Literally, what in the world is going on? Even more to the point, what’s the message about the future - our future? Here are four thoughts about that: 1. The genie is out of the bottle. It’s finally happened. To put it another way, like no other phenomenon in modern history (perhaps in all of history), the pandemic released a level of momentum sufficient to turn the world and everything in it upside down in an instant. It may also be the catalyst that changes everything, from politics, public policy, health and medicine, education, work-life balance, business, entertainment, culture, industry, science, and government. When Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, steps back, we can be sure profound change is in the air. 2. Far more people have seats at the table. We talked for so long, but nothing changed. Then, suddenly, we became keenly aware of those who had long been invisible to us. We raised our hands and called them “Heroes” but never raised their wages. Overnight, our TV screens and continued...

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advertisements changed color to black and white. All of a sudden, we’ve finally figured out that when everyone has a seat, we have better health care, better jobs, stronger families, and happier communities. Could it possibly be that it took a painful pandemic to make more room at the table? 3. Everything is under a microscope. Again, counterintuitive but nevertheless true, the number of applications for Fall 2021 at the University of California are breaking all records. It’s happening at the same moment when millions of young Americans are questioning the value of a college education, particularly if it will take decades for them to free themselves from the sobering shackles of student debt. Those who went before them, the Millennials, are dogged in determining their own way in the world. Don’t be surprised. The lens of the microscope may never rest.

4. Don’t drink the Kool-aid. There are dangers in the tension-filled, stressful times like where we find ourselves. Someone has aptly described it as “hitting the pandemic wall” that’s felt at home and at work. It’s when we reach out for relief so we can get our lives on a better path. Simple, quick, and easy answers are what sell in turbulent times: “Buy this or do that and your problems vanish and your dreams come true.” We’re too resilient to let us do that to ourselves. Now, go back to where we started, the original question: “Who will have the upper hand after the pandemic, employers or employees? All this leads up to the final question. Through the pandemic frenzy, who will come out ahead, the workers or employers? The way it looks at the moment, it just may be the workers. But, as we all know, things can change. John Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales strategy consultant and business writer. He is the creator of “Magnet Marketing,” and publishes a free monthly eBulletin, “No Nonsense Marketing & Sales Ideas.” Contact him at jgraham@grahamcomm.com or johnrgraham.com.

The pandemic released a level of momentum sufficient to turn the world and everything in it upside down in an instant.

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

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E&O Q&A

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In this month’s e-Insight.

By Mary LaPorte

Recently, our E&O carrier recommended that we have an E&O audit of our website performed. When the audit was complete, we received a list of recommended changes to the site. We are working on making these changes, but realistically don’t really see how our website could cause E&O litigation. Do you really see E&O-related lawsuits against agencies based on what is in their website? march 2021

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Reaching the

NEXT GENERATION of Insurance Talent

From Campus and Beyond By David E. Coons

Recruiting new graduates and young professionals is a fantastic opportunity for insurance organizations to both fend against the growing skills gap, as well as bring in fresh, new talent to the industry. 20

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Nationwide, the general economy is preparing for a mass exodus of experienced professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 50% of the insurance industry’s workforce is older than 45. Even more surprising is that 27% of industry employees fall under the age of 35. As a result, nearly half of all insurance industry professionals will be retired or on the verge of retirement within 15 years and insurers will be left unable to fill the gap with their current bench of less-tenured employees. Add in an industry unemployment rate of 2.2% and continued hiring plans, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and the insurance recruiting climate is reaching a critical point. As the industry continues to “gray,” organizations are searching for a solution to successfully withstand the impending exodus of institutional knowledge and skills. A major influx of talented professionals is needed to help offset the skills gap, and organizations are logically turning to Millennials and Generation Z to fill the void. Millennials already make up 35% of the U.S. workforce and the oldest members of Generation Z are starting their careers. But how can organizations effectively reach out to these emerging professionals?

Moving Beyond Traditional Recruitment Methods

Insurance organizations are relying on tried-and-true engagement practices, such as on-site campus recruitment fairs and college job promotions and ads, to establish relationships with the next generation. While these methods have proven to bring some success, the skills gap continues to widen. The pace of on-campus recruitment cannot keep up with the growing demand caused by the impending wave of retirements, especially in today’s socially-distanced environment. With more than 4,000 universities located throughout the United States alone, it is no wonder recruiters are missing a significant portion of the graduating talent pool by relying solely on their on-campus recruiting efforts. In addition to limited outreach among current students, the reliance on on-campus recruitment overlooks the large number of unemployed or underemployed recent graduates who are currently seeking employment. Complementing organizations’ current on-campus activities and promotions with off-campus recruiting is the key to reaching a larger number of individuals in a more inclusive way.

Benefits of Off-Campus Recruitment

Off-campus recruitment opens up insurance organizations to a nearly untapped world of job candidates. Once today’s college students have graduated and returned home, their career network diminishes rapidly. They are no longer connected to the college counselors and professors who previously linked them with employers. Many of these young graduates are unsure of how to launch a successful job search and are relying solely on online job postings. Their networking is often limited to contacts of their friends and family. Within two to three months after leaving school, many of these recent graduates will have exhausted their job hunts. This is where off-campus recruiting comes into play. At this point, graduates are much more open to opportunities outside of their planned career paths. This does not mean they have to give up on their dream careers. Rather, they march 2021

are now open to finding their dream job in an industry they may not have considered before, such as insurance. Utilizing online forums, job listings and social media, insurance organizations are able to reach out to these interested individuals. Many recent graduates and young professionals are not well-informed of the wide range of jobs that the industry offers, or that their degrees in computer science, marketing or mathematics are transferrable to a number of exciting positions within the industry. In fact, many mistakenly view an insurance career as limited to working as an agent or in claims, as they have not been exposed to the wealth of other positions available. Insurance offers great opportunities to work in corporate communications, marketing, finance, data analytics, information technology and more. Insurers should use this opportunity to educate new graduates about the myriad of career opportunities available within the industry. It is important to remember most recent graduates have very limited knowledge of the insurance field in general. While this awareness has grown significantly in the past few years, a 2019 study found just 53% of Generation Z considers themselves somewhat or very familiar with insurance. Additionally, only 14% of this generation says they are interested in pursuing a career in insurance. Before an insurer can sell them on working for their organization, they must invest time in educating potential young professionals at an industry level. Questions such as “tell me more about the insurance industry” and “how will my degree fit into a job in insurance,” are common and should be expected or even prompted. However, once these young professionals have a better grasp of the many opportunities and experiences available in insurance, they are enthusiastic to learn more. As insurers reach this point in the engagement cycle, it becomes much easier to recruit these young employees into their organization. As you enhance your new graduate recruitment strategy, a number of resources are available to help support your efforts. Consider partnering with organizations such as The Insurance Careers Movement, a grassroots initiative dedicated to inspiring young people to choose a career in insurance. Additionally, engage with Gamma Iota Sigma to access students who are already considering joining the industry. Invest is another organization that can assist in providing resources for career fairs and student learning opportunities. Recruiting new graduates and young professionals is a fantastic opportunity for insurance organizations to both fend against the growing skills gap, as well as bring in fresh, new talent to the industry. In today’s increasingly challenging recruitment climate, a balanced strategy of on-campus and off-campus recruiting promises to provide the best opportunity to effectively recruit and engage these dynamic and talented individuals. David E. Coons is senior vice president of The Jacobson Group, the leading provider of talent to the insurance industry. He can be reached at (800) 466-1578 or dcoons@jacobsononline.com.

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The Importance of Rec Younger Talent for the As with so many other industries, the insurance industry is evolving. With retiring Baby Boomers, millennials are positioned to overtake the majority in the workforce, but few show interest in the industry. This could be a serious challenge as jobs are needing to be filled. Recruiting top talent for the insurance industry has always been difficult, but with the perception that many millennials have of the industry, recruiting has been quite an obstacle. Insurance companies must appeal to this demographic to attract and retain them as employees.

Strong Employer Brand

What to Consider When Hiring Younger Talent Hiring a younger generation will require enacting new recruiting methods. Millennials think differently about work than the baby boomers did, so employers must take those ideas and perspectives into consideration when recruiting younger talent.

Millennials have been named consumers of the workforce because they’re continuously “shopping” for a better job. To attract and retain the best talent, a strong employment brand is crucial. No business is immune to the pressure of appealing to a younger workforce, as employees are needed to tell the story of what the industry represents. Just about everyone should consider refreshing their employer brands with a new generation in mind.

Purpose Diversity For millennials, it’s all about purpose, as they seem to be pretty intentional about leaving a legacy. They need to see that the industry can serve a bigger purpose beyond profits. Those in the industry should use social media to share work they do around the world, to help people see beyond the daily work of insurance companies. Your clients should emphasize how they’re making an effort to make the world a better place.

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Most millennials prioritize diversity and inclusion when actively searching for potential employers. They expect the professional world to address diversity from a variety of perspectives, including educational background, age, gender, disability, ethnicity, social status, sexual identity, and religion. This is a great attitude to push as they seek to boost performance. It’s beneficial to demonstrate a commitment to diversity in the workplace and in recruitment efforts. march 2021

ecruiting and Retaining he Insurance Industry

By AmSuisse

Flexible Work Environment

The standard 9-to-5 job is leaving the picture, especially for those recruiting millennials. Young employees stand for work-life balance that isn’t regulated by hourly work schedules. They believe businesses should have a flexible work environment that doesn’t mandate a rigid structure. Millennials seek employers with correlating values. Telecommuting opportunities are a great way to foster flexibility.

Digital Transformation

New Opportunities

The younger crowd wants to see their path forward through a career. They want to be very clear on what they need to do to get to where they want to be and to see superiors invested in employee growth. The job description is the first look at the potential roadmap before applying for a position. Offering professional development opportunities is a great way to help attract these fresh thinkers and revolutionize the industry. This article originally appeared on the AmSuisse blog: https://www.amsuisse.com/the-importance-of-recruitingyounger-talent-for-the-insurance-industry/ AmSuisse, based in Texas, is an insurance wholesaler providing an extensive portfolio of products and specialty programs throughout the United States. For more information on AmSuisse, go to amsuisse.com.

Millennials want to work for those embracing technology, as they feel that technological advances help to streamline tasks and allows them to focus on the most important parts of their jobs. A company should now have social media, video conferencing and instant messaging to encourage productivity. Those in the insurance industry who aren’t implementing such digital tools will struggle to appeal to younger job candidates.

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Lessons Learned

from Training O

2000 NEW PROD Background

My business partner and I began creating the PaceSetter Sales Development Program for new property casualty producers almost 25 years ago. Over 2,000 new producers have since completed the one-year commitment and have written in excess of $600 million new property casualty premium. Every PaceSetter class begins with a two week “school” (one week for personal lines agents) followed by 12 months of weekly coaching via Zoom. Our employer, State Auto, absorbs a substantial share of the costs associated with the program even though much of the premium generated is placed with our competitors. We believe well trained insurance producers benefit the entire industry. What we’ve learned:

There’s more opportunity today than ever.

Almost 10,000 baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) turn 65 every day. This means over the next few years long standing relationships between business owners and insurance agents are going to be broken as businesses, including insurance agencies, are sold, turned over to their children, or merged. This opens doors for new agents who are building their books. Accounts that were nearly inaccessible for years, are now within reach of those producers ready to seize the opportunity.

Selling insurance is a career, not a job.

If it’s a 9:00 to 5:00 job you’re looking for, selling insurance isn’t it. In some respects, an insurance agent is working all the time. No matter where you are; no matter what you are doing; you are still an insurance agent. This can be good or bad. If you lose your temper with the server when you’re out for dinner with your spouse and it’s overheard by a client or prospect, not so good. On the other hand, if a client spots you in the restaurant and introduces you to a businessowner you’ve been trying to reach for months, it can be a good thing. As a good friend used to say, “Selling insurance is either a lousy job, or a great career.” The difference is what you want and what you are willing to invest in your future success.

The magic of residual income.

Where else, but in insurance sales, can you essentially open your own business, without any startup capital, no specialized degree, be paid while you learn, and inside of five to seven years be earning an income equivalent to

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corporate executives? Insurance is a business where you can do well while doing good. And the better you do, the more good you’ve done. In insurance, renewals are added to your current sales each year. This is what sets the opportunity in insurance sales apart from most other sales jobs where you start over every January 1. There truly is no limit to what you can do in insurance sales. It is said that selling insurance is a get rich slow opportunity, a marathon, not a sprint. However, successful new producers approach each day like it’s a sprint.

Your future is in relationship selling.

Relationship selling is about building long-term relationships as opposed to transactional selling which tends to be much more price driven and encourages the client to shop again at renewal. If your goal is to build a book with high retention and to capitalize on the real opportunity afforded by the insurance business, relationship selling is where it’s at. We have learned during COVID that although there’s nothing like face-to-face contact to build relationships, we can use Zoom, Loom, email, and phone calls to stay in contact with our prospects and clients.

People like to buy from people they like.

Over 90% of commercial accounts will renew with the incumbent agent. Is it reasonable to think that those business owners are completely satisfied with the coverage, pricing, and service they’re getting from the current agent? Logic says, probably not. What is it, then? Often, it likely comes down to one of two things: The relationship with the current agent (The prospect may not even like the current agent, but he doesn’t know you. You could be worse!), or it’s the path of least resistance. (The easiest thing for the prospect to do is to accept the renewal.) Research data shows that people who are viewed as highly likeable, outperform those who aren’t by a large margin. If you don’t genuinely like people, selling insurance is probably not for you. People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.

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g Over

DUCERS

By Kenneth L. Fields

It’s a numbers game.

Every participant in our program is given The Game of Numbers by Nick Murray. Although it was written some 14 years after our program began, we think this book beautifully articulates the methodology behind The PaceSetter Sales System. Think of it like this: If you were to enter a large Las Vegas casino, and as you’re looking over the sea of slot machines typical of most casinos, the manager told you one of those slot machines would pay off $1 million on the first pull of the handle, how many handles would you pull? All of them, of course! As fast as you could go, right? Prospecting works the same way, the more prospects you reach and the quicker you get to them, the better your odds of making a sale. If your job is to sell, no single activity you do is more important than prospecting. Without a prospect, all your sales skills are useless. No matter how good you are at overcoming objections, or closing sales, without prospects you are essentially out of business. Prospects are a salesperson’s inventory; the shelves must be kept stocked all the time. Top salespeople know prospecting must be ongoing. If not, you are subject to a roller coaster cycle of sales feast and famine. Consistent prospecting means consistent sales. More prospecting can overcome lack of expertise, lack of experience, pricing, product, everything. Prospecting is the engine that drives sales. Prospecting avoidance is a producers #1 enemy. Eighty percent of new salespeople who terminate in year one do so due to lack of prospecting activity.

Successful producers accept responsibility for their actions.

Accepting responsibility for your own actions is huge if you want to be successful in sales, or in life. Your failure to get the results you want does not lie with your agency, your carriers, your underwriters, pricing, products, or anything else other than yourself. Accepting this reality is a major step toward your personal success. When a top producer closes a nice account, the celebration is brief. When that same producer fails to close a nice account, the commiseration is also brief. We are frequently asked what we see in our top producers that sets them apart from the others. There are lots of things we see in the mix. They are typically money motivated, competitive, likable, and have a strong work ethic. But if there is one characteristic they all have in common it’s

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something called intrinsic motivation, another term for self-motivation. The best example I can give of intrinsic motivation is when a producer I was working with failed to close a large account - one he thought he had in the bag, he told me he drove back to the office and made 50 prospecting calls. That’s intrinsic motivation.

To sum it up.

Building a book of business is not easy, far from it. As many as 2/3’s who try, do not succeed. But those who persevere can enjoy a rewarding career. Hundreds of our PaceSetter producers, many who came into the program not far out of school, are today successful agents or agency owners – one is a state insurance commissioner. They are also community and church leaders who freely give their time and financial support. It has been our pleasure to work with so many of these outstanding individuals over the past 25 years. Kenneth L. Fields MSM, CLU, ChFC, CPCU, CIC, is the Sales Development Director for State Auto Insurance Companies. He can be reached at ken.fields@stateauto.com.

We believe well trained insurance producers benefit the entire industry. Building a book of business is not easy, far from it. As many as 2/3’s who try, do not succeed. But those who persevere can enjoy a rewarding career.

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ONBOARDING Starting You Imagine you have just accepted a new job and you arrive dressed for success with your new leather portfolio so you can take down all of the notes on processes and procedures that your new employer will be giving you. When you arrive at the front desk and introduce yourself as the new employee, you expect a warm greeting and directions to your new office. Instead, the person who greets you doesn’t recognize your name. He wasn’t even aware a new employee was scheduled to start today and certainly doesn’t know where you are supposed to sit. The next hour ticks by at a snail’s pace while the office manager scrambles to clear off a desk and makes several calls to find out if a computer has been set up for the new employee. That may sound extreme, but these horror stories exist and they leave the new employee feeling frustrated and unproductive when they began their day energized and excited at the prospect of starting their new job. Considering that some employers have not yet returned to their offices, many employees have started a new job in a remote environment which makes a thorough onboarding program crucial to their success. Time and effort spent planning an effective onboarding program will help the new employee feel welcome and confident in their new position and will ensure they are able to be productive as quickly as possible. Setting new hires up for success will save your business the time and expense of having to hire again if the employee doesn’t feel connected to the team and empowered to do his or her job. Workspace and Systems Set-Up Planning for onboarding should begin as soon as you advertise a position. Find a workspace for the new employee and assess whether it needs new furnishings or the existing space needs cleaning or repairs. The way businesses interact with clients has been changing - does your new employee need a laptop or a video camera for their desktop? Are they making numerous video calls where a headset with microphone would be helpful? If you are re-using computer equipment, clear it of personal photos and files. Deep clean or replace the computer keyboard, mouse, mousepad, and anything else that appears worn or dirty. Clear desks of any personal effects 26

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left by the former occupant of the space and vacuum or wipe out drawers. No one wants to start a brand-new job on top of someone else’s crumbs! Start your new hire off with new, fresh supplies - set out a new notepad, a handful of ink pens and a folder for the employee to use on their first day. Once the employee arrives, let them know how to access additional supplies as needed. The same can apply to remote employees – send them a basic supply kit, with company logo items if possible, to ensure they have the right tools on hand in their home office and feel connected with the company. Provide either a printed or electronic copy of the office phone directory with notes on who to call for tech assistance, policy/procedure questions/or other common concerns. Are there certain websites that your team accesses or refers to frequently? Carrier phone numbers? If this information isn’t on speed dial already, put this into a document for reference so new employees don’t have to waste time tracking it down. Pro tip – make sure www.iiaofil.org is listed for access to the CE class schedule, RLI PUP and In-Home Business products, the IIA of IL Solution Center and a wealth of other resources. Once your new hire has accepted your offer, an electronic paperwork process will expedite your onboarding. Sending documents to be signed through e-signature can get most of the paperwork out of the way before the employee’s first day. For i-9 verification, they can complete the form in advance and bring identification when they come to the office. If your team and onboarding is fully remote, I-9 verification flexibility has been extended through March 31, 2021. Details can be found at www.uscis.gov. Having all paperwork complete will provide the necessary information to begin setting up payroll systems, email address and system logins so they are accessible when the new hire arrives for training. Make arrangements to add their contact information to the website, order business cards and any logo apparel or other company welcome items you might offer new employees to help them feel like a part of the team. Introductions & Schedule Begin by sending an email to your team announcing the new hire. At a minimum, a brief introduction announcing the new employee’s name, where they worked before and what role they are stepping in to should go out a few days in advance of their arrival. You may also ask the march 2021

Gour New Hire on a Path to Success by Jennifer Jacobs, SHRM-CP new hire to provide a little more detail for an introductory email - family, pets, favorite food, sports team, etc. Provide the new employee with a link to your online company directory and business social media accounts they can become familiar with the team before their first day. If you are navigating a remote workforce, try a virtual welcome for new employees. Have your team virtually sign and send a card from GroupGreetings.com or try Kindeo. com where you can upload photos, video greetings, sound recordings from members of your team – this is a great way to share the personality of your team members and your business culture. At this point, it is also time to provide a detailed schedule for the new employee’s first few days and a basic schedule for the first few weeks. What time should they arrive at the office and who will they meet with first for a tour of the facility? Who will provide passwords, training on the phone system and any other tools? Are there education classes or company training to attend? If so, be sure to add these to the schedule that so the new employee knows what to expect. If your trainings are virtual, provide links or information needed to access training. Explain not only the dress code, but also some of the dress norms (casual on Monday, but business-casual for the Tuesday team meeting, etc.). Share schedule information with managers and mentors and anyone else who will play a role in the onboarding process. Orientation and Training New employee orientation typically begins with a tour of the facilities and review of compensation and benefits. In conjunction with a review of employment policies and procedures, new employees must complete antiharassment training as required by Illinois law and a certificate of completion should be maintained by the agency.

The first week of training should also include a meeting with the agency owner and management team who can provide the company history and share the mission and vision with the new hire. The new hire’s manager should set goals and a timeline for the employee to transition from training/mentoring to working on their own. Communicate the goals and objectives they should be working towards, and set a plan for regular check-ins with new employees. In a remote or hybrid environment, it is critical to reach out to new employees to ensure they have the knowledge and tools to succeed when they aren’t working side-by-side with another employee or mentor. In addition to scheduling time for a mentor to screen share to demonstrate a program or process for a new employee in real time, consider using video to record demonstrations of common processes to share with a new, remote team member. They might appreciate having a video clip to reference as they are learning. Time spent ensuring your new employee acclimates to your agency culture and has the best tools and resources with which to work will pay off in improved employee productivity and retention. If your onboarding process needs a refresh, visit the IIA of IL Solution Center, www.iiaofil.org/Products-Services/ Solution-Center where you can access the following hiring resources: Onboarding Checklist, Employment Forms for New Hires and a Model Anti-Harassment Training program. Jennifer Jacobs, SHRM-CP, is the Director of Human Resources for the IIA of IL. She can be reached at jjacobs@iiaofil.org or (217) 321-3013.

Time and effort spent planning an effective onboarding program will help the new employee feel welcome and confident in their new position and will ensure they are able to be productive as quickly as possible. SUCCESS!

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De-myth-ifying Workers’ Compensation Part One

By Shawn-Michael Hall Sr.

In the world of Workers’ Compensation, there are several common assumptions that, although understandable, can cause retail brokers to inadvertently mislead their insureds. These assumptions are based on Workers’ Compensation folklore and are specious in nature; some of these myths may have once (upon a time) been grounded in truth, but many of these insurance tropes turn out to just be fairytales after all. To our retail partners out there, let me be clear: it’s not your fault! These parables have been passed down and evolved overtime; they’ve been influenced by rumor, clever marketing, oversimplification, and wishful thinking. So, let’s bust some myths. There are many more than 10 out there, but these 10 are a good sample to “debunk.”

Myth 1.

An insured’s XMOD determines the quality of an account.

A MOD number is promulgated using three years of an insured’s loss data, by class of business, as it compares to the loss averages for those same classes in the relevant state/s that the exposures exist. This computation means that the MOD is a kind of “beauty pageant” for insureds where ”1.00” is the average contestant (insured). The lower the number, or the further below 1.00, the more aesthetically-pleasing the client; however, simply relying on MOD alone would be like crowning Miss America based solely on the bikini round of the contest and ignoring miss Colorado’s Nobel Prize-winning PHD research in genetics!

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The calculation of the MOD alone leads us to several problems that exist in relying on the MOD as the Miss America of ranking client performance. Most reputable carriers actually require at least five years of loss data with submissions. If a MOD is predicated on the middle three years of experience, we have an obvious problem: the two years of unaddressed loss information. The fifth year (oldest) may be the most important as it is the most historically viable with the most developed losses. The current year also cannot be discounted from contemplation, as the current experience allows us a window into the current loss trend of the client in question. Really, how accurately can we assess overall performance with 3/5 the relevant data? 3 out of 5 grades on a report card…. 3 out of 5 years of a marriage… 3 out of 5 cards in a hand of poker… 3 out of 5 PowerBall numbers…. etc. MODs are not sufficient for the sake of appraising risk quality. As if that weren’t enough, do you know how misleading an MOD can be? Imagine you have a client that has four out of five years during which they are completely loss free. The third year of experience has an influx of claims that is, luckily, an aberration. Unfortunately, the MOD doesn’t see it that way. One horrendous year on the experience of a client that, historically, has a 0.60 MOD number can lead to a giant debit. Is that same client’s 1.4 XMOD indicative of the fact that they are a “bad risk”? Of course not! I know many retail brokers preach the importance of “lowering one’s MOD” to clients. This ambition could help, but clients are much better off focusing on lower claims frequency, updating safety protocols, march 2021

communicating with their carrier, helping their employees return to work after an injury, and simply bettering workplace culture as much as possible.

Myth 2

Base Rate fluctuations from carriers will determine my client’s renewal pricing. Consider this example. Client A pays 100K in work comp premium. Client A has had a string of bad luck and has had two years in a row of 200% and 250% loss ratios respectively. Client A’s workers’ comp carrier’s base rates dropped about 4% coming into the upcoming renewal and the client has asked if they can “expect a decrease in their NET rates.” (Granted, this example is a bit over the top, but stranger, even more hyperbolic, requests have been made by insureds.)

Carrier base rates typically fluctuate for one of two reasons. The most common is that a carrier has analyzed a specific class, or classes, of business and determined they aren’t making the right amount of profit on that class, and thus increase or decrease rates. The less common scenario occurs when the state, or governing body of work comp, issues a “recommendation” for statewide rate increases or decreases. You will note that neither of these scenarios has anything to do with specific insureds/clients and so, at its core, should not influence the underwriting of a specific account – especially if the insured is large enough to carry its own loss history credibility. The moral of this story is that base rates have very little, if anything, to do with the underwriting of any one specific client.

Myth 3

Placing my client’s WC coverage with a “Big Standard” is the best carrier option.

Your big standard carriers rarely have much specialization in workers’ compensation underwriting. 9 times out of 10 a computer will be determining the pricing of your insured’s file. Sometimes, this strategy can help your cause if your insured is a bit of a “dog” and you would rather human eyes don’t take the time to review the file. However, more often than not, you probably want a human to work on your business. Human underwriters are most often working for a carrier that specializes in writing monoline workers’ comp or at least writes WC as part of a specialized industry package, such as a large construction group offering WC/GL/Auto for files with premiums that combine to be over 1MM. In the world of WC underwriting, boutique specialization is almost always preferable to “big box shop.”

in workers’ comp premium, you probably don’t have the resources to tutor that client on these matters; however, for larger insureds, it’s a must and it will pay dividends. Not just monetarily, but culturally and your client (and carrier!) will appreciate the investment you are making in their success.

Myth 5

The “total incurred” for a given year is a definite determining factor of a year’s performance, it’s better if the “paid” losses are low as reserves can still go down, and an insured is doomed after a 1MM claim. In short, “Nope…. Nooo… and NAHH!” This trifecta of myths might be better characterized as “The outcome of lossruns can be assumed based on current claims values and carriers over-reserve to boot!” On average, in Illinois, current policy year losses develop more than 2X. That may sound bad, but there are other states (CA, NY, and MA to name a few) in which current year losses develop by a factor of 3X or more. That development factor is only an average; if reserves are decidedly higher than paid losses, the factor actually goes up. Loss reserves, on average, continue to develop. They do not usually keep the same “total incurred” value as claims are paid, and it’s even more rare for the claim totals to decrease over time. High reserves are not a good thing. As with Myth 4, a retail broker’s, or wholesaler’s, involvement with the claims process can aid in the mitigation of loss development so long as the broker acts as a knowledgeable advocate for the client and as partner to the claims adjustor/s. The final point of the trifecta is that regarding the daunting, ominous, experience-crippling, even MYTHICAL, 1MM claim. A shock loss does not define your client. Most any experienced underwriter would much rather see a year with a single claim for 1MM incurred than 10 claims, in one year, for 750K incurred. The latter example clearly displays a more systemic problem than the other client who simply had one really bad day at work. Carriers do not want to see a bad, or unsafe, workplace culture (see Myth 4 again), but they can forgive that one unlucky day. Check out myths six through 10 in the April issue of Insight. Shawn-Michael Hall Sr. is Division SVP, Managing Director of Workers’ Compensation for Breckenridge Insurance Services. He can be reached at shall@breckis.com.

Myth 4

WC is a “set it and forget it” coverage because the broker’s job is done after placement.

Work Comp is a culture coverage. Happy employees don’t file ridiculous fraudulent claims, and happy employees work for safe companies, with good benefits, return to work programs, reasonable demands, a safe workplace, responsible foremen, competent human resources, and so on. As the retail broker, you almost certainly know more about accomplishing these goals than your client does and, if not, you can always ask your wholesaler, MGA, or carrier. I understand that if an insured is paying only 10K

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insight

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

Don’t be Scared of E&O

! t I t c e p s e

If one were to ask 100 agency staff members that just came out of an errors and omissions (E&O) class, how many do you think would comment how scary the world of E&O is? How many agency owners would now be tempted to put a “For Sale” sign on the front lawn of their agency? The answer to both questions would probably reveal how scary they find E&O. This is truly unfortunate. While E&O can, at times, be somewhat intimidating to agency staff, embracing it and understanding how the agency can truly minimize its E&O claims potential are key to addressing that fear. After all, an agency needs to sell insurance. Being petrified of E&O could cause one to hesitate to talk with customers for fear of an E&O claim lurking around the corner. Being scared of E&O is not the answer. Respecting E&O is the answer, working to fully understand the world of E&O, what drives E&O claims, and what the agency can do to meet this challenge head on. Looking at all E&O claims over the course of any given year, it is common to find that 50%-60% of those claims against agencies are closed with no loss payment. This statistic shows the difference an agency can make in minimizing the potential for it to be found negligent if an E&O claim is made. Make the Commitment A common theme of E&O classes is “Document, Document, Document.” However, there is much more to the equation. A great starting point is to understand the legal liability standard of insurance agencies. Just because it is alleged that the agency committed an “error or omission” does not necessarily mean that the agency was negligent, and the legal standard for agencies is heavily built on the premise of negligence. An important element within this legal standard of care includes the agent being responsible for procuring the insurance requested by the agency-customer, or advising the agency-customer of their inability to do so. For example, if the agency-customer did not ask for flood insurance, there is a good change the agency will not be found to be negligent for not providing it.* Other fundamental issues include the following: • Be aware of the words/phrases you use. Whether spoken or in writing, as an agency you can be held responsible for what you tell the customer. This also speaks to the importance of knowing your product and accurately representing it. march 2021

By Curtis Pearsall

• Remember all facets of documentation. This is not simply documenting the conversation with the customer, but also memorializing back to the customer, in writing, the essence of that conversations. In addition, the documentation in the agency system should be handled promptly and with sufficient detail. Every agency staff member should live by the motto “if it is not documented in the file, it didn’t happen.” • Perform exposure analysis (for new and renewal business). This profess is designed to identify any changes/issues that your customers are experiencing so there can be a conversation on how to address those exposures. While the agency is technically going to be held responsible for procuring the coverage the customer requests, how much insurance will you sell if you wait for the phone to ring? • Execute your role based on the manner in which it is detailed in the agency procedure manual. Consistency is vital. • Customer accountability should be every agency’s goal. This includes requiring the customer to sign the application attesting to the accuracy of the information. What’s more, when a customer declines carious coverages/limits, confirm their decision back to the customer. This will be key if a customer “changes their story” after a problem develops. • Commit to education. The agency and each staff member should be committed to furthering their education, whether that involves technical information or various soft-skills issues. • Be honest. As Warren Buffett stated: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” The more one understands E&O and what drives E&O claims, the more they will respect it and not be scared of it. It is up to the agency as a whole and each staff member to make that commitment. *This assumes that the legal liability standard of an insurance agent in the jurisdiction in question is to merely procure the requested coverage in a timely manner, and notify the agency-customer if the insurance agent is unable to procure the requested coverage; and that there is no “special relationship” between the insurance agency and the agency-customer. Curtis M. Pearsall, CPCU, AIAF, CPIA is the President of Pearsall Associates Inc. and a Consultant to the Utica National E&O Program.

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TRUST US TO BE THERE WHEN YOU NEED US We offer multiple lines of coverage, dedicated underwriters, and unmatched claims service. Add in 110 years of building trusted relationships and you can rest assured that we’ll be there with the coverages you need to protect every customer’s tomorrow. Trust in Tomorrow.® Contact us today.

AUTO | HOME | FARM | BUSINESS

grinnellmutual.com “Trust in Tomorrow.” and the “Grinnell Mutual” are registered trademarks of Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company. © Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company, 2021.

CROP INSURANCE ENHANCED COVERAGE OPTION

What is it?

Editors Note: This information has been compiled from the United States Department of Agriculture – Risk Management Agency, the University of Illinois, and Ohio State University. The Illinois Crop Insurance deadline is March 15. IIA of IL staff will be interviewing several Farm Agents after that deadline to find out how the ECO was accepted by farmers. Look for that information in a future issue of Insight. The Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) is a new crop insurance option that provides additional area-based coverage for a portion of the insured’s underlying crop insurance policy deductible. It must be purchased as an endorsement to the Yield Protection, Revenue Protection, Revenue Protection with the Harvest Price Exclusion, Actual Production History or Yield Based Dollar Amount of Insurance policy. ECO offers producers a choice of 90 or 95 percent trigger levels. Trigger means the percentage of expected yield or revenue at which a loss becomes payable. How ECO Works ECO follows the coverage of the insured’s underlying policy. If they choose Yield Protection or a yield-based policy, then ECO covers yield loss. If they select a Revenue Protection policy, then ECO covers revenue losses. The amount of ECO coverage depends on the liability of the underlying policy. However, ECO differs from the underlying policy in how a loss payment is triggered. The underlying policy pays a loss on an individual basis, and an indemnity is triggered when there is an individual loss in yield or revenue. ECO pays a loss on an area basis, and an indemnity is triggered when there is a decrease in the county level yield or revenue. ECO has two trigger levels: 90 and 95 percent. ECO provides a band of coverage between the elected trigger level and 86 percent. If the county yield or revenue is reduced beyond the trigger level, the insured will receive an ECO indemnity. If the reduction in yield or revenue exceeds the 86 percent threshold, they will receive an indemnity equal to the full insured liability.

Illustration of ECO, SCO, and 75% Individual Coverage

Coverage Example Suppose your corn crop has an expected value of $765.00 per acre (170 bushels at $4.50 per bushel). Assume you purchase a Revenue Protection policy with a 75 percent coverage level – this is the ‘underlying policy.’ The underlying policy covers 75 percent (or $573.75) of the expected crop value and leaves 25 percent (or $191.25) uncovered as a deductible. At this point, you have the option to buy ECO coverage. Since the underlying policy is Revenue Protection, ECO will also provide revenue protection, except that payments will be determined at a county level. The ECO revenue coverage is described in the following table. ECO yield coverage performs in the same manner. Step

ECO Coverage Calculation for 95 percent Area Trigger Level

ECO Endorsement begins to pay when county revenue falls below this percent of its expected level

95%

ECO Endorsement pays out its full amount when county revenue falls to 86 percent of its expected level

86%

Percent of expected crop value covered by ECO (A – B, or 95- 86 percent)

Amount of ECO Protection (C x Expected $68.85 Crop Value, or 9 percent x $765) continued...

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The ECO Endorsement begins to pay when county average yield or revenue falls below 95 percent (or 90 percent, if that is the trigger level you elect) of its expected level. The full amount of the ECO coverage is paid out when the county average revenue falls to 86 percent, as shown on step B in the table.

Historical Frequency of Triggering 95% ECO (Left), 90% ECO (Center) and SCO (Right) Payments with RP on Corn Acres in Illinois

ECO payments are determined only by county average revenue or yield and are not affected if you receive a payment from your underlying policy. Therefore, it is possible for you to experience an individual loss but to not receive an ECO payment, or viceversa. You may also receive a loss on both the underlying policy and ECO. The dollar amount of ECO coverage is based on the percent of crop value covered. In this example, there are 9 percentage points of coverage – from 95 percent to 86 percent. Nine percent of the expected crop value ($765.00) is $68.85 (or x9 percent x $765.00). Thus, the ECO policy can cover up to $68.85 of the $191.25 deductible amount not covered by your underlying policy. You may cover a portion of the remaining amount of the deductible with other coverage such as the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO). Now consider an event where the actual county revenue falls to 89 percent of the expected value. This loss is 6 percentage points less than the trigger level elected (95 percent - 89 percent = 6 percent). This indicates a loss of 66.67 percent of the ECO coverage range (6 percent / 9 percent = 66.67 percent). This loss is then applied to the amount of ECO protection to determine an indemnity of $45.90 per acre (66.67 percent x $68.85 = $45.90).

payments would be triggered roughly in 2 out of every 3 years. Payments would be expected to occur in more years than not. Frequencies for the individual counties range from 53% to 87%. The frequency of 90% ECO-RP payments averages 50% across all Illinois counties, suggesting payments would be triggered roughly 1 out of every 2 years. Frequencies for individual counties range from 33% to 63%. County revenue losses on corn acres in IL would exceed 14%, triggering the max ECO-RP payment (regardless of whether 95% or 90% coverage is elected), and SCO-RP payments, with an average likelihood of 37%, or just over 1 out of every 3 years. The historical frequency of triggering max ECO-RP, and SCO-RP, payments ranges from 27% to 57% across individual counties.

Cost ECO provides coverage on a portion of your deductible where losses are more frequent, so your premium will reflect that higher risk. The premium cost is shared between the insured and the government, where the government pays 51 percent or 44 percent of the premium for yield and revenue policies, respectively.

Sources: https://www.rma.usda.gov/en/Fact-Sheets/National-FactSheets/Enhanced-Coverage-Option

The exact premium cost will depend on the crop, county, coverage level selected, and type of coverage selected such as Yield Protection versus Revenue Protection. Additional variables, including the projected price and even the volatility of the applicable commodity market can also affect the premium amount.

https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2020/12/historicalanalysis-of-the-frequency-of-triggering-enhanced-coverageoption-eco-payments.html

https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2020/11/the-newenhanced-coverage-option-eco-crop-insurance-program. html

Figures from 1990-2019 The figure above shows the estimated frequency of ECO and SCO payments being triggered on corn acres in Illinois counties when used with RP (ECO-RP, SCO-RP). The frequency of 95% ECO-RP payments on corn acres averages 67% across all 101 counties in Illinois, suggesting

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march 2021

Farm Agents Council a division of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois

2021 Mid-Winter Virtual Meeting - Success! The 91st Annual Mid-Winter Meeting of the Farm Agents Council took place January 28-29. Due to the pandemic we had to hold the event virtually. Although we missed seeing everyone in person, we appreciated the opportunity the virtual event offered in allowing multiple people from an agency to attend. We saw great attendance with over 190 registrants. Over the two-day event attendees could earn six hours of CE including the three hours of required IL Ethics credit. All CE hours have been filed with the IL Department of Insurance. We encourage you to go in and check your license now and contact our team if you see an issue. Our instructor Sam Bennett, shared his insights and humor about “The Importance of Ethical Behavior and the Farm Insurance Agent in These Crazy Times” as well as “If It Moves on the Farm It Presents a Risk.” Attendees also received a “Legislative Update” from IIA of IL’s Director of Government Relations Evan Manning. IIABA State Director, and Chairperson of IIABA’s Crop Insurance Task Force, Greg Sandrock also provided an update on happenings on the National level. There was a wealth of information shared by all instructors. Another benefit of a virtual event is it allows attendees the opportunity to go back and watch the recorded sessions. For those who were not able to participate on the original dates, you can now purchase the recordings at a discounted price, however no CE is available. We would not have been able to hold the event without the generous contributions on our sponsors! Please check out the website at www.ILFarmAgents.com to see their Virtual Exhibit Booths from the event. We look forward to seeing you at our next event, the Golf Outing & Annual Meeting scheduled for June 17-18. Save the date now and watch for more information to come out in April.

Thank you to our sponsors: Harvesting: AgriSompo North America Arlington/Roe Central Illinois Mutual Insurance Company Great American Insurance Group NAU Country Cultivating: Indiana Farmers Insurance Rain and Hail SECURA Insurance Western Illinois Mutual Insurance Company Planting: Auto-Owners Insurance Farmers Mutual Hail Forreston Mutual Insurance Company Frontier Mt. Carroll Mutual Insurance Grinnell Mutual IMT Insurance Mid-America Risk Managers Nationwide Agribusiness RCIS Tillage: Crop Risk Services ProAg

Did you miss the Mid-Winter meeting? Have no fear, the session recordings are now available for purchase. Check it out here: https://events.bizzabo.com/283114/home.

Interested in learning more about the Farm Agents Council? Check out our website at www.ILFarmAgents.com or contact us at farmagents@iiaofil.org.

Save the Date

FAC Golf Outing & Annual Meeting

June 17-18, 2021 • Bloomington, IL www.ILFarmAgents.com march 2021

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INSIGHT | associate news Thank you to our Associate Members.

Diamond Level

Platinum Level

Progressive Surplus Line Association of Illinois

Gold Level AAA Insurance Blue Cross/Blue Shield of IL Keystone Insurance Group, Inc. Pekin Insurance

Silver Level Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company Imperial PFS

IMT Insurance West Bend Mutual Insurance Co.

Bronze Level A. J. Wayne & Associates AMERISAFE Auto-Owners Insurance Co. Badger Mutual Insurance Company Berkshire Hathaway Guard Insurance Companies Columbia Insurance Group Continental Western Group CRC Group Donald Gaddis Company, Inc. Donegal Insurance Group Encompass Insurance Encova Insurance Foremost Insurance Group Forreston Mutual Insurance Company Frankenmuth Insurance Illinois Mine Subsidence Ins. Fund Illinois Public Risk Fund Indiana Farmers Insurance Insurance Program Managers Group J C Restoration J M Wilson 36

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Kemper Liberty Mutual/Safeco Insurance MarshBerry Maximum Independent Brokerage, LLC Mercury Insurance Group MetLife Auto & Home Midwest Insurance Company Nationwide Previsor Insurance ProAg Management Inc RT Specialty - Naperville ServiceMaster DSI Society Insurance Specialty Risk of America Travelers UIG - The Agent Agency United Fire Group W. A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc./Interstate Risk Placement Western National Insurance Westfield

march 2021

iia of il news | INSIGHT

Education Classes march

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Pre-Licensing Course - Property & Casualty Virtual E&O - Identity Theft, Red Flags, Money Laundering Webinar E&O Roadmap to Personal Auto Webinar CISR - Personal Lines Miscellaneous Virtual CISR - Insuring Personal Residential Property Virtual E&O - Roadmap to Homeowners Endorsements Webinar Pre-Licensing Course - Life & Health Virtual CISR - Agency Operations Virtual Agents E&O Webinar E&O Risk Management – Challenge of Change Webinar CIC - Personal Lines Virtual E&O - Roadmap to Policy Analysis Webinar CISR - Life and Helath Essentials Virtual

New Members

april

1 6 6 7 8 8 12 13 14 19 19 21 27 28

CISR - Insuring Personal Auto Exposures Virtual Pre-Licensing Course - Property & Casualty Virtual E&O - Identity Theft, Red Flags, Money Laundering Webinar E&O Roadmap to Personal Auto & Umbrella Webinar CISR - Insuring Personal Residential Property Virtual E&O - Roadmap to HO Endorsements & PIM Webinar E&O Risk Management – The Challenge of Change Webinar Agents E&O Webinar E&O Roadmap To Cyber & Privacy Insurance Webinar Pre-Licensing Course - Life & Health Virtual CISR - Commercial Casuatly 1 Virtual CIC - Commercial Casualty Virtual Culture, Ethics, and E&O Webinar E&O - Roadmap to Policy Analysis Webinar

member agency Jackson Risk Management Services Wyoming Larry Sreenan Agency, Inc. Roscoe For information regarding IIA of IL membership or company sponsorship, contact Tom Ross, Director of Membership Services, at (217) 321-3003, tross@iiaofil.org.

march 2021

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INSIGHT | classifieds for the insurance professional by the insurance professional

AGENCY/AGENTS/PRODUCERS WANTED

02. Forest Park/Oak Park agency for over 60 years, will meet your needs by providing space, markets, marketing & sales support, automation, merging with or purchasing your agency. Perpetuation/ Succession Plans, BuySell Agreements also available. We have experienced, educated and dedicated staff for you and your clients. Have access to our numerous companies, office services and many other resources. Retain ownership in your book with contingency. Please look closely at us- we are an agency you want to do business with! We’ve done it before, we know how- we make it easy! Visit our website at forestagency.com/agents.html, or call for a confidential discussion and a list of Agency benefits. Dan Browne will provide an agency evaluation/appraisal at little cost to you. Please call:

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

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:

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

AGENCY WANTED

20. Since 2004, Central Illinois Agents Group LLC has been providing independent agents with a variety of markets with contingency opportunities. Agents have availability to several markets that they may not be able to sustain or maintain on their own. We have markets for personal, commercial, agricultural and crop insurance lines. Let us help you get to the next level.

Visit www.ciagonline.com for contact information.

Workers’ Compensation We distinguish our Workers’ Compensation coverage by providing value-added services before, during, and after a claim. We’ve been successfully protecting our policyholders and their employees for decades. Up-front loss control measures Responsive claims handling Facilitation of quality medical care (when an accident does occur)

Browse all of our products at www.guard.com Our Workers’ Compensation policy is available nationwide except in monopolistic states: ND, OH, WA, and WY.

APPLY TO BE AN AGENT: WWW.GUARD.COM/APPLY AmGUARD • EastGUARD • NorGUARD • WestGUARD

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march 2021

UFG Insurance celebrates 75 years In celebration of our 75th anniversary, we at UFG reflect on all the people who have had a hand in our success over the years. After all, our company was founded on the belief that the insurance business is a people business — and that remains at the heart of who we are today. As we begin our next 75 years, we give our most humble thanks to our independent agents. We owe our success to you. UFG INSURANCE | 118 Second Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401 | ufginsurance.com | 800-332-7977 © 2021 United Fire & Casualty Company. All rights reserved.

Expect big things in workers’ compensation. Most classes approved, nationwide. It pays to get a quote from Applied.® For information call (877) 234-4450 or visit auw.com. Follow us at bigdoghq.com.

e-Insight - March 2021

Articles inside

OnBoarding: Starting Your New Hire on a Path to Success

De-Myth-ifying Workers’ Compensation - 10 Myths Busted

Reaching the Next Generation of Insurance Talent: From Campus and Beyond

Don’t be Scared of E&O - Respect It