wisconsin
INDEPENDENT AGENT APRIL 2018
POSITIONING THE INDEPENDENT AGENCY SYSTEM FOR
FUTURE
SUCCESS
DISCOVER WHAT WE COVER.
We provide
BOP CybermoreLiability than Property General Liability Workers’ Comp
Commercial Auto
Employment Practices Liability Insurance
Inland Marine Commercial Package monoline coverage.
Get to know AmTrust. Discover what we cover at d20.amtrustinsurance.com AmTrust is AmTrust Financial Services, Inc., located at 59 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038. Coverages are provided by its property and casualty insurance company affiliates. In TX, coverage is provided by AmTrust Insurance Company of Kansas, Inc.; AmTrust International Underwriters Designated Activity Company; Associated Industries Insurance Company, Inc.; First Nonprofit Insurance Company; Milwaukee Casualty Insurance Company; Republic Underwriters Insurance Company; Republic-Vanguard Insurance Company; Security National Insurance Company; Southern County Mutual Insurance Company; Southern Insurance Company; Technology Insurance Company, Inc.; or Wesco Insurance Company. In WA, coverage is provided by AmTrust Insurance Company of Kansas, Inc.; AmTrust International Underwriters Designated Activity Company; Associated Industries Insurance Company, Inc.; Developers Surety and Indemnity Company; Milwaukee Casualty Insurance Company; Security National Insurance Company; or Wesco Insurance Company. Consult the applicable policy for specific terms, conditions, limits and exclusions to coverage.
wisconsin
INDEPENDENT AGENT APRIL 2018
Open Door Policy Agency of the Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Employee Benefits Employer’s Top Training Priority for 2018? Soft Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Agency Management 4 Ways to Lead the Most Difficult Person in Your Insurance Agency . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Customer Service: Are you Proactive or Reactive?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Seller’s Remorse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Sales How to Stop Wasting Valuable Time and Energy in your Agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Agency Operations Build Trust with Clients Through a Smooth Claims Experience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 4 Predictions for the Future of Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Future Workforce Report: Remote Work is set to go Mainstream. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Commentary from Counsel New Law Helps Agencies Fend Off Improper Certificate Requests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Government Affairs Proposal Would Expand Short-term Health Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Allord Appointed Co-Chair of Health and Life Insurance Advisory Council. . . . . . . 41 Virtual University Ask an Expert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Emerging Leaders Spotlight Nick Metzger of Madison Mutual Insurance Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Risky Business Reacting to Headlines: How to manage EPL risk with the Agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Members in the News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Industry News Draining the Insurance Fraud Swamp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Food for Thought. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin 725 John Nolen Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53713 Phone: (608) 256-4429 or (800) 362-7441 ■ Fax: (608) 256-0170 ■ Web: www.iiaw.com Executive Vice President - Matt Banaszynski 2017-2018 Executive Committee President............................................................ Lise Meyer Meyer Insurance - P.O. Box 633, Sauk City, WI 53583 President-Elect.................................................... Jason Bott Robertson-Ryan & Associates - 330 East Kilbourn Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53202 Secretary-Treasurer......................................Chris Costakis Avid Risk Solutions- 2501 Parmenter Street, Ste 200A Middleton, WI 53562 Chairman of the Board................................. Matt Weimer Diversified Insurance Solutions - 100 North Corporate Dr., #100, Brookfield, WI 53045 State National Director ................................Steve Leitch Leitch Insurance - P.O. Box 85, River Falls, WI 54022 2017-2018 Board of Directors Mike Ansay, Ansay & Associates 101 East Grand Ave. #11, Port Washington, WI 53704 Cindy Burns, Burns Insurance 500 South Central Ave., Marshfield, WI 54449 Marc Petersen, American Advantage-Petersen Group 15171 W. National Ave., New Berlin, WI 53151 Jack Riesch, R&R Insurance Services P.O. Box 1610, Waukesha, WI 53187-1610 Chad Tisonik, HNI 16805 W Cleveland Ave, New Berlin, WI 53151 Pam Utpadel, Universal Insurance Advisors 100 West Lawrence St. Suite 313, Appleton, WI 54911 Ryan Waite, Neckerman Insurance Services 6200 Mineral Point Road Madison, Wisconsin 53705 Darrel Zaleski, Spectrum Insurance Group 4233 Southtowne Drive, Eau Claire, WI 54701
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
On The Cover… Our
Exclusive
Company
Sponsors
provide significant support to the IIAW so that we can continue to bring industry leading products, services and world-class events and resources to our members. We thank them for their continued partnership, involvement, and support of the independent agency channel! In this issue learn about how these great companies and the IIAW are positioning the independent agency system for success.
> A DVERTISERS & INFORMATION
2017-2018 Committee Chairs
AAA Wisconsin................................................. 45
Agency Services ............................................Kim Dandrea M3 Insurance - N19 W24200 Riverwood Dr. Waukesha, WI 53188
AM Trust............................................................ 2
Automation/Technology ...............Cathleen Christensen Hierl Insurance - P.O. Box 949, Fond du Lac, WI 54936 Emerging Leaders ..........................................Ryan Waite Neckerman Insurance Services - 6200 Mineral Point Road Madison, WI 53705 Employee Benefits.......................................... Mike Farrell David Insurance - 1300 South Green Bay Rd Racine, WI 53406 Government Affairs .......................................Jeff Thiel R&R Insurance Services - P.O. Box 161 Waukesha, WI 53187
Amerisafe....................................................... 50 Badger Mutual................................................. 47 Berkshire Hathaway/Guard.............................. 19 EMC................................................................. 40 IIAW Pre-licensing Classes.............................. 28 IIAW CE............................................................ 29 Integrity.......................................................... 38 InsurCon.......................................................... 20 Partners Mutul................................................ 33
Carrier Relations ......................................... Kevin Murray Johnson Insurance Services - 525 Junction Road, Madison, WI 53717
ProtectYourAgency.com.....................Back Cover
Marketing/Membership Development....Jamie Durocher Arlington Roe- 2 Carlson Parkway N., Suite 175 Plymouth, MN 55447
Robertson Ryan & Associates.......................... 44
Technical...............................................Timothy Kakuska Robertson-Ryan & Associates - P.O. Box 547 La Crosse, WI 54602
Risk Management Services............................. 46 SECURA........................................................... 34 The IMT Group................................................. 25 West Bend........................................................ 51 Western National............................................. 43 APRIL 2018 | 3
POSITIONING THE INDEPENDENT AGENCY SYSTEM FOR
FUTURE
SUCCESS INTRODUCING OUR 2017-2018
IIAW E XCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSORS
EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
Your membership in the palm of your hand.
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EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
Acuity Loves You! PROUD TO PARTNE R WITH THE BE ST INDEPENDENT AGE NTS IN TH E BUSINE SS!
EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE IS OUR MIDDLE NAME. Only Burns & Wilcox has the depth and breadth of experience to deliver the right solutions right away. Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 262.347.0266 toll free 800.544.5700 | fax 262.347.0440
burnsandwilcox.com
Chicago, Illinois | 312.803.4770 toll free 800.254.5411 | fax 312.803.7629
Commercial | Professional | Personal | Brokerage | Binding | Risk Management Services
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EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
Integrity Insurance Company Headquarters: 2121 E. Capitol Dr, Appleton, WI 54913 Founded: October 1933 Officers: Jill Wagner Kelly — President Brent Hammer — Treasurer and Controller Steve Klingemann — Vice President, Personal Lines & Marketing Christian Martin — Vice President, Claims & Sales Dan Trochil — Vice President, Commercial Lines
Products Company Specializes In Integrity offers customizable home, auto, business and life insurance throughout Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. We offer a full range of commercial products and services including automated lines, mid-market business, programs and niches, workers’ compensation and loss control. Our Personal Lines products offer flexible coverage options and competitive pricing. They are designed to provide options for most exposures customers may have including auto, home, recreational vehicles, rental and secondary residences, motorcycles, personal umbrella and more. Grange Life offers affordable, feature-rich term, whole and universal life products that can help you improve revenue and retention — and can help customers protect what matters most.
Company Philanthropy At Integrity, we’re proud to invest in communities throughout our three-state footprint through financial giving, volunteerism and in-kind donations. Our Connecting through Caring Communities program helps associates build relationships by creating opportunities to interact through charitable causes. We’re proud to support United Way, Habitat for Humanity, St. Joseph Food Program, American Cancer Society, Big Brothers, Big Sisters and many more! IntegrityInsurance.com
Outlook For The Company’s Future Together, with affiliate partner Grange Insurance based out of Columbus, OH – a 13 state enterprise – we’re rated an “A” (Excellent) from A.M. Best and have $2 billion in assets. Integrity has the strength and stability of a large insurance carrier but with the local, personalized service of a small company. We are eagerly and optimistically looking to our future. We know the world is changing and to stay at the forefront of that we are reinvesting in tomorrow every day. We’re making investments in technology, digital platforms, service and products to meet the evolving needs of agency partners and policyholders.
8 | APRIL 2018
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
You understand your clients. Liberty Mutual Insurance understands how to support them. As the #1
preferred business insurer,* we know your
clients’ needs are unique. That’s why we work with you to tailor coverage exclusively for them. Talk to your territory manager or visit LibertyMutualGroup.com/Business to learn more.
“Highest Ranked by Independent Agents for Commercial Line Insurers” by J.D. Power.**
*Based on 2016 survey of business insurance buyers on preference of national carriers sold via independent agents. **Liberty Mutual received highest numerical score among commercial lines in the J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Independent Insurance Agent Satisfaction Study, based on 4,021 total responses measuring experiences and perceptions by independent agents among commercial line insurers, surveyed September-November 2017. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com © 2018 Liberty Mutual Insurance. Insurance underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., Boston, MA, or its affiliates or subsidiaries.
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EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
WM WI BigI Exclusive Comprehensive 9-17.indd 1
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EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
Company information: Stay relevant and adapt to the changing environment – that’s our goal. Our agents have the drive to embrace the changes in the marketplace, and we have the tools, technology, stability, and breadth of product to ensure we thrive well into the future – together. And while we’re focused on the journey ahead, our past is equally important. Since 1937, we’ve grown into one of the largest auto insurance providers in the country and the largest personal auto insurer by written premium among independent agents. In addition, we’ve worked to achieve No. 1 commercial auto insurer, motorcycle and specialty RV insurer in the US and we also have an A+ (Superior) rating for auto and A (Excellent) rating for home from A.M. Best, an independent U.S. based insurance rating agency. We help agents keep their promises by always keeping ours, operating consistently from our Core Values and delivering intuitive technology, claims and service excellence, marketing support for their local brand, and a national name customers know and trust. We’re proud to serve independent agents by making insurance a little better every day, and we’re proud to have independent agents like you representing our brand in your community. Progressive Benefits and Services Technology and Ease of Use – Throughout our history, we’ve pushed the independent agent channel forward with easier and faster ways to quote business, and breakthrough segmentation that keeps agents ahead of the competition.
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
We help you stay ahead of consumer needs by providing online and mobile technologies that today’s customers expect from businesses. Breadth of Products – No matter your customers’ needs, from simple to complex, we have the products and coverages to cover their needs. We offer personal auto, motorcycle, boat, RV, homeowners, renters, commercial auto and more. Stability and Choice – Our commitment to underwriting profit and low-cost operations provides quality coverage for all risks at a consistently competitive price. Through a variety of discounts and programs we offer your customers ways to save and personalize their rate, like our usage-based insurance program Snapshot®. Progressive’s agency business is as big as it’s ever been, and we continue to make significant investments to support agent’s longterm, profitable growth. Insights and Tools – We’ve built our business with agents, and after 80 years, we’re just as committed as we’ve ever been. We use our experience, insights and scale as a market leader to continuously improve our products and deliver business-building tools that fuel agent success. Don’t take it from us, visit AgentsofProgressive.com to hear more from some of our agents.
Not all programs, discounts or products are available.
APRIL 2018 | 11
EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
Happy employees = happy customers
We believe customers won’t love a company unless its employees love it first. We know our employees love ® SECURA. We have recognitions – Great Place to Work and Wellness Council of America in particular. More importantly, we see our employees’ happiness shine through in how they care for our agents and policyholders. We hear from our independent agents often that they love our people.
Exceptional service
SECURA people also take excellent care of policyholders by offering relevant insurance solutions, sharing safety resources, and handling claims fairly and promptly. Policyholders appreciate the personal and compassionate service they receive. In fact, the company receives a “Perfect 10” more often than not in claims surveys.
Broad product portfolio
SECURA is driving for growth, especially in Farm-Ag and Specialty lines, but Commercial and Personal lines as well.
Farm-Ag Lines, grown from the company’s farm
heritage, serves a wide range of dairy, crop, and hog farms of all sizes, plus, seed dealers, ag transport, custom farming, and dairy products manufacturing.
Specialty Lines covers a variety of unique risks. Commercial daycare, tattoo parlors, and spas are hot topics, and we continue pursuing nonprofits, sports and recreation, food pantries, campgrounds, fitness centers, food trucks, and security systems. Employment practices liability insurance and professional liability coverage for directors and officers round out the book. Commercial Lines, the carrier’s cornerstone and largest business unit, serves contractors, retail, light manufacturers, service providers such as restaurants and dry cleaners, and numerous other markets. Its consultative approach to Risk Management and its Workers’ Compensation Nurse Hotline and Crisis Care set it apart from others, giving agents unique offerings to leverage.
Personal Lines is SECURA’s second-largest segment,
with its MILE-STONE® home and auto package. This convenient single policy features lifestyle solutions for travel, toys, jewelry, art, and more. It’s a premium package ideal for Middle America, and gives agents an edge in attracting and retaining customers.
Dave Gross, SECURA President & CEO Partner only with top agencies
We tell policyholders and prospects that if they’re with a SECURA agent, they’re with one of the best around. We’re committed to the independent agency model, and partner only with the top agencies in each market. That adds up to more than 500 agencies in 12 states. Agents value SECURA’s relationship focus and service. Plus, our extensive agent training programs provide professional development opportunities for agents to increase sales and profits.
Strong and highly rated
Our goal at SECURA is to outperform the industry overall on top- and bottom-line growth, and we typically do. Our strength is further evident as A.M. Best rates us A (Excellent) and Ward includes us in its Top 50 list, recognizing outstanding financial performance. Agents also rank us among leading competitors for making business easier.
Positioned for growth
Agents know SECURA is a stable, long-term market. In 2019, we’ll move into our new headquarters near our current location. We will continue investing in people, whether fostering successful relationships with agents or employing the very best. In addition, we will continue devoting resources to products and technology to stay in step with the dynamic market.
See more at www.secura.net
EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
Wisconsin proud At Sentry, we understand what you’re looking for in an insurance company. Because we’ve been there ourselves. We got our start in 1904, when members of the Wisconsin Retail Hardware Association formed their own insurance company. But it was the true strength of personalized care and Midwest roots that became hallmarks of the Sentry name. Since then—never forgetting our roots—we’ve grown to become one of the largest and most financially secure mutual insurance companies in the nation. With more than $14.7 billion in assets, a $4.4 billion* policyholder surplus, and an A+ (Superior) rating from A.M. Best, the industry’s top insurance evaluator, we provide peace of mind to more than one million policy holders. One conversation at a time. WISCONSIN VALUES You’ve grown your business right here in Wisconsin. Just like you, we’re proud of our heritage. We employ nearly 4,000 associates across the country—with more than half in the Stevens Point area. And they’re dedicated. In central Wisconsin alone, more than 400 of them have 25 years or more of service with Sentry. BENEFITING YOUR CUSTOMERS We offer the knowledge to help you develop an insurance program designed to fit your customers’ needs. Whether their exposures apply to property, general liability, auto, workers’ compensation, or other essential coverages, we’ll work with you to design coverage that works for them. CLAIMS PROCESSING You’ll also have access to our industry leading claims and technology systems—and so will your customers. That means we’ll be ready to help when you need it most. SAFETY PROGRAMS But it’s not just about helping when something goes wrong. We’re also here to help your customers avoid risks that can save lives, time, and money. Our team of safety consultants is ready to guide your customers through risk scenarios, regulatory demands, and training or program gaps. These are just some the ways we can help protect what your customers have worked so hard to build. There’s still more we’d like to share with you. *Assets and policyholder surplus as of Dec. 31, 2015, and represent the aggregate total for all members of the Sentry Insurance Group and are not reflective of any individual underwriting company. A.M. Best rating as of 5/19/2016.
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
In 1922, eighteen years after Sentry’s founding, Roger Kaland, construction began on the Strongs Avenue building in Midwest Regional downtown Stevens Point.Executive We still use the building today.
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EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
SFM WI Indep. Insurance ad-agn-0116-outline fonts.indd 1
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EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR © 2018 Society Insurance
Business as usual even when it’s not. Small detail. Big difference. For franchise owners, someone else’s headache can quickly become their own. That contamination loss at the franchise across town? It affects other businesses, too. Society’s franchise endorsement covers lost income and extra expenses due to contamination loss at other franchise locations, which allows owners to focus on protecting their reputation. We’ll also cover updates to franchise standards after a covered loss. So let your customers focus on the things they can control, and we’ll help keep their credibility intact. To discuss an agency appointment, give us a call at 888-5-SOCIETY or visit societyinsurance.com.
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EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
The IMT Group - IMT Insurance Company & Wadena Insurance Company Company Headquarters: 4445 Corporate Drive, West Des Moines, Iowa 50266 Founded: 1884 Current Officers: Sean Kennedy, President & CEO Marsha Aldridge, Vice President – Talent & Engagement Greg Blythe, Vice President – Finance Brad Buchanan, Vice President – Personal Lines Dalene Holland, Vice President – Administrative Services & Corporate Secretary Rich Nauman, Vice President – Marketing Products Company Specializes In The IMT Group, consisting of IMT & Wadena Insurance Companies, is proud of its partnership and relationship with the Wisconsin Independent Insurance Agents. Together, we strive to meet and exceed the personal and commercial insurance needs of the residents of Wisconsin. Our companies offer the products needed for a well-rounded property and casualty agency at a competitive price. Together, IMT and Wadena Insurance offer advanced and modern auto and homeowners programs, as well as Power Sports and Boatowners polices. In addition, we offer a cutting-edge Businessowners policy, including many specialty ‘PAKS,” General Liability, Workers Compensation, Bonds, Commercial Auto, Commercial Property, and Farm Liability. Outlook For The Company’s Future IMT and Wadena Insurance Companies continue to be financially strong companies in 2017, both receiving an ‘A’ (Excellent) Rating by A.M. Best. Our excellent independent agency force of over 1,000 agencies has allowed us to experience growth for the tenth consecutive year. We continue to search and appoint established agencies in areas in which we are not already saturated and that show strong growth potential. Our agents can count on assistance and dedication from us in all areas of their agency, including hands-on training and continuing education to better serve their policyholders. In addition, all new agencies receive personalized training from their IMT Territory Manager. We recognize the commitment and effort of our agents by paying top-of-the line commissions. We have an established, top-notch profit sharing program that is also available for our agencies. The Independent Agent is our partner and primary customer. If they do well, we do well. IMT has been among the top ten voted Top Workplace in Iowa for five consecutive years, including a #1 Midsize Workplace finish in 2016. This recognition illustrates the fun, flexible, and fair work environment we believe in. While the technology we use and the
16 | APRIL 2018
Brian Neitzel, Vice President – Research & Development Chris Owenson, Vice President – Claims Mark Vasey, Vice President – Commercial Lines Ann West, Vice President – Information Systems Jim Todd, Assistant Vice President – Claims
products we provide are constantly changing, there is one thing that will remain consistent - we promise to be there when needed the most and do everything possible to help families and businesses live by our slogan - Be Worry Free with IMT! Other Comments It’s the simple things that differentiate us from our competitors. We are a Midwest regional mutual company that values our relationships with Independent Insurance Agents and enjoy what we do. We do not have to answer to stockholders. Instead, we are able to actively listen to our Independent Insurance Agents. Our core values remain at the center of our business as we focus on people by building trust and strong, stable relationships with our agents and policyholders. We also focus on providing the best possible customer service experience by creating a collaborative environment, constantly being innovative, preparing our agents and team members by continually developing our skills and knowledge, and staying positively engaged in our communities. Much of our continued growth and success can be attributed to the loyalty of our exceptional IMT Agents and policyholders. People buy their insurance from independent agents because they know them, like them, and trust them. That is exactly the reason Independent Insurance Agents do business with IMT. When you think of IMT, you can be sure it is a stable company with an eye on the past and a keen sense for the future. We will continue to live up to our slogan, “Be Worry Free with IMT!” Local Independent Insurance Agents interested in learning more about IMT can contact Matt Casey (Senior Manager – Field Services) at (800) 274-3531, ext. 897 or an IMT Wisconsin Territory Representative - Bruce Prince (Western Wisconsin) at ext. 823 or Larry Jendusa (Eastern Wisconsin) at ext. 832. www.imtins.com
| www.amiworryfree.com
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
THE TRAVELERS COMPANIES INC. Location Of Company Headquarters: Hartford, CT Founded: 1853 Officers: Lorie Kates, Regional President George Hogan, Regional Director Paul Kyrilis, Regional Vice President - Commercial, Technology, Construction, Public Sector Chris Hackworth, Regional Vice President - Personal Insurance Lisa Pechan, Regional Vice President - Select James Gallagher, Regional Vice President - National Accounts Casualty
Lorie Kates
Mike Powers, Regional Vice President - National Property Allen Warner, Regional Vice President - Inland Marine Paul Andriscin, Regional Vice President - Boiler & Machinery Gail Schroeder, Regional Vice President - Bond & Specialty Insurance
John Tsourmas, Zonal Vice President - Excess Casualty Brendan Dunican, Regional Vice President - Ocean Marine Beth Printz, Regional Vice President - Claims Steve Ringler, Regional Risk Control Director
Outlook for the Company’s Future Travelers is an insurance leader, committed to keeping pace with the ever-changing needs of our customers, and anticipating their needs for the future. There is no stronger testament to our dedication to protecting customers from loss than our continued innovation and ability to transform our industry. Travelers is also committed to helping agents grow and be success¬ful. Our people are professionals focused on delivering timely and professional service to you and our customers.
5. Travelers Claim is continually developing innovative tools and resources designed to help you and your customers stay safe, including our Prepare and Prevent site on Travelers.com, and our new Weather Alerts. Offered through Weather Services International (WSI), a professional division of The Weather Company, the weather alerts are sent to subscribers of the service in advance of an approaching storm reaching a particular location.
We are local. With over 200 employees in Wisconsin, Travelers delivers the many attributes of a large national carrier through one of the best-staffed field offices in the state. Our staff understands the Wisconsin marketplace and is committed to devel¬oping productive relationships with our agents and our insureds while delivering products and services your customers are looking for. For example: 1. Travelers is the #1 writer of Commercial Lines & Workers Comp in WI.* 2. Travelers has received two “Buyers Choice Awards” from Business Insurance magazine, taking home the top honors among insurers in both the Workers Compensation and Commercial Auto categories. 3. The Travelers Institute cybersecurity guide helps businesses and organizations prepare for and respond to evolving cyber incidents. “Cyber: Prepare, Prevent, Mitigate, Restore” is a multiyear, educational initiative launched by the Travelers Institute in 2016 to raise awareness about cybersecurity and cyber insurance solutions. 4. Travelers ConciergeClaim Nurse® location in Milwaukee is now in its third year. ConciergeClaim Nurse® is a comprehensive workers compensation claim program designed to simplify the claim process for injured employees, enabling them to get back to work quickly and safely.
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
6. Risk Control On-Demand provides an easy method for your clients to interact with our consultants regarding their risk assessment needs. Using screen share technology, your clients can share videos, photos or other media with a consultant. He or she will then offer possible solutions and recommend specific Risk Control resources to help your clients manage their exposure. On-site consulting services are still available, and Risk Control On-Demand now gives prompt access to Risk Control professionals that can help your clients solve challenges in real time. Risk Control On-Demand gives your clients access to safety professionals regardless of their location. It enables your clients to connect with a consultant about a variety of topics, including office ergonomics; slip, trip and fall preventions; metal halide lighting; posit-injury management; and more. Travelers understands that life and business are inherently dynamic and that the best way to serve customers is to deliv¬er insurance that behaves the same way — evolving to keep in step with life and business as they change. Protect your clients under the red umbrella! Company Website: www.Travelers.com * 2016 AM Best Data
APRIL 2018 | 17
EXCLUSIVE COMPANY SPONSOR
WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY Location of Company Headquarters: 1900 South 18th Avenue, West Bend, WI 53095 Founded: April 1894 Officers: Kevin Steiner, President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Faley, Senior Vice President - Human Resources and Administration Rick Fox, Senior Vice President, Chief Actuary, and Chief Risk Officer Murali Natarajan, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Kevin Steiner
The foundation of West Bend’s strategy is to create a robust property and casualty product and service portfolio that provides our independent agency partners with a market for a large percentage of the business they write. Around this foundation we wrap outstanding service – The Silver Lining® – and deep agency relationships that enable us to win in the marketplace. Finally, we recognize that our associates are our greatest asset, and the perpetuation of our outstanding culture is critical to our success. When it comes to understanding commercial risks, we’re proud of the broad base of knowledge shared by the underwriters in West Bend’s Commercial Lines division. Add to that loss prevention professionals who use a hands-on approach to develop programs tailored to the individual business and property/casualty and workers’ compensation claim reps who have the expertise and technology to process claims quickly and efficiently, and you have a quality commercial insurance product provided with unmatched service and dedication to you and your customers. Our Personal Lines division focuses on providing our valued customers with the right coverages through our Home and Highway® package policy. Not only does the Home and Highway offer quality coverages, benefits, and discounts, it’s serviced by knowledgeable and experienced underwriters, many of whom share long and productive relationships with their agents.
underwriting guidelines. NSI is a leader in providing innovative programs for specialty lines, such as beauty salons and spas, childcare, YMCAs, and health clubs. In addition, NSI’s experienced claim and legal professionals have handled the most difficult claims situations and will do all they can to help protect your customers’ valuable businesses. The professionals at Argent®, West Bend’s mono-line workers’ compensation division, collaborate with you and your customers to improve workers’ compensation performance through innovative and customer-focused loss prevention, medical cost containment, education, and communication. This high-touch, results-oriented approach is custom built to fit each culture and designed to help customers control the cost of insurance. Our associates drive our culture of service and family at West Bend. It’s because of them that we’ve been honored as a Best Place to Work in Insurance for seven consecutive years by Business Insurance and as a Top Workplace by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for seven years. We’re also proud of the many awards acknowledging our community service, financial stability, and support of healthy lifestyles for our associates. All of these make West Bend a better company for our trusted agent partners Company Website: thesilverlining.com
NSI®, West Bend’s specialty division, offers insurance programs for market segments or situations that don’t meet standard insurers’
18 | APRIL 2018
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
What’s New?
What’s Not?
Now a billion dollar company . . . and still growing! (Sales passed the mark in 2016.)
Secure financial strength that comes from being a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family.
Nationwide geographical scope.
Our A+ (”Superior”) A.M. Best Company Rating.
An increasingly robust product suite that features Workers’ Compensation, Businessowner’s Policy, Commercial Auto, Umbrella, and Professional Liability coverage.
Average annual growth in premium in excess of 25% per year for the past five.
Broader appetite for select risks (including Total Insured Property Values as high as $50 million for certain industries and risks).
Ongoing product and service enhancements to win renewals and keep a high retention ratio.
Our focus on being data-driven and using business intelligence to gain a competitive edge.
Higher A.M. Best financial size (i.e., “X”).
A superior combined ratio that (according to A.M. Best) outperforms our peers.
Enhanced infrastructure to support growth.
Our commitment to distribution through independent agents!
Balancing Change with Continuity! ST
W RO T
Berkshire Hathaway
GUARD
Insurance Companies
We have agency appointments available. Go to www.guard.com/apply!
ILIT Y AB
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2018
REGISTRATION INFORMATION Your annual convention registration options are below. Option A F ull Registration, both Tuesday and Wednesday Early bird pricing: Member: $209 Non-Members: $249 After February 28: Member: $249 Non-Members: $299 Option B Full Registration, Spouse $149 Option C T uesday Only Member: $169 Non-Members: $209 Option D W ednesday Only Member: $189 Non-Members: $229 Group reservations of 6 or more receive a 10% discount. This applies to full registrations only. For complete descriptions, please go to IIAWConvention.com. Cancellations received by April 6 will be refunded less a $20 processing fee. No refunds will be given for cancellations received after April 6. Attire is business casual for all convention events. Questions? Please Please call the IIAW at (800) 362-7441 or (608) 256-4429. Refer to IIAWConvention.com and our e-brochure for the latest convention information and expanded details of each session.
HOTEL INFORMATION All convention events take place at the Madison Marriott West. 1313 John Q Hammons Dr. Middleton, WI 53562 Phone: (608) 831-2000. Rooms in our reserved room block are available at the price of $145/night for May 8 & 9. The last date to receive the room block, discounted rate is April 16th, 2018. Additional rooms for May 8 & 9 can be reserved at the Comfort Suites. 1253 John Q. Hammons Dr., Madison, WI, 53717 Phone: (520) 257-3116. Please indicate that you are attending the IIAW Annual Convention to ensure the group rate. The hotel reservation deadline is April 15, 2018.
REDEFINING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
FEATURED SPEAKERS BLAKE MORGAN is a Customer Experience Futurist. Her first book is “More is More: How The Best Companies Work Harder And Go Farther To Create Knock Your Socks Off Customer Experiences.” Blake is adjunct faculty at the Rutgers executive education MBA program. Blake contributes to Forbes, the Harvard Business Review and the American Marketing Association. She is the host of The Modern Customer Podcast and a weekly customer experience video series on YouTube. She has worked with Intel, Verizon Wireless, and many more. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband, daughter and their two Yorkie rescues. Her work has been endorsed by the CEO of 1-800 Flowers Chris McCann, the CEO of ACE Hardware John Venhuizen, Claire Burns, Chief Customer Officer, MetLife, Darren Pleasance, Managing Director, Global Customer Acquisitions, Google, Andreas von der Heydt, Director of Kindle, Amazon, James Staten, Chief Strategist, Microsoft Cloud, Zoher Karu, Chief Data Officer, ebay, Pete Blackshaw, Global Head of Digital and Social Media, Nestle, Vala Afshar, Chief Digital Evangelist, Salesforce, and Nova Spivack, Entrepreneur, Investor, Grandson of Peter Drucker. In addition Blake is the host of The Modern Customer Podcast where she’s interviewed the CEO of AT&T Mobility, the CMO of Xerox, and the President of FedEx Express Canada. She is also the host of a weekly customer experience video series on YouTube called Blake’s Take.
DOUG LIPP Build the Culture. Live the Culture. Differentiate! Candid. Passionate. Relevant. Doug Lipp is on a crusade to help organizations strengthen their corporate culture, boost business performance, and unapologetically, have fun while doing it. Doug is a distinguished international consultant, eight-time author, and former head of training at the legendary Disney University. Drawing on his 30 plus years of combined experience at Disney and in private practice, Doug inspires and challenges hundreds of organizations worldwide. In presentations, he shares how Disney overcame spectacular strategic challenges to unleash one of the most improbable success stories in corporate history. Through riveting examples and powerful, relevant stories about innovation, service, value and leadership, Doug pulls back the curtain and reveals the behaviors, tools and attitudes that are representative of cultural excellence at Disney and other great institutions. He also discusses common organizational traps that undermine companies and impede their ability to build a thriving and sustainable culture. Consistently ranked as one of the best presenters every time he speaks, Doug painstakingly researches and customizes each of his presentations and workshops.
MARCUS SHERIDAN Called a “web marketing guru” by the New York Times, the story of how Marcus was able to save his swimming pool company, River Pools, from the economic crash of 2008 has been featured in multiple books, publications, and university case studies around the world – and is also the inspiration for his latest book, “They Ask, You Answer,” which was dubbed the #1 marketing book to read in 2017 by Mashable and one of “11 Marketing Books Every CMO Should Read” by Forbes. Known for his incredibly unique ability to excite, engage and motivate live audience, Sheridan has become a highly sought-after international keynote speaker and consultant in the digital sales and marketing space and is, according to Forbes, 1 of 20 “Speakers You Don’t Want to Miss.” As founder and president of The Sales Lion, he also works with hundreds of businesses, helping them to become the most trusted voice in their industry while navigating the ultra-fast rate of change occurring within consumers and buyers today.
TUESDAY, May 8 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
IIAW BOARD MEETING
11:30 AM
CONVENTION REGISTRATION OPENS
12:00 PM12:50 PM
CE SESSION Wisconsin vs. Federal Government: Responsibility in health insurance reform. (1 CE) Speaker: Deputy Insurance Commissioner J.P. Wieske
12:15 PM – 2:00 PM
INNOVATION SESSION What does Omni-channel Servicing mean to the Independent Agent Speaker: Auto-Technology Committee
EXHIBITOR INFORMATION
12:15 PM – 2:00 PM
CE SESSION E&O Mock Trial: Not Your Trial…Yet (2 CE) Speakers: Mallory Cornell, IIAW & Josh Johanningmeier, Godfrey & Kahn *Does not qualify for E&O Loss Control Credit*
1:00 PM2:00 PM
CE SESSION Federal Health Care Reform, Helping Your Customers through the ACA (1 CE) Speaker: David Grunke
Exhibitor registration fees are as follows: Early bird pricing: M ember registration: $850 Non-member: $950 After Feb. 28: Member registration: $900 Non-member: $1000 For complete details and to register as an exhibitor, please visit IIAWConvention.com. Exhibitor fees include 2 Registrations to the entire Convention. As a friendly reminder, please conduct your agent entertaining during the designated company hospitality hours from 6:00pm- 9:00pm on May 9, 2018.
2:00 PM – 2:15 PM
Networking Break
2:15 PM – 4:00 PM
CE SESSION Data Breach : How to Hack it in Cyber & Privacy Liability (2 CE) Speaker: Michael Schultz, Burns & Wilcox
2:15 PM – 5:00 PM
CE SESSION The Road to Ethics (3 CE) Speaker: Brian Sorge, WPS Insurance
4:10 PM – 5:00 PM
CE Session New Certificates of Insurance Law: What it means to your Agency and Clients (1 CE) Speaker: Matt Banaszynski, IIAW
5:15 PM – 5:45 PM
Business Meeting All attendees encouraged to attend
5:45 PM – 6:30 PM
Networking Break
6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
AWARDS RECEPTION AND ENTERTAINMENT Entertainment by The Ancora String Quartet Heavy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. (All attendees encouraged to attend)
2018
WEDNESDAY, May 9 7:15 AM
CONVENTION REGISTRATION OPENS Breakfast Buffet
8:00 AM – 8:50 AM
CE SESSION Employment Agreements for an Independent Insurance Agency (1 CE) Speaker: Josh Johanningmeier, Godfrey & Kahn
8:00 AM – 8:50 AM
CE SESSION How Agencies and Carriers can stay off of OCI’s Radar (1 CE) Speaker: Cari Lee, WI OCI
8:00 AM – 8:50 AM
INNOVATION SESSION- Boost Your Agency’s Revenue and Value Proposition Speaker: Employee Benefit Carries and Vendors. Moderated by Jason Sczepaniak. Speakers will have 2 to 3 minutes to share how their company is empowering agents/brokers to remain relevant and increase revenue. The first 30 minutes will be lightning round speeches followed by a 20 minute Q&A session with the audience.
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM
WELCOME REMARKS IIAW President, Lise Meyer Kobussen & IIAW CEO, Matt Banaszynski
9:15 AM 10:00 AM
A Simplified Approach to Shaping Customer Experience with Technology Speaker: Blake Morgan When you think of customer experience technology does your mind start spinning? There’s a lot of technology out there, so how do you decipher what will actually help your company? Most of us are familiar with a traditional CRM, but what critical components of your customer program do you need beyond that? There’s a lot of buzzwords being thrown around: digital transformation, machine learning, automation, artificial intelligence, IoT…it’s all so overwhelming! In this workshop we simplify what an ideal technology stack looks like and how you can get it without draining your company of all resources. In this session we’ll give you a completely unbiased view of what the critical components of a customer experience technology program should be. You will learn: a Examples of technology that delivers great cx a Taking the scary out of technology a Making the business case for technology within your company
10:00 AM 10:15 AM
Networking Break
10:15 AM – 11:00 AM
The Magic of Exceptional Customer Service Speaker: Doug Lipp How has Disney managed to keep its employees and customers so fiercely devoted to the brand? How has it managed to continually top the charts as one of the world’s most loved brands? How can you learn from its practices to catapult your organization’s service strategies to even higher levels? Learn the four components that are at the heart of Disney University: Innovate. Support. Educate. Entertain. Discover how legendary service is a delicate balance between art and science. “Doing the ordinary in an extraordinary fashion” isn’t rocket science; customer service excellence must be ingrained throughout your culture. In this ever-changing economy, more companies than ever are realizing the strategic importance of transforming their service culture to differentiate themselves from competitors.
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Leadership and Service Magic- Innovation, Transformation and Growth Workshop Speaker: Doug Lipp Leaders build the culture, live the culture, and reinforce the culture every single day. Leadership has always set the tone within an organization, but today there’s growing consensus that a winning, sustainable culture is only achieved when it is ‘actively’ steeped throughout the entire organization. In this workshop Doug will help you Innovate, transform and grow your agency!
11:45 PM – 12:45 PM
LUNCH BUFFET & NETWORKING BREAK
1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
The Digital Seller: How to Make the Internet Your Best Friend and Dramatically Increase Sales Success Speaker: Marcus Sheridan We’ve all heard about the “digital consumer,” but what about the “digital seller?” Studies have shown that over 70% of the buying decision today is made BEFORE someone actually talks to a sales person. This shift has had a dramatic impact on Sales Teams around the globe, and few have managed to properly adjust to this change in where the sales cycle actually starts. In this talk, Marcus Sheridan will explain exactly what Sales Teams must do in order to embrace the new way consumers buy and ultimately become “digital sellers” in the process.
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
CEO PANEL (1 CE) Featuring Progressive, West Bend Mutual Insurance & Burns & Wilcox
3:15 PM – 5:45 PM
CONVENTION SHOWCASE & NETWORKING $ 1200 Cash Give-a-way Sponsored by The IMT Group
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
COMPANY HOSPITALITY & ENTERTAINING
9:00 PM – 12:00 AM
INSURCON BASH Whether you are a beer drinker, a wine connoisseur, or like to mix things up, we have something for everyone. Visit our beer tasting, wine tasting, and mixologist station or just grab your favorite drink at the bar. Then dance the night away with A Personal Touch DJ Service before the big Money Balloon Drop at Midnight!
Visit IIAWConvention.com for complete details
OPEN DOOR POLICY
AGENCY OF THE FUTURE: WHY YOUR AGENCY NEEDS TO MOVE TOWARD ADOPTING AN OMNI-CHANNEL SALE AND SERVICE MODEL The word “omni” very simply means, all or in all ways. When you think of a channel, you think of the passage through which information flows. Therefore, omni-channel simply means integrating all channels through which information flows. It’s no secret that consumers want options, so when will your agency adopt an omni-channel sale and service model? The answer should fall somewhere between today and tomorrow. Insurance carriers are moving aggressively to adopt and implement an omni-channel sale and service model dedicated to meeting the needs of the customer rather than focusing on the traditional product centric sales process. This move could disrupt the traditional relationship between insurance carriers and agencies if we as an independent agency force don’t pivot quickly enough and follow suit. Insurers believe that 31% of personal lines sales, 26% of life insurance sales, and 24% of small commercial sales will be concluded digitally from start to finish according to Accenture’s Distribution and Agency Management survey. The traditional “single channel” method of purchasing directly from a single touch point has been replaced by the multi-channel model where consumers have numerous options available to them to learn about products and services and make purchases. Stores, websites,
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direct mail, email, apps, and social media all offer the consumer a variety of “channels” to research and make purchases using their digital devices or method of choice. Each channel in a multi-channel model focuses individually on the seller and their brand rather than taking a consumer centric approach. Without an integrated focus, a technical and functional silo effect is created. The Omni-channel “consumer centric” model allows for the consumer to experience a brand by improving on the multi-channel method. This improved model allows communications to work seamlessly across all channels to educate and empower the consumer rather than selling an individual brand or product. The omni-channel ecosystem attempts to provide consumers with the same customer experience, product and results regardless of whether they interact with an insurer or agent in person, on a website, social media, etc. It integrates marketing, sales and service by creating a unified and calculated experience across all channels. This model is not unique to the insurance industry and in fact the way the consumer shops for insurance is influenced heavily by the WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
OPEN DOOR POLICY
way they research and purchase other goods and services. This alone should inspire insurance agencies to be focused on re-positioning their business model to adapt and respond to the new customer buying journey. According to Accenture, “More than half the respondents to our global Distribution and Agency Management Survey expect to have wholly digital sales processes within three years. Only one in four have this in place today. Furthermore, 45 percent of respondents have implemented, or are designing, new agent remuneration scales to support the objectives of their omni-channel distribution models.” Independent Agents should begin working to adopt a communications, sales and service strategy that works seamlessly across all channels. A key aspect is the alignment with strategic business partners, to deliver a customer experience dedicated to exceeding customer expectations by understanding their preferences. Uniting what agents do best today with the technology of tomorrow will offer customers a better end to end purchasing experience the independent agent is uniquely positioned to offer. To achieve this, agents should follow what I call the “road map” on their technology assisted path to prosperity. The road map includes: + Create and embrace an omni-channel sales and service model
Whether it’s a new or existing customer, an insurance agency must offer a clear and concise customer experience. With so many others offering comparable products and services, deploying a well-constructed omni-channel sale and service model will bring the consumer to your physical or digital doorstep eager to not just purchase an insurance policy, but engage with a strategic business partner.
This path to prosperity will allow an agency to increase sales of more profitable products, stay connected with customers, provide value added solutions, target new customer segments and increase cross selling opportunities.
+ Digitally enhance customer experiences + Understand the new customer buying journey + Create an innovation-ready organization/culture + Optimize and Modernize operations + Enhance your value proposition using digital technologies + Utilize & deploy technology throughout the agency where appropriate + Embrace technology vendors to digitally transform your agency + Focus on improving your agency’s core competencies. This path to prosperity will allow an agency to increase sales of more profitable products, stay connected with customers, provide value added solutions, target new customer segments and increase cross selling opportunities. Using technology to expand and enhance an agents value proposition to their clients will be instrumental in being viewed more as a strategic business partner and less like the traditional salesperson of the past. WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
>M att Banaszynski is the CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin. Contact him at matt@iiaw.com.
APRIL 2018 | 23
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
EMPLOYERS’ TOP TRAINING PRIORITY FOR 2018? SOFT SKILLS The 2018 Workplace Learning Report by LinkedIn details how employers are feeling the crush of skill gaps across all industries, and how they’re responding by creating learning opportunities to guide staff and their organizations to thrive in tomorrow’s labor market. The top priorities they’ve identified are likely those your company is experiencing as well. LinkedIn has identified six learning priorities for 2018: 1. How to train for soft skills 2. Identifying trends to prevent future skill gaps 3. Understanding the impact of technology 4. Consistent global training 5. Deliver insights on internal skill gaps 6. How to track skill development The survey tallied results from 1,200 talent developers, 2,200 employees, 400 people managers and 200 executives. Among all groups the top priority for talent development in 2018 was training for soft skills. HR Dive spoke with Tanya Staples, VP, learning content and Kevin Simon, head of product, both of LinkedIn Learning Solutions, to discuss the report and its implications for business and L&D professionals.
Soft skills the top priority Staples discusses the priority of soft skills for future learning initiatives: “In the age of automation, maintaining technical fluency across roles will be critical, but the pace of change is fueling demand for adaptable, critical thinkers, communicators, and leaders.” When it comes to programming to train for these competencies, LinkedIn recommends, “learning pathways, or groups of courses, that build upon each other so that at time of completion, employees have a well-roundedness about their soft skills abilities and have gained an appreciation for continuous learning.” With the limited life of hard skills, soft skills are taking priority. The software and apps in use today will likely soon be replaced and the procedures and strategies that are currently cutting edge may soon occupy a dusty shelf. But soft skills remain a constant throughout an employee’s career. And for business, the need to have soft skills will always be present. What are employers looking for and looking to train for?
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Leadership Leadership skills are in high demand. The ability to manage a task or project independently, without supervision and with self-motivation are hallmarks of a leader. They don’t need external prompting, they prompt themselves and others. They are problem solvers that look for alternative routes that get the job done faster, better, smarter. They inspire others, not only to do their own tasks but to come along on the ride to success. They are the go-to person others rely on for assistance, coaching and motivation. No company can survive without them. Some believe leaders are born, but research suggests leadership qualities can be learned. Modeling leader behaviors of leaders, building confidence in one’s aptitude and supporting the ability to oversee and motivate others are traits that can be taught. The challenge for most businesses is to find those who are interested and motivated to learn. Not everyone will want the responsibility — but for those who do, the rewards can be significant.
Communication In the era of smartphones, many believe we’ve lost the ability to communicate directly. Are millennials, in particular, so digitally dependent they cannot communicate one on one? Managers point to lack of eye contact and the inability to accept criticism as skills that are lacking. But just as we teach other competencies, communication — written and verbal — can be learned. With targeted training and mentoring, a business can develop or polish the communication skills employees need to work effectively.
Collaboration Working with others is a must for the majority of employees. For a business, strong, collaborative teams innovate, produce and thrive. Lack of collaboration can put the brakes on even the simplest task, grinding productivity to a halt. The skill set required to collaborate effectively is built on trust: allowing employees to work cohesively without the sense of one-upmanship is only the beginning. Communication and listening skills are required to proffer ideas and opinions clearly as well as to actively hear those of one’s colleagues. Again, once an environment of trust is established, collaboration skills can be taught. Other areas identified in the study point to learning opportunities for 2018 and beyond that business should focus on. WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Identifying trends to prevent skills gaps Another area prioritized by respondents is the ability to assess today’s skills and business trends against future needs. Essentially, training for jobs that don’t exist today. Staples advises, “In order to stay ahead of a constantly changing pace, we must have a keen eye on trends and a strong influence on business partners to ensure that we provide skill development opportunities that keep businesses growing.” Surveys, managerial observations and employee assessments are only a few ways to identify and take action on skills gaps. Simon advises, “We’re also investing more in intelligence, with new analytics experience for admins to understand learning activity within their organization, and we’re working on ways to help them identify where skills gaps exist, and what actions they can take to close them.”
Understanding the impact of technology Simon tells HR Dive it’s important to leverage technology to develop learning strategies. “Armed with technology and analytics, HR professionals are able to serve a wide range of personal learning experiences and iterate when company needs or career paths change.” At LinkedIn, in addition to long-form content, they began to add shortform content recommendations, personalized to the learner and bitesized for quick daily learning. Data suggests employees who access this type of just-in-time learning are more likely to retain the information presented if they’re applying it directly to a task being performed.
Consistent global training As the workforce goes global, so does the need for training — across time
BE WORRY FREE WITH IMT
zones and even cultural norms. For employers, consistency is key no matter if individuals are remote workers or office-bound staffers. Using technology to provide the same training throughout the organization is critical to maintaining performance and corporate culture.
Deliver insights on internal skills gaps Staples says, “Industry experts and organizational partners call on talent developers to focus on strategic workforce planning — to turn outward to skills trends to inform their decisions on internal strategy.” To do this, she offers, “Talent developers should look to external partners and technology solutions to help them identify these trends and implement programs to proactively address skill gaps.”
How to track skill development While measuring the impact of training and development programs is not an exact science, Staples says that measuring team metrics and retention rates are a great start. She suggests looking at team metrics before and after training to identify where changes occur watching retention rates at the start of a new program and intermittently throughout the training process. It’s a good practice to check for an increase in retention or decrease in turnover. For businesses, the need to upskill and right-skill employees has never been more important, but training must be relevant to be impactful. Simon tells HR Dive, “Our research indicates that learning and career development is at the core of the employee experience and personalization is critical to engaging a multi-generational workforce with varied learning needs. > Riia O’Donnell is a Human Resource professional with over 15 years’ hands-on experience in every discipline of the field.
We understand the importance of partnerships and take great pride in building strong, stable relationships with our agents and policyholders. Through experienced claims expertise and hightouch customer service, we are there when we are needed most. Learn how you can represent IMT Insurance & Wadena Insurance at imtins.com/contact_us.
imtins.com | west des moines, iowa WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
APRIL 2018 | 25
4 WAYS TO LEAD THE MOST DIFFICULT PERSON IN YOUR INSURANCE AGENCY AGENCY MANAGEMENT
One of the questions I often get when I work with insurance agency leaders is, “How do I best lead my team?”
Let me start by saying that unless your agency just started from scratch or you are a one-person operation, you have challenging people on your team. People with egos, people with complacency, people with drama, people with an inability to listen effectively. However, none of these challenges will be your most difficult.
To avoid being tuned out, spend time each day just serving your team, asking questions, listening, and understanding their situation. You don’t always have to have an answer or “fix” something.
The most challenging person you will ever lead is YOU.
Not only will this make them feel like a million bucks, you will also likely learn important ideas to make your agency more successful.
No other person you lead will have a bigger impact on your business results.
An open ear is far more powerful than a mighty mouth.
2. Discipline starts with you Leadership is personal and it doesn’t get any more personal than leading yourself. Many of us are our own biggest fans….and our own worst critics. In other words, we don’t often see ourselves the same way others do. And if leading yourself wasn’t hard enough, as a leader you must realize that everyone is watching. Your agency team is watching when you show up, when you leave, if you follow-through, the way you treat others, your values, and if you understand and respect them. That all depends on how you are first leading yourself.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone who was offering fitness and nutrition advice that didn’t seem to match their outward appearance? How much credibility did they have? How about someone who has been divorced three times giving marriage advice, are they credible? Maybe that’s not fair, but it’s true. The reason why self-leadership is so challenging is that the mirror doesn’t lie. Our results speak volumes. As I stated earlier, as a leader, everyone is watching you. If you ask your team to be disciplined, you first much be disciplined or your message will fall on deaf ears.
As a leader, you set the tone for the culture of your agency. While that may seem like a great deal of pressure, it is also a tremendous opportunity. So how can you best lead yourself and ultimately be a better leader to your insurance agency team?
1. Serve first The best leaders are servant leaders. That means you must be more than just a leader, you also need to be a follower. Have you ever worked for a leader who was so far detached from your situation that you felt they had no grasp of your reality? Arrogant leaders are rarely effective over a long period of time. At some point, your followers simple “tune out.”
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> If you require your producer to make 50 cold calls a week, are you willing to do the same? > If you require your team to show up for a Friday afternoon event, will you be there? > If you require your team to follow a process for the betterment of the agency, are you following the same process? Now understand, that as a leader, your time may not be best spent doing certain activities that your team is doing. That’s why you have a team. However, you must be willing to put in the time, work, and effort to be the model of discipline. Agency discipline starts with you.
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
3. Slow Down
1. We don’t want advice
I am a natural quick start. In fact, on my Kolbe personality test, I scored 9 out of 10 in this category. That means I often make quick decisions, expect quick results, and often come up with way more ideas than I can
2. We don’t object to advice
implement. While there is value in thinking, and moving, fast it also has its weaknesses.
3. We welcome advice 4. We actively seek advice
Many agency leaders are also the top sales producers. To be a highly effective agency leader, you must be more than a top producer, you must learn how to lead other top producers. Winning agency leaders understand that it’s not about finishing the race first, but how many you can take with you across the finish line. Michael Jordan won the scoring title several times before the Chicago Bulls eventually won their first championship. He could have probably won the scoring title every year of his career if he wanted to, but it wasn’t until he realized that to achieve the ultimate success (championships), he would have to sacrifice some personal success. That requires patience. If you are too far ahead of others, they will eventually get frustrated and stop following. For high achievers, slowing down may feel completely unnatural, but high performing agencies are filled with leaders who value long-term success over short-term satisfaction.
4. Accept Accountability Last week, our team worked with a successful insurance agency in their annual planning. Every insurance agency I work with as part of the Sitkins Network wants to sell more commission, retain more clients, and earn more profit. We have training programs and resources to help them do just that. However, the most important thing we did over those two days was not discussing strategy and tactics, but agreeing on being accountable to each other and the entire agency team. No matter how self-motivated you are, every one of us performs better when we are held accountable. Accountability is not simply a willingness to share your actions. Effective accountability starts before any action is taken. Leadership expert John Maxwell states that accountability develops in stages.
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
5. We often follow the advice given to us. Accountability is a simple as answering one question, “Did I do what I said I was going to do?” As leaders, it can be challenging to find accountability partners as many people on your agency team don’t want to challenge your authority. However, you must welcome and encourage others to disagree with you and hold you accountable to do what you said you were going to do. Sam Rayburn was a presidential adviser for Harry Truman when he was thrust into the presidency after the death of Franklin Roosevelt. Rayburn gave President Truman some great advice, “From here on out you’re going to have lots of people around you. They’ll try to put a wall around you and cut you off from any ideas but theirs, they’ll tell you what a great man you are, Harry, But you and I both know you ain’t.” Who is willing to tell you the truth and hold you accountable? The best agency leaders are the ones who seek the truth, even when it hurts.
The Bottom Line Self-leadership is the most challenging form of leadership. It’s also the most important aspect of leadership. I love this quote, “When a leader doesn’t inspect himself, the people don’t respect him.” When you learn to lead yourself effectively others will want to willingly follow you. You will have greater influence, build a stronger agency culture, and increase your agency revenue. Former chairman of IBM Thomas J. Watson said this, “Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others, as what he does from day to day to lead himself.” > Brent Kelly is an executive coach and speaker with The Sitkins Group. He helps independent insurance agencies sell more, retain more, and earn more through The ProFit Experience powered by The Sitkins Network.
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2018 PRE-LICENSING CLASS SCHEDULE Conducted at State Association Headquarters, IIAW pre-licensing classes fulfill the study requirements for life, health, property and casualty. Full course materials — not just an outline — are included with registration. The classes are:
REGISTER AT IIAW.COM 2018 CLASS DATES
LIFE & ACCIDENT/HEALTH January 8-11 February 5-8 March 5-8 April 9-12 May 14-17 June 4-7 July 9-12
PROPERTY & CASUALTY January 22-25 February 12-15 March 19-22 April 23-26 May 21-24 June 18-21 July 23-26
August 6-9 September 10-13 October 8-11 November 5-8
August 20-23 September 24-27 October 22-25 November 12-15
December 3-6
December 17-20
Designed to help you pass your state licensing examination. The quickest way to meet the Wisconsin education hours requirement. Taught by experienced insurance professionals who know the business. Conducted in a comfortable classroom with free parking. Approved by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.
IIAW MEMBER PRICING: $340 - Pricing given for full class registrations.
NON-MEMBER PRICING: $355
You may also take individual classes.
DAILY SCHEDULE
Life & Accident/Health
Day 1 (Monday) 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ($85) SECTION A: Principles of Insurance & General WI Ins. Law Ethics Day 2 (Tuesday) 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ($90) SECTION B: Life Policies, Terms & Concepts Day 3 (Wednesday a.m.) 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. ($45) SECTION B: Life Policies, cont. & WI Life Insurance Law Day 3 (Wednesday p.m.) Noon - 4:00 p.m. ($45) SECTION B: Accident & Health Policies, Terms & Concepts Day 4 (Thursday) 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ($90) SECTION B: Accident & Health, cont. & WI Health Insurance Law
Property & Casualty
Day 1 (Monday) 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ($85) SECTION A: Principles of Insurance & General WI Ins. Law Ethics Day 2 (Tuesday) 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ($90) SECTION B: Property Policies, Terms & Concepts CLASS SITE/DIRECTIONS The IIAW is located at 725 John Nolen Dr. in Madison, WI. Day 3 (Wednesday a.m.) 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. ($45) When traveling south on John Nolen, it’s the last driveway SECTION B: Property Policies, cont. & WI Property Insurance Law Day 3 (Wednesday p.m.) Noon - 4:00 p.m. ($45) before Highway 12/18 (Beltline). Located near the Alliant SECTION B: Casualty Policies, Terms & Concepts Energy Center and Sheraton Hotel. Day 4 (Thursday) 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ($90) INCLEMENT WEATHER SECTION B: Casualty Policies, cont. & WI Casualty Insurance Law If weather conditions are questionable, use your own judgment regarding your personal safety. If Madison public Please contact Kathy@IIAW.com for information about schools are closed, the IIAW is closed and pre-licensing is multiple registration discounts. canceled for the day. Canceled classes are made up on The course fee includes all class materials. Materials are Friday. distributed on the first day of class. You receive: HOTEL INFORMATION • The Life & Accident/Health or Prop. & Casualty Insurance Students requiring lodging will receive a special rate at the Study Manual. Clarion Suites, 2110 Rimrock Rd. in Madison. Please call • The Intermediary’s Guide to Wisconsin Insurance Law. the hotel directly at 608.284.1234, and ask for the • The State of Wisconsin Ins. Licensing Candidate Handbook. independent insurance agent’s discount. This provides all the necessary information to obtain a license.
To register, click the Education tab on IIAW.com. For Wisconsin exam info, visit prometric.com.
CONTINUING EDUCATION IIAW ONLINE & LOCATION CE CLASSES E&O Risk Management: How To Manage Changing Risks and Opportunities-Lunch Provided! (Green Bay, WI)
IIAW Webinar: Contractual Liability...Separating Fact from Fiction
E&O Risk Management: How To Manage Changing Risks and Opportunities-Lunch Provided! (Eau Claire, WI)
IIAW Webinar: Farm Vehicle and Equipment Coverages
IIAW Webinar: Cyber Liability
IIAW Webinar: Life and Health Solutions for Business Challenges
6 CE Credits Approved Date: April 3, 2018 Location: IIAW E&O – iiaw.com/events Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
6 CE Credits Approved Date: April 4, 2018 Location: IIAW E&O – iiaw.com/events Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
3 CE Credits Approved Date: April 4, 2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
IIAW Webinar: Business Auto Coverages 3 CE Credits Approved Date: April 9, 2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
IIAW Webinar: Lying, Stealing, New Types of Fraud: The Importance of Crime Insurance
3 CE Credits Approved Date: April 10, 2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
IIAW Webinar: Farm Property Coverages 3 CE Credits Approved Date: April 10, 2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM
IIAW Webinar: E&O: Roadmap to Policy Analysis - Part 1
3 CE Credits Approved Date: April 11, 2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM
IIAW Webinar: E&O: Roadmap to Policy Analysis - Part 2
3 CE Credits Approved Date: April 11, 2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
3 CE Credits Approved Date: 4/12/2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
3 CE Credits Approved Date: 4/17/2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
3 CE Credits Approved Date: 4/18/2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
IIAW Webinar: Ethics - Walking a Straight Line 3 CE Credits Approved Date: 4/19/2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
IIAW Webinar: Top 10 Countdown of Personal Lines Coverages & Current Issues 3 CE Credits Approved Date: 4/19/2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM
IIAW Webinar: It's Not My Fault, or Is It? Liability Issues in Personal Lines Policies 3 CE Credits Approved Date: 4/20/2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
IIAW Webinar: Insurance Valuation Strategies 3 CE Credits Approved Date: 4/23/2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
IIAW Webinar: It's Not My Fault, or Is It? Liability Issues in Personal Lines Policies 3 CE Credits Approved Date: 4/26/2018 Location: IIAW Webinar – iiaw.com/events Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
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AGENCY MANAGEMENT
CUSTOMER SERVICE: ARE YOU PROACTIVE OR REACTIVE?
I only read two daily blogs, one insurance industry related and the other not directly insurance industry related but often insurance industry applicable. That latter blog is from Seth Godin. Seth’s daily blog is usually very short, often an epiphany, and always interesting. He has been kind enough to allow me to reprint a few of his blog posts, such as this recent one:
The other kind of customer service Reactive customer service waits until something is broken. We leave it up to the annoyed customer to go to the trouble of finding us, contacting us, and then, in real time, advocating for themselves until we finally manage to make things good enough (we rarely make them better than the customer hoped). Perhaps we ought to spend more time being proactive. How many people on your team are actively advocating for the customer in advance? Guiding the process so that most disappointments won’t even happen, which means we won’t have to fix them… Is there any more effective way to engage with customers than to create products that don’t break their hearts? For years, I’ve touted the value of the insurance agent as an advocate at claim time for the insured. This is particularly true (at least in theory) of the independent insurance agent since the agency, not the insurer, “owns” the customer. I don’t know a single good agent that doesn’t advocate for their customer at claim time if they feel a claim is not handled or resolved appropriately. This advocacy is impossible when consumers buy insurance direct without someone acting on their behalf as a broker or agent. In the book I’m currently writing, I reference the old adage that a lawyer that represents himself in court has a fool for a client. Similarly, an individual or business owner that buys his
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own P&C insurance directly has a fool for an agent. But, in the book, I go on to explain that advocacy shouldn’t just take place at times when there are no other options. My book’s working title is “When Words Collide: Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes.” The best way to resolve a claim dispute, as Seth’s blog post suggests, is to PREVENT the dispute from ever occurring. You do that, as an insurance agent, by not being a policy peddler. You do that as an insurer underwriter or marketing rep, sometimes with claims department input, by assisting the insured and agent. All parties assist the insured in the exposure analysis process and by recommending the appropriate insurance coverage (or sometimes alternative risk management techniques) that will minimize the likelihood of an uninsured loss. From my book: Assisting customers in identifying and treating their loss exposures requires hiring and training the right people and providing them with the tools and incentives to do their jobs. That begins with leadership that understands that education is an investment, not an expense, and management that understands the importance of having invariable, but flexible, systems in place that encourage and enable effective communications, documentation, and consistent practices. So, what kind of customer service does your shop provide and, if it’s only reactive, is that because your staff lacks the education, tools and resources to do their job? > Bill Wilson is one of the premier insurance educators in America on form, coverage, and technical issues; Founder and director of the Big “I” Virtual University; Retired Assoc. VP of Education and Research from Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
SELLER’S REMORSE
RECOGNIZE WHAT YOU WILL FACE IF YOU RETIRE AND SELL YOUR BUSINESS –AND WHAT YOU’RE LIKELY TO FACE AS A BUYER OR PERPETUATOR OF AN AGENCY Working with buyers, sellers and internal perpetuators and successors we have the opportunity to see many transactions take place. One of the things that we recognize happens more frequently than not is the hesitation caused by a form of Seller’s Remorse before the conclusion of many transactions. Seller’s Remorse takes place when a selling owner (usually someone transitioning into immediate or eventual retirement) realizes the loss of control that will occur simultaneously with the transaction. This loss of control could be triggered by financial loss – the realization that the funds generated by the sale are finite compared to the annual benefit of compensation, perks of ownership and agency profits. The loss of control could also be triggered by the realization that the owner, long used to full control of his surroundings, will now become- the “prior regime” and his position will be assumed by the new owners. If the transaction uses Agency Consulting Group, Inc.’s valuation services, both buyer and seller now realize that the agency must be purchased with the cash flow that it generates over a specific period of time agreed upon by the buyer and seller. This means that, eventually, the seller will have received the agreed upon “value” of the agency from the buyer and the new owner will take all future financial benefits from the agency. The seller realizes that if he hadn’t sold and remained in place and healthy he would have always achieved more future value from the agency than the price that he received. Of course, no one lives forever, some are required to retire by physical or mental conditions and others understand that there is life after business and they desire to enjoy it while they still can. The smart business owner plans for ownership transition and seeks a fair value for his agency that is sufficient to allow him to live comfortably while enjoying life and family. Those agents who try to ‘short-cut’ the valuation system will either underprice or overprice the agency based on some arbitrary multiple of something (commission, revenue, EBITDA, etc). Regular readers and clients of Agency Consulting Group, Inc. know the example, below, that destroys the concept that there are “common multiples” that work for every agency. Two agencies, each generating $1 Million revenue 50% CL/50%PL with good loss ratios, are two blocks apart in a city. Agent A (on the left) was $3 Million five years ago. Its owners are in their late 60’s and 70’s as are their employees and most of their remaining clients. Their client base is eroding annually through death and retirement and they are not replacing their lost clients fast enough to grow the agency. Agent B (on the right) began from scratch five years ago with 35 year old owners and a young staff (all hungry) and are marketing and soliciting for new clients most of the time. WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
What will happen to Agency A’s long term large clients when the owners who have been their friends, retire? Will the employees who have worked for the owners all their careers, stay or retire simultaneously? Will Agency B’s owners stay with the agency to help build it? Would you pay the same “multiple” (of anything) for both of these businesses? Sometime after the seller has made the decision to sell he will realize that his value is finite and he will no longer be ‘top dog’ in his own company. This will cause some angst and he will wonder if he’s making the right decision – SELLER’S REMORSE. In reality the only sellers who should carefully consider their decision are those in the prime of their lives who have made an emotional decision based on their conditions at the moment and had never considered retirement seriously before that time. We have seen the result of these sales as former agency owners become ‘Lost Souls’ trying to relive their strongest times by staying with the agency without a well-defined role or wandering through the next few years of their lives re-living the best of times in their careers. Some realize after the transaction that they were not really ready to retire and should not have made the decision regardless of the pressures on them. However, most sellers we encounter have been thinking about retiring and their alternatives for many years before their decision. They will experience the same remorse as anyone who is making a radical change in their lives but, in retrospect, they know their decisions were due (or overdue) and that staying longer would be detrimental to their physical, emotional and financial condition. Buyers can help the sellers by helping them define the reasons for ownership transition within the due diligence stage of the transaction. Do so in writing. Actually help the seller develop a T-List, listing on two sides of a page the reasons for or against the sale of the agency. That list will act as the reminder to the seller of why a transition of ownership is more helpful to his future course than detrimental and it will alleviate the Seller’s Remorse by acting as a reminder.
> Al Diamond, a 32+ year veteran of the insurance industry with agency, stock company and direct writing experience.
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SALES
HOW TO STOP WASTING VALUABLE TIME AND ENERGY IN YOUR INSURANCE AGENCY One of the most vital aspects of insurance agency growth is simply knowing what it is you want and then having the focus, consistency, and persistence to go get it. One of my favorite resources that we use with our Sitkins Network members is the 80/20 analysis. I am guessing that you are at least vaguely familiar with the 80/20 principle, commonly known as the Pareto principle, named after Italian Vilfredo Pareto, who discovered this principle when studying land ownership. The 80/20 principle is true in many areas of life and business such as: >2 0 percent of the roads produce 80 percent of the traffic jams >2 0 percent of drinkers consume 80 percent of beer >2 0 percent of students generate 80 percent of classroom discussions >2 0 percent of your clothes are worn 80 percent of the time >2 0 percent of employees create 80 percent of the problems >2 0 percent of sales producers generate 80 percent of sales >2 0 percent of your results come from 80 percent of your time and effort When we conduct an 80/20 analysis on an insurance agency’s book of business, we commonly see this principle play out as well.
time and energy to create a wow experience for their ideal clients (top 20%) because they are “too busy” working on the bottom 80 percent. To maximize your organic growth, your agency must be committed to understanding the 80/20 principle and then act.
>2 0 percent of your clients create 80 percent of the profits Stop to take a minute and think about that concept. Your top 20 percent of clients are 16 TIMES as profitable as your bottom 80 percent.
In the “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, leadership expert John Maxwell discusses three key aspects of prioritization. 1. Busyness does not equal productivity
Where are you spending your time and energy? When agencies ask how to improve their organic growth, the solution is often found in determining where they are currently spending time and energy. Not only do your bottom 80 percent of clients only produce 20 percent of your agency’s revenue, but they’re more likely to move their business elsewhere. The bottom 80 percent of your clients require more time, attention, energy, and drain resources, all while only producing 20 percent of your revenue.
2. Prioritizing requires you to have a clear vision and always be thinking ahead 3. Prioritizing causes us to do things that are uncomfortable and sometimes downright painful.
What does the 80/20 Principle Mean for Your Agency? The first step in understanding how the 80/20 principle affects your agency is to run a report on your entire agency’s book of business. List all your accounts from largest to smallest. Then categorize your accounts into three areas. The top 5% of your accounts are your “A” accounts. The next 15% of your accounts are your “B” accounts. The remaining 80% are your “C” accounts.
Keep Your Mind on the Main Thing The problem is that most agencies don’t focus on investing enough
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Your “A” and “B” accounts are now your top 20% and the “C” accounts WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
SALES are your bottom 80%.
service, we can’t do this, we will lose relationships!”
Then calculate the gross revenues, the percentage of revenues, and revenue per relationship for your “A’s,” “B’s,” and “C’s.”
Activities vs. Results
If you are like the clear majority of agencies, you will soon discover key patterns that paint a clear picture of your agency’s financial health. This is where most agency leaders have an “Aha” moment and realize that their agency is not only wasting a good portion of time and energy in unprofitable accounts, but they are also vulnerable.
Let me ask a question. “How many of your “C” accounts are currently getting PROACTIVE service today? Outside of making basic policy changes, handling renewal processing, and other reactive services, how are you currently serving these accounts through risk advice and other value-added services? The answer for most agencies is usually, “Very little to none.”
While I don’t suggest that any agency simply begin eliminating their bottom 80% (nor would that be financially feasible), I do suggest that every agency begin to discuss a game plan of how these accounts should be handled moving forward.
At the same time, consider how much more time and energy your producers and service teams could focus on the top 20% of your clients (“A” and “B” accounts) to build relationships and provide true risk advice if they were not tied up being “busy”?
Here are a few examples of what successful agencies have implemented:
When you begin to spend much of your agency’s time and energy on your top clients, who by the way are also paying the most premium dollars and expect excellence, you can begin to focus on three key areas.
◗T rading down “C” accounts to newer producers with smaller books of business ◗M oving “C” accounts from producer controlled accounts to house controlled accounts
1. Round out How many of your top clients are full-time clients? This means that you write all their lines of business. There is often a gold mine of profitable business with accounts you already have solid relationships with. Don’t miss this opportunity.
◗U tilizing insurance carrier service centers to handle “C” accounts I know what some of you are thinking, “We pride ourselves on great
2. Retention Once you run the 80/20 analysis for your agency, you will fully realize the importance of having a true retention process for your top clients. For many agencies, the top 5% of your accounts represent 50% or your revenue. What would happen to your agency if you lost that top 5%? 3. Replicate We often hear agencies tell us that they “got lucky” when acquiring their top clients. Instead of hoping and wishing that you might “get lucky” and get another “A” or “B” client, why not make the effort to replicate these wins? Why and how did you get your top 20% of accounts? Learn from these victories and replicate your success.
The Bottom Line It’s been said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
We look for the best independent agents and build relationships that last the duration. We are committed to the independent agency system as the only means to deliver our products. Because of that, we work hand-inhand to help our agencies grow profitably.
Our agents set us apart. For information about becoming a Partners Mutual Insurance Agent please contact Brian Martin at 262.432.3439 or Mike Ottman at 262.432.3418.
Too many insurance agencies are struggling to grow organically yet continue to do the same things they have done for years and expect their results to improve. In today’s world of digital disruption, commoditization, and high client expectations, your agency must become laser focused. Otherwise, you will be just like a hamster on a wheel going faster and faster, but ending up in the same place. Know what you want and then go get it. > Brent Kelly is an executive coach and speaker with the Sitkins Group. He helps agencies define a clear path to sell more, retain more, and earn more through the “ProFit Experience.” Contact Brent at brent@ sitkins.com or learn more about the programs Sitkins Group offers at www.sitkins.com.
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
APRIL 2018 | 33
© SECURA Insurance
LEXIE • Born into an insurance agency; worked at two of them • Loves the Green Bay Packers, music, her toddlers… in reverse order • A decade of insurance experience
Has walked in your shoes
Meet Lexie, one of our Commercial experts. Agents call her first because she’s worked at an agency and knows what they want. She’s quick to reply, open-minded, and knows her stuff; just like her colleagues. She may even trash talk football or the latest breakout rock band. High standards you can rely on from real people. Plus, they’re backed by our caring claims group who will get your clients back on their feet.
SECURA Commercial. It’s how you get ahead.
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AGENCY OPERATIONS
BUILD TRUST WITH CLIENTS THROUGH A SMOOTH CLAIMS EXPERIENCE Developing and maintaining strong relationships with clients is a vital business strategy that, in most industries, can make or break a business. This is especially true for insurance agents who have public sector or commercial clients, and must step in to assist during what is a stressful and distressing time: filing an insurance claim and facing possible disruption of their business, time and resources. When an insured must file a claim, they often count on their agent or broker to manage the situation. Even one hiccup in the process can sometimes lead to a bumpy settlement and affect the relationship you’ve worked so hard to build. Agents and brokers can get a head start on the claims process by anticipating the type of information the carrier will need. Ideally, most claims processes start long before a submission is ever made.
as auto property damage versus employment claims. Work closely with your clients to ensure the correct points of contact, phone numbers and email addresses are listed. The sooner you gather all information, the sooner adjusters can reach insureds, and the faster the process will go. If an adjuster is having a difficult time reaching an insured, they will likely be calling you, resulting in delayed claim response.
Document from the Get-Go Follow these steps to ensure your client relationships don’t break down in a time of crisis.
When submitting a claim, the process will move along much faster if the following is provided:
Submit Right Away
Claim in suit: If submitting a claim in suit, always remember to send the actual lawsuit in its entirety, including all exhibits. Also, include a copy of the summons, noting the date and how the insured was served, such as via mail, process server or sheriff. If the suit involves a due date, the adjuster needs to know how much time they have to work with. Also, note which defendants, if individually named, are employees of the insured and if any of the information in the lawsuit is incorrect.
Time is of the essence—submit claims as soon as possible. This is especially true when a lawsuit is involved. A claim in suit needs to be addressed immediately and a delay can create big headaches or even elicit a dismissal. It is always a good practice to stamp the date received on the documents so there is no question. Some states only provide 20 days, including weekends, to respond to a lawsuit. Insureds and adjusters should typically receive acknowledgement of receipt of a claim, and insureds should be directly contacted within a short period of time. Monitor the process to make sure the insured speaks with an adjuster and that the adjuster is able to reach the appropriate point of contact.
Verify Contact Information
Tort notice: When submitting a tort notice, submit any documents that substantiate the claim, such as accident reports, police reports, employment records, damage summaries, demand letters, investigation reports, medical records or any documents in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
Often, when submitting a claim, an agent or broker will also attach an ACORD. These forms and any other communication from the agent or broker are a quick resource for an adjuster and help them contact the appropriate person. Occasionally, the contact is different for different types of claims, such
Potential claim: Often, potential claims are submitted to adjusters to give them a heads up if they foresee a complaint being filed. When submitting a potential claim, it’s helpful to provide the adjuster with a copy of the actual complaint, if already filed, and a gauge on the
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
seriousness of that complaint or a copy of a news article. If the adjuster needs to have it on their immediate radar, let them know. If a potential claim goes to suit, take note of the assigned adjuster and the previously assigned claim number on the submission. Mentioning this may also be useful if there are multiple claims for one incident. Note that tort notices and potential claims, while important, do not involve as stringent deadlines for response as lawsuits. However, these matters do require investigation.
Educate Insureds Don’t let your clients be taken by surprise when they need to file their first claim. Providing an understanding of the process before a submission is set in motion can not only save time, but also provide a framework that may assist your clients from a risk management perspective. For example, if an insured is unaware of the documents that may be requested during a claims investigation, they may not properly file or retain the pertinent paperwork. Depending on the type of potential claims, it may be helpful to provide a checklist of items they will need to have ready in the event of a claim. Helping your client proactively prepare for a claim is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate and provide a very valuable service. Consider examining the notice the insured provides to place all appropriate carriers on notice, place current and subsequent carriers on notice if necessary, and warn the insured if there is a potential coverage denial or issue. > S arah Schmitz is a claims manager at OneBeacon Government Risks at its headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota. She currently handles a wide range of claims brought against municipal entities, public officials and law enforcement.
APRIL 2018 | 35
AGENCY OPERATIONS
4 PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF WORK I contemplate the future of work on a daily basis in both my professional and personal life. As a father of four children from four to 14 years old, and as a citizen of the world, I care about our future.
As CEO of freelancing website Upwork, I am witnessing firsthand not only the immense changes within our industry, but also the speed at which they are occurring. At the World Economic Forum, where I co-chair the Council on the Future of Work, Gender and Education, we have heated discussions on the future impact of artificial intelligence on work and our responsibilities to help manage the change. We see that as the workforce evolves, we must finally break free from the industrial-era habits of the past to ensure a more productive and equitable future. Drawing on both on my experiences during 2017, and insightful books I’ve read, here are my four predictions for the future of work:
1. AI and robotics will create more jobs, not mass unemployment — as long as we responsibly guide innovation Whether artificial intelligence will rise up and take over is the subject of growing debate. AI is “our biggest existential threat” to mankind, claims tech leader Elon Musk. But science fiction is full of stories about machines usurping humans. It’s not a notion supported by history or data. As I debated earlier this year, the impact of AI on the future does not spell doomsday for jobs. After all, machines don’t create themselves. Rather, it’s up to us to guide innovation responsibly. This means opening up new windows of opportunity, not eliminating them. Elon Musk is not the first to subscribe to a fear of the “rise of the machines”. Every generation before ours has feared massive technological change. Ultimately, automation has created more jobs—not fewer—and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. That said, it’s true that some jobs will go away, and it’s easy to conclude which ones those will be. But it’s much more difficult to know what jobs will be in demand in 30 years. As such, I predict that there will not be a shortage of jobs in the future, but rather a shortage of skills to fill the jobs. In 2018, we must finally realize that it’s no longer a matter of human versus machine, but rather human
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live in the cities of their choosing, rather than the ones that are nearest to where they work. The cities of their choosing will have a certain “vibe” by offering attractive living options in tech-friendly environments.
3. The majority of the US workforce will freelance by 2027
and machine working in tandem to solve the world’s problems. It is humans who ultimately decide the next course of action.
2. Cities will compete against other cities in the war for top talent When Amazon unveiled plans in October to invest over $5 billion in constructing a second HQ, it received more than 200 proposals from different cities. Metropoles across the US went to great lengths to capture the attention of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. They made makeshift Amazon headquarters out of cardboard boxes, they bought 1,000 random products on Amazon and wrote five-star reviews for each, and they lit up landmarks such as the Empire State Building in “Amazon orange,” to name a few. But one city that ignored the mania was San Jose, California. Its visionary Mayor Sam Liccardo pitched talent rather than tax breaks. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, “Why I’m Not Bidding for Amazon’s HQ”, Mayor Liccardo explained that “big companies like Amazon want to be where tech talent is”. I believe this too. Luring new corporate offices like those of Amazon to cities would only perpetuate an unsustainable cycle. The talent war of the future will no longer be between companies, it will be between cities. As technology untethers society, and remote work becomes the norm, people will
Today, more than 57 million workers - about 36% of the US workforce - freelances. Based on current workforce growth rates found in Freelancing in America: 2017, the majority of the US workforce will freelance by 2027. The youngest workforce generation is leading the way, with almost half of millennials freelancing already. Simultaneously, there will be large-scale adoption of freelance talent by companies looking to fill talent gaps. In fact, according to a report by the Oxford Internet Institute, talent platform use among large enterprises increased 26% in 2017. Companies like Pfizer and Samsung are part of this rising breed of enterprises that have turned online to find freelancers.
4. Education breaks out of the silo Our education system is broken. The way we educate future generations no longer prepares them adequately for the skills and jobs of today. The idea that you study math and science and art in your youth as separate disciplines, and then work to solve real world problems in today’s economy, does not add up. Preparing students for tomorrow’s jobs requires breaking down the silos within education. I’m optimistic that future education will become more flexible to suit the needs of a 21st century workforce. Project-based schools, many offered by technology experts, are cropping up. Examples include Holberton in San Francisco, founded by Sylvain Kalache and Julien Barbier; Wildflower School in Boston, founded by former Google exec Sep Kamvar; and Portfolio in New York, founded by Babur Habib and Doug Schachtel. These schools set the stage for what future education will look like. We will rethink the way talent is developed and deployed, and prepare students for a lifetime of learning better paced to the rapid evolution of skills. WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
AGENCY OPERATIONS
FUTURE WORKFORCE REPORT: REMOTE WORK IS SET TO GO MAINSTREAM BUT IS YOUR BUSINESS READY? A majority of companies already embrace remote work—nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of companies have full-time employees who work outside the office. But they may not have the policies in place to support it. While most feel they have the resources and processes to enable remote work, the majority (57 percent) lack a defined remote work policy. These are among the findings of the second annual Future Workforce Report from Upwork, which explores the hiring behaviors of more than 1,000 U.S. managers. “The majority of companies are leveraging a variety of skilled workers, including freelancers in addition to employees, to gain access to the skills they need to get work done,” said Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork. “When companies make even small shifts towards more distributed workforces, looking outside urban centers, they can make a significant impact towards building a
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
more secure, innovative and equitable future of work.” The Future Workforce Report also found that: Skills are increasingly specialized. With the rapid rise of new and emerging skills, most hiring managers (59 percent) agree that skills have become more specialized over the last three years—and an even greater number (67 percent) agree that skills will become even more specialized over the next decade. Innovative hiring is helping companies address talent shortages. More than half of hiring managers (52 percent) say talent shortages have motivated them to adopt a more flexible workforce that leverages
freelancers, temporary and agency workers. Remote work is poised to become the new normal. Some high-profile companies have grabbed headlines by cutting remote work policies, but hiring managers are five times more likely to expect more of their team to work remotely than less over the next ten years. And many hiring managers (38 percent) predict their employees will work predominantly remotely in the next 10 years.
>U pwork is the largest freelancing website
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We jump through hoops for you. Because you jump through hoops for them. For more about how Integrity can help you help your customers contact: Cathy Colรณn at 920-968-8326 or ccolon@imico.com integrityinsurance.com
COMMENTARY FROM COUNSEL
NEW LAW HELPS AGENCIES FEND OFF IMPROPER CERTIFICATE REQUESTS
Certificates of Insurance—the three word equivalent of a four-letter word to an independent agency. Long discussed, debated and sometimes abused, certificates of insurance will likely never go away. However, recent changes to Wisconsin law driven by the IIAW will help independent agencies better manage requests for improper certificates of insurance. This month’s article provides some background on the OCI and legislature’s previous efforts surrounding certificates of insurance, the new law, and what the IIAW has in store to help its members take advantage of the new law.
added the following to the laundry list of forbidden conduct under Wisconsin Statute Section 628.34(1)(a): “No intermediary may provide a misleading certificate of insurance.” While misleading was not defined with reference to certificates of insurance, its import was obvious and, with the benefit of the 2008 OCI bulletin, agencies had additional ammunition to fight off improper requests. Yet, they persist.
Certificate Problems and Legal Backdrop
The 2018 Law
The problem? Insurance agents being asked by third parties to issue certificates of insurance that include information beyond (and potentially inconsistent with) the terms of the policy of insurance represented by the certificate. If you have never received such a request, consider yourself lucky. The situation arises across a variety of transactions requiring insurance, with requests typically coming from governmental entities, contractors, financial institutions and others who are additional insureds, certificate holders, or are otherwise interested in the coverage provided under the relevant policy. Although certificates of insurance are not forms requiring OCI approval, the IIAW and others have consistently advised against modifying certificate forms, e.g., ACORD or ISO forms, as well as attempting to summarize complex cancellation provisions, exclusions or other terms within the confines of certificates of insurance. In 2008, with the IIAW’s support, the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) issued a bulletin to all property and casualty insurers and agents regarding the use of certificates of insurance, in which the OCI stated its position as follows: Where an insurer or an agent acting on behalf of the insurer uses a certificate of insurance or other evidence of coverage which goes beyond an accurate summary of the policy, the insurer or agent may be misrepresenting the policy language as issued by the insurer and filed with OCI. Language included in the certificate that amends or extends coverages of the underlying policy or states that coverage is actually in force when it is not is a misrepresentation. An insurer or agent issuing these certificates would be in violation of s. 628.34 (1), Wis. Stat., and may be subject to administrative penalties including possible license suspension or revocation. At that time, the IIAW and OCI were hopeful that the bulletin would assist in preventing inappropriate requests to agents related to certificates of insurance, and that it would also protect agents by both educating them and deterring misconduct. Despite the OCI’s clear direction regarding the potential allegation of misrepresentation— and possible violations and penalties—that could arise from an agent or insurer issuing a certificate of insurance that is not an accurate summary of the policy terms, third party demands for additional content within certificates of insurance persisted. In 2012, the Wisconsin legislature passed into law a statutory amendment to address and make explicit the prohibition on issuing misleading certificates of insurance. The 2012 amendment to section 628.34 did not change the status quo or create any new risk for agents, since the OCI had stated its position in 2008. The 2012 amendment
As its 2018 session drew to a close, the Wisconsin legislature revisited certificates of insurance by passing a law specifying certain restrictions on the use of certificates of insurance (or any other document used for evidence of insurance) and the information they contain. The new law also prohibits improper requests and requirements for certificates. Wisconsin Statute Section 628.34(14) now prohibits the preparation or issuance, as well as any request or requirement for, certificates of insurance (or any other document used for evidence of insurance) which do not accurately reflect the terms of the referenced insurance policy. Specifically, the statute prohibits a person from issuing any certificate of insurance or related document that:
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
aContains information about the insurance policy which is false, misleading, deceptive, unfairly discriminatory, or otherwise violates the law, as determined by the OCI;
aPurports to alter, amend or extend the coverage provided by the referenced insurance policy;
aAlters the terms and conditions of any notice requirements in the referenced insurance policy; or
aWarrants that the referenced insurance policy fulfills the insurance or indemnification requirements of a specific contract. The law also prohibits the alteration of certificates of insurance (or any other document used for evidence of insurance) after they are issued. Violations of these and other legal requirements can result in criminal and civil penalties.
IIAW Assistance Under the New Law The IIAW is pleased with the new law and looks forward to helping its members take advantage of its protections. To that end, the IIAW has authorized the preparation of form response letters to be used when improper requests for certificates of insurance are received. Those forms will be rolled out at InsurCon. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the new law, do not hesitate to reach out to the IIAW or me, either directly or through the IIAW Hotline. > Josh Johanningmeier, IIAW General Counsel
APRIL 2018 | 39
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GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
PROPOSAL WOULD EXPAND SHORT-TERM HEALTH PLANS This week, the Department of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the Treasury Department and the Department of Labor, issued a proposal to increase the time period that an individual can use short-term limited duration health insurance. The proposed rule follows an executive order President Trump issued this fall seeking to expand access to health insurance outside the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The regulation would essentially reverse a rule the Obama Administration issued in 2016 which put restrictions on short-term limited duration health insurance. The Big “I” raised concerns about the 2016 rule at the time. Under the proposal, short-term limited duration health insurance would be permitted for up to one year. Currently, the duration of such policies cannot extend beyond three months. The proposal would continue to require clear disclosures that short-term limited duration policies are not required to comply with ACA requirements, such as those related to essential health benefits and pre-existing conditions. Importantly, the proposal would leave states as the primary regulators for short-term limited duration health insurance plans. Virtually all states have detailed laws and regulations that define and govern the sale of these policies. The Big “I” generally supports the proposal because restoring the oneyear time frame for short-term limited duration health insurance gives states more flexibility to address the health insurance needs of their residents, and also decreases the likelihood of fraud. In 2016, the Big “I” expressed concerns that the three-month timeframe was too restrictive for some state markets and that requiring policies to only be offered on such a short-term basis would make it easier for fraudulent companies to sell fake policies to consumers and then move on before the consumer realized they had been defrauded. Public comments on the proposal will be accepted through April 23 and a final rule could be enacted later this year.
Big ‘I’ Comments on Association Health Plans Earlier this week, the Big “I” sent a letter to the Department of Labor (DOL) regarding a proposed rule intended to expand access to association health plans (AHPs). AHPs enable small businesses and trade groups to band together to purchase health insurance or self-insure. Big “I” members have expressed conflicting views on the regulation. While some support it, others are concerned about how it might impact the employer-sponsored health insurance market. In the comment letter, the Big “I” focused on two consensus points. First, independent agents and brokers play an important role in placing health insurance, and as such, any changes to AHP regulations must maintain an appropriate role for agents and brokers. Second, the DOL should defer to state insurance regulation—particularly in the vital areas of AHP solvency regulation and consumer protection. The DOL could finalize a regulation as soon as this summer. The regulation follows an October executive order directing federal agencies to explore AHP options as well as expand access to shortterm health plans. In February, the Department of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the Treasury Department and DOL, also issued a proposal to increase the time period during which an individual can use short-term limited duration health insurance. Comments on the short-term proposal are due by April 23.
ALLORD APPOINTED CO-CHAIR OF HEALTH AND LIFE INSURANCE ADVISORY COUNCIL The IIAW is pleased to announce that association member, Julie Allord, was recently appointed by Wisconsin Commissioner Ted Nickel to serve as co-chair of the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance Health and Life Insurance Advisory Council. Ms. Allord joins with longtime insurance agents, Terrence Frett of R&R Insurance Services, Inc. and Gerald Frye of the Benefit Services Group, on the 10-member advisory panel. The council is made up of five company members, three agent members, one business member, and one public member. Health and Life insurance are vital to the general public and significant sectors in our state’s economy. The council’s purpose is to serve as a sounding board and open forum for all interested stakeholders to discuss relevant state and federal policy matters that impact the Wisconsin Health and Life insurance industries. There is much uncertainty and various issues surrounding healthcare at the federal and state levels and Ms. Allord’s service on the council will be a tremendous value to the association and membership. Ms. Allord is the owner and President of The BenefitWorks LLC, an independent insurance agency located in Madison, Wis. Allord has a total of 37 years of experience as a licensed Property and Casualty, Life, and Health agent. During the last 27 years of her career, she has specialized in the Employee Benefits field guiding employers, associations, and trusts throughout the state on effectively managing their employee benefit programs. These programs range from fully insured and partially self funded medical plans, and all other ancillary benefit programs. Allord is also an active participant in our government affairs advocacy efforts where she provides invaluable advice to our team on various health insurance related legislation. The IIAW named her Top Benefits Broker in Wisconsin for 2014. Allord is a life-long resident of the Madison area. She graduated from Middleton High School and went on to attend the University of Wisconsin Madison as a Fine Arts Major. Allord is married to husband, Jon Plamann, and both enjoy traveling, fine food, art, Indy car and NASCAR racing, Packer football, and are avid Badger fans. Allord presided over her first meeting of the council as co-chair on March 8th and was joined by the council’s other co-chair, Greg Gurlik of Northwestern Mutual Life. Congratulations to Julie Allord on your recent appointment and we look forward to working alongside you in your new capacity.
> Jennifer Webb WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
APRIL 2018 | 41
VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY
ASK AN EXPERT
The virtual university’s Ask An Expert service may be our best known member benefit. Daily we receive questions from members wanting help with denied claims, coverage and procedural issues, and agency management concerns. Our faculty includes some of the nation’s foremost experts in the insurance industry. These volunteer faculty members generally charge for the time they give to our members. Think about that, the insight you get through our aae service costs nonmembers thousands!
Q:
A:
Q: A:
Liability for Family Owned Autos On the Individual Named Insured Endorsement there is an exclusion on the Liability for Autos owned by family members. So, the 20-year-old daughter, who owns a car and has it registered in her name, comes home for Thanksgiving. The 16- year-old son/brother drives her car to the grocery store to get milk and is in an accident. Is there no coverage for the 16-year-old (or any family member) under the parent’s business auto policy? Is there a way to fix this? If there isn’t, does the family need a personal Named, Non-owner policy? Where does the 20-year-old daughter live? Is she a resident of the household or does she permanently reside elsewhere? The family member exclusion applies only to resident family members. Simply being a family member does not trigger the exclusion. Also, insurance follows the car. The 20-year-old’s PAP will cover her little brother as a permitted user - even if they are residents of the same household. No, the BAP won’t provide coverage for the 16-year-old, but the daughter’s PAP will. That’s why kids in this situation should not have low limits. But to use your scenario, the same exclusion applies in the PAP. The PAP excludes liability coverage for the ownership, maintenance or use of: 3. Any vehicle, other than “your covered auto”, which is: a. Owned by any “family member”; or b. Furnished or available for the regular use of any “family member”. There is one exception to this exclusion, the PAP states: However, this Exclusion (B.3.) does not apply to you while you are maintaining or “occupying” any vehicle which is: a. Owned by a “family member”; or b. Furnished or available for the regular use of a “family member”. So, there would be no coverage from the PAP for the son’s use of the vehicle owned by the daughter as in your example. The parents would have coverage if they were covered with a PAP. Coverage provided by the BAP is generally not as broad as the coverage provided by the PAP; and it’s not intended to be. But in this case, the same exclusion exists.
Q: A:
UTURO Rentals and Damage Coverage Is physical damage coverage included when an insured rents from TURO rather than a traditional rental car agency? The insured has physical damage coverage on his PAP. I was not familiar with TURO prior to this question so this was an interesting learning experience. The short answer is, if you have physical damage on an insured vehicle, yes, the insured is covered for damage to the rental vehicle. But remember, only on an ACV basis. The longer answer is, using TURO appears very convoluted from an insurance perspective. In a traditional rental situation, the insured’s PAP extends liability and physical damage to the rented vehicle on a primary basis; but the insured has the option of purchasing a physical damage waiver (which is HIGHLY recommended) to avoid the gaps that may come from the ACV-only coverage on the PAP. This option may or may not be available with TURO depending on the person or entity from whom or which the vehicle is rented. It appears the person/entity that owns and rents out the vehicle has the option to make this protection available, but it’s not guaranteed to be available. A separate, stand-alone protection package can be purchased from TURO (see link below). From a liability perspective, it appears the renter’s insurance may not be extended on a primary basis; it may be excess – initially. But, the contract appears to allow the owner of the vehicle to subrogate against the renter – once again making the renter’s liability coverage primary. Again, renters may have the option of purchasing protection from TURO. In the overall, I would recommend against using TURO because a claim situation seems very messy; but that’s just my opinion.
Defining “Incidental Business” Would a bed and breakfast in a home generating less than $10,000 income a year be considered “incidental business”? You will have to review the definition of “business” in the specific homeowners’ policy. Here is the ISO definition: 3. “Business” means: 1. A trade, profession or occupation engaged in on a full-time, parttime or occasional basis; or 2. Any other activity engaged in for money or other compensation, except the following: (1) One or more activities, not described in (2) through (4) below, for which no “insured” receives more than $2,000 in total compensation for the 12 months before the beginning of the policy period; (2) Volunteer activities for which no money is received other than payment for expenses incurred to perform the activity; (3) Providing home day care services for which no compensation is received, other than the mutual exchange of such services; or (4) The rendering of home day care services to a relative of an “insured” Your situation sounds like a business by definition. Further, there is no mention of “incidental business” in an ISO homeowners’ form.
The Virtual University is a Big “I” members-only resource. Many articles are based on real-life questions received by the Ask an Expert service. This service ensures that the information is current and topical. Go to www.independentagent. com/Education/VU/. You will need to login with your IIABA username and password before using the VU. The IIABA does not assume and has no responsibility for liability or damage which may result from the use of any of this information.
42 | APRIL 2018
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
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“FOLLOWING FORM” CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE REQUESTS I’ve spoken about this before in a number of seminars and webinars, but I don’t think I’ve ever written about it. Not long ago, an agent who had attended one of my webinars asked about an article on why you should never say on a certificate of insurance (or elsewhere) that a umbrella or excess liability policy provided “following form” coverage. I’ve seen contracts with these kinds of requirements if limits are provided by umbrella or excess policies: “Excess or umbrella liability policy is followform with no additional exclusions.” “Umbrella (excess) liability insurance is ‘Following Form’ to the General Liability Policy (meaning no additional exclusions that aren’t already on the CGL policy). Y or N.” The “following form” requirement usually means that the umbrella or excess policy is expected cover everything covered by the underlying policies. The reality is that this is almost never the case. Many/most umbrella and excess policies have exclusions or an absence of coverage for exposures covered by underlying policies. For example, an exclusion for damage to rented premises is common, with no exception for fire damage legal liability (FDLL) coverage or the
ISO CGL’s open perils coverage that is provided for temporary rentals of 7 days or less. Here is an example of a primary policy exclusion and the FDLL exception: “‘Property damage’ to property rented to, occupied by or in the care of an ‘insured’. This exclusion does not apply to ‘property damage’ caused by fire, smoke or explosion.” Here is the exclusionary language in the excess policy: “Property Damage to property owned, rented or occupied by you….” As you can see, the excess policy provides no exception for fire, smoke or explosion. Defined terms such as “bodily injury” and “property damage” are often different and may effect lesser coverage in the umbrella/excess policy than the underlying CGL or auto. Umbrella/excess policies often exclude auto UM/UIM coverage or, more commonly, provide
a UM/UIM limit less than the liability limit. IRMI’s CGL reference manual set includes an analysis of the common umbrella/excess policies in the marketplace and might also address “following form” issues. You have to subscribe to this reference material to review that. For a good free article from IRMI about following form issues, click here. There is always a danger when you use verbiage on a certificate of insurance to describe coverage that is different from the actual policy language. Terms like “following form,” “blanket,” and “all risk” are terms we should resist using since they often serve as a noose in which the certificate holder hopes the agent will stick his or her head in. > Bill Wilson is one of the premier insurance educators in America on form, coverage, and technical issues; Founder and director of the Big “I” Virtual University; Retired Assoc. VP of Education and Research from Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.
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44 | APRIL 2018
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
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EMERGING LEADER SPOTLIGHT Each month we will be featuring one of the active members of our Emerging Leaders Committee. Our April Emerging Leader is Nick Metzker from Madison Mutual Insurance Company. Tell us your name and a little more about you: Nick Metzker, Fort Atkinson, WI – Wisconsin Territory Rep w/ Madison Mutual Insurance Co. How long have you been on the Emerging Leaders committee? I signed up with the Emerging Leaders Committee late in the Fall ’17, so I’ve been part of the committee for a little less than 6 months. How did you hear about the Emerging Leaders Committee? I met with Matt Banaszynski early in 2017, and in our industry discussions, he mentioned a few groups and committee’s that he recommended as great opportunities for younger professionals in the industry to meet, connect, network, and continue personal growth opportunities within this industry. He highly recommended the Emerging Leaders Committee as a great way to get involved, meet new people, and learn more about the things that are shaping the future of the insurance industry. Why did you choose to become active with the Emerging Leaders committee? There wasn’t a single reason really, I wanted to strengthen my and my company’s relationship with the Big “I”. Additionally, I was excited to connect and network with other young professionals in the industry and help in learning and shaping the next generation of insurance professionals. What is your favorite EL event or activity that you’ve done with the EL group? Unfortunately, I haven’t been with the committee long enough to attend WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
any of the events or activities hosted by the committee. However, based on planning and discussions I’ve had with other members, I’m looking forward to some of the upcoming events planned for this summer and the remainder of 2018. There’s a lot of exciting conversation going on to make those events fun and impactful! Why should a new agent join the EL committee? It’s a fun way to meet new people, get involved, gain new opportunities and experiences, while learning how to position yourself to get where you want to go within the industry. What is your spirit animal? I’ve honestly never thought about this, let’s go with an Eagle. Where is your favorite vacation spot? Our cabin on Soo Lake in Phillips, WI. Do you have any pets? Yes, a yellow lab named Jeter. What is one professional goal for you in the next 3-5 years? I would like to obtain a CIC designation.
APRIL 2018 | 45
RISKY BUSINESS
REACTING TO HEADLINES:
HOW TO MANAGE EPL RISK WITHIN THE AGENCY The recent string of allegations making headlines has brought many individuals (mostly women) forward to talk about their sexual assault and harassment experiences. These conversations should invoke action among business owners, including those in the insurance sector, to review their employee handbooks as well as their Employment Practice Liability (EPL) coverage. This is not a time to panic, but rather a time to be proactive about protecting employees and purchasing appropriate insurance solutions for the agency. There has been an increase in EPL claims in recent years, so what are proper risk mitigation steps that agency owners and principals should take? First and foremost, make sure you have strong internal practices and policies around sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. Then, make sure that your employees understand these policies through training and open communication. And third, be prepared. Understand your EPL policy and if its right for
>H ave your policies ever been reviewed by legal counsel or a third-
you. You can start by asking yourself these questions about your agency?
Once you have taken the appropriate steps to protect and educate your employees, you should take a closer look at your EPL policy and understand exactly what you’re covered for and where you may have an existing exposure. If you’re a member of the Big “I”, you have exclusive access to comprehensive employment liability solutions through Philadelphia Insurance. Philadelphia offers robust risk management services to provide training and tools for policyholders. Its important to remember that an EPL endorsement on your General Liability or even on your E&O policy will likely not provide the coverage you will need in the event of a claim. Here are some common coverage gaps and what you should look for in your own EPL policy.
>W hen was the last time you reviewed and updated your employee handbook?
> Are the employment practices policies within your agency sufficient?
party professional?
>D o you advertise your policies or make them easily accessible for employees?
> Do you have a zero-tolerance policy within your agency? > Do you have ongoing and updated employee training?
Third Party Coverage: If a client claimed you discriminated against them, would you be covered? If you’re using an endorsement on your GL or E&O, you might have an exposure. An EPL policy should have Third Party Liability coverage built into the form
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Hour and Wage Defense: Would your coverage defend you if an employee or contractor alleged that you paid them improperly? Your EPL policy should provide coverage for the entity as well as employees including: part-time, leased, seasonal, temporary and volunteers Optional Duty to Defend Provision: Your policy should provide you with the option to choose your own defense counsel or tender the defense to the underwriter If you are reading this article and feeling a bit of anxiety or realizing it would be nice to get some help on the topic, don’t panic. There are resources available to help you examine your internal handbook, procedures and EPL policy. If you would like to use a checklist to see how your EPL policy stacks up, visit www.protectyouragency.com and go to the Employment Practice Liability checklist. If you’d like to speak to a helpful staff member at the IIAW, feel free to reach out to Trisha Ours, trisha@iiaw.com.
badgermutual.com WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
> Mallory Cornell is the Director of Risk Management for the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin.
APRIL 2018 | 47
News Members in the
R&R Insurance Voted #1 Bonding and Insurance Firm by The Daily Reporter Readers
R&R Insurance has been ranked the “Top Bonding and Insurance Firm” by The Daily Reporter readers! For the second year, The Daily Reporter has surveyed it’s readers on number of questions related to Commercial construction categories (best abatement, best material supplier, best scaffolding company, etc.) as well as general business questions. Participants wrote in company names for their top votes. With 27.1% of the votes, R&R Insurance ranked #1 Bonding & Insurance Firm.
Wilcox named executive Vice President of Personal lines for Motorists Matthew C. Wilcox has been hired as executive vice president of personal lines for Motorists Insurance Group. “ We’re pleased to have Matthew join Motorists and bring his depth of industry experience and knowledge to our team,” said Motorists CEO Dave Kaufman. “His insights will help us ensure our policyholders receive quality products from Motorists.” Wilcox has more than 30 years of insurance industry experience. He most recently served as a senior vice president with MAPFRE USA. He has also held leadership positions with Travelers of New Jersey and USAA Insurance Company. “We’re fully committed to being a company our agents and policyholders can count on for quality products in both commercial and personal insurance,” said Motorists President and COO Thomas J. Obrokta, Jr. “Hiring Matthew to lead our personal lines is an important strategic move for continued care and service to our customers.” Wilcox holds the CPCU designation and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island.
Cleary received the Spirit of the Silver Lining Award for his support of Middleton Outreach Ministry (MOM), whose mission is to instill hope in the community through progressive programs and partnerships to prevent homelessness and end hunger. Cleary has been a member of MOM’s Board of Directors since 2013 and has been active on the Capital Campaign Cabinet. The grant funding from West Bend will be used to support the MOM’s efforts to end hunger and prevent homelessness. Tisonik received the Spirit of the Silver Lining Award for his support of the Hope Center. The Hope Center’s mission is to minimize the poverty risk factors that contribute to homelessness by providing basic needs for clothing, food, and furniture. Tisonik and HNI employees donate, volunteer, and organize food and clothing drives. Hope Center will use the grant from West Bend to support several of their programs, including the Clothing Shop, Outreach Meals, and Project Move. “At West Bend, we have a proud tradition of giving back to the communities in which we do business,” said Kevin Steiner, president and CEO of West Bend. “The Spirit of the Silver Lining Award is a unique program that allows us to express our gratitude to our agent partners on whom we rely to identify the causes that matter most in our communities.” Since 2006, West Bend has awarded more than $1.2 million in grants for sustaining support, special projects, or capital projects to nonprofit organizations representing a broad field of interests, including, but not limited to, arts and culture; education; the environment; family, youth, and elderly; health and human services; medical research; and community development. Grants are made to organizations within West Bend’s core geographic operating territory that includes Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota.
SECURA promotes five leaders to new officer positions
With unanimous approval from the company’s Board of Directors, SECURA Insurance promoted five leaders to newly created positions: Tamara Bates, Regional Vice President–Sales; Amy DeHart, Vice President–Chief Actuarial Officer; Jennifer Fisher, Vice President–Property Claims; Carol Wedig, Vice President–Continuous Improvement; and Larry Wright, Vice President–Chief Claims Officer. “These five individuals embody valuable qualities we look for in SECURA leaders, including a progressive vision for the future, collaborative spirit, and an appreciation for our dynamic company culture,” said Dave Gross, President & CEO. “Each brings a wealth of insurance industry expertise to guide their teams, and they will play important roles as our company continues growing to serve our policyholders and independent agency force.” In 2017, SECURA topped $600 million in direct written premium for West Bend Names Spirit of the the first time while maintaining an A (Excellent) rating by A.M. Best, Silver Lining Award Recipients in Wisconsin recognition as one of Ward’s 50® top performing property-casualty WEST BEND, Wis. – West Bend Mutual Insurance Company insurance companies, and its Great Place to Work certification. recently presented the Spirit of the Silver Lining Award to two Tamara Bates, Regional Vice President–Sales Bates first joined SECURA of its agents in Wisconsin. Additionally, West Bend also donated in 1999 and held various positions in commercial underwriting, product grant funding to the two nonprofit organizations supported by the development, risk management and, most recently, Regional Sales recipients of the Silver Lining Award. Director. Prior to SECURA, she worked for Sentry Insurance, Integrity The Spirit of the Silver Lining Award honors West Bend agents Mutual Insurance, and Lake States Insurance Company. and the nonprofit organizations they support for their dedication Bates has a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting and business to delivering a silver lining to those in need. administration from UW–Stevens Point and earned her Certified The Wisconsin recipients of the 2018 Spirit of the Silver Lining Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Certified Risk Manager (CRM) Award are Tim Cleary, formerly of M3 Insurance Solutions, Inc. and designations. She also served on the steering committee for the Chad Tisonik of HNI Risk Advisors. The nonprofit organizations Leadership Fox Cities Youth Program. Cleary and Tisonik support will each receive a $10,000 grant from Amy DeHart, Vice President–Chief Actuarial Officer DeHart joined West Bend Mutual Insurance’s Independent Agents Fund. SECURA’s Actuarial team in 2000 and was promoted to Vice President– Actuarial Services in 2013. She is responsible for overseeing the
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company’s pricing, reserving, strategic planning, and related functions. Prior to joining SECURA, DeHart worked as an actuary for John Deere Transportation Insurance, a specialty writer of long haul trucking. DeHart received her bachelor’s degree from the University of WisconsinMadison. She is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Jennifer Fisher, Vice President–Property Claims Fisher joined SECURA in 1998 as a multi-line claims representative and has held various roles of increasing responsibility, including 10 years as supervisor for inside property claims. She was promoted to director of property claims in 2012. Fisher earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. She is a 2017 graduate of Leadership Fox Cities and continues to pursue her CPCU designation. She also is active in the company’s Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Bowl For Kids’ Sake Committee and a Foundational Leadership Committee member. Carol Wedig, Vice President–Continuous Improvement Wedig started at SECURA in 2002 in Human Resources. During the past 16 years, she held different positions in HR, Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, IT, and currently is the director of Continuous Improvement. Since the program’s inception in 2016, Wedig has focused on building SECURA’s overall continuous improvement methodologies to help drive the company’s overall success. Wedig earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in human
resources management/management information systems from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and her MBA in general business from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She completed Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training, obtained her Project Management Professional (PMP) designation, and earned the Masters Certificate in Project Management from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She also is a Prosci Certified Change Practitioner. Larry Wright, Vice President–Chief Claims Officer Wright began his career at SECURA in 1997 as an IT programmer/analyst. He held progressive positions including IT supervisor, IT director, workers’ compensation claims representative, workers’ compensation claims supervisor, claims project manager, casualty representative, and litigation coordinator. Most recently he held the position of Vice President–Claims. Wright earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. He earned his CPCU, Certified Insurance Data Manager (CIDM), Associate in Insurance Services (AIS), and Associate in Claims (AIC) designations. He also earned a Master’s Certificate in project management from the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Business.
DRAINING THE INSURANCE FRAUD SWAMP An agent received the following email from a customer: “A few people are telling me to save money on car insurance by NOT telling the insurance company who is driving my cars. I have a 23 and 16 year old – the older one had 2 accidents but her premium is reasonable at $2,300 per year for good coverage. These people are telling me that the cars are covered no matter whom is driving so don’t tell them about your kids.” These “people” are allegedly other agents bidding on her personal lines account. I don’t know about you, but I call this insurance fraud. I suspect most regulators and state attorney generals would concur. For example, here is just one of many fraud statutes from Florida: 817.236 False and fraudulent motor vehicle insurance application.— Any person who, with intent to injure, defraud, or deceive any motor vehicle insurer, including any statutorily created underwriting association or pool of motor vehicle insurers, presents or causes to be presented any written application, or written statement in support thereof, for motor vehicle insurance knowing that the application or statement contains any false, incomplete, or misleading information concerning any fact or matter material to the application commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. A felony conviction is not an inconsequential thing, nor are the civil penalties and possible WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
incarceration associated with insurance fraud laws. In addition to insurance fraud being illegal in every state, those that have adopted the NAIC’s Insurance Fraud Prevention Model Act or their own version of that law make reporting of such fraud mandatory. For example, the model act says: A person engaged in the business of insurance having knowledge or a reasonable belief that a fraudulent insurance act is being, will be or has been committed shall provide to the commissioner the information required by, and in a manner prescribed by, the commissioner. The industry and state regulators encourage the reporting of insurance fraud. States with mandatory reporting requirements usually have mechanisms for confidentiality and immunity. If you’re an agent who is aware of this market conduct, have you reported it? If you’re an underwriter or adjuster who is aware of an agent who has engaged in this practice, have you reported it in addition to terminating the agent? In my blog, I often give “big data” a hard time, but this is an example of how it can supplement underwriting and claims. In a recent blog post, I expressed my distaste when my personal lines carrier sent me an additional auto insurance bill for almost $600 because they apparently learned that my son, who moved out 3 years ago, still gets his vehicle registration renewal mailed to our house. The presumption, without
verification from us, was that he still lives here. I don’t have a problem with this practice, just with the execution and presumption (from my viewpoint) that I’m dishonest. There is nothing wrong with verifying the veracity of information provided by an insured or agent and ‘big data,” without misplaced overreliance, can be a viable tool for that purpose. This is one reason why an agent who engages in the fraudulent behavior described above is being foolhardy. With the growth of data analytics, more and more agents are going to get caught engaging in this type of fraud. And hopefully carriers will have the backbone to report them and get them out of the business. This is not a singular or unique tale. I’ve heard this from agents before. Too many agents compete unethically and some do it illegally. Whether it’s the personal lines agent deliberately underinsuring a home with a “guaranteed replacement cost” provision or the commercial lines agent undervaluing property insured on a blanket basis without a margin clause, the offender needs to be reported and driven out of the insurance industry. Are you willing to do your part in cleaning up the insurance fraud swamp?
>B ill Wilson
APRIL 2018 | 49
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