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Layman's Terms
Layman's Terms Advocacy Update: Looking Back at Legislative Accomplishments of the Last Decade
Insurors Director of Government Relations, Jim Layman, J.D., breaks down the legal and legislative issues facing our industry.
With the first legislative session of the 2020s upon us, I thought it’d be fun to take a quick look back at some of the major accomplishments on the advocacy front for the Insurors over the last decade. Here is a list of some of the major topics our association has worked on at the state level:
Producer Bill of Rights This was a bill brought by the Insurors and our partners in the legislature in 2011 to provide more due process and protection for agents that are under investigation by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI). The bill required TDCI to provide notice to agents if they are under investigation and for TDCI to close pending investigations within two years. Insurors helped ensure the passage of this legislation.
Duty to Read In 2012, following a couple of harmful court decisions, Insurors worked with industry and legislative partners in passing “Duty to Read” legislation. This legislation protects agents by requiring courts to presume that insureds have accepted their coverage if they have paid their premiums. Legal issues still exist with this statute and Insurors and its partners are currently working to ensure that the statute continues to protect agents.
Certificates of Insurance In 2012, Insurors was successful in convincing the Department to issue a department bulletin on the impropriety of issuing certificates that attempt to amend, expand, or alter the terms of the underlying insurance policy. The Department declared that such conduct is a prohibited unfair trade practice. Certificates remain an issue though as third parties continue to request certificates that seek to alter the underlying policy. Insurors is pursuing legislation this year to define what a certificate of insurance is, and to make it a violation for an person to prepare, issue, or request a certificate that attempts to alter the policy or is otherwise misleading or deceptive.
Workers’ Comp Opt-Out This was a proposal in 2014 that would have allowed employers in Tennessee to not provide workers’ compensation. Such a plan would have been devastating not only for our members but also for workers across the state. Insurors partnered with stakeholders in the business community to ensure that this legislation was defeated, but it is possible the idea could be proposed again.
Health Insurance Fees Following the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act, many health policies did not allow for agent commissions. In 2017, Insurors helped pass legislation that allowed agents to charge fees for health insurance.
Surplus Lines Convenience In 2019, after several months of raising concerns with TDCI, the Department changed its policy to only require proof of one declination in order to provide surplus lines coverage for most coverage categories. Insurors worked with the Department in requesting this change.
Referral Fees In 2019, Insurors advocated for passage of legislation that ensures agents can adequately compensate employees and individuals that they employ or are in business with. This leg-
These are just a few of the key issues we worked on and we are looking forward to more legislative successes in the 2020s. If you want to know more about issues that are likely to be discussed in this year’s state legislative session, please take a look at my magazine article from the November/December 2019 issue of The Tennessee Insuror.
In addition, be sure to sign up to receive regular session updates through our "Agent Advocate" emails. If you don't think you are already receiving them, just send me an email at jlayman@insurors.org, and we’ll make sure you are on the list.
Some hot-button insurance issues for the 2020 session include State-Sponsored Retirement savings plans, Duty to Read legislation, minimum limits for auto, regulatory sandbox legislation, government risk pool legislation, and several workers’ compensation issues.
All of the achievements in this article are a direct result of the commitment our members have shown through their contributions to InsurPACTN. Any future results will be an outcome of the same thing. If you haven’t already, please be sure to contribute. As you probably know, 2020 is an election year and, accordingly, one in which we can really work towards reelecting lawmakers that are strong partners of Insurors and our industry.
Legislative Town Halls We have already begun planning the 2020 follow up events to our successful luncheons from last year. These Town Hall meetings will take place across the state and help share with our members the happenings at the State and Federal level that impact our industry. Please save the date(s) below for events in your area or that you would be interested in attending: May 19 – Nashville June 3 – Chattanooga June 4 – Knoxville September 10 - Memphis - Insurors of Memphis luncheon TBD - Jackson Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns about any of the work being done.
About the Author
Jim Layman, J.D. is the Director of Government Relations for Insurors. He previously worked for the Tennessee Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services as legislative liaison and rules coordinator. Prior to that, he worked for the Dept. of Health as a legislative liaison and the Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development as director of unemployment insurance appeals. Jim graduated from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee. He may be contacted at jlayman@insurors.org. u Genesee
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Association Update
Several Members Among Business Insurance "Best Places to Work"
"Best Places to Work in Insurance" is an annual feature by Business Insurance and Best Companies Group that lists the agents, brokers, insurers and other providers with the highest employee engagement and satisfaction.
In the 2019 addition, Insurors members Reliance Partners, White & Associates Insurance, Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, Martin & Zerfoss, Inc., AssuredPartners and Insight Risk Management were all recognized in the "Small Employer Category" for companies with 25-249 employees.
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Nashville agency Martin & Zerfoss, Inc. has announced that Amanda Hardin, CPA; Taylor Ragan, CIC, CAWC and Paul Steele, CIC, CRM, CAWC, ACRA have been promoted to principals at the agency. Hardin was also named chief financial officer, and Ragan and Steele also added the title of senior vice president.
Hardin has over 18 years of experience with the agency in roles including controller, operations and human resources. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Middle Tennessee State Univ. in 2001 and holds a license as a Certified Public Accountant.
Ragan has been a risk advisor with the agency for 11 years and earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Steele has been a risk advisor with the agency for 15 years and previously served on the Insurors Board as Young Agents Director. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University.
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earned his Bachelor's degree in Risk Management from the University of Mississippi.
Hatchett Ins. Best Practices Award Winner
Winchester-based Hatchett Insurance Agency was recently named as the "Top Performing Best Practices Agency" in the country in the category of agencies under $1.25 million in revenue. Principal Nelson Hatchett accepted the recognition at the Best Practices Symposium on January 16 during the Big "I" Winter Meetings in New Orleans.
The Best Practices study recognizes agencies across the country for their operational excellence, financial results and overall management achievements, and is presented in conjunction with Reagan Consulting.
Kelman Now Partner at Page, Chaffin & Riggins
Memphis-based Page, Chaffin & Riggins Insurance Agency has announced that Clark Kelman is has been named as a partner at the agency. Kelman has been a has been a producer at the agency since 2015. He graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor’s Degree in Risk Management and Insurance.
McDonald Earns CAPI Designation from Chubb
Baili McDonald, a personal lines leader with Brown & Brown of Tennessee, recently completed the program to earn the designation of Certified Advisor of Personal Insurance (CAPI). The program is presented by the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Chubb, and only 39 agents from around the world were selected to participate in this year's program.
Lipscomb & Pitts Earns Multiple Awards
Memphis-based agency Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, LLC has announced several recent achievements and awards, including being listed as a "Top Workplace" by the Memphis Commercial Appeal, being listed as one of the "Best Places to Work" by Memphis Business Journal, gaining recognition as a continued on page 41...
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