wisconsin
INDEPENDENT AGENT FEBRUARY 2019
IS YOUR AGENCY AFFECTED BY NEW YORK CYBER LAWS?
Š 2019 Society Insurance
Tried-and-true restaurant coverage with no surprises.
Small detail. Big difference. Our TopChoice insurance program for restaurants was developed with restaurant owners more than 40 years ago to be the most comprehensive and reliable protection available. We’ve stayed on top of industry trends ever since and tailor our coverage to the unique business needs of each establishment we insure. With Society, your restaurant customers get protection they can count on, delivered exactly as expected. And as you know, that makes all the difference. If you specialize in restaurants and are interested in an agency appointment, give us a call at 1-888-5-SOCIETY or visit societyinsurance.com.
wisconsin
INDEPENDENT AGENT FEBRUARY 2019
Insurance Bartender. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Risky Business Is it possible that cyber security regulations are a good thing?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Technology 3 ways to give millennial customers what they want . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Commentary from Counsel How rude! How will courts interpret new aggression exclusion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Government Affairs Governor Evers appoints Afable Insurance Commissioner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Virtual University Ask an Expert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
On The Cover… It’s here to stay – technology is the last
Sales Top 10 ways to increase sales in the new year (Part one). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
thing we see at night and the first we see
Emerging Leader Spotlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
in the morning. In this issue, we explore
Agency Operations Is your agency its best version possible? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Government Affairs Big “I” commends final pass-through tax regulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Agency Operations 5 creative ways to retain insurance clients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Members in the News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
the impact of technology on the insurance industry, how it relates to your business, what you can do to embrace the changing face of technology in regard to your clients, and how to use it to your advantage.
Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 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 2018-2019 Executive Committee President............................................................ Jason Bott Robertson-Ryan & Associates - 330 East Kilbourn Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53202 President-Elect............................................. Chris Costakis Avid Risk Solutions- 2501 Parmenter Street, Ste 200A Middleton, WI 53562 Secretary-Treasurer......................................Darrel Zaleski Spectrum Insurance Group, 4233 Southtowne Drive, Eau Claire, WI 5470 Chairwoman of the Board.................................Lise Meyer Meyer Insurance Agency, Inc., P.O. Box 130, Sauk City, WI 53583 State National Director ................................Steve Leitch Leitch Insurance - P.O. Box 85, River Falls, WI 54022 2018-2019 Board of Directors Mike Ansay, Ansay & Associates, 101 East Grand Ave. #11, Port Washington, WI 53704 Nick Arnoldy Marshfield Insurance Agency, Inc., 208 West 5th Street Marshfield, WI 54449 Mike Harrison R&R Insurance Services, Inc., 1581 East Racine Avenue Waukesha, WI 53146 Dan Lau Robertson Ryan & Associates, Inc., 330 East Kilbourn Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53202 Aaron Marsh Marsh Insurance Services, Inc., 11 East Newton Street Rice Lake, WI 54868 Marc Petersen American Advantage - Petersen & Assoc., Inc. 14785 West National Ave. New Berlin, WI 53151 Joanne Lukas Szymaszek Johnson Insurance Services LLC 555 Main Street Racine, WI 53405 Chad Tisonik HNI Risk Services LLC P.O. Box 510187 New Berlin, WI 53151 Pam Utpadel Universal Insurance Advisors, Inc. 100 West Lawrence Street Appleton, WI 54911 WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
> A DVERTISERS & INFORMATION
2018-2019 Committee Chairs
Society.............................................................. 2
Agency Services............................................ Ruth Vorwald Johnson Insurance Services, 7401 144th Ave, Kenosha wi 53142
InsurCon Info..................................................... 4
Automation/Technology................ Cathleen Christensen Hierl Insurance, Inc., Fond du Lac, WI 53937
Pre-licensing Schedule...................................... 7
Emerging Leaders.................................................. Dan Lau Robertson Ryan & Associates, 330 East Kilbourn Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202
AAA.................................................................. 14
Employee Benefits........................................... Mike Farrell David Insurance Agency, Inc., 1300 South Green Bay Road, Racine, WI 53406
IMT................................................................... 17
Government Affairs............................................. Jeff Thiel R&R Insurance Services, Inc., P.O. Box 1610, Waukesha, WI 53187 Industry Relations............................................Janel Bazan Johnson Insurance Services, 525 Junction Road, Madison WI 53517 Membership & Marketing........................ Jamie Durocher Arlington/Roe & Co., 5530 Ryan Road, Houston, MN 55943
CE Classes......................................................... 6 Risk Management.............................................10 Robertson Ryan .............................................. 15 AHP..................................................................18 Erickson Larsen............................................... 20 Western National.............................................. 21 Amerisafe....................................................... 24 BH GUARD ...................................................... 25 Emerging Leaders........................................... 27 Badger Mutual................................................. 29 IMT ................................................................. 30 West Bend ....................................................... 31 FEBRUARY 2019 | 3
CONTINUING
EDUCATION
IIAW ONLINE AND ON-SITE CE CLASSES JANUARY Date 7 8 10 10 14 14 15 16 17 23 24 28 29 30
FEBRUARY Date 4 5 5 5 6 7 11 11 13 19 19 20 21 25 27
MARCH Date 4 6 7 12 12 13 14 18 18 19 20 21 26 28
Course
Prelicensing Life & Health (onsite, Jan 7-10) Commercial General Liability Coverages E&O: Roadmap to Policy Analysis - Part One E&O: Roadmap to Policy Analysis - Part Two Prelicensing Property & Casualty (onsite, Jan 14-17) Business Auto Coverages Workers’ Compensation Farm Liability Coverages Ethical Dilemmas ... Making the Right Choices It’s Not My Fault, or Is It? - Liability Issues in Personal Lines Policies Cyber Liability 10 Things Every Commercial Lines Agent Ought to Know When the Child Becomes the Parent - Aging Parents and Insurance Decisions Personal Auto Policy
Course
Prelicensing Life & Health (onsite, Feb 4-7) E&O: Roadmap to Policy Analysis - Part One E&O: Roadmap to Policy Analysis - Part Two E&O: Roadmap to Policy Analysis - Part One Condominiums Contractual Liability ... Separating Fact from Fiction Prelicensing Property & Casualty (onsite, Feb 11-14) Insuring Toys and Collectibles Life Insurance ... Benefits for the Living Insuring Trusts - Protecting Your Client’s Wishes Ethics - Walking a Straight Line Additional Insureds and Certificates of Insurance Fiduciary Liability, ERISA Bonding, and Employee Benefits Liabilit Dispelling the Myths of Workers’ Compensation Homeowners Hot Topics - What You Need to Know
Course
Prelicensing Life & Health (onsite, Mar 4-7) Top 10 Countdown of Personal Lines Coverages & Current Issues Protecting Your Most Valuable Asset E&O: Roadmap to Policy Analysis - Part One E&O: Roadmap to Policy Analysis - Part Two Income After Retirement - Where Does the Money Come From? Business Auto Coverages Prelicensing Property & Casualty (onsite, Mar 18-21) Commercial Property Coverages - Exploring Key Concepts Ethics and Agent Liability It’s Not My Fault, or Is It? - Liability Issues in Personal Lines Policies Farm Vehicle and Equipment Coverages Lying, Stealing, New Types of Fraud: The Importance of Crime Insurance Businessowners Policy (BOP) ... Planning for the Unexpected
*TO REGISTER, PLEASE GO TO IIAW.COM*
Time
8:30AM-4PM 12-3PM 8-11AM 12-3PM 8:30AM-4PM 12-3PM 12-3PM 8-11AM 12-3PM 12-3PM 12-3PM 12-3PM 12-3PM 12-3PM
Time
8:30AM-4PM 8-11AM 12-3PM 4-7PM 8-11AM 12-3PM 8:30AM-4PM 12-3PM 12-3PM 8-11AM 12-3PM 12-3PM 12-3PM 12-3PM 12-3PM
Time
8:30AM-4PM 12-3PM 12-3PM 8-11AM 12-3PM 8-11AM 12-3PM 8:30AM-4PM 12-3PM 12-3PM 12-3PM 8-11AM 12-3PM 12-3PM
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
FEBRUARY 2019 | 7
NEW CYBER SECURITY REGULATIONS COULD AFFECT YOUR AGENCY In March 2017, the State of New York instituted comprehensive cyber security regulations. The final remaining requirements of the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) Cybersecurity Regulation 23 NYCRR 500, pertaining to third party service providers, will go into effect on March 1, 2019. Effective March 1st, all NY-licensed carriers are required to implement policies and procedures to ensure the security of all non-public information held or accessed by all agencies who sell their products. As such, any NY-licensed carrier you do business with may elect to impose cybersecurity requirements on your agency as a condition of doing business, including, but not limited to, requiring that you implement a cybersecurity policy and/or implement data security controls. Entities covered by this regulation who utilize third-party service
Agency Contracts
providers, which includes insurers and agencies, will be required to implement third-party risk management programs by March 1st 2019. Independent Insurance agencies are considered third-parties to their insurance carriers and insurance carriers are considered thirdparties to independent agencies. If your agency is licensed to sell insurance in the state of New York, your agency has likely instituted measurers to comply with previous New York cyber security regulations and will need to comply with the new third-party service provider regulations. If your agency is not licensed to sell insurance in the state of New York, but represents a carrier licensed to do business in New York, you may need to comply as well. Please refer to the graphic as well as the subsequent guidance for additional context. According to NYDFS, “In addition, when the independent agent holds, or has access to, any Nonpublic Information or Information Systems maintained by an insurance company with which it works (for example, for quotations, issuing a policy or any other data or system access), the independent agent will be a Third-Party Service Provider with respect to that insurance company; and the insurance company, as a Covered Entity, will be required under 23 NYCRR 500.11 to have written policies and procedures to ensure the security of its Information Systems and Nonpublic Information that are accessible to, or held by, the independent agent (including but not limited to risk-based policies and procedures for minimum cybersecurity practices, due diligence processes, periodic assessment, access controls, and encryption). “Further, an independent agent will also be an Authorized User if it participates in the business operations, and is authorized to use any Information Systems and data, of an insurance company that is a Covered Entity. In such a case, the insurance company must implement risk-based policies, procedures and controls to monitor the activities of the independent agent, as more fully described in 23 NYCRR 500.14. “It is also noted that, like any other Covered Entity, an insurance company may also be a Third-Party Service Provider and/or Authorized User with respect to another Covered Entity, including an independent insurance agent. “In all events, each Covered Entity is responsible for thoroughly evaluating its relationships with other entities in order to ensure that it is fully complying with all applicable provisions of 23 NYCRR Part 500.”
and establish a written information security plan. If an agent uses a third-party service provider to access, process, or store Nonpublic Information, then the agent’s information security plan shall include a third-party information security oversight process in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection law and industry standards. Carriers may also mandate participation in their risk management program by completing an information security assessment, which may include security questionnaire, attestation or other form of security assessment. If any risk control or security gaps are identified, agents may be required to remediate such gaps. Finally, carriers may also require agencies to notify them within a specified timeframe following the discovery of any security breach. The IIAW has teamed up with the BIG I of New York, the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Louisiana and our friends at DAIS to create tools and resources to help your agency comply with New York regulations and carrier amendments/ contracts. In addition, our Risk Management team, led by IIAW Vice President, Mallory Cornell, is working to build out consultative and support services for our members that may require additional assistance. Check out this month’s Risky Business article for more information on how these requirements benefit an agency beyond regulatory compliance and stay tuned for the official launch of these tools and resources. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.
8 | FEBRUARY 2019
Several carriers have either amended or have plans to amend their agency contracts/agreements for their agents and brokers to include certain data security provisions, relating to the protection of nonpublic information. These amendments are required for compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including the recent New York Department of Financial Services Cyber Security Regulations. Effective March 1st, a vast majority of agencies will need to create and implement a written third-party service provider policy (plan)
ON TAP In last month’s article, I mentioned I would be featuring and discussing DAIS, a technology company that the IIAW has strategically partnered with to bring innovative solutions to our members. Due to the scope, complexity and limited timeframe before New York states’ cyber security regulations go into effect, I felt it was important to cover this topic and bring it to your attention. Next month’s article will feature the cutting-edge company no one has heard about, but everyone will be talking about in 2019. I can’t wait to share with you how the IIAW plans to help you transform and upgrade your agency. > Matt Banaszynski is the CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin. Contact him at matt@iiaw.com. WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
INSURANCE BARTENDER
NEW CYBER REGULATIONS Do They Affect You? Is your Agency licensed to do business in the State of New York? NO
Do you represent a carrier licensed to do business in the State of New York? YES
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Effective March 1st, all NY-licensed carriers are required to implement policies and procedures to ensure the security of all non-public information held or accessed by all agencies who sell their products. As such, any NY-licensed carrier you do business with may elect to impose cybersecurity requirements on your agency as a condition of doing business, including, but not limited to, requiring that you implement a cybersecurity policy and/or implement data security controls. Don't know what this means? No worries - we've got your back.
MATT ’S MI XO LO GY: Re d Wi ne Mu le
INGREDIENTS 2 oz. vodka Juice of 1 lime Ice 1 can ginger beer 2 lime rounds, for serving
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
Serves 2 DIRECTIONS Divide wine, vodka, and lim e juice between two glasses. Top with ice and ginger beer. Garnish with lime round and serve.
FEBRUARY 2019 | 9
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IS IT POSSIBLE THAT CYBER SECURITY REGULATIONS ARE A GOOD THING? By now many of you have heard about the new Cyber Security Regulations. Perhaps you’ve already mixed up one of the Insurance Bartender’s Red Wine Mule’s. While the requirements may seem daunting at first, there are two things which are important to remember. First, the IIAW is diligently working to finalize valuable resources to help an agency meet these requirements. Second, while it may seem like governing entities are just trying to make things difficult, these are valuable practices to put into place to protect your agency and your customers. Last year, the IIAW developed a robust Agency Risk Management program to assist agencies with improving operations and protecting assets. This program will continue for all IIAW members and we will stay committed to making improvements as new risks and opportunities develop. In addition to this program, we are partnering with other state Associations and technology companies to offer even more services for agencies to utilize. These services will meet regulatory requirements and be a one-stop-shop for agencies who must adhere to regulatory requirements. We are excited to present the details very soon! In the meantime, it is important to emphasize how these new regulations will better serve the agent as well as consumers. It should come as no surprise that non-public information is more exposed than ever. Based on research sponsored by IBM Security and conducted by the Ponemon Institute, the cost of cyber breaches and the number of consumer records being stolen continues to increase year over year. Insurance agencies and carriers have access to non-public information that is susceptible to these breaches. According to the “2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study”, the average cost of a data breach and the average WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
size of a data breach have increased since 2017. > The average total cost rose from $3.62 to $3.86 million, an increase of 6.4 percent > The average cost for each lost record rose from $141 to $148, an increase of 4.8 percent > The average size of the data breaches in this research increased by 2.2 percent One of the key reasons the cost of a data breach can be so high is due to the amount of time it takes for an organization to recognize that their data has been compromised. As reported by the Ponemon Institute: >T he mean time to identify a breach was 197 days >T he mean time to contain breach was 69 days >C ompanies that contained a breach in less than 30 days saved over $1 million vs. those that took more than 30 days to resolve It is important to note that this data was collected on a global scale, but the research indicated that the United States was overwhelming more expensive and more often targeted than any other country included in the study. The new Cyber Security Regulations focus heavily on implementing internal practices that will both reduce the likelihood of
experiencing a data breach as well as help an organization quickly respond to a data breach – both valuable practices for an agency of any size. These regulations are also in place for the Financial Services industry, which accounted for the highest frequency of data breaches among the industries researched by the Ponemon Institute. A final important detail to note regarding data breaches is the root cause of a data breach. While almost half of the breaches are due to a criminal attack (48%), a quarter of data breaches are because of human error (27%) and the remaining are because of IT or business process failures. This research indicates that it’s not only important to implement strong security practices, but also to educate employees and have up to date systems and processes. As we look at the Cyber Security regulatory requirements, it is easy to see that they were developed based on actual trends. By implementing requirements for internal risk assessments, third-party risk assessments and Cyber Security policies, the intent is to reverse these trends and better protect consumer information; something that will benefit everyone. For more information on the IBM sponsored research by the Ponemon Institute, go to www. ibm.com/security/databreach
> Mallory Cornell is the Director of Risk Management for the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin.
FEBRUARY 2019 | 11
TECHNOLOGY
3 WAYS TO GIVE MILLENNIAL CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY WANT Most industries are used to treating millennials as a niche market. But that’s no longer an option—the millennial generation is expected to outnumber baby boomers by 2019, making it the most populous living generation. It’s time for insurance agents to accept that millennials make up the majority of potential insurance customers, and develop a new customer experience tailored for this generation. But what does the typical millennial customer want from their insurance provider? Those born between 1981 and 1996 are typically: Internet-savvy. The rise of the internet, email, social media and smartphones all occurred while millennials were children or young adults. These are tools that most millennials grew up using. Highly educated. Around four in ten millennials hold a four-year college degree. Slow to move into “traditional” adulthood. Millennials have frequently been stereotyped as lazy and immature, probably due to the fact that they tend to wait until later in life to get
12 | FEBRUARY 2019
married, have children, buy a home and move into other “traditional” stages of adulthood. This delay is likely attributable to the 2008 recession, which hit just as the core group of millennials was leaving school and launching careers. The recession, combined with high student loan debt, made it difficult for many millennials to take on additional financial burdens. These factors mean that millennials are quite different from previous generations when it comes to purchasing insurance. For instance, because most millennials rent their homes, they have little need for homeowners insurance. But they are heavily underinsured when it comes to renters insurance. If you want to grab a share of the growing millennial market, you’ve got to show them you’re not the dinosaur agency that expects customers to fill out insurance applications on paper or even PDFs. And you’ve got to
find ways to break through the trust issues that most millennials have about insurance providers. Here are three ways to leverage technology to capture a slice of the millennial market: 1) Communicate better. Millennials may love technology, but they appreciate the human touch, too. Regular, meaningful communication is a key part of building customer loyalty and turning millennials into advocates. What’s more, you can use technology to enhance your communication without removing the warm and fuzzy side. Frequent communication can also help you quickly build trust with your millennial prospects and customers. For example, you could set a reminder in your CRM to ping you whenever one of your WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
TECHNOLOGY
customers has a birthday. You can then give them a call or send an e-card on the big day. This not only makes your customers feel appreciated, but also gives you an opportunity to check in with them and make sure they’re happy with your service. Such an approach lets you catch any problems early on, well before customers are moved to drastic action. Social media is another excellent way to communicate with your millennial customers and prospects. Most millennials are highly active in social media and are significantly influenced by social media when making purchases. 2) Give them access. Millennials expect omnichannel product availability. They want to buy, view, update and pay for their insurance policies online. If you give them a well-designed online insurance platform, you not only provide them with the level of access they crave, but also show that you understand their needs—which helps build that all-important customer trust. That means digitizing your insurance platform should be a top priority. At a minimum, good digital insurance platform should have the following characteristics: WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
Interface. Your platform should be intuitive and easy to use for both agents and insureds. Interactive forms. If a customer fills out a field on one form, the dashboard should prepopulate that information into identical fields on other forms. Millennials have no patience for entering their name repeatedly into 17 different forms. Good security. Every insurance package contains quantities of sensitive customer data. If an unauthorized person gains access to that data, it could cause a great deal of damage. Millennials generally feel positive about cloud providers and are willing to trust such providers to handle security, but that means it’s more important that you validate their trust by taking reasonable precautions. Data-entry tracking. For errors & omissions purposes, it’s important to be able to verify who entered which bit of data and when. It’s also a helpful feature for your multitasking millennial customers, since they’re running a higher risk of entering the wrong information. If you don’t have an IT person at your agency, consider seeking out an insurance platform that offers good training and tech support.
3) Improve support. Millennials expect 24/7 support, preferably through multiple channels. Fortunately, millennials tend to be comfortable with chatbots and other artificial intelligence services. A millennial who’s just wrecked their car at 3 a.m. demands the ability to file a claim immediately, whether through a robot or a human agent. Such availability also helps build trust by showing you make the extra effort to be there when customers need you. Robotic process automation is one example of how InsurTech can work for agencies rather than against them. There are even insurancespecific chatbots preprogrammed to help your insureds 24 hours a day. Despite what many agents fear, you won’t be replaced by technology anytime soon. What tech will do is take over many of the tedious, data entry-heavy tasks agents do today, leaving them with more time and energy for the complex tasks that require a human touch. By putting technology to good use, you can attract and retain a larger share of today’s techsavvy customers and grow your agency.
> Ken Wohl is head of marketing at Indio Technologies
FEBRUARY 2019 | 13
COMMENTARY FROM COUNSEL
HOW RUDE!
HOW WILL COURTS INTERPRET NEW AGGRESSION EXCLUSION?
From time to time we use this blog to discuss new developments regarding insurance coverage. Of course, almost every insurance coverage issue starts with the language of the insurance policy. Thus, it is noteworthy to us ‘coverage geeks’ when an insurer introduces a new exclusion to its policy form.
The “Aggression Exclusion” We recently came across an example of this when a national insurer introduced an “aggression exclusion” to its homeowners liability coverage form. That exclusion states that the policy “will not cover injury arising out of any aggressive activity, harassment, or bullying, committed by the insured by any means.” In some ways, exclusions barring coverage
for injuries caused by aggressive behavior are not new. In fact, several carriers have employed cyber-bullying exclusions for some time, which act to bar coverage for damages a victim might seek to impose upon his or her online tormentor. These exclusions, however,
for injuries “arising out of any aggressive activity.”
are limited to the use of technology to bully and harass and thus have more predictable, limited applicability.
language. Turning to a standard dictionary for guidance (as courts often do), reveals that the phrase could mean “behaving in an angry or rude way” or “to argue with someone.” Moreover, courts have interpreted the phrase “arising out of” broadly, so that the exclusion could apply to any injury that had any causal relationship with the aggressive activity.
It seems to us that the “aggression exclusion” could be used to deny coverage for claims involving many types of conduct where coverage might have otherwise applied. After all, the exclusion aims to ban coverage
Speak softly
and carry
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So, what is deemed aggressive? The phrase “aggressive activity” is not defined or further limited by the policy
With this in mind, would the exclusion bar coverage for injury claims springing from the types of arguments that sometimes occur between reasonable people? How about a claim alleging that the insured was rude and obscene, causing the plaintiff to suffer debilitating emotional distress? How does the exclusion relate to the “self-defense” exception to the intentional acts exclusion?
What does it all mean? Since the focus of the exclusion is on the type of conduct of the insured, rather than on the insured’s intent to cause harm, the potential exists where coverage could be denied for claims alleging injuries that the insured had neither an intent to cause nor a reasonable expectation would occur. It is, of course, possible that an insured could be rude and have an argument, while having no intention of harming anyone. As with most questions of this type, time will tell. Courts will undoubtedly see disputes over the scope of this exclusion and it will be interesting to see how it is interpreted. In addition, it will be interesting to see if other insurers adopt this type of exclusion in their policies. > Todd Smith, Godfrey and Kahn
14 | FEBRUARY 2019
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
GOVERNOR EVERS APPOINTS AFABLE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER Wisconsin Democratic Governor, Tony Evers, has appointed Mark V. Afable of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, as State Insurance Commissioner effective January 22, 2019 and pending Senate confirmation. Afable joins Governor Evers’ cabinet as Wisconsin’s 34th Insurance Commissioner since the position was first established in 1878. The Commissioner of Insurance was made elective in 1881 and then in 1911 the position became a political appointment position instead of elective. Mark Afable brings a vast wealth of experience to the job, having worked as an attorney in numerous roles throughout the Property and Casualty industry since 1986. Afable most recently served as Chief Legal Officer for American Family Insurance Company, one of the nation’s
largest insurers, headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Prior to this position, Afable led Claims and Sales & Service divisions at American Family, was an associate counsel at Allstate Insurance Company, and counsel for the National Association of Independent Insurers. Afable has extensive experience working with state and federal legislators, state insurance regulators and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). He received a Bachelor of Arts Political Science degree from Marquette University and obtained his Juris Doctorate from Marquette University Law School. Insurance is a leading industry in Wisconsin and our state is a national leader in the number of insurers located and licensed to do business here. Afable’s firsthand experience in the industry and strong qualifications for the job of Commissioner will serve him and
the Evers Administration well as he leads our state’s Insurance Department.
Houdek Joins Agency As Deputy Commissioner Commissioner Afable also recently named Nathan D. Houdek as his Deputy Insurance Commissioner. Houdek brings over 15 years of experience in and around Wisconsin state government where he has worked on health insurance policy and regulatory issues in a variety of public and private sector roles. Houdek previously served as chief of staff for Senate Democratic Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling and he was a principal at one of Wisconsin’s largest public affairs consulting firms located in Madison, Wisconsin. Houdek received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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How we grew from 28 Producers to 95 Producers. Q: What markets do you have?
A. As the largest independent agency in Wisconsin, RRA has strong carrier relationships. We offer over 50 CL, 30 PL and 45 EB carrier partners.
Q: Will I make more money?
A. Yes, we offer one of the strongest returns to Producers. We pay all office costs including staff salaries. You continue to own your business/book but enjoy all the advantages of being with a larger agency, including profit sharing.
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Learn More: Chris Illman I cillman@robertsonryan.com I 800.258.0277 I www.RobertsonRyan.com
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How to Get the Best Responses from the Ask An Expert Service Our agency has used the Ask an Expert service on many occasions with varying degrees of “success.” Generally, the answers we receive are very beneficial; however, there are times when we receive a very general, non-specific answer or are told that the virtual university can’t or won’t answer the question. Are there any guidelines or “rules” to the Ask an Expert section?
A:
Ask An Expert (AAE) was launched as a key member service, created to give every Big I member the ability to request answers to tough technical questions, rebuttals for denied claims, and information regarding agency management. More than 50 industry experts unselfishly donate their time to you as part of the AAE service. To make this the best technical resource it can be and promise you the best result, every member needs to be aware of a few operational protocols related to your responsibilities, what information is needed for the best outcome, and the “rules” of engagement. Let’s take a look at each protocol.
Member Responsibilities Even though Ask An Expert is a member service, each member has some responsibilities regarding its use. To assure the best results, before submitting a question, make sure you: • Do your own research first. Before submitting a question, each member should first undertake his or her own research. Although the faculty loves answering coverage questions, the best results come when you do the preliminary research then ask the experts to confirm or deny your findings. The AAE is not intended replace your own efforts. Layout the situation/question, convey your opinion, and ask the group’s opinion of your findings. Trust me, they are more than willing to help and guide you down the right path and the answers provided will be more beneficial to you.
insurance. We probably don’t know Hawaii’s laws governing the amount of fees an agent can charge or Montana’s requirement for giving gifts. You’ll need to check with the state for this type of information. • Limit questions about laws to insurance laws. The VU cannot opine regarding laws specific to other industries. We can’t address banking laws, real estate laws, or any other industry laws. • Don’t place time limits on the answer. We ask for three to five business days to provide a response, our experts cannot be called upon to provide a response “before 5:00 today.” If you take on these responsibilities, the answers you get promise to be more on point and far more useful to you. Ignore these responsibilities and the responses will be vague or even nonexistent.
Hints for an Awesome Outcome In addition to your member responsibilities, you can do certain things to almost guarantee an awesome outcome. These include: • Always attach the coverage form. If the question involves an interpretation of coverage, ALWAYS include the coverage form/ endorsement or reference the ISO form (including the edition date). With the form or endorsement information, our faculty can answer your question applying specific policy language rather than guessing (which none of them will do). • Attach supporting documentation. If you are asking about a denied claim, send the denial letter and any other key documentation. Feel free to redact any private/personal information, but the key points addressed by the adjuster allows the faculty to address each point.
Rules of Engagement • Make reasonable requests. AAE was created to answer specific questions, not to compare, contrast, or explain one or multiple coverage forms. We often receive questions asking our experts to compare two (or more) coverage forms. Such a request falls outside the AAE’s scope of services. • Ask specific questions. Overly broad questions don’t lead to useable responses. A one-line question about the differences between an occurrence and claims-made form won’t garner you much useable information. Be specific and focused with your question. • Avoid state-specific questions. State-specific questions should be directed to the state association or the state’s department of
Essentially these “rules of engagement” relate to the types of questions to which we cannot respond. Even though these “rules” are posted on the website, they are reiterated here. There are seven types of questions to which we cannot respond: • Legal advice. We cannot provide legal advice, so please do not submit questions as to whether someone is or is not liable. • Litigation. We cannot respond to any questions involving situations that are currently being litigated or likely to be litigated. We can only respond to hypothetical coverage questions or claims that are unlikely to lead to litigation. • Complex situations. We cannot respond to overly complex coverage
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.
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WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
or claim scenarios, particularly those that are largely fact dependent or involve lengthy proprietary coverage forms or extensive documentation. A number of the participants in this service are available for consulting and expert witness work as outlined on their Bios pages. • Markets. We cannot help you find a market for an account. It’s simply impossible for us to monitor insurer underwriting appetites. We suggest you try your carriers, our own Big “I” Markets, and then try www.insurancemarketplace.com andwww.mynewmarkets.com. • Classification and coding. We cannot opine on the proper classification of a risk. This almost always involves subjectivity based on a greater knowledge of the risk (and possibly even a physical inspection) than this forum allows. • Coverage options. We cannot tell you how to write an account regarding what forms or endorsements a particular prospect or insured might need (ISO has thousands of endorsements and we
can’t suggest which ones a risk might need nor can we opine on the possible exposures. • Agency Management Manuals and Templates. The VU does not have or maintain agency management manuals or templates such as an agency management manual, procedure manual, producer or other employee agreements, non-competes or other such templates. Any agency in need of such information should contact an agency management consultant. Several highly-qualified agency management consultants are members of the VU faculty and can help. Click here to link to these consultants Applying these protocols to your questions guarantee the best possible result from the AAE service. Our faculty enjoy being a part of this service and want to make this a valuable service for our member. Many members already take advantage of this great service; but if you haven’t used Ask An Expert recently or ever, be sure to take advantage of this valuable member benefit.
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FEBRUARY 2019 | 17
TOP 10 WAYS TO
INCREASE SALES IN THE NEW YEAR And in honor of that, I thought we could start-off the year with a Top 10 list. We look at the first 5 on our top 10 list. You might notice that the entire list is focused on the front end of the sales cycle. Specifically targeting, prospecting and calling net-new leads. That’s because in order to make sales, you have to have more leads and better quality leads. You might remember that I am particularly fond of the expression “every sales problem can be solved with improved prospecting skills.” Enjoy the list and be sure to implement all 5 ideas this week. I know that you will have a perfect 10 year if you do!
specifically in their line of work. Let’s say I’m calling a prospect in the tourism industry and I share with them a sample of the great feedback I received recently from a client who works for that industry’s national association, I’m making it clear that I understand the challenges they have to deal with in their work. There’s also a deeper message being processed by the person I’m calling: “If Colleen has worked with them, then she understands what we need and if she understands what we need, then she understands me.”
1. Make just one more call
3. Create a Profit 100
In my experience studying scores of both mediocre and successful sales people, I have discovered that the most reliable key to enduring success is discipline.
Ask yourself: who are your best buyers? If you sell B2C, whether you’re a dentist, accountant, chiropractor, real estate broker or financial advisor, chances are your best buyers live in the best neighborhoods. They have the most money and the greatest sphere of influence. So take a look at your current customer list, identify where your best customers live and target your marketing efforts to others in those neighborhoods. If you sell B2B, your best buyers are usually the biggest companies that are spending money and are profitable now. Check your database, who spent last year? Chances are, they will be spending again this year. Once you have your list create a plan to reach out to this best buyers at least every other week, no matter what, to let these companies know who you are?
SALES
PART 1
In addition, consider how you can improve upselling and cross-selling in your current market. Look carefully at who buys your products or services. Let’s say you’re a sales rep for a foodservices company and you notice that your product line is selling briskly among women who are Toronto-based restaurant owners in the 45-65 age bracket. Maybe that’s who you should be targeting. Find out what their needs are, and market aggressively to them, showing how your product meets that need.
5. Network
Discipline to provide just a little bit better service than your competitors offer or your clients expect. Discipline to make one more call, attend one more networking event or block an extra hour in your calendar every day to do business development. Discipline to document the objections you receive and create responses to deal with them consistently and effectively. And discipline to practice your sales presentation one more time, every time you head out the door to meet a prospect or close a deal. Discipline is the one sure way by which poverty may be converted into riches, failure into success - and short-term success into a winning track record that will last throughout your entire career.
2. Make testimonials part of your strategy for cold calls Turn a testimonial into an opening statement that you can use when making your cold calls. It’s a great way to get the conversation started on the right note because it’s one (or more) of your customers who is talking about all the great things you can do for that prospect at the other end of phone. This strategy can be really compelling when the testimonial is one that the person you are calling can relate to WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
4. Spend money on those who are spending with you This is not the time to be taking a shotgun approach to sales, trying to sell all things to all people. Rather, this is when you should be targeting those who know you best— particularly customers that have a higher propensity to buy from you in good times and bad. Spend money on those who are spending with you. Don’t make the mistake that so many companies make during an economic downturn, taking a hatchet to their marketing budget. There’s a real opportunity right now for smart companies to step up their advertising and marketing efforts—provided that they are willing to invest the time to target who they are going to reach with their message and then measure the results.
There are many mysteries in life, but this much is clear: nothing can help you get by like a little help from your friends. This is just as true in sales as it is in life. Truly effective sales people - the ones who always have time to make one more prospect call, finish one more project and grow their client base by another 10%, all while bringing fresh-baked cookies to the office every day - all have one thing in common. They are all more likely to employ a broad network of connections, friends, family and acquaintances to help them seize opportunities, and respond to challenges. In other words, the most successful and effective sales people are also the ones who are most likely to ask for help. Many people feel that networking is something that only business people do - that it’s only used to grow your business, sell more products or find a new job. This simply isn’t true. Think about it on a personal level. Would you rather go to a dentist whose name you found in the phone book, or the one who your neighbor with the perfect smile always recommends? Would you prefer to shop for a used car at the first dealer you come to on the highway or one who’s a personal friend of your sister-in-law’s? The fact is, in our personal lives as in our careers, we succeed or fail based on our networks, and on people. As has been said many times: “take care of your people (or, in this case, your network), and your business will take care of itself.” Stay tuned as the next Engaging Ideas issue will reveal Part Two of the Top 10 Ways to Sell More in the New Tear - ideas six to ten! > Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions (www.EngageSelling.com). Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line.
FEBRUARY 2019 | 19
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EMERGING LEADER SPOTLIGHT February Emerging Leader is Josh Timm, Senior Sales Representative for Small Commercial Business in Wisconsin at The Hartford. Tell us your name and a little more about you: My name is Josh Timm and I work for The Hartford as a Senior Sales Representative for Small Commercial Business. How long have you been on the Emerging Leaders committee? I joined the Emerging Leaders Committee three years ago.
around 35-40 people attend. At one point, we had 75! When I looked around, I did not recognize the majority of the faces which was an awesome testament that the work we put in from a committee standpoint was attracting new people.
How did you hear about the Emerging Leaders Committee? I was looking for a way to get more involved with the IIAW and came across the Sales and Leadership Conference. After attending, I was hooked, and sought out additional ways to get involved which ultimately lead me to the Emerging Leaders Committee
Why should a new agent join the EL committee? The insurance industry can be extremely intimidating for a new producer. The EL Committee can easily help “break the ice” and create networks for other like-minded producers and as well as build relationships with key company personnel.
Why did you choose to become active with the Emerging Leaders committee? I love the networking opportunities the EL committee creates. Additionally, I enjoy the challenge we are faced with to come up with new, innovative ideas to get more young people involved in the industry I love. I truly cherish the friendships and networks the EL committee has created for me.
What is your spirit animal? After seeking Google’s assistance, I learned that I am a Butterfly – prosperity, joy, good fortune and honor.
What is your favorite EL event or activity that you’ve done with the EL group? This past winter, we held a networking event in Milwaukee at 9 Below. When we planned this event, we were thinking we would get
What is one professional goal for you in the next 3-5 years? I would like to go back to school and earn my MBA.
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Where is your favorite vacation spot? Rivera Maya, Mexico Do you have any pets? My champagne Lab named Koda
WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
PLACED
AGENCY OPERATIONS
IS YOUR AGENCY ITS BEST VERSION POSSIBLE?
At one of our CEO programs earlier last year, Brent Kelly, our vice president, asked me what it takes for an agency to be the best it can be. But it was what he asked me next that changed how we approach everything we do and has become the catalyst for massive, rapid improvements for everyone who attends our life-changing events, including our CEO, Sales Leadership, Producer, and Account Manager programs. His question: “If you were having a conversation from your heart, using your almost 40 years of coaching the highest performing agencies and producers, what would your message be about becoming the best version possible (BVP) of yourself and your agency?” This is important for agency owners, of course. But I also believe it’s something all of us as individuals should be asking ourselves. I can tell you it’s had a major impact on me personally, as well as everyone we’ve shared it with. After Brent first asked me that question, I literally could not sleep, as it hit me that I’m not the BVP of me! The images Brent’s question generated, both good and bad, kept running through my head, eventually forcing me out of bed and to my computer at 3:00 a.m. There I began an online search using the keywords
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“being the best version of myself” and discovered this: “Close your eyes and imagine the best possible version of you. That’s what you really are. Let go of any part of you that doesn’t believe it!” I’m not sure why this idea had such a great impact on me, but maybe it’s because it’s something most of us never think about—or haven’t until now. At that point, there was no way I could sleep, so I began revising the opening for our CEO program. Here’s what I came up with, based on my online inspiration: “Close your eyes and imagine the best possible version of your agency. That’s what you really want to become. You’ve got to let go of any part of your agency that is an obstacle, anything that’s holding it back from becoming the best agency possible.”
It’s been absolutely amazing to see the immediate improvements our Sitkins Network leaders and producers have begun to make simply by focusing on their best possible version!
Obstacles and frustrations I believe too many agency leaders and producers sell themselves short and never truly maximize their potential. All too often they are caught up in the business of being busy, dealing with countless day-to-day frustrations and obstacles that prevent them from growing. That’s why I always ask agency owners: “What frustrates you the most about your agency today?” We’ve been collecting their responses and have found they are strikingly similar. Among them: WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
• Growth: Why can’t I grow any faster than I am? • Ease of Doing Business: It sure used to be less complicated! • Digital Disruption: Is it real, and am I really prepared for it? (yes and no) • Overwhelmed with Data and Information: TMI! • Carrier Demands: Carriers all want more of the same stuff, which makes it impossible to satisfy them all. • Staffing: How do I attract the best and the brightest? • Adjusting to the New Owners: They sure do want to buy differently. • Accountability: Getting people to actually do what they said they were going to do.
• Average results reflected by: retention rates of 85% to 90%; organic growth of less than 6%; and closing ratios of less than 30% • Ignoring the power of the 80/20 rule, thereby allowing profitable producers and accounts to subsidize unprofitable ones. As an industry, we are mass producing average agencies that take the “good is good enough” approach to getting results. Average agencies rarely if ever leave the EZ Circle. Hard Box—Conversely, the very best agencies understand that all growth starts at the outer edges of our comfort zone. They’re willing to breach the edges of their EZ Circle to get great results. They focus their efforts on the Hard Box now, so they can become BVPs and have an easier and more successful life later. Examples of behaviors you’ll see inside the Hard Box: • Identifying and pursuing future ideal clients only, not suspects or prospects
Do any of these hit home with you? If so, you might want to make a note of it.
• Having full-time clients only
Easy vs. hard
• Installing exit barriers to increase retention
In life, in our careers, and in our businesses, we can either take the easy way out or the hard way in. We have found that most people will consistently take the easy way out. They refuse to do the harder things now that will have a tremendously positive impact on their future. For too many people, good is good enough! To illustrate the point, imagine a circle— the EZ Circle (we spell it that way to help make it more memorable)—inside a square that represents the Hard Box. The EZ Circle represents your comfort zone, while the Hard Box represents the things most agencies ignore. EZ Circle—The EZ Circle contains the things that keep us in our comfort zone, including: • Plateaued producers who are caught in the service trap and who hide behind the ITB (I’m Too Busy) excuse • Part-time clients (writing just one line of coverage for them) • Empty pipelines
• Rehearsing presentations before—not after— the actual presentation • Holding effective sales meetings and selling skills practice. Drawing a distinct line between sales and service activities is one of the hardest things to do. Another is getting producers out of the office and following our Producer’s Perfect Schedule. This approach to time management allows them to have 10 appointments per week with Clients, Future Ideal Clients and Centers of Influence, which dramatically improves their TSS (Time Spent Selling).
• Version 2.0 is an average agency that does between 25% and 50% of what it should be doing. While it’s getting average results, it’s also starting to reduce regrets. • Version 3.0 does 50% to 75% of what it should be doing to get satisfactory results. Good is good enough; they don’t want to go any further. • Version 4.0 has reached top tier status. This rare agency does 75% to 100% of the hard stuff the vast majority of the time. Because of that, it produces outstanding results and has absolutely no regrets. I consider Good to Great to be among the best business books ever. It contains one of the most quoted lines of our time: “Good is the enemy of great.” Similarly, it occurs to me that “good is good enough” is the enemy of becoming the Best Version Possible of your agency! Here’s why: Believing that good is good enough will get you three quarters of the way there and no further. At that point, you stop! Another of my all-time favorite quotes is: “You don’t choose your future; you choose your habits (e.g., behaviors and strategies). Your habits choose your future.” In other words, it’s not about just looking at numbers to see if you’re the BVP. It’s about identifying and executing the BVP behaviors and strategies that become normal in an agency; the numbers are merely the outcome of that. Success becomes predictable and in fact guaranteed only when you consistently choose the behaviors and strategies that enable it.
The bottom line
One way to identify an agency’s BVP potential is to determine its willingness and ability to do the hard things. We believe all agencies can be categorized according to one of four versions. (Note: Upgrades are contingent on an agency’s ability to work outside its comfort zone.)
We wholeheartedly believe that agencies have a responsibility to provide the tools and training their producers and other team members need to succeed. We also believe that these team members are responsible for executing the behaviors and strategies that result in success. Are you ready to live a life of no regrets and stop postponing your success? If so, here are a couple of things to keep in mind: (1) nothing changes if nothing changes, and (2) hope is not a strategy. Your BVP is out there waiting for you. Don’t you owe it to your agency to discover it? As always, it’s your choice.
• Version 1.0 does 25% of the hard things and gets consistently poor results. Going forward, this version is virtually guaranteed to produce regrets.
> Roger Sitkins, CEO of Sitkins Group, Inc., developed The Sitkins Network and The Better Way Agency program. Insurance professionals with diverse levels of experience have benefitted tremendously from his training and leadership.
What version are you?
• Practice quoting and unpaid consulting • Confusing activities with results • Devoting no time for training or development WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
FEBRUARY 2019 | 23
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
BIG “I” COMMENDS FINAL PASS-THROUGH TAX REGULATION IRS confirms that insurance agency owners and shareholders can fully utilize new tax deduction WASHINGTON, D.C., January 18, 2019 — The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) commends the Trump Administration for finalizing an IRS regulation making clear that owners and shareholders of insurance agencies and brokerages organized as passthrough entities can fully benefit from a new tax deduction. “Today the IRS released a final regulation implementing a new section of the tax code to create a deduction for owners and shareholders of certain pass-through businesses, including insurance agencies and brokerages,” says Bob Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “This regulation is a major and hard-fought win for Big ‘I’
members—the vast majority of which are organized as pass-through entities. Prior to the regulation being finalized there was uncertainty surrounding the application of the deduction to insurance businesses.” Under the regulation, owners and shareholders of insurance agencies and brokerages can take up to a 20% tax deduction on qualified business income, no matter their taxable income levels, because the IRS does not consider insurance agents and brokers to be engaged in a “specified service trade or business.” Owners and shareholders of “specified service trades and businesses” cannot take advantage of the deduction if their taxable income is over a certain level.
“Big ‘I’ members, whether organized as a pass-through entity or a C-corporation, can now rest assured that the tax reform law is working for them and their employees,” says Charles Symington, Big “I” senior vice president of external, industry & government affairs. “We thank Congress for its previous work on this landmark tax law and the Administration for working to finalize this regulation as quickly as possible.” > IIABA Founded in 1896, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of approximately a quarter of a million agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products.
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amerisafe.com - 800.897.9719 *Policyholder retention rate based on voluntary business that we elected for renewal quote: 93.0% in 2017. © 2018 AMERISAFE, Inc. AMERISAFE is a registered trademark of AMERISAFE, Inc. SAFE ABOVE ALL and the AMERISAFE LOGO are trademarks of AMERISAFE, Inc. All rights reserved.
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AGENCY OPERATIONS
5 CREATIVE WAYS TO RETAIN INSURANCE CLIENTS As we all know, in insurance, the money is in the renewals. Now, your clients want to know if you are actually a cool insurance agency or if it was all just a facade. Do you really go above and beyond? And what are you going to do to keep them coming back for more? I can’t answer those questions. However, I can share these five powerful strategies for retaining insurance clients: 1) Create buyer personas. Insurance is an intimate business. Clients rely on you to protect the things they love. Therefore, you should care about your clients enough to get to know them. That means more than understanding their insurance needs, how they make decisions in their household, and what ways they prefer to communicate. Understanding your client requires learning what makes them tick—and a great way to do that is to align your client experience to a set of “buyer personas.” A persona is a semi-fictional representation of your clients based on market research and real data about your existing customers. Developing buyer personas gives your agency tremendous structure and insights into client interaction. To build personas, look at your client list, and document and group your clients by interests, lifestyle, demographics and motivations. After you’ve stepped back and bucketed your clients, develop a persona for the trends you see amongst your base. Here are a few examples: Soccer Mom Susan: early 40s, two children, senior-level employee, always busy, needs time to relax, willing to pay a premium Danny Drives Too Fast: early 20s, college student, speed risk, $30,000 vehicle, doesn’t care about service
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Bingo Better Betty: late 60s, senior citizen, one car, health issues, enjoys quality service As a result of investing some time in buyer personas, you’ll be able to focus your time, improve client service and get your team on the same page.
emotions. Who knows—you may even learn you have some comedians on your team! Here are three ways to add a humorous touch: a Share online content such as memes or daily jokes. a Post about office pranks.
2) Reach out when no one else does. Every insurance agency in America sends out a birthday or Christmas card. But how many insurance agencies send their left-handed clients a card on left-hander’s day? Sure, it sounds a bit absurd. But the point is to avoid the clutter and make your outreach stand out in. Doing this not only shows that you know your clients, but also gives you another opportunity to stay top of mind! After you get to know your clients, here are three ideas:
a Print funny flyers, signs and billboards. 4) Brand association. Double down on associating yourself with positivity by linking up with something commonplace in your community or service area. This helps you become part of your clients’ and prospects’ identity. Associate yourself with: a The home sports teams.
a S end all every client who owns a dog few doggie treats on National Dog Day, Aug. 26.
a The fire department, police department or EMTs.
a E nd of summer? I bet your client’s children would appreciate a gift to clip on their backpacks.
a Religious institutions and churches.
a C heck who’s got a renewal coming up soon—there’s probably a funky holiday coming up around then.
a Other local favorites.
3) Make them laugh. Laughter is the best medicine, and the effective use of humor is a proxy for high emotional intelligence. As opposed to being boring and run of the mill, think of how you can use laughter to associate your agency’s brand with positive
a Landmarks or indigenous animals.
5) Create some fanfare. People also want to associate with the brands that make waves. A good way to gain an edge on your competitors is to be seen having fun.
> Cam Bob III is author of The Digital Insurance Agent and founder of Infinity Leads, a digital advertising agency exclusively for insurance agents. WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
EMERGING LEADERS COMMITTEE
Go to www.iiaw.com for registration and additional Presented by Brett Allen, Director of Social Selling for Agency details Partners at The Hartford Insurance Group, participants will learn
SOCIAL SELLING & NETWORKING EVENT
valuable tools to help insurance professionals generate new business and increase client retention through effective social selling!
THE BROWN BOTTLE 221 W Galena St Milwaukee, WI February 27, 2019 Speaker begins at 1:00pm with a networking event to follow until 7:00pm
Speaker Event is FREE for all attendees Networking Event is $20 for nonEmerging Leaders Committee members FREE beverages and appetizers FREE parking
News Members in the
Diversity Award Adds to Acuity’s Workplace Recognition Acuity Insurance is named to the Forbes list of The Best Employers for Diversity 2019, identified from an independent survey of more than 50,000 U.S. employees working for large companies and organizations. In collaboration with Statista, Forbes ranked the top 500 employers across all industries in the United States, based on surveying thousands of employees and examining employer diversity policies, as well as diversity in executive suites and on boards. Employees who took part in the survey were not contacted through their employers but, rather, did so on their own through several online access channels. This latest award adds to recognition Acuity has received for its employeefocused workplace. “In 2018, we were honored to be named to the Forbes list of America’s Best Midsize Employers as well as The Best Employers for Women. Today, we are grateful to be recognized as one of The Best Employers for Diversity,” said Ben Salzmann, Acuity President and CEO. “This recognition is particularly rewarding because a company cannot apply for the Forbes awards. These awards come from a grassroots effort of our employees feeling so strongly about Acuity that they took the initiative to share their thoughts on their own accord.” “We strive to create a great workplace where everyone can feel welcome and supported,” said Joan Ravanelli Miller, Acuity’s General Counsel/Vice President - Human Resources. “Creating a positive work environment is important to every one of the more than 1,300 people who work for Acuity.” Acuity Insurance, headquartered in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, insures over 100,000 businesses, including 300,000 commercial vehicles, and nearly a half million homes and private passenger autos across 26 states. Rated A+ by A.M. Best and S&P, Acuity employs over 1,300 people.
Perez named senior vice president of product management for Motorists COLUMBUS, Ohio (Jan. 7, 2019) – Randy Perez has been hired as senior vice president of product management for Motorists Insurance Group. He comes to Motorists from Horace Mann, where he spent three years as vice president of pricing and product management. With more than 20 years of experience in the personal lines industry, Perez brings a new perspective to
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Motorists that will further our strategic focus on our personal lines business. “We’re committed to enhancing our personal lines offerings, and hiring Randy furthers our investment in our agents’ and policyholders’ needs,” said Matthew C. Wilcox, executive vice president, personal lines. “His depth of industry experience solidifies the strength of our personal lines team as we continue to implement our personal lines transformation.” Perez holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Wichita State University and a law degree from University of Kansas School of Law. About Motorists Insurance Group and BrickStreet Insurance Motorists Insurance Group and BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. affiliated in 2017. Ohio-based Motorists consists of property and casualty insurance, life insurance and insurance brokerage companies, and West Virginia-based BrickStreet is one of the largest writers of workers’ compensation coverage in the region. Now a super-regional carrier ranked in the top 20 mutual companies in the United States, Motorists and BrickStreet include nearly 1,400 associates, 10 offices writing in 28 states and the District of Columbia, premiums of nearly $1.1 billion, a surplus of nearly $1.46 billion and assets of $4.1 billion. The group markets insurance solutions through more than 2,000 agency partners in the Midwest, Northeast and South.
Acuity Reaches New Revenue High Mark in 2018 Acuity announced that, fueled in part by $255 million in new business, the insurer reached an all-time high $1.542 billion of revenue in 2018, an increase exceeding $100 million over 2017, or 7.2%. “For the past 19 years, Acuity has consistently grown faster than the insurance industry,” said Acuity President and CEO Ben Salzmann. “Our growth shows that Acuity is trusted by more individuals, families, and businesses than ever before to protect what matters. It also shows that we are a strong, stable market for independent agents.” Acuity has doubled its top-line revenue in the past eight years and is ranked as the 56th largest of 2,600 property-casualty insurance companies in the nation. The insurer’s ninth straight year of premium expansion came from balanced growth across personal and commercial lines and throughout its entire operating territory. In personal lines, Acuity surpassed $400 million in written premium and achieved an incredible 22nd consecutive year of growth. Customer retention is at an all-time high. In commercial lines, Acuity achieved growth across all key areas of focus—construction, trucking, manufacturing, retail, and services businesses. Additionally, commercial auto—a problem area for many companies—continued to increase and remains Acuity’s largest and fastest-growing line of business. “Our success in 2018 is a direct result of the efforts of our WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
dedicated staff, trusted agency partners, and loyal customers,” Salzmann said. “We can’t say thank you enough for their efforts, and we look forward to continued success in 2019.”
Riedl will oversee state-specific underwriting operations and direct the underwriting, risk control, rating and policy services, premium audit and automation teams at Society.
Acuity’s Communications Projects Win Top Creative Awards Acuity announced that several of its communications projects have earned awards for creativity in national and international competition. “Acuity’s educational videos, annual Several of Acuity’s annual reports (top left) and educational videos (top right) earned awards for creativity in national and international competition. reports, and other communications projects are important ways that we connect with agents, employees, and customers,” said Ben Salzmann, Acuity President and CEO. “We are honored to be recognized for producing results that are not only effective and educational, but also fun and creative.” Annual Report Awards. Acuity’s annual reports received an Award of Excellence from the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association (IMCA), a Silver Award in the Best Annual Report – Online/Electronic category and a Bronze Award in the print category from the Stevie Awards, a Silver ADDY Award from the American Advertising Federation, and a Gold Award from AVA Digital Awards. Educational Video Awards. AVA Digital Awards also recognized Acuity for several of the insurer’s continuing education videos. Both Ethics: Lessons Learned and The Long Road to Walk Again received Platinum Awards, and Property Partners received a Gold Award. The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) presented Acuity with two Platinum Hermes Creative Awards, the highest awards given by the international association, for its continuing education videos Ethics: Lessons Learned and Wally’s Word Three. Acuity’s educational videos also earned several MARCOM awards from The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, including a coveted Platinum Award for the educational video E&O Uncovered, a Gold Award for the Crazy Claims video course, and Honorable Mentions for Ethics: Lessons Learned and Property Partners. Acuity Insurance, headquartered in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, insures over 100,000 businesses, including 300,000 commercial vehicles, and nearly a half million homes and private passenger autos across 27 states. Rated A+ by A.M. Best and S&P, Acuity employs over 1,300 people.
Riedl previously served as director of commercial Tim Riedl
lines product management at West Bend Mutual Insurance, where he led development and implementation of new products in the cyber and flood markets. Riedl’s 33 years of insurance experience in underwriting, marketing, product development and executive leadership include implementation of lean methodologies, predictive modeling, paperless workflow and professional development programs. “We are pleased to welcome Tim to Society,” said Rick Parks, Society Insurance president & CEO. “His deep knowledge of underwriting and long-time relationships with independent insurance agents will be important additions to our team. Tim’s successful experience in organizations with wider geographic footprints throughout the country is the perfect fit for executing our growth plans.” Riedl holds a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from Winona State University, and has earned the Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) and Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designations. He proudly serves as a board member and volunteer at Interfaith Care Givers of Washington County.
to Commercial Insurance that understands the Bar & Tavern Industry At Badger Mutual, we take commercial insurance personally. Visit our website today to learn more about a customized package of protection for your customers.
Society Insurance Hires Tim Riedl as Vice President – Commercial Underwriting Riedl will lead underwriting strategies in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Tennessee and Minnesota FOND DU LAC, Wis. (January 21, 2019) — Society Insurance welcomes Tim Riedl as vice president – commercial underwriting. WISCONSIN INDEPENDENT AGENT
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