November 2012 WI Professional Agent

professional agent november | 2012

What’s Inside?

Past Presidents Club............ 14 Awards Scholarship Enhancing Sales......................16 Additional Insureds............... 22 7 Tips for Selling More........27 4 Landmines of Hiring........... 31 New CIC's & CISR's............. 33 New Members.....................34 Automation Corner..............36 Coming Events.....................38

www.piaw.org

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From the

President Tracy Oestreich, CIC, CPIA, AU — President, PIA of Wisconsin

Opportunities Abound— Be Thankful This is the time of year we all join with friends and families to give thanks and to celebrate the holidays. Your PIA of Wisconsin is no different. Our family has grown this year and this could not have been achieved without all of your continued support. Vince Lombardi once said, “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.” This quote definitely applies to the PIA of Wisconsin. Starting with our individual members who pay their dues, flowing through our officers, board of directors, committee chairs, committee members and our awesome staff in Madison, each individual is committed to one common goal: Success and prosperity of our membership. These very efforts throughout the long PIA history have continued to stay focused on that very mission.

insurance. The PIA works regularly with other insurance trade groups, coalitions and companies to maximize our effectiveness in Washington. This committee definitely keeps busy!

Back in late September, I took the opportunity to attend the 2012 PIA National Fall Governance meetings in Baltimore, Maryland. There were 3.5 days of meetings to attend including board of directors meetings, PIA National committee reports, president’s advisory board meeting and future officer elections. PIA National is doing a huge amount of work on behalf of our membership. I am delighted to share with you some of what we are thankful for. Many agent volunteers contribute their time and talent on committees such as:

It is quite a fascinating time in the insurance industry – one full of opportunities and challenges. In this dynamic environment, our membership can rely on PIA to identify emerging issues and help take action to seize opportunities and respond to challenges as they come our way.

BUSINESS ISSUES COMMITTEE – This committee is responsible to address association policies on issues affecting business needs and operations important to PIA members. The committee is keeping busy advocating on key business issues with a direct impact on agency operations, including uniformity with certificates of insurance, FEMA updates/changes and cyber liability.

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE – Monitors federal/ state legislation important to PIA agents such as state regulation of insurance, healthcare reform, producer licensing, natural disasters, crop insurance and flood

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IMAGE COMMITTEE – Promotes benefits of PIA membership and helps to facilitate effective communication among all members. The committee continues to develop and enhance the National PIA website, a marketing guide booklet and PIA Connection magazine.

I encourage you all to check out the PIA National website to see all the awesome information out there available to you.

Just go to our website – www.piaw.org – and look for the link to National. Check it out!

As you drive through life you need a big windshield and a little rearview mirror. You need a big windshield to see all the new, important stuff that is coming your way. You only need a little rearview mirror because what is behind you isn’t all that important. – Tim Yedinak As you drive through the upcoming busy holiday weeks, make sure you spend most of your time looking through the windshield at the endless possibilities that expand out ahead of you. Endless opportunities are abound.

PIA of WI extends a big congratulations to Maggie Tirschman, CIC, CISR of M3 Insurance Solutions in Madison who is the 2012 NATIONAL outstanding CSR of the year!

Maggie will be recognized at the National award ceremony in Houston, TX on November 16th. Way to go Maggie!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

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I want to share something with you: The three little sentences that will get you through life. No. 1: Cover for me. No. 2: Oh, good idea, Boss! No. 3: It was like that when I got here. — Homer Simpson

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Memos from

Madison Ron Von Haden, CIC — Executive Vice President, PIA of Wisconsin

Small Business — the Backbone of our Society WE HEAR A LOT about small business. Comments such as “This will be bad for small business” or “It’s good for small business” bombard us every week as economists and politicos analyze current events, issues and proposals. Just what is a “small business?” Here are some interesting facts according to the University of Wisconsin Extension and the U.S. Department of Treasury: A “business” is defined as an entity that files a business tax return and generates more than $15,000 in business income and deductions. Based on that definition, there were 24.2 million businesses in the United States in 2007.

A “small business” is defined as an entity that files a business tax return and generates more than $15,000 but less than $10 million in business and deductions.

Based on the Treasury’s definition, 99% of all businesses in the United States are “small businesses”. That is 23.9 million businesses, leaving just 300,000 businesses outside the small business definition.

Small businesses are indeed the backbone of our society.

They don’t get the publicity, the attention or the bailouts that mega businesses get but the government, the economy and the mega businesses could not survive without the contributions of small businesses.

A REPORT IN USA Today notes that while heavy advertising as boosted market share for discounters GEICO and Progressive, ad campaigns for Allstate, Farmers Insurance Group and Nationwide appear to be generating little more than expensive chuckles for the big carriers that control 50% of the $160 billion auto insurance market.

Industry leader State Farm’s market share has remained flat

for three consecutive years. Allstate has lost market share for five consecutive years.

The reason for the ad campaigns’ lack of effectiveness at drawing away customers may have something to do with retention rates. According to Dr. Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, only about 1 in 10 drivers actually switch policies—a level that’s been consistent for a decade.

AUTO CLAIMS satisfaction is about the same now as it was in the second half of 2011, after a notable decrease in the first quarter of 2012. The J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study released this summer measured consumer satisfaction with the claims experience for auto physical damage losses. The study categories included first notice of loss; claim service interaction; damage appraisal; repair process; rental experience and final settlement.

Overall customer satisfaction increased by 10 points (on a 1,000 point scale) to 852 from 842 in the first quarter of 2012.

Satisfaction with the final settlement, the largest component of increased satisfaction, increased by 12 points since the first quarter and every category increased by some margin during the study period.

The average claim duration for a repairable vehicle (from reporting the claim to the vehicle being returned to the customer) is 13.7 days. A full 21% of claimants had to pay some out-of-pocket expenses and it is no surprise that satisfaction among those claimants decreased significantly from those that paid only their deductible.

AND REMEMBER ….. Red meat is not bad for you. Furry green meat is bad for you!

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From the

Boardroom

By Mary Czaja, CIC — PIAW National Director

Be Involved As I look back on the last 10 years, one of the most significant life changing events for me, not that I knew it at the time, was August 2003 and my election to the Professional Insurance Agents of Wisconsin's Board of Directors. That was the first time I had competed in an election. Over the last 9 years I have gone through the chairs at the state level and now represent Wisconsin at a National level. I have written numerous articles on the fact that I feel I have received much more than I have given, both professionally and personally from being involved.

or the amount of work, or rejection at the doors, after all I am a Professional Insurance Agent. What I was naive about was the behind the scenes work; the need for a phenomenal campaign manager, just as we all need exceptional CSR's to be successful in the insurance industry. In addition, I was blown away by the cost to run a campaign. Just to mail the homes in my district was over $6000. 00 each time. In addition I am putting on roughly a thousand miles a week, averaging 28 miles to the gallon and gas is approaching $4.00 a gallon. It is expensive.

Now on to the next step. . . This year as I was on my way back from the Federal Legislative Summit in Washington D.C., I received a phone call from former Assemblyman Don Friske asking if he could meet with me that Thursday in my office. As Don is a client, I said sure, what time.

When Don arrived he brought Assemblyman Scott Suder and Robin Vos with him. I had met both Assemblyman before and thought very highly of them. They explained that our current Representative, Tom Tiffany, was going to run for the vacant seat of retiring Senator Jim Holperin and asked me if I would run for the Assembly seat. Yes, I was flattered, but somewhat stunned. Why me? Long story short, my involvement with PIA.

So why am I telling you this? Am I complaining? No just the opposite. As I write this I have never been so tired in my life, not even when I had small children not sleeping through the night and I was working full time. I am sure the election on Nov. 6, 2012 will be over when you read this, so at this point I do not know the outcome. But, would I do it all over again? Absolutely! I have met people from all walks of life in the 5 counties that the 35th district encompasses. These are good hardworking family people, who extend their hand to people in need and in friendship.

I have been humbled by the people who have turned out to help me in this race both financially and with their time and effort.

Now, to continue the story, I did quite a little soul searching, talked with family and friends and finally said yes. Wow, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting involved in. The limit of my political involvement has been writing checks and putting up signs for candidates that I had supported. I had never gone door to door, spoke on issues, done literature drops, walked in parades or the hardest one asked for money. I was not afraid of the time

So here I go, I am once again writing to encourage involvement, because I am sure that I have received much more than I have given by running for the state Assembly.

And finally, I would like to thank everyone in the PIA family both at a state level and at a national level for your support!

I hope to see you in Madison!

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WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK.

www.acuity.com Introducing Eva & Ella, the ACUITY Cuties

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OCI Administrative

Actions Ted Nickel — Commissioner of the Office of Insurance

Madison, WI—OCI has taken the following administrative actions. In many of these cases the respondent denied the allegations but consented to the action taken. Any forfeitures paid in these administrative actions are deposited in the Common School Fund which is administered by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. The earnings from this fund are distributed to all public K-12 schools in Wisconsin and are used by school libraries to purchase books. Copies of the administrative action orders may be viewed online at https://ociaccess.oci.wi.gov/OrderInfo/OrdInfo.oci.

OCI is responsible for overseeing the operations and marketing of insurance companies and agents in Wisconsin. OCI encourages anyone with a question or a complaint regarding an insurance company or agent to contact the office at this tollfree telephone number: 1-800-236-8517.

Allegations

and

Actions Against Agents

Ana Aguila, 10395 SW 93rd St., Miami, FL 33176, had her application for an insurance license denied for 31 days. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to disclose an administrative action taken by the state of Florida on a licensing application.

Douglas G. Bowring, 1627 N. 69th St., Wauwatosa, WI 53213, had his insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Pamela Burzinski, 736 Capman St., Milton, WI 53563, had her application for an insurance license denied for 31 days. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to disclose an administrative action taken by the state of Wisconsin on a licensing application.

Trisha Chavis, 1276 Southridge Cir., Rochester Hills, MI 48307, had her application for an insurance license denied.

This action was taken based on allegations of failing to respond promptly to inquiries from OCI and a criminal conviction which may be substantially related to insurance marketing type conduct.

Richard Corbett, 2392 Rockminster Rd., Lexington, KY 40509, had his application for an insurance license denied.

This action was taken based on allegations of failing to respond promptly to inquiries from OCI and failing to provide evidence of resident surplus lines licensure.

Broch Cotter, 622 E. Oak Grove St., Juneau, WI 53039, had his application for an insurance license denied. This action was taken based on allegations of a previous administrative action taken by the state of Wisconsin that included the permanent revocation of his Wisconsin insurance license.

Andrea J. Dudkiewicz, N11401 Sugar Bush Rd., Birnamwood, WI 54414, had her insurance license revoked.

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This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Barbara Rose Fernandez, 7641 Cedar Elm Dr., Irving, TX 75063, had her application for an insurance license denied.

This action was taken based on allegations of failing to respond promptly to inquiries from OCI and failing to provide evidence of reciprocal legal expense licensure.

Roger M. Haecker, 414 Rogers St., Milton, WI 53563, had his insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Jon Hatcher, 521 1/2 N. Washington St., Elkhorn, WI 53121, had his application for an insurance license denied for 31 days. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to disclose an administrative action taken by the state of Wisconsin on a licensing application and a criminal conviction which may be substantially related to insurance marketing type conduct.

Annette F. Howard, 3562 N. 10th St., Milwaukee, WI 53206, had her insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Christopher Andrew Johnson, 4432 White Aspen Rd., Madison, WI 53704, had his insurance license revoked.

This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Mark A. Kottke, W9286 County TC, Oakfield, WI 53065, had his insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Michael K. Leibham, 1908 N. 6th St., Sheboygan, WI 53081, was ordered to pay a forfeiture of $1,000.00 and was ordered to pay $1,048.00 in customer restitution. These [continued on page 10]

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WISCONSIN PIA IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF THE CPIA DESIGNATION PROGRAM The PIA of Wisconsin is a proud sponsor of the Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) professional designation program. The CPIA designation is comprised of a series of Insurance Success Seminars. These three, one-day workshops teach practical "before", "during", and "after" the sale techniques for insurance producers, sales managers, account managers and company marketing representatives.

Participants leave with ideas that will produce increased sales results immediately. In fact, The Insurance Success Seminars are guaranteed: Implement the principles covered in these sessions and experience a 20% increase in personal production within six months, or your registration fee will be refunded!

To maintain the CPIA designation, CPIA’s must fulfill an update every two years by attending an Agency Management Boot Camp, or attend one of the core Insurance Success Seminars, or attend a Pro-to-Pro Retreat, or maintain an active membership in the AIMS Society.

The AIMS Society is a national organization dedicated to providing interactive marketing and sales training, ongoing resources and networking opportunities to insurance professionals.

You can attend the CPIA courses in any order. No Test. Approved for 7 Wisconsin CE credits.

CPIA 1 - Position for Success

CPIA 2 – Implement for Success

CPIA 3 - Sustain Success

During this program, participants are encouraged to focus on internal and external factors affecting the development of effective business development plans.

Factors discussed include a review of the state of the insurance marketplace; analysis of competitive pressures; necessary insurance carrier underwriting criteria; and consumer expectations and understanding.

During this session participants will be provided with specific tools for analyzing consumer needs; will learn to utilize risk identification techniques to gather pertinent prospect information; will develop skills necessary to assimilate information gathered into a customized protection program; and will participate in exercises designed to promote effective delivery of proven solutions.

This program focuses on fulfilling the implied promises contained in the insuring agreement. Students will review methods of providing evidence of insurance coverage; will discuss policies and procedures for controlling errors and omissions including policy review and delivery, endorsements, claims-processing, and handling of client complaints. This course includes a review of the Professional Expectations; the Law of Agency; and Legal and Ethical Standards.

CPIA 1 – January 16, 2013 CPIA CPIA11Wisconsin - November 9, 2011 Mutual Ins. Co. Radisson Paper WI Valley Hotel Fall 2012Madison, Appleton, WI Dates to be Announced

CPIA 2 – May 1, 2013 CPIA 2Radisson - February 15, 2012 Marriott Madison West Green Bay, WI Middleton, WI

CPIA 3 – September 11, 2013 CPIA 3 -Corporation August 1, 2012 Kelmann Grand Geneva Wauwatosa, WI Resort Lake Geneva, WI

Course Schedule 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

8:30 – 4:30 Lunchp.m.

On Your Own 12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.

Feenot perinclude Seminar: Fee PerRegistration Course (does lunch): PIA Member $155.00 / Non Member $190 Includes Materials, Coffee in the AM & Soda in the PM at > PIA Member $155.00 or call PIA at 1-800-261-7429 Register www.piaw.org > Non Member $190.00 Register at www.piaw.org or call PIA at 1-800-261-7429 NOVEMBER 12 9

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OCI Administrative Actions [continued from page 8] actions were taken based on allegations of soliciting and receiving a personal loan from a customer and failing to respond promptly to inquiries from OCI.

agreed to pay a forfeiture of $250.00 and agreed to respond promptly to OCI. This action was based on allegations of failing to respond promptly to inquiries from OCI.

Shana Mahlik, 124 Grant St., Valders, WI 54245, had her application for an insurance license denied for 31 days. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to disclose an administrative action taken by the state of Wisconsin on a licensing application.

Joshua P. Scherer, 5231 Blazingstar Ln., Fitchburg, WI 53711, had his insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Matthew Andrea Malone, 2201 Snowbird Ave., Wausau, WI 54401, had his insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Thomas William Mayer, 325 Cedar St., Ste. 800, St. Paul, MN 55101, had his application for an insurance license denied for 31 days. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to disclose an administrative action taken by the state of Nevada on a licensing application.

Kenneth J. McManus, 20 Wood Pond Rd., Amston, CT 06231, had his application for an insurance license denied. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to respond promptly to inquiries from OCI and failing to provide proof of resident state licensure.

Scott K. Palmer, 3292 Lost Meadows Ln., Buford, GA 30519,

Allegations

and

Gabriel Schwab, 1459 E. 26th St., Brooklyn, NY 11210, had his application for an insurance license denied. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to respond promptly to inquiries from OCI and failing to provide proof of resident state licensure.

Myron Smith, 3450 N. 9th St., Milwaukee, WI 53206, had his insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Daniel A. Stafford, 5217 175th St., Chippewa Falls, WI 54729, had his insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Thomas Gordon Ziglinski, 121 Emily Ct., Darien, WI 53114, had his insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Actions Against Companies

American General Life Insurance Company of Delaware, 405 King St., Wilmington DE 19801, agreed to pay a forfeiture of $40,000.00 and agreed to comply with Wisconsin insurance laws. These actions were taken based on allegations of insurance policy rating practices in violation of s. Ins 3.455 (9), Wis. Adm. Code.

Bankers Life and Casualty Company, 11825 N. Pennsylvania St., Carmel, IN 46032, agreed to pay a forfeiture of $40,000.00 and agreed to comply with Wisconsin insurance laws. These actions were taken based on allegations of using unfair claims settlement practices when it improperly denied skilled nursing care claims.

H B D C II, Inc., 150 N. Radnor Chester Rd., Ste. B101, Wayne, PA 19087, had its insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Hospitality Insurance Services, Inc., 100 Broadway St., Ste. 2D, Sterling, CO 80751, had its insurance license revoked.

This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Insurance Brokers Network, Inc., P.O. Box 4536, Gettysburg, PA 17325, had its insurance license revoked. This action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes due.

Prudential Insurance Company of America, The, 100 Mulberry St., Newark, NJ 07102, agreed to pay a forfeiture of $7,500.00 and agreed to comply with Wisconsin insurance laws. These actions were taken based on allegations of insurance policy rating practices in violation of s. Ins 3.455 (9), Wis. Adm. Code.

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success

The only point in making money is you can tell some big shot where to go. — Humphrey Bogart All my successes have been built on my failures. — Benjamin Disraeli

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速

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I’m celebrating our 100th year by planning for our next 100 years.

Jason Bogart, CPCU, ARM, Vice President of Branch Operations Our future will be marked by the relationships we forge with you—the independent insurance agents who represent us. You’re the reason we’ll continue to investigate new market opportunities. Why we’ll develop competitive products. Why we’ll maximize the use of new technologies.

Why we’ll emphasize ongoing professional development for our staff.

By helping you profitably and efficiently grow your agency, EMC Insurance Companies will continue to serve you and your customers today and in the future.

Milwaukee Branch: 855.495.1800 | Home Office: Des Moines, IA

www.emcins.com © Copyright Employers Mutual Casualty Company 2011 All rights reserved

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Past Presidents Club Awards Scholarship

Selective has been a trusted provider of insurance solutions since 1926.

Working with our elite group of agents, we focus on providing the business and personal insurance solutions that best meet our customers’ needs.

Get to know us today.

Metro Milwaukee Bonnie.Weiss@selective.com

West & Central WI James.Wasserburger@selective.com

Green Bay/Fox Valley Robert.Reinke@selective.com

©2012 Selective Ins. Group, Inc. (Branchville, NJ). “Selective” insurers include Selective Ins. Co. of America, Selective Ins. Co. of New England, Selective Ins. Co. of N.Y., Selective Ins. Co. of South Carolina, Selective Ins. Co. of the Southeast, Selective Way Ins. Co. and Selective Auto Ins. Co. of N.J. Insurers and products available vary by jurisdiction.

SI-12-077

Through a new partnership with Vertafore, PIAW is offering FREE access to Sircon online licensing and continuing education management services.

The PIA of Wisconsin Past Presidents Club annually awards a $1,000 scholarship to a college junior or senior who is pursuing a field of study related to insurance and hopes to enter the insurance industry after graduation. The 2012 scholarship was awarded to Julie Lilla from Trempealeau, WI. She is a senior at UW-Eau Claire and is a licensed agent who works part time in the industry. We congratulate Julie for her terrific grade point average and her commitment to education and insurance.

Each member of the Past Presidents Club is assessed a voluntary annual dues fee that is used to fund these scholarships. The Past Presidents are committed to promoting the entry of new young professionals into our industry. Thanks to all the Past Presidents for their generous contributions.

Login to: www.piaw.org and get started today!

USING SIRCON SERVICES, YOU CAN: • APPLY FOR A LICENSE • RENEW YOUR LICENSE • LOOK UP AVAILABLE COURSES • CHECK LICENSE RENEWAL STATUS • CHECK LICENSE APPLICATION STATUS • REQUEST A LETTER OF CERTIFICATION CERTIFI • UPDATE YOUR NAME OR ADDRESS • FIND YOUR LICENSE NUMBER/NPN • CHECK YOUR STATUS WITH A STATE • MAINTAIN YOUR FIRM ASSOCIATION • UPDATE YOUR ADDRESS • UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS • PRINT YOUR LICENSE © 2011 Vertafore, Inc. Vertafore, the Vertafore logo and design, Unleash your potential, and the Vertafore trademarks listed are owned by Vertafore, Inc.

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Choose 5 of 9 to improve your 9 to 5.

• Commercial Casualty I

• Commercial Casualty II

• Insuring Commercial Property

• Insuring Personal Auto Exposures

• Insuring Personal Residential Property • Personal Lines Miscellaneous • Agency Operations

• Elements of Risk Management • Life & Heath Essentials

CISR courses are designed to focus on your type of business. It still takes 5 courses to earn a CISR designation but now you have the flexibility of 9 course options. This allows you to focus on what’s important to you. We understand not everyone learns the same way or even at the same pace, so we offer courses in the classroom, online and in-house. Find out how CISR can improve your 9 to 5. Call or visit us on the web today.

Scan this QR code with your smart phone for a short video description

Learn more @ www.piaw.org or call 800-261-7429

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Skills a great E&O

Enhancing Sales

loss prevention technique

by Curtis M. Pearsall, CPCU, AIAF, CPIA

Is your agency looking to meet the competition head on? Providing producers and CSRs with quality sales training is a practical option that can bear positive results. There’s a by-product of this sales training, too: enhanced errors-and-omissions loss prevention efforts. Ironically, or magically, there is a strong connection between solid sales skills and E&O loss prevention.

A

A significant aspect of sales training involves education – of agency producers, CSRs and customers. As an agency educates customers on key definitions, the customers should better understand what coverages provide and what they don’t.

could cause the customer some financial consequences.

What else has customer education accomplished? If a customer suffers a property loss (and a subsequent co-insurance penalty due to their lack of insuring their

Take, for example, the concept of insurance to value. For

property to value), they might be hard-pressed to successfully

a business customer to truly appreciate and understand

bring an E&O action against the agency – because the

why properly insuring property is so important, the agency

important terms and how they applied to losses were brought

should supply definitions of related insurance terms such as

to the customer’s attention beforehand.

ACV (actual cash value) or RC (replacement cost), Blanket or Agreed Amount, etc.

Strengthened defense

Because most commercial policies will be written on a

In Personal Lines, how many agency customers who own

co-insurance basis, the agency should provide a definition

jewelry understand that the mysterious disappearance of

of this concept with some claim examples. This can clearly

the jewelry is not covered by the homeowners policy? If the

illustrate how failing to satisfy the co-insurance requirement

agency wrote to all of its personal lines customers to advise

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them of this coverage issue, without a doubt some customers would purchase a jewelry floater. The result? Increased sales!

Suppose, though, that no customers purchased the floater.

Has this customer communication been a waste of time?

Not at all! The letter advising the customer of the coverage differences would certainly strengthen the agent’s defense if a problem developed down the road. While you could wait until after a customer has a claim to advise them of this issue, the conversation will probably go much smoother before a loss.

A proactive position A recent insurance survey indicated that less than 50 percent of renters actually have the proper liability or property coverage. The survey further noted that many of the renters believe their landlord’s insurance covers their personal belongings. With the average renter in the survey having approximately $30,000 of personal belongings, a fire could certainly be catastrophic for those without the proper coverage in place. An agency that takes a proactive position in reaching out to this segment of the market could benefit from increased sales while minimizing the likelihood of facing an errors-and-omissions claim.

The opportunities are virtually endless. At your next staff meeting, ask your CSRs and producers what types of questions customers are asking them, and then develop an education campaign around those issues.

Be an agency that educates its customers. By doing so, you will be providing important value to your prospects and customers, which should result in new business sales and high retention.

Popular ways to educate customers include: • Annual account reviews

A “silver bullet” An exposure analysis checklist is another effective sales tool that has positive sales impact. What’s more, this tool has been called the closest thing to a “silver bullet” to prevent E&O claims.

A significant part of a producer’s role is to determine the needs and expectations of his or her prospects and clients.

Said another way, the goal is to help the client/prospect conserve assets and reduce the adverse effects of risk.

Exposure analysis checklists, such as the Rough Notes Producer Online product or the Vertafore Producer Plus product, should be in every salesperson’s toolbox.

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Checklists also include questionnaires detailing the crucial questions to ask that will ensure a solid understanding of the customer’s exposures. Including these questionnaires with the carrier submission helps the underwriter better understand the risk. Providing your carriers with full and unbiased information is a great means to avoid future E&O issues.

Agencies that are truly serious about growing should take the initiative to educate customers and sharpen the sales skills of the staff, both internal account executives and outside producers. By combining education and sales training, your agency can benefit from increased sales and significantly reduce the potential of an E&O claim. At the end of the day, sales skills and errors-and-omissions loss prevention is truly a match made in heaven.

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Additional Insured's

Availability

by Mitchell B. Reiter

of coverage

In prior articles we addressed the basic concepts of additional insured coverage and the hidden pitfalls contained within the language of particular AI endorsements. We conclude our series with a discussion of how the status of an AI impacts the potential coverage available under the policy.

Separation of insureds Once you’ve succeeded in helping your customer obtain the appropriate AI endorsement, how do you reassure the customer that each AI shares an equal right to the benefits of the named insured’s policy? The answer lies in the policy’s “separation of insureds” clause.

This clause provides that, except with respect to the limits of insurance and certain rights and duties, the policy applies as

No, Jones’ insurer may not. Although Smith is an employee of Jones, he is not an employee of Guardian. The separation of insureds clause means that the insurer must apply each of the exclusions independently to the AI and cannot disclaim coverage to that AI simply because there would be no coverage to the named insured for the same claim.

Other insurance clauses

if each insured were the only insured. This is important. The

Every liability policy also contains an “other insurance”

following example illustrates why:

clause. These clauses are designed to control the allocation

Jones Plumbing, a subcontractor, is performing work on a construction project. The general contractor, Guardian Contracting, is an AI on the policies of insurance issued

of coverage within the same layer of insurance (primary and umbrella/excess). This clause applies to every insured under the policy, even an AI.

to Jones. While working on the project, James Smith (an

The standard “other insurance” clause provides that the

employee of Jones) is injured. Smith sues Guardian, alleging

subject policy should be treated as excess coverage if there

that Guardian’s negligence caused him injury. Guardian

is another policy that covers the loss at issue. By reference to

demands a defense and indemnity under the insurance

the above example, Guardian is covered as an AI under the

policy issued to Jones. Can Jones Plumbing’s insurer deny

insurance policy issued to Jones. Because “other insurance”

coverage to Guardian based upon the policy’s employer’s

covers Guardian for the loss at issue (i.e., AI coverage under

liability exclusion?

Jones’ policy), the “other insurance” clause in Guardian’s

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own policy causes that policy to be treated as excess coverage

2.) an agreement to assume the tort liability of another party

to Jones’ policy for Smith’s claim.

to pay for “bodily injury” or “property damage” to a

However, if you and your customer are dealing with an

third person or organization;

insurer that writes its own non-ISO AI endorsements or

3.) execution of the contract before the accident or injury.

if its policy contains a similar “other insurance” clause making it excess to any other policy that covers the loss (i.e., Guardian’s own policy), it may be necessary to ensure that

An “insured contract” must contain all three of these elements in order to be covered by an ISO commercial general liability

a “Primary and Non-Contributory” endorsement is attached

form. If your customer’s contract actually contains these

to your customer’s policy. Such an endorsement will serve to

three elements, typically in some type of an indemnification

ensure that the policy providing AI coverage is primary and

provision, it should qualify as an “insured contract.”

will not seek to allocate costs among any other potentially

Accordingly, the insurer should extend coverage under the

applicable policies. For instance, many construction contracts

named insured’s policy to the other contracting party even if

require that all downstream parties to the contract provide an

the named insured’s policy does not contain an AI endorsement.

insurance policy containing this endorsement to ensure that all of the policies of the downstream parties provide coverage before any of the upstream parties’ policies.

Insured contracts

An AI endorsement, working in conjunction with the policy’s separation of insureds and other insurance clauses, should serve to extend coverage correctly under your customer’s insurance policies to another entity. In addition, an entirely independent basis for extending coverage to another entity

Your customer also can extend coverage under his or her

may be found in the provisions contained in the underlying

policy to another entity outside of an AI endorsement, by

contract between the parties that may qualify as an “insured

what is known as coverage for an “insured contract.” This

contract.” Remember, the best way to assist your customers

“insured contract” is the underlying contract between the two

in building an appropriate insurance coverage program that

parties. In fact, many insureds choose to “double up” to have

complies with their customary contractual obligations is to

the security of both (AI and insured contract coverage) in

thoroughly understand the nature of their business and help

order to “protect their insurance protection.”

them to understand exactly what their insurance policies do,

The three basic elements of an “insured contract” are:

and do not, cover.

1.) a written contract;

—Reprinted with permission from PIA Management Services Inc.—

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The honest thief The king visited his dungeon once a year to talk to the prisoners there. Every year, each inmate insisted that he or she was the picture of innocence: They'd all been framed, or treated unfairly at trial, or victims of circumstances, or otherwise completely free of all guilt. Not one had a dishonest bone in his body.

One year, the skeptical king asked the newest prisoner in the dungeon, "I supposed you're as innocent as a lamb, too?"

This man shook his head sadly. "No, Your Majesty. I'm a thief. I was caught fair and square, and my sentence was just."

The king blinked in surprise. "Release this man!" he proclaimed, and the thief was promptly set free.

The other prisoners began shouting. "Your Majesty, how can you do such a thing? How can you free a confessed criminal while we rot in here?"

I'm doing you a favor," the king said. "I can't risk leaving that evil scoundrel in here to corrupt all your innocents souls, "could I!?"

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7

Tips

Selling More for

by John Chapin

in a

Tough Econonomy

You hear it everywhere you go: “Sales are down because of the economy. My customers simply aren’t buying as much.” There are some people out there saying the economy doesn’t matter, it’s what’s going on in your own head that matters. While it’s true that what goes on in your brain is always more important than outside circumstances, the economy is still what’s affecting many businesses. If yours is one of them, put the following seven ideas into practice and you’ll find that the affect on you will be minimal, and in fact, you may notice no change or even a positive one.

1) Don’t let the economy be your excuse.

After a tough day or some difficult sales calls, it’s easy to use the economy as an excuse. If you do, people will hear it in your voice and you’ll sell less. This attitude also leads to working less. In a down economy, when salespeople should be increasing their calls and activity level, the average salesperson cuts calls by 37%. The answer? Use the down economy as a warning and motivation to work harder and smarter, not as an excuse to back off. If you back off, business will go down, if you work harder and smarter, business will improve. As the saying goes “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

2) Get better at selling.

When there are fewer sales opportunities and prospects, you must do better with the ones you have. The way to do this is to get better at selling. Read books, listen to tapes and CDs, watch DVDs, become a sponge and absorb everything you can get your hands on. Using this strategy has helped many salespeople improve to the point where they actually sold more in a so-called down economy than they sold when times were good. Now is the time to improve your skills; constant and consistent learning is the best way to grow your sales.

3) Keep a good attitude.

Your attitude is your most important sales tool in your arsenal; you have to keep it sharp. Now is not time to read the

front page of every newspaper and watch every newscast. Our brains are like computers “Garbage in, garbage out.” What you should be doing is putting as many good ideas as possible into your brain. Pick up anything that is inspirational, motivational, positive, and upbeat and use it to keep a good attitude and stay focused. Be positive and persistent. In addition to putting good ideas into your brain, surround yourself with positive people and stay away from negative people.

4) Prepare for the price objection and build value.

People are focused on price more than ever these days.

Prospects and customers will do everything they can to commoditize vendors and simply go with the lowest price. Thus it is very important that you build value. What are your primary benefits? How are you, your company, and your product better than the competition? Are you local; is your long-term cost less, can you respond to service calls faster?

You need to accentuate your primary benefits, make them as powerful as possible, and provide proof in ROI Models, testimonials, and the like. Finally, come up with some solid responses to the price objection.

5) Build relationships.

The relationship with the salesperson is the number one reason people give for doing business with a particular company. We’ve all seen it happen, you make an overwhelming case for your product versus the competition and yet, the [continued on page 34] NOVEMBER 12 27

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If your company is having hiring problems, taking a step back to review if any of these four mistakes hit home is the best place to start changing how your company hires.

30 NOVEMBER 12

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The

Landmines

by Brad Remillard

of

Hiring

In a recent survey of over 100 CEOs and their key executives, the first question asked was, “Is hiring top talent critical to the success of your organization?” Not surprisingly, everyone replied, “Yes.” Not simply important, but critical. The follow-up question was, “If it is critical, then how much time each month is spent focusing on hiring, excluding when you are actively looking to fill a position?” Not surprisingly, only three people responded positively.

S

Something that is critical to the success of the organization gets virtually zero time unless there is a current need.

Is that the way most critical issues are handled in your company? No strategic planning? No thought or action discussed or taken until the problem arises? Only once the problem arises is it dealt with it?

This management style only happens with hiring. Most other critical issues are regularly discussed during management meetings. On-going programs such as cost reductions, product development, increasing sales or market share, customer service, improving operational efficiencies are all constantly discussed and often major components of the company’s strategic plan. In fact, most strategic plans all have great plans for growth. Yet few ever include a strategy for hiring the people needed to execute the plan as the company grows. Except for a vague paragraph, strategic hiring is rarely part of a strategic plan.

Companies that truly want to hire top talent and do it on a consistent basis must avoid these four landmines when hiring:

1) Untrained Managers - This is the number one reason hiring fails. Few managers are actually trained on how to hire. Most managers have never even attended one course or read a book on hiring. The few that have had training, it is usually limited to interviewing training.

Granted, this is better than nothing, but interviewing is only one step in an effective hiring process. If you aren’t

finding qualified candidates, all interviewing training will do is validate they aren’t qualified. If the job isn’t properly defined then where you look for candidates may not be the right place, resulting in unqualified candidates.

If companies are serious about improving hiring, step one is to develop an effective hiring process and then train their managers in all aspects of the process.

2) Poorly Defined Job - This mistake results in the search going sideways before it even starts. Traditional job descriptions for the most part aren’t job descriptions at all. Most describe a person. Does this read like your job descriptions: Minimum 5 years of experience, minimum B.A. degree, then a list of minimum skills/knowledge and certifications? Let’s not forget the endless list of behaviors the candidate must have: team player, high energy, self-starter, strategic thinker, good communicator, etc. Of course there is the list of the basic duties, tasks and responsibilities. This traditional job description defines a minimum qualified person, not the job. So before the search starts it is all about finding the least qualified person. Is there any wonder why the least qualified person shows up at your door?

Instead of defining the least qualified person, start by defining superior performance in the role or the results expected to be achieved once the person is on board.

For example: [continued on page 32] NOVEMBER 12 31

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Landmines. . . [continued from page 31] y Improve customer service feedback scores from X to Y.

effort of an hour or two.

y Reduce turnover from X% to Y% within the next 12 months.

4) Disrespecting the Candidates - Top talent,

y Implement a sales forecasting process that includes a rolling 3 month forecast that is accurate within X% of actual sales.

Now this is the real job. It defines expectations, not some vague terms or minimum requirements. For every job there are usually at least 4 of these results required. The job is being defined by performance. In order for the person to be able to achieve these results they must have the right experience.

Maybe it is 5 years, maybe 3 or maybe 10, it doesn’t matter. If they can do these it is enough. Now go find a person that can explain how they will deliver these once on board and you have the right person.

3) Finding the least qualified candidates – This is one of the biggest problems faced by companies. This happens as a result of number two. Most companies search for the least qualified to start with, then complain they are seeing only unqualified candidates.

The other issue causing this problem is most companies start the hiring process too late. They wait until they absolutely need someone then expect when they decide they are ready to hire someone, at that moment in time, top talent will magically appear on the market, find them, be so compelled after reading the minimum job description to update their resume, and respond.

Reactive hiring is a thing of the past. Hiring top talent requires proactive hiring. This means your hiring managers must be in the market engaging people all the time, not only when hiring. They should be connecting with people on LinkedIn, involved in professional associations and commit at least an hour or two a month to hiring. Few managers spend any time engaging potential candidates when they aren’t actively hiring. In fact, many even discard resumes as they come in if they aren’t hiring. Finding top talent doesn’t take a lot of time each month, but it does take a consistent monthly

especially those candidates working in no hurry to make a job change (often referred to as passive candidates), will walk away from a manager or company if they aren’t respected in the interviewing process.

Some common complaints by candidate of being disrespected include: y The hiring manager being late for the interview. Few managers would accept it if the candidate is late, so why should it be okay for the manager? y Lack of preparation by the interviewer. Again, if the candidate came in unprepared would that be acceptable? y Taking calls during the interview. y Telling the candidate if they have any further questions to call and then ignoring the calls. If managers don’t respect the candidate during the hiring process it isn’t going to get any better once they are hired.

The interview is a PR event. These candidates will make sure others know how they were treated. They may post it on a website, hear about a person they know interviewing and speak with them about their experience. Bad PR is never a good thing. This is an easy thing to fix. All it takes is treating candidates the same way you would treat a customer.

If your company is having hiring problems, taking a step back to review if any of these four mistakes hit home is the best place to start changing how your company hires.

Brad Remillard is a speaker, author and trainer with more than thirty years of experience in hiring and recruiting. Through his corporate workshops and industry association speaking engagements he demonstrates how organizations can effectively attract, interview, hire and retain top talent. Brad is also the co-founder of IMPACT HIRING SOLUTIONS and co-author of, “You’re NOT the Person I Hired: A CEO’s Guide to Hiring Top Talent.” For more information on Brad’s hiring training programs or speaking, please visit www.bradremillard.com.

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Bock Insurance Agency, Inc. Oshkosh, WI

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ASI St. Petersburg, FL

Brew City Insurance Agency, Inc. Racine, WI

Klinner Insurance, Inc. Medford, WI

Old Republic Surety Company Brookfield, WI

Champan Insurance Agency LLC Schofield, WI

Merchant Insurance Brokerage LLC Madison, WI

ASSOCIATE

Elite Insurance Agency, Inc. Coloma, WI

Miller Simonson Insurance Agency, LLC Portage, WI

G&L Insurance Services, Inc. Waukesha, WI

Shoreline Federal Inc. Manitowoc, W

Agoragate Plymouth, MN ServiceMASTER of Lake Geneva Elkhorn,

Selling More. . . [continued from page 27] prospect still buys from your competitor because they’re golf buddies. Relationships are extremely important, in most cases more than anything else, so you need to focus on not only staying in touch with and keeping your name in front of customers and prospects, but also on taking that next step and building solid relationships.

6) Go back to the basics.

Now is the time to increase the personal touch. Make more face-to-face visits to customers, send handwritten notes, stop by occasionally simply to say “hello”, and drop off the proposal in person instead of mailing or e-mailing it. Your objective is to touch the customer more often on a more personal level at a time when your competitors are calling less and being less personal. Also, make sure you have a plan in place, know what you have to do every day, and make sure you do it.

it. Provided you have solid goals and strong enough reasons why you need to get there, you will arrive where you decide to arrive, regardless of the economy, or anything else for that matter. Reminding yourself that you are 100% responsible for your success keeps your success under your control and within reach.

If you put the above tips to work, you will see an improvement in business, perhaps a significant one. Many people have found that as a result of the above tips they are doing more business now than they were when the economy was good. What are you capable of if you really set your mind to it and get to work? The sky is the limit, so stay positive, work hard, work smart, and dream big.

If you would like access to John’s free white paper on what it takes to be successful in sales along with a monthly newsletter,

7) You are completely responsible for your success.

Five years from now you and your career will arrive somewhere, the question is: Where? If you decide that something outside of you, such as the economy, is responsible for your success or failure, you give away control of your destiny and your ultimate success. The way to change that is to remember that your success is up to you, you own it, and you control

you can visit John’s website at http://www.completeselling.com.

John Chapin is an award-winning sales speaker, trainer and coach, a number one sales rep in three industries, and the primary author of the gold-medal winning “Sales Encyclopedia”. In his 24 years of sales, customer service and management experience, he has sold in some of the toughest markets and economies.

34 NOVEMBER 12

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Client: Rockford Mutual Insurance Job#: 228585 • Product ID: --- • Flat Size: 3.625” x 5” Colors: Black • Modified By: PMH File Location: PrepressMAIN:Active:R:Rockford Mutual Insurance Company_RMIC:RMIC-Ads:RMIC-Ad_3-625x5_WI Professional:WIP Comments:

the agent is our customer ► We strive to provide one-stop shopping to our agents by meeting both their Personal and Commercial Lines insurance needs.

► All our initiatives are focused on making it

Since 1896

ROCKFORDMUTUAL I N S U R A N C E C O M P A N Y Putting Lives Back Together

SM

When the unexpected happens...

easy to do business with us, with the goal of helping our agents grow their revenues.

► We firmly believe that the independent agent model is the best distribution channel for our products both today and in the future.

M U T U A L

I N S U R A N C E

For information about becoming a Partners Mutual Insurance agent, please contact our marketing department at Schumann.Lyn@PartnersMutual.com 20935 Swenson DriveWaukesha, WI 53186www.partnersmutual.com an affiliate of Penn National Insurance

Rely on RMIC

Contact our Marketing Department at 815-489-3158 Rockford Mutual Insurance Company P.O. Box 5626 • Rockford, IL 61125 www.rockfordmutual.com

Where Better Service Matters  Since 1931

NOVEMBER 12 35

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AUTOMATION c rner

by Wendy Beck, CISR PIAW Automation Committee

GOING PAPERLESS . . .

A

where do I start?

A paperless work environment can be a scary proposition for an agency that relies heavily on paper and files. It’s definitely worth considering, however, as the benefits to productivity and automation can be huge.

What does “going paperless” really mean to your agency?

Going paperless means current documents are available to view at any time and from one place. Where the documents are viewed is actually a combination of several sources: a repository of electronically-scanned and filed documents, information on your agency management system, and documents readily available on carrier websites.

By changing communication and implementing consistent workflow procedures, you can eliminate dual workflows and significantly impact productivity at your agency.

Valuable time can be redirected to activities like client coverage reviews and new business sales.

What are the first steps to going paperless?

If you make the decision to go paperless, there can no holdouts or associates who continue to do things another way. Change isn’t easy at any level, but if there’s to be a successful shift toward a higher level of automation, there must be total agency commitment. This means total commitment at the management level, as well as CSRs and service staff.

Your agency’s leaders must be committed to providing your staff with the tools they need to implement the new workflows and keep up with changing and advancing technology. They’ll need dependable, high-speed internet at every workstation, and systems must be upgraded to stay current. Investing in dual monitors alleviates the tendency for staff to print a document as reference. For instance, they can open a company website in one screen and your management system in another, or quote in one screen and reference a customer file beside it without printing paper copies.

Management must also be committed to encouraging feedback from those who use the technology, and, if needed, help find positive solutions to workflow issues. The resolution may not always be exactly what the user would prefer, but the positive communication can keep a valued employee from becoming a holdout during your paperless conversion.

Set a budget for office automation and maintain ongoing employee training to keep staff using the technology as it advances. One of the easiest ways to keep your staff involved in the process of becoming paperless and using available tools is to get them involved in your agency management system’s user groups. Rather than designating an IT or management associate to attend these monthly meetings, consider rotating your CSRs. They can ask questions and network with other users, as well as pick up cool and useful tips to share with their coworkers. As the ones who are actually using your technology, make them feel valued and provide them with opportunities to have some ownership in the changing workflows.

How should your agency get physical paper into an electronic format?

The next step is to consider how to handle document retention. Many scanners and software are available, and most management systems offer ways to attach and retain documentation. First, consider which of the three basic scanning workflows best fits your agency’s environment.

Keep in mind these are examples of each type of workflow; depending on the software you chose or your management system capabilities, there may be other ways to attach the document (i.e., barcode, hot key, etc).

Back End Scanning: A member of your staff, designated the “agency processor”, sorts and delivers hard-copy mail to the appropriate CSR. The CSR processes each document and creates an activity within your management

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system. A barcode sticker or coversheet is placed on top of the document, and that code is noted in the activity.

Your processor will collect the physical mail and scan it; the software will automatically link the document to that activity.

Occurrence Scanning: Your processor delivers the hard-copy mail to the appropriate CSR. The CSR processes each document and creates an activity within your management system.

A barcode sticker or coversheet is placed on top of the document, and that code is noted in the activity. The CSR then scans each document using a small desktop scanner and links it to the activity immediately after processing.

The agency stores these documents for a period of time before shredding.

Front End Scanning: A receptionist or processor sorts the hard-copy mail and scans each piece, temporarily storing it in a file designated for the appropriate CSR. Once the paper mail is scanned, documents for each CSR are emailed to his or her inbox.

The CSR then reviews and processes each document, creates an activity, and attaches the scanned document to that activity or customer file.

Once you’ve discussed options for each of these workflows, call your management system vendor and ask these key questions: • What attachment capabilities are integrated into your management system?

• What is the preferred workflow for attaching documents to a customer file? Are there documented procedures we should use?

• What’s the most popular scanning workflow with current clients who are using the same system and version?

• What three scanning software programs do they recommend (so you can get more information)?

• Is there another agency contact who recently implemented electronic file retention and would be willing share the experience? Also ask for recommendations from your local user group.

Explore scanning software companies independently. Local insurance conventions are a great place to get instant demos from the scanning vendors who exhibit there. Use the internet to find many paperless document management systems with good information.

Is your agency using your carriers’ real-time capabilities to their fullest potential?

It’s imperative that your agency staff use real-time capabilities available from most carriers through many agency management systems. In one click, a CSR can take a claim inquiry from a client file straight into a carrier website and

that client’s account. There’s no paper to pull or passwords to enter. You don’t even have to pull up the carrier’s website.

Implementation of real time is key in making the most of your paperless environment. Visit this link to help your agency use and optimize the current use of real time workflow enhancements: http://www.acord.org/communities/augie/Documents/ AUGIERealTimeMakesReal$$$$$.pdf

Download is one of the most important prerequisites before “turning off the paper” While going paperless doesn’t require that an agency fully use download, it is an integral part of effectively becoming a paperless agency. Some agencies tried download years ago but it wasn’t a good experience because information was wiped out and more work was created. If your agency is one of them, it’s understandable that you might be reluctant to try again. The good news is that download technology has come a long way in recent years.

To make the most of a paperless conversion, your agency should use download and trust the information in your management system. Transitioning into downloading with each carrier is a process that requires some change, including the way you view some information in your management system. Each carrier will download some things differently, have some information that doesn’t download at all, and be at different points in what they offer for download. It may take a little getting used to at first, but the transition really will be minor and the benefits will far outweigh the inconvenience.

Download can significantly decrease your CSRs’ workload as it reduces their data entry. It’s recommended that agencies generally accept the download as accurate and only “spot check” or “audit” a transaction rather than checking each one and actually duplicating a workflow process, contradicting the whole idea of becoming paperless. It will take some time to get comfortable trusting the download process, but if you’re committed to download and the whole paperless conversion, your agency will have more time to focus on customer service and premium generating activities.

Once you’re comfortable with the paperless conversion process you chose and implemented in your agency, you’re ready to “turn off” the paper. Some carrier programs, like West Bend Connect, give you the ability to turn your paper off and on at your discretion. In addition to daily transaction logs to your agency management system, you can more easily access current transactions that processed the night before, all current decs, commission statements, and claims reports from our website.

If you’d like to explore any part of the process of becoming a paperless agency, or if you have any questions about becoming more automated, please contact your carrier’s automation specialists. They can answer your questions, provide you with resources, and field your concerns as you advance with technology and become a more automated agency.

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PROFESSIONAL INSURANCE AGENTS OF WISCONSIN, INC. OFFICERS

DIRECTORS

Ms. Tracy A. Oestreich, CIC, AU, CPIA President Anderson Ins. Associates, Inc. W177N9856 Rivercrest Dr., Ste. 215 Germantown, WI 53022 Phone 262-789-8500 Fax 262-754-6038 tracyo@iaanetwork.com

Ms. Mary J. Czaja, CIC PIAW National Director CIS Group PO Box 321 Tomahawk, WI 54487 Phone 715-453-3366 Fax 715-453-3951 mary@cisgrp.com

Mr. Jeff J. Glass, Vice President A.F. Glass Insurance Agency PO Box 1149 Lake Geneva, WI 53147 Phone 262-248-5555 Fax 262-248-5544 jglass@glassinsurancecenter.com

Mr. John W. Klinzing, CIC Affiliated Ins. Agencies of WI, LLC 3830 Atwood Ave. Madison, WI 53714 Phone 608-310-3924 Fax 608-441-8787 johnk@affiliatedllc.com

Ms. LouAnn Herriges, CIC, CISR Treasurer Johannesen-Farrar Inc. PO Box 347 Delavan, WI 53115 Phone 262-728-2631 Fax 262-728-2312 louannh@jfinsurance.com

Mr. Brian MacGillis, CPIA MacGillis Agency, Inc. 13745 W. Capitol Drive Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone 262-790-0000 Fax 262-790-0004 brian@macgillisinsurance.com Ms. Kathy M. Mulder Nolan Insurance Agency LLC PO Box 238 Brandon, WI 53919 Phone 920-346-2241 Fax 920-346-5600 kmulder@nolanins.com

13

January 2013

February 2013

December 2012

14-16

March 2013

Coming Events

November 2012

Mr. Rick Clements, LUTCF, MDRT Secretary Clements Ins. Agency, Inc. 317 N. 6th St. Wausau, WI 54402 Phone 715-842-1664 Fax 715-848-3337 rick@clementsagency.com

Mr. Trey Neher, CIC, CISR THZ Insurance Group 420 E. Northland Ave. Appleton, WI 54911 Phone 920-730-0123 Fax 920-833-6870 tneher@thzins.com Mr. Steve Rodgers Rodgers Agency 400 E. Cedar St. Pulaski, WI 54162-8828 Phone 920-822-3695 Fax 866-716-1007 stever@rodgersagency.com Mr. Dennis Rupers, CIC, CISR Don Rick, Inc. PO Box 465 Portage, WI 53901 Phone 608-742-5548 Fax 608-742-5540 dennis@don-rick.com Ms. Kori Sagen Sagen & Associates 1002 1st Center Avenue Brodhead, WI 53520 Phone 608-897-9100 Fax 866-803-5135 kori@sageninsurance.com

STAFF PIA of Wisconsin, Inc. 6401 Odana Road Madison WI 53719 Phone: 608-274-8188 Toll Free: 800-261-7429 Fax: 608-274-8195 Toll Free Fax: 866-203-7461 www.piaw.org Ronald Von Haden, CIC Executive Vice President rvonhaden@piaw.org Mandy Behrens Administrative Assistant mbehrens@piaw.org Darcy Brown Member Benefits Coordinator dbrown@piaw.org Heather Falk, CISR Bookkeeping hfalk@piaw.org Becca Prestbroten Special Project Coordinator bprestbroten@piaw.org Brenda Steinbach Education & Convention Director bsteinbach@piaw.org

CISR PERSONAL RESIDENTIAL Green Bay 8 WI CE CIC personal lines Green Bay 20 WI CE

11 & 12

CIC/Ruble Milwaukee 16 WI CE (4 of 16 optional Ethics)

13

HOT TOPIC/WTH Brookfield 8 WI CE (3 are Ethics)

16

CPIA 1 Position for success Madison 7 WI CE

16-18

CIC AGENCY MANAGEMENT Middleton 20 WI CE (4 are Ethics)

30-31

WINTER GET-AWAY Minoqua

12-13

CIC/RUBLE Green Bay 16 WI CE (4 of 16 optional Ethics)

14

WILLIAM T. HOLD Green Bay 8 WI CE (3 are Ethics)

27, 28

CISR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Brookfield, Madison 8 WI CE

13, 14

CISR PERSONAL LINES Fond Du Lac, Rothschild 8 WI CE

20-22

CIC COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Milwaukee 20 WI CE

21

ETHICS Milwaukee 8 WI CE

38 NOVEMBER 12

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dc.9299 S

What does it take to join The Society Team?

TM

AGENT

TM

While other insurance teams recruit by size, at Society速 Insurance we focus on the intangibles. Our playbook revolves primarily around niche and workers comp insurance. And our philosophy is to find agents that are the best fit for our team.

So rather than recruit by the size of the agent or agency, we prefer to find teammates that can execute our game plan to perfection.

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PIA_NovMag2012.indd 39 dc.9299 SocietyNewAgent_Ad_FP_Cmn.indd 1

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6401 Odana Road Madison, WI 53719 Change Service Requested

Professional Insurance Agents of Wisconsin, Inc. 6401 Odana Road • Madison, WI 53719 (608) 274-8188 • (800) 261-PIAW • FAX (608) 274-8195 • TOLL FREE FAX: (866) 203-7461 www.piaw.org

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Agency Name_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Street Address_______________________________________________ PO Box_______________________________________________________ City, State, Zip_______________________________________________ County_______________________________________________________ Phone_______________________________________________________ FAX_________________________________________________________ E-mail Address_______________________________________________ Website Address______________________________________________

Primary Contact Information:

The Primary Contact will receive a copy of the Wisconsin Professional Agent magazine and all mailings from PIA State and National.

The Primary Contact will have voting privileges at both PIA State and National.

Name & Designation

DOB

Gender

Employment Status

Part-time

Magazine

Nat’l Voting

Privilege

o o

Male Female

o o

o

Corporation

Licensed Owner Licensed Producer

INCL INCL

o

Agency Information: Agency Type:o Sole Owner

o

Top 3 P&C Companies (list in order)

Partnership

Other Association affiliated with_____________________________

1)__________________________ 2)__________________________ 3)____________________________

Which Agency Management System are you using____________________ E&O Carrier_______________________________________Exp. Date______________ Annual P&C Prem. Vol._____________________________

Calculate Membership Amount Due:

Part-time employees count as one-half. If count ends in half, drop half. # Owners_________+ # Producers_________+ # Licensed staff_________+ # Unlicensed staff_________= Total Agency Size_______________ DUES SCHEDULE

Total Agency Size $Amount Total Agency Size $ Amount 1 335 16 890 2 375 17 930 3 415 18 965 4 450 19 1005 5 490 20 1030 6 525 21 1070 7 570 22 1105 8 605 23 1145 9 640 24 1180 10 675 25 1220 11 710 26 1255 12 750 27 1295 13 780 28 1330 14 815 29 1370

15 855 30 & Over 1400 I certify that the information on this application is true and correct.

Signed_______________________________ Dated_______________________

PIA_NovMag2012.indd 40

Total Amount from Dues Schedule $_______________ Send:

o

Check

o

MC

o

VISA

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DIS

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AMEX

Card No._________________________________________________________ Exp. Date_________________________________________________________ Name as it appears on card:__________________________________________________ Billing address if different from above: __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Payments to PIA are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. However, they may be deductible under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code as a business expense.

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