The Tennessee Insuror Jan/Feb 2020 by Insurors of Tennessee

THE TENNESSEE

INSUROR January/February 2020 Volume 31 | Number 1

Setting the Gold Standard Meet the 2020 Insurors Board Members Helping us Raise the Bar for the Association

10 12 14

Agency Liquidity Ratios

Agency Growth Conference 2020 Agency Management Systems

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The Tennessee Insuror

contents

THE TENNESSEE

INSUROR Vol. XXXI, Number 1 January/February 2020

features

Phone (615) 385-1898 Toll Free: 1-800-264-1898 Email: info@insurors.org Editor: Ashley Gold, J.D. Publisher: Daniel D. Smith Jr., CAE

4 Setting the Gold Standard INSURORS OFFICERS

President .................................................................... Bob McIntire Immediate Past President .............................................. Joe Hunt IIABA National Director .............................. Cindi Gresham, CIC VP, Region I and President Elect ................... Norfleet Anthony Vice President, Region II ..................................... Chip Fridrich Jr. Vice President, Region III ........... Kym Clevenger, CPCU, CACW Treasurer/Secretary ......................................... John McInturff III Director, Region I .................................. S. Keith Phelps, CIC, CRM Director, Region I ......................................... Richard Whitley, CIC Director, Region I ........................................... Jamie Williams, CIC Director, Region II ............................................ John McCord, CIC Director, Region II ..................................................... Taylor Porch Director, Region II .................................................... Reno Benson Director, Region III ................................................. Mark Slater Jr. Director, Region III ...................................... Brandon Clarke, CIC Director, Region III ........ Cindy Widener Winn, CPA, CIC, CBIA Director, At-Large .......................................... Laura Ann Howell Director,. Young Agents ............................................... Cy Young

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Meet the 2020 Insurors Board Members Helping us...

Agency Liquidity Ratios

12 Agency Growth Conference 2020 14 Daniel Talks Agency Tech: Agency Management Systems pt.1 Where Should You Even Start When Picking A New One? 46

Driving Without a "Seatbelt"

Protect Your Customers and Your Agency by Offering UM/UIM

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Display advertising rates, deadlines and specifications may be obtained by writing to Insurors of Tennessee, 2500 21st Avenue South, Suite 200, Nashville, TN 37212, calling 615.515.2601, e-mailing dsmith@insurors.org or online at www.insurors.org

The Tennessee Insuror is provided to all Insurors of Tennessee members and associate members as a member service.

INSURORS OF TENNESSEE 2500 21st Avenue South, Suite 200 Nashville, TN 37212-0539 www.insurors.org

Is Your Agency Looking at the Right Numbers?

From Your President

Leading Our Association into a New Decade

From Your IIABA National Director

From Your CEO

Education Calendar

Layman's Terms

Company Spotlight

Program Spotlight

Supporting Our Agents on All Levels

Cyber and E&O - A Growing Concern

Looking Back at Legislative Accomplishments of the Last Decade Openly

WINS: Women in Insurance

51 Meetings 53

Member Tips

Avoiding the E&O Text Trap

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Setting the Gold Standard Meet the 2020 Insurors Board Members Helping us Raise the Bar for the Association

How do we determine the strategy of the Associaton? With input and direction from members like your 2020 Board of Directors. Please take a moment to learn about our volunteer leaders:

Bob McIntire

PRESIDENT Favorite meal: I'll take a really good hamburger! Favorite place to travel: The Caymans

Bob is a co-founder and principal agent of McIntire & Associates Insurance and Real Estate in Cleveland and serves as Vice President of Region III. He graduated from Lee College in Cleveland with a degree in Business Administration and he and his father founded their agency in 1981. He previously served on the Insurors Board as a Director of Region III. In addition to his work with Insurors, Bob serves as chairman of the Economic Development Council for Cleveland/Bradley County, is a member of the Industrial Development Board of Cleveland/Bradley County, a trustee for the Cleveland State Community College Foundation, and is the treasurer and a board member for Life Bridges Inc. He also volunteers on the Stewardship Committee at First Baptist Church where he and his wife, Melinda, along with their children, Robby and Emily, are members.

Joe Hunt

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Favorite place to travel: Johns Island, SC Favorite movie: Top Gun

Joe is the chief manager of V. R. Williams & Co. in Winchester and serves as the Immediate Past President of Insurors. After 4

leaving his hometown of Charlotte, Joe went on to graduate from Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina, with a B.S.B.A. in Business Management and a minor in Economics. In 1982 he started with Maryland Casualty Company, serving as a Market Manager. In 1988 he left the company side to begin working with independent agencies. He previously served on the Insurors Board as a Director of Region II, Treasurer and most recently as President. He is the only back-toback recipient of the Insurors Jim Alexander Service Award. Outside of his work with Insurors, he also has served on the executive board of the local community development center for over 15 years and is an avid duck hunter. He currently resides in Bell Buckle with his wife Jenny, who recently retired as mayor of the town. They have two daughters, Hannah Kay who graduated from Wake Forest and the University of Tennessee College of Law and is employed with Butler Snow LLC in Nashville, and Sarah Ashleigh who graduated from Auburn University with a Masters in Accountancy/CPA Program and is currently employed with Ernst & Young in Nashville.

Norfleet Anthony III

VICE PRESIDENT of REGION I and PRES.-ELECT Best concert attended: Tina Turner Favorite Superhero: Superman

Norfleet is the president of S.N. Anthony, Inc. in Ripley and serves as Vice President of Region I. Born and raised in Ripley, after high school he attended the University of Tennessee. He began his insurance career by joining the family agency in 1982. He furthered his industry education by attending the Allstate, Travelers and USF&G producer schools. He formerly served on our Board as a Director of Region I. In The Tennessee Insuror

addition to his service with Insurors, Norfleet is a member and lay leader of First United Methodist Church Ripley, a District Trustee for the Mississippi River District of the United Methodist Church, Co-Chair of the Pension & Benefits Board for the Memphis Conference of the United Methodist Church and Member and Past President of the Ripley Rotary Club. He and his wife Amy have four children, Sy Anthony and Katherine Anthony Leake, and Rachel and Elizabeth Harpole. Norfleet also has two grandsons, Jackson Henry Leake and Hudson Franklin Leake.

Chip Fridrich

VICE PRESIDENT of REGION II Biggest pet peeve: Blocking the box Best concert attended: Tom Petty at Starwood

Chip is the president of Fridrich Pinson & Associates in Nashville and serves as Vice President of Region II. A Nashville native, he graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy and then earned his Bachelors degree from Vanderbilt University where he also played baseball. He joined his agency right after college in 1990, and he is also part owner of the family real estate firm – Fridrich & Clark Realty. He previously served Insurors as a Director of Region II, and is a past president of the Insurors of Nashville local board. In addition to his work with Insurors, he is a member of St. Henry Church, is the Treasurer for Oak Hill School and has previously done work as a college baseball analyst for ESPN and others. He is married to the former Heather Knapp and they have three children – Hannah, who is 12, Dowden, who is 10 and Lewis, who is 7.

Kym Clevenger, CPCU, CACW

VICE PRESIDENT of REGION III Favorite TV show: Yellowstone Dream vacation: Scuba diving in Indonesia

Kym is the President of The Assurance Center in Knoxville, and serves as the Vice President of Region III. She is a Knoxville native, and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Biology, Zoology and Medical Technology from The University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She is also a Registered Nurse. She joined the agency in 1996 and earned her CIC in 2001, CPCU in 2007 and CAWC in 2013. Outside of her work with Insurors, Kym is a former president of the Associated Construction Women, and enjoys reading, working out, traveling and scuba diving. She and her husband, Dr. Donald Erdman III, live in Knoxville with their dog Betty.

Cindi Gresham, CIC

IIABA NATIONAL DIRECTOR Hidden talent: Former synchronized swimmer Band you would join: Fleetwood Mac

Cindi is the President of Boyle Insurance Agency in Memphis, and serves as the IIABA National Director for Tennessee. After moving to Memphis from her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, she graduated from Overton High before attending Memphis State University. She started her insurance career in 1973 with George Holley Insurance, then The Tennessee Insuror

moved to Carruthers Harris Agency in 1979. In 1987 she started with Boyle and has been there ever since. In addition to her work with Insurors, Cindi is a supporter of various senior and youth organizations, University of Memphis athletics and formerly served as president of the Insurors of Memphis local board. Cindi has two sons, Brad and Kyle, and six grandchildren. She attends Collierville UMC and resides in Collierville with her husband, Rocky.

John McInturff III, ARM

SECRETARY/TREASURER* Favorite place to travel: Hilton Head or camping Favorite actor: John Wayne

John is the president and owner at McInturff, Milligan & Brooks in Greeneville and serves in the newly combined role of Secretary/Treasurer. He is a Past President of Insurors and has served on the Board in several roles. A Greeneville native, John graduated from Greeneville High School in 1981. He attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, earning his B.S. in Business Administration in 1985. He began his insurance career with USF&G in 1986 and joined Bennett and Edwards in 1988 where he later became president. In 2006 the Tri-State Claims division of Bennett and Edwards merged with McInturff, Milligan & Brooks to form the current agency. John’s contributions to Insurors include serving as Young Agents Chair, Director of Region III, VP of Region III and Secretary. In addition to his involvement with Insurors, John is a past President of the Kingsport Jaycees, past president of the HVFC Soccer Club and has been involved with Junior Achievement of Tri-Cities, the Kingsport Rotary-Sunshine Club, and is a member of First Presbyterian Church. He and his wife Tonya reside in Kingsport and have two children, Lauren and Lindsey. *Completing an unexpired term, contingent on Board approval

Keith Phelps, CIC, CRM

DIRECTOR of REGION I Dream vacation: Sailing in the Greek Isles Biggest pet peeve: Disingenuous people

Keith is the director of marketing for Jamieson & Fisher, Inc. in Covington and serves as a Director of Region I. Born and raised in Covington, he received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Lambuth College in Jackson in 1980. His insurance career began while he was still in high school, as he began working for the agency after school at age 16. He earned his license at the age of 18, and is probably one of the youngest students ever to attend the famous Chuck Bidek licensing schools. After graduating from college, he began his full time career at the agency in Personal Lines Sales and then moved to Personal Lines Manager, and then to his current position of Marketing Manager. He earned his CIC designation in 1987 and his CRM in 2002. In addition to his work with Insurors, Keith served as an Alderman for the City of Covington from 1993 to 2001 and was recently appointed to serve an additional unexpired term on that board. He is a Founding Board Member of CASA of Tipton County (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a board member and 5

lifelong member of First United Methodist Church in Covington, served as chair of the Industrial Development Board for Tipton County, a Volunteer Fireman for 37 years, a member of the Memphis Symphony Chorus, and a Keystone Partner. Keith has two children, Dustin and Catherine, and three granddaughters, Georgianne, Molly Kate and Charley. He enjoys spending time at the lake and beach with his family and friends.

Richard Whitley, CIC

DIRECTOR of REGION I Best concert attended: Go-Go's & INXS Favorite superhero: My father

Richard is a principal agent with McDanielWhitley in Memphis and serves as a Director of Region I. He is a native of Covington and earned his BBA from Ole Miss in 1989. After working in banking for eight years, he entered the insurance industry in 1997. He credits his time as a commercial loan officer with giving him immense insight into owning a business. Additional professional education for Richard includes earning his CIC designation in 2000. Organizations he has previously been active with include the Insurors of Memphis, Collierville Rotary Club, West Tennessee Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, and Construction Financial Management Association. He and his wife Michelle have been married for 20 years and have two children, Caroline, who is 18 and Emmy, who is 16.

Jamie Williams, CIC, CRM

DIRECTOR of REGION I Favorite TV Show: Seinfeld Item you'd splurge on: Colorado cabin/2,500 acres

Jamie is the Agency Manager for Hardin County Bank Insurance Agency in Savannah and serves as a Director of Region I. He is a native of Savannah and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Union University. In addition to his work with Insurors, he is involved in his local Church and is a member of the River City Kiwanis club. He and his wife, Lauren, have been married for 13 years and have 2 children, Lexie, who is 9, and Logan, who is 6. Jamie enjoys hunting and golf as well as spending time with family.

John McCord, CIC

DIRECTOR of REGION II Dream vacation destination: Scotland or Ireland Biggest pet peeve: Dishonesty

John is a principal agent of Lester, Greene, McCord & Thoma, and serves a Director of Region II. He was born in Manchester and raised in Tullahoma. He graduated from MTSU with a major in Finance and minors in Business Law and Insurance, and has held his CIC designation for over 25 years. He began his career in the industry with Lamborn Insurance in 1984, and joined Lester & Greene Insurance in 1989. Lamborn was acquired by the agency in 1992, and in 1994 John became a partner and the agency became Lester, Greene & 6

McCord. A merger with the E.B. Thoma agency in 2016 gave the agency its present name and partnership. In addition to his work with Insurors, John volunteers with the Highland Rim Kiwanis Club, Tullahoma Chamber of Commerce and serves on the board of the Tullahoma Area Economic Development Corp. He formerly served as treasurer for the United Givers Fund and Hospice of the Highland Rim, on the MTSU Insurance Liaison Committee, Lakewood Golf & Country Club committees and many carrier advisory boards. He has been married to his wife Michelle Boehm McCord for 33 years, and they have two children, son Davis who now works for the agency after 5 years with Auto-Owners, and daughter Anna who works with Tractor Supply Company in Brentwood.

Taylor Porch

DIRECTOR of REGION II Best meal you've had: Alaskan fresh caught fish Favorite TV show: Yellowstone, Billions or Ozark

Taylor Porch is the Vice President at PorchStribling-Webb, Inc. in Waverly and serves as a Director of Region II. A Waverly native, he graduated from Waverly Central before earning his Bachelor's degree from Cumberland University in 2004. After college, he worked as a commercial underwriter for Cincinnati Insurance Company for 3 years. In 2007, he returned home to work at the family agency. He formerly served on our Board as Young Agents Chair and was awarded the Arch E. Northington Award for Young Insuror of the Year in 2013. In addition to his work with Insurors, he is involved with the Waverly Lions Club and serves on the Leadership Council for the Emerging Leaders division of Keystone Insurers Group. He and his wife Rebecca have been married since 2004 and they have two children, Sawyer and Sydney. In his spare time, Taylor is also an avid golfer and duck hunter and loves to travel.

Reno Benson

DIRECTOR of REGION II Favorite movie: Field of Dreams Item you'd splurge on: Big family vacation

Reno is the executive vice president of Anderson Benson Insurance & Risk Management in Nashville, and serves as a Director of Region II. He is a Nashville native and attended Vanderbilt University. His insurance career began in 1977 with Continental Insurance Company, and in 1983 he joined Polk & Sullivan Group in Nashville as a producer for commercial lines and surety. During his tenure with Polk & Sullivan Group and its successor organizations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; first Synaxis Group and later First Horizon Insurance â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Reno assumed a number of managerial roles. He was most recently a senior VP of First Horizon Insurance before co-founding Anderson Benson Insurance in 2012. In addition to his work with Insurors, Reno also enjoys spending time with his family and currently serves on the boards of several community groups. He and his wife, Katie, have two sons, William and Alex, and a daughter, Murray. His son William and daughter-in-law, Suzanne, have given the family their first granddaughter, Hayward. The Tennessee Insuror

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Mark Slater Jr.

DIRECTOR of REGION III Favorite TV show: 60 Minutes Band you'd join: U2

Mark is the president of Sunbelt Insurance Group and serves as a Director of Region III. A native of Chattanooga, he graduated from the Baylor School in 1981 and attended the University of Georgia before earning his B.S. degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Mark joined the agency in 1987 and purchased it in 2011. He has completed the Appalachian State University Insurance Executive Program and Drake University Insurance Program. He is a past president of the Insurors of Chattanooga local board and earned their Insuror of the Year award in 2002. He formerly served on the Insurors of Tennessee Board from 200305. Outside of his work with Insurors, Mark is a member of the Chattanooga Downtown Rotary. He is married to Lorrie Slater, and between them there are five children (Timothy, Jaime, Tori, Alexa and Matthew), a daughter-in-law (Cary), two granddaughters (Ivie and Violet) and a grandson on the way. They reside in Chattanooga.

Brandon Clarke, CIC

DIRECTOR of REGION III Best meal eaten: Mom's Thanksgiving dinner Dream vacation: Heli-skiing in backcountry snow

Brandon is the president of John Bailey Company in Knoxville and serves as a Director of Region III. He was born in Nashville but grew up in Knoxville and graduated from Farragut High School before earning a degree in general business from Ole Miss. He worked as a marketing representative and underwriter for an MGA for 4 years before joining John Bailey Co. in 2005. In addition to his work in the industry, he is the co-founder of Young Professionals of Knoxville (YPK), co-founder of Knoxify.com's “What Makes Knoxville Great,” 2011 Dogwood Arts Festival co-chair, is involved in Introduction Knoxville and was listed in the 2007 Knoxville 40 Under 40. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Lauren, and they have three daughters, Emerson who is 11, and 7 year old twins Taylor and Bankston. They also have two French Bulldogs, Bernard and Boss Hog, and one Boxer named Murphy. He is a 2017 Ironman Chattanooga Finisher and also enjoys training, playing golf, writing, reading and spending time outdoors.

Cindy Widener Winn, CPA, CIC, CBIA

DIRECTOR of REGION III Item you'd splurge on: Private jet Favorite place to travel: St. John, USVI w/ friends

Cindy is the president and agency owner of Widener Insurance Agency in Johnson City and serves as a Director of Region III. She was born and raised in Johnson City and earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Immediately after college she sat for and obtained her CPA. In addition to her work with Insurors, she is active in her community and also enjoys golf, reading, 8

travel and collecting wine. Cindy and her husband Sterling Winn have been married for 24 years and have two children, Elizabeth, who is 22 and a Senior at UTK, and Michael, who is 19 and a Sophomore at North East Tech State. The family also has a 10 year old Biewer terrier named Patches. Cindy also helps care for her mother, Hersel Widener, who is 93 years old.

Laura Ann Howell

DIRECTOR at-LARGE Item you'd splurge on: Converted Sprinter Van Dream vacation: Chilean Patagonia

Laura Ann is the Chief Operating Officer at Reliance Partners in Chattanooga and serves in the newly created Board position of Director At-Large. She grew up in Winchester before earning two degrees from the University of Georgia – a Bachelor's degree in Risk Management and a Bachelor's degree in Spanish. Laura Ann and her husband, Jeff, enjoy cycling, hiking, running and time in the great outdoors.

Cy Young

DIRECTOR of YOUNG AGENTS Best meal eaten: Chandelier Filet w/ Italics wine Favorite movie: Home Alone 2

Cy is the president of Young-Hughes Insurance in Alamo and the founder of Haven Insurance Partners, and serves as the Young Agents Director. He is graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in Risk Management and Insurance. In addition to his work with Insurors, he is president of the local chapter of the MSU alumni association, and is on the board of the Crockett County Chamber of Commerce and the Jackson Country Club. He is also involved in his church, First UMC Jackson, and the Downtown Jackson Rotary Club. He and his wife, Jordan Leigh Young, have one daughter, Eliza, who is 5 years old. If you have thoughts or ideas on how Insurors can improve, please reach out to the Board using the contact info below: BOARD CONTACT INFORMATION Bob McIntire • 423.472.5058 • bmcintire@mcintireins.com Joe Hunt • 931.967.2268 • jhunt@vrwilliams.com Norfleet Anthony • 731.635.9441 • sna@snanthony.com Chip Fridrich • 615.321.3864 • cfridrich@fpa.insure Kym Clevenger • 865.675.6500 • kym@assurancecenter.com Cindi Gresham • 901.766.4298 • cindig@boyle.com John McInturff III • 423.639.5171 • jmcinturff@tsclaims.com Keith Phelps • 901.476.8644 • kphelps@jamiesonandfisher.com Richard Whitley • 901.591.8751 • rwhitley@mcwins.com Jamie Williams • 731.926.7968 • jwilliams@hcbins.com John McCord • 931.455.3453 • jmccord@lester-greene-mccord.com Taylor Porch • 931.296.4271 • tporch@pswins.com Reno Benson • 615.630.7805 • reno@andersonbenson.com Mark Slater • 423.855.1234 • mark@sunbeltinsurance.net Brandon Clarke • 865.524.0787 • brandon.clarke@johnbaileyco.com Cindy Widener Winn • 423.926.7151 • cindyw@widenerins.com Laura Ann Howell • 423.803.1454 • la.howell@reliancepartners.com Cy Young • 731.696.5480 • cy@younghughesinsurance.com u The Tennessee Insuror

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Agency Liquidity Ratios Is Your Agency Looking at the Right Numbers? written by Al Diamond sponsored by our partners at

It is almost embarrassing to say, but most insurance agents reckon their success by the balance in their checkbook. They don’t pay attention to those superb Operating Statements (Profit & Loss Statements [P&L]) produced by their expensive Agency Management Systems and most don’t even print their Balance Sheets because either they don’t recognize the importance of the information contained in them – or they wish to bury their heads in the sand because they feel that what they don’t know about the health of their agency can’t hurt them. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! First, your operating statement is a much better picture of your P&L, your cashflow potential and your potential tax liabilities than your checking account would ever be. A few minor alterations to it (elimination of non-cash items from the P&L – like bad debt, depreciation and amortization; and adding non-operating cash needs – like debt principal payments) will give you your cashflow situation at any time. And that is just a small step short of actually being able to project future cashflow at least one month in advance. Wouldn’t that be nice to know? And, even more importantly, the Liquidity Ratios that can be driven from your balance sheet truly tells you the health of your business at that moment in time. While the usefulness of an Operating Statement is as a budgeting and year-to-date tool for profitability and cashflow, the Balance Sheet’s purpose is the same as a full physical exam by your doctor. He runs tests to determine both your general health and specific indicators of the functions of your system. Similarly, a Balance Sheet provides the data to test the Liquidity of your business. All you need are the formulas and benchmarks to convert that data to meaningful test results. So here are the formulas and Liquidity Ratio benchmarks that you should apply on a monthly basis to your Balance Sheet. Running a balance sheet without applying these ratios is like collecting data but never evaluating it.

Current Ratio This general liquidity ratio measures an agency's short term health. If current assets cannot meet current liabilities (within 12 months), the agency's liquidity must be strengthened: Formula – Current Assets divided by Current Liabilities Benchmark – at least 100%

Acid Test The acid test is a primary liquidity measure used to determine 10

if the firm is capable of meeting all of its current obligations: Formula – (Cash + Receivables)/ Payables Benchmark – at least 90%

Receivables to Payable A poor receivables to payables ratio can indicate a poor collector: Formula – Trade (Co.) (or All) Receivables divided by Trade (premiums) (or All) Payables. Benchmark – Less than 75%

Tangible Net Worth The ‘book’ value of your company (not the Book of Business value and doesn’t include that value): Formula – Total Owners Equity (Treasury Stock subtracted) less Intangible Assets (like Goodwill, Purchased Renewals or Expirations, Covenants) and loans to officers/owners not likely to be repaid. Benchmark – Should be a positive number unless the agency is in the process of being perpetuated (causing negative TNW). But in that instance it should be a positively growing number each year toward an eventual positive number.

Working Capitol Measures the extent that operating expenses can be covered by the excess of current assets over current liabilities: Formula – Current Assets less Current Liabilities. Benchmark – Take the Average Daily Cash Expenses of the agency (= Total Expenses of the prior year less non-cash items (Bad Debt and Deprec & Amort) divided by 365) and divide it into the Working Capital. 30 days should be minimum required. 45-60 days defines a cash-healthy agency. These formulas will assist you in determining the health of your agency. You should run them on your Balance Sheet every month and gauge your progress. If you have problems in one or more areas of Liquidity, take remedial action. Don’t be afraid to get a ‘Check-Up’ for your agency regularly. It is far worse to wait until you can’t make payroll or can’t pay the carriers to find out about your liquidity problems. About the Author Al Diamond is a 32+ year veteran of the insurance industry with agency and carrier experience. He leads Agency Consulting Group, a firm built to assist agencies through the maze of business issues toward growth and profit. Visit agencyconsulting.com for info. u The Tennessee Insuror

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Agency Growth Conference 2020 Great Lineup of Sessions and Speakers Will Help You Drive Success at Your Agency Insurors 6th Annual Agency Growth Conference has been scheduled for March 25-26 at the Marriott Cool Springs in Franklin. We are excited to have one of our strongest lineups yet of speakers, sessions and topics focused on driving growth at your agency.

8-11 am "Ex-dates, Lies and Videotapes," led by Ashley Gold, J.D. and Stephen Holmes, CPCU, CIC, CISR of Insurors as well as Richard Lund, J.D. of Westport/Swiss Re. Lund, Gold and Holmes are E&O experts that work with our agencies on policies, coverage concerns and best practices every day.

This year's conference will include tracks on sales, agency workflow and E&O best practices. Please check out the lineup for the event, which is only $95 for member agents and $79 for young agents to attend!

They will discuss best practices to lower your agency's E&O exposure as told through examples from famous movie and television storylines.

Wednesday, March 25 We'll begin our event with registration on Wednesday, March 25 at 1 pm CT. At 2 pm, we'll officially kick off with our opening general session, "The Art & Science of Prospecting Success," led by special guest Frank Cox of Marshberry. Cox has previously worked as a sales leader at USI and HUB and has over ten years of experience in insurance sales, leadership development training/coaching/mentorship, public speaking, sales training, and senior executive management. He will discuss ways to develop a successful system for prospecting clients, and how to best implement that system. On Wednesday afternoon, we will host a trade show and reception for attendees featuring over 30 carriers, wholesale brokers and other vendors. The tradeshow will be followed by our Young Agents reception at Tin Roof 2 presented by Penn National Insurance.

Thursday, March 26 Our event will continue on Thursday morning, March 26 with breakout sessions on our three different tracks, including:

8-9 am "Marketing to Your Niche," led by Zach Emly of InBuzz Group. Emly heads up strategic marketing implementation for InBuzz Group â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a marketing agency specifically formed to cater to the insurance industry. He previously worked developing marketing strategy for an independent agency. He will discuss reaching your "ideal" client through marketing strategies and goal development. How do you build a marketing plan around your niche? What are the new techniques available to "laser target" the prospects you want to reach? Emly will help you form a plan. 8-9 am "Developing Your Agency's Tech Stack," led by ePayPolicy. Our partners at ePayPolicy will discuss the technology your agency needs to operate at its most efficient. What are the programs, apps and features that can help streamline your workflow? You'll find out about many of them in this session. 9:10-10:10 am "Building Out Your Agency's Sales Engine," led by Chris Turley of ProScout Business Development. Turley is business development veteran from the financial services and engineering industries. After a decade in those roles, he founded a company to handle continued on page 30...

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Daniel Talks Agency Technology: Agency Management Systems pt. 1 Where Should You Even Start When Picking A New One? What are the key pieces of technology for the modern agency? How should you implement them and train your staff to use them? In this series I will look into agency technology and specific systems and how you can implement them at your agency. One of the most common discussions I have with our agency members is along the lines of, "What agency management system should we be using?" They may already have one, they may be in the middle of a transition or they may not have one at all. In any case, they want guidance on where they are versus where they should be. With that in mind, let's begin to look at how to find the system that's right for your agency.

The Initial Concerns What do you want and need your agency management system to do? Sounds like a simple question, but I'm amazed at the number of agents that work the problem out starting with the solutions instead of this question. Do you need a scaleable system that you can build pieces around for your $15 million revenue agency? Probably not, so why not start with where you are and where you want to be. What does your system need to do? These are the items that the system must be able to accomplish for your agency to viably convert to it. Do you need marketing integration, rating, automation, accounting, cloud access, mobile access, reporting, etc.? Once you've answered the "needs" portion, rank their priorities to narrow down the features that will matter

written by Daniel Smith, CAE

most to you. Now you have a checklist of your needs that you can compare across platforms. What do you want your system to do? Wouldn't it be great if your system just renewed the business for you? That might not be realistic, but many other features that would have been unheard of a few years ago are now commonplace. Want your system to text your clients, allow them to respond to your phone and keep a log of that in the data? It's a possibility. Want to be able to pull up a client's info for the last three years on your phone while you're sitting in their office? It's a possibility. But these features generally cost more and require more training â&#x20AC;&#x201C; so prioritize how much you need them. How does "ease of use" factor in? How big of a factor is training, converting and utilizing the new system? How much staff time are you willing to dedicate? Do you have a "key user" who will be your expert on this system? Knowing these answers will help you convey to the potential system partners what your level of assistance will need to be. What's your budget and desired ROI? The most common complaint I hear about agency management systems is along the lines of, "We spend so much money on this and I'm not even sure we use half of it." How can you measure how much you use? Think about some metrics that you can actually determine value from. Is the new system going to provide you faster entry, quoting, etc.? Find out. Do some tests of your current process, and then follow up with measurements of the

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agency management system built on the foundation of secure technology and industry collaboration is now the Partner Platform. The Partner Platform combines the excellent policy and financial management capabilities of Partner XE with new capabilities that include completely integrated sales, marketing automation, and texting capabilities. In addition to helping agencies better organize their client retention and new client acquisition efforts, Tennessee agencies can also offer their clients 24/7 self-service options which include both an agency branded client portal (web) and agency branded mobile app.

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“When I talk to people who are looking at Partner, I tell them one of the things that has impressed me the most has been the management and ownership. They are committed to making the product better and are “We enjoy being a member of the Insurors of Tennessee spending the money and time to do so. My voice is being SERVING INDEPENDENT AGENTS and look forward to how this evolution in the Partner heard and I’m actually seeing the improvements and & THEIR SINCE 1989 Platform enables independent CLIENTS agents to adapt to the enhancements I was promised.” —Brad Smith, Agency changing consumer expectations while staying true to Owner, Smith-Berclair Insurance 1.800.768.7475 • www.bsrins.com • questions@bsrins.com the character that makes independent agents unique. Professional Liability • Management Liability • Privacy & Security LiabilityContact Nick That includes using technology experiences integrated Is yourData agency looking for a Partner?

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Are you making the Right Choice for their Business?

new system. Then compare that to your costs YoY with previous system(s) or processes. As far as your budget, what are you comfortable spending versus how much improvement do you anticipate? What is the max budget number that you can allow? Chances are, what you end up paying will be somewhere between these two numbers, and much closer to the high end.

Gathering Feedback By having these discussions and developing these responses, you now have a "roadmap" to your perfect system. You want to check off as many stops on this journey as you can, so where do you start? I'd suggest you start with the people that have a less-biased opinion and also one based in actual experience – your agent peers. Other agents are utilizing these systems in similar ways to you, and they have already seen some of the highs and lows of the system(s) in question. Insurors can help connect you to agencies that have used almost any of the most commonly utilized agency management systems for feedback. What are the most commonly used systems by Tennessee agents? Here is what we have seen in the marketplace (in alphabetical order): • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

AccuAgency (now by ITC) Agency Matrix (acquired 2/4/20 by ITC) AMS 360 powered by Vertafore Applied Doris Applied Epic Applied TAM EZLynx Agency Management Hawksoft InsurancePro by ITC Jenesis Partner Platform by Strategic Insurance Software (SIS) QQCatalyst powered by Vertafore Sagitta powered by Vertafore Xanatek

There are literally dozens of others, but these are the ones we will focus on as we continue this series. We'll hear from agents and representatives of these companies as we talk through what else to look for and what your agency should keep in mind during this process. If you have specific questions you want answered, please send them to me and we'll try to get you some responses! Let's make this process easier and more efficient for you! About the Author Daniel Smith serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Insurors of Tennessee. He has a Bachelors degree in Marketing with a minor in Graphic Design from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and earned his Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 2017. He may be contacted at dsmith@insurors.org. u 16

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12/5/19 2:39 PM17

Future Leaders Spotlight

presented by

Derek Wright • Graham & Cook Insurance - Knoxville

Derek Wright of Graham & Cook

Derek Wright was born in Knoxville in the Farragut community. He is very active in his church where he and his wife have served in youth and adult Bible Study, and other ministry work. In his “spare” time, he enjoys running, golf, hiking and coaching his children in basketball, soccer and football as well as supporting them in track/ cross-country.

He spends as much time as possible with his wife and three kids (ages 11, 9 and 7) – outdoors, camping, on a trip to a new city or leisurely at home. He says his wife is, "Amazing; she is supportive, a wise counselor, admired mother, and the best part of me!" While Derek says he has spent time away from Knoxville for travel, sports, mission trips and business, he has never strayed far from home. He is also involved with his local community through Chamber events, service projects, Rotary, and as other volunteer needs arise. Like many in our industry, “insurance” was not his dream job. He wanted to be a lawyer and coach a high school sport, and eventually become an athletic director. But as Derek says, "The Lord had other plans."

The Insuror: Can you tell us a little about your current job title and responsibilities? Derek: We are a small agency that serves the West Knoxville/ Farragut/Lenoir City communities and our staff remains in close touch with our customers. “On paper” I am a principal agent of Graham & Cook, but my roles and responsibilities reach beyond that. Like each person on our staff, I will process an endorsement as simple as an auto change or produce new business. I share in the financial responsibilities of the agency, and I handle most of the marketing/technology aspect of the business. I am blessed with a phenomenal team. Mike Henry and Robert Scheffer are solid partners in this business, who I trust immensely. We work well together, supporting each other in all aspects. Mike has provided stability with our customer base since the transition of agency ownership in 2017, and Robert has expanded our commercial insurance portfolio. Mary Allen and Lynn Hollingsworth have worked for G&C for 20 and 40 years respectively; without them, our agency would slide backwards… in a hurry! Mary and Lynn can handle any situation presented to them, and we are blessed to have them on our team. We recently added 3 producers, Caleb Johnson, Bradley Culbreth and Roger 18

Kane. All three have been terrific additions to our agency and they are each working hard to grow their own ‘businesses’ within the family of Graham & Cook.

The Insuror: What can you tell us about your educational background? Derek: After growing up in Knoxville and attending the Farragut school system, I attended The University of Tennessee at Knoxville and graduated in 2003 with a Political Science degree.

The Insuror: How and why did you get your career in the insurance industry started? Derek: While working for Americomm (Knoxville based telecommunications firm, owned by Richard Zachary and son, Tennessee State Rep. Jason Zachary) immediately following college, I was introduced to the idea of an insurance career by Tommy Cook, owner of Graham & Cook Insurance. Already my mentor from adolescent days, Tommy introduced me to Michael Hurst and Shane Dial, with Infinity Insurance. I interviewed for a job and was offered the position of marketing representative in East Tennessee. As a side note, it was during the first year of working for Infinity that one of my counterparts in Atlanta (Joel Harbin, now an IA owner in Braselton, Georgia) introduced me to my wife, Melissa. After a blind date, we were engaged and married 12 months later. Three years after Infinity, Tommy introduced me to Scott Wick with Indiana Insurance (now Liberty Mutual). I accepted a marketing position with Indiana, and one year later after an acquisition, I transitioned into the role of Territory Manager with Safeco where I ended the “company side” of my career in 2017. Not only did the insurance industry lead me to owning an independent agency in the wonderful town where I was raised, it led me to my wife and is providing a terrific life for our family of five.

The Insuror: Do you have any influences/role models in the industry? Derek: Tommy Cook introduced me to the insurance industry and is primarily responsible for the journey I am on now. He left an indelible impression on me as an insurance advisor and counselor. For many years Tommy has treated me like a “son” personally, spiritually, and professionally – I am forever grateful for him.As the third generation owner of Graham & The Tennessee Insuror

Cook, I work hard every day to follow closely the path he and Chuck (Graham) established. I worked as a Territory Manager for 13 years. In that time, I worked closely with agents in the IA channel. Tommy, Bob McIntire, Tim Goss, Johnny Griffin, Lou Moran and David Allen were instrumental in helping me navigate the waters of the “company-field rep-agent relationship,” and manage the tension between the two. I started my career with Infinity where Michael Hurst served as an excellent role model of a “marketing rep” in this industry. That model was further developed for me while I was a Territory Manager with Safeco under the tutelage of Lee Allison and Cecil Booher. In my early days with Indiana Insurance, I met Bill Emerick. He became a trusted colleague and friend. Fifteen years later, I still lean on Bill for industry insight and business partnership. I appreciate what Bill and other leaders have done for the agencies and IA channel.

The Insuror: Is there any advice you could offer Young Agents or others in the industry to achieve success in their careers? Derek: #1 - Your agency staff is most important. Surround yourself with people that are dependable, committed to serving your community, high character who conduct themselves with integrity. #2 - Remain fully engaged. Learn the coverage and policy language. Ask questions of your Underwriters and Claims colleagues. Get involved in your community and network with other industries, such as mortgage companies, banks, realtors, and other lead generating sources. Conduct yourself with integrity, never cut corners, and treat people with the Matthew 7:12 principle: “do to others what you would have them do to you.”

The Insuror: As an independent agent, you have many partners in this industry, including carriers, MGAs and many more. How do you determine which ones are the right relationships? Derek: The short answer – Technology ease of use, competitive commissions, broad product offering, and excellent claims service/reputation. Beyond that, people matter. Partner with companies that have a track record of trustworthiness, and people that will support your effort to build a thriving agency. Product offering. The need for insurance is broad and expansive. Our company partners must have products available that we can offer solutions – from the most basic exposure to the most unique and obscure.

The Insuror: Thank you for giving us your time, Derek, we appreciate it and wish you continued success. Derek: Thank you! I appreciate Insurors of Tennessee and all the The Tennessee Insuror

support they provide to agents and the IA channel as a whole. Our company partners supply products and opportunity for us to grow our business and serve our community with insurance, while the Tennessee Big "I" assists our efforts and steadies our flight. u

Young Agents '20 Upcoming Events and Information Our Young Agents Committee strives to offer young insurance professionals with opportunities to network and develop in the industry. Over 500 Insurors members participate in the Young Agents program in some fashion. We are still planning for 2020 calendar, and will be releasing a full schedule of events soon. In the meantime, we hope you'll join us at one of the already scheduled Young Agents events below of contact us for information: Insurors Legislative "Day on the Hill" • March 10 Tennessee Legislative Plaza • Nashville • 9 am- 1 pm CT Insurors Agency Growth Conference Young Agents Reception presented by Penn National Insurance • March 25 Tin Roof 2 • Franklin • 6-8 pm CT

Young Agents Committee Cy Young - Chair President Young-Hughes Insurance Alamo cy@younghughesinsurance.com Forbes Harris - Region I Producer Harris, Madden & Powell Insurance Memphis fharris@hmpins.com Matt Felgendreher - Region II Executive Vice President W.C. Dillon Company & Insight Risk Management Nashville mfelgendreher@irmllc.com Derek Wright - Region III Agent/Principal Graham & Cook Insurance Knoxville derek@grahamandcook.com For more info, or for any questions on the Young Agents Committee and its programs, please contact Daniel Smith at dsmith@insurors.org or call 615.515.2601. u 19

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From Your President Leading Our Association into a New Decade First and foremost, I want to thank you for the opportunity you have given me to lead OUR Association. When I look at the pictures on the wall of our Past Presidents I’m truly humbled to have my name added to that list of great leaders. I promise to serve you to the best of my ability and look forward to hearing your ideas on how we can better serve you, our membership.

I’d also like to welcome Nick Weber to the Insurors staff filling the new role of Member Engagement Specialist. In his new role Nick will be actively recruiting new members as well as making sure our current members are aware of the many offerings the Association has available to maximize their value.

I want to thank Joe Hunt for the job he did last year transitioning our staff leadership from Chuck to Ashley. It was a great opportunity to look at things from top to bottom and evaluate all aspects of the Association. I’m happy to report that after conducting our review that our Association was in great shape and no major changes were needed. Ashley has made some great additions to our staff and they are ready to move us to the next level in the way we serve our membership.

We are also in the process of updating the Insurors website to make it more user friendly. One of the additions I’m particularly excited about is the education portal. I hear from a lot of members that are frustrated with trying to educate new hires as well as existing employees. This new portal will allow the user to click on a link for a specific role – i.e. a new personal lines account manager position – and a list will appear of classes for the new employee in the order in which they should be taken. The same options will be available for most other positions within your agencies as well.

I also want to congratulate Lou Moran III on his election to the Executive Committee of the National IIABA Board and his 7-year commitment to the Big "I" as he moves through the chairs on his way to becoming the first national president from the Great State of Tennessee. I have had the honor and pleasure of serving with Lou for several years now and his commitment to you and the independent agency system is second to none. The next time you see Lou please thank him for his service.

New Staff Members Provide Resources One of the key hires Ashley made was to add Jim Layman, J.D. to lead our legislative affairs. I'm happy to report that Jim is doing an outstanding job. Our PAC contributions are higher than ever, and his legislative affairs town hall meetings were a huge success. Please make plans to attend our Legislative Reception on February 4 at the Hermitage Hotel. It is a great opportunity to meet with and see our legislators and thank them for the great job they are doing. If there are any issues on the legislative front you would like to see addressed please reach out to Jim, he is more than happy to hear from agents on issues that are important to them. The Tennessee Insuror

Improvements to Website & Benefits

A couple of new member benefits that should be rolling out first quarter are IntellAgents and Independent Market Solutions (IMS). IntellAgents is a new industry specific, analytics driven organization. The goal being to provide you with more actionable insights – based on data – than will enable you to make more informed business decisions. IMS is a marketing platform members can access if they are having difficulty with markets for certain classes of business or if they are in a situation where they may have limited availability for their personal lines or small commercial insurance needs. Agents will have their own producer codes and will own the business placed with IMS. As you can see there’s a lot of things going on within your Association and we are constantly looking for ways to help our agents be better at what we do – aiding our communities and providing an invaluable service to our clients. Again, thank you for the opportunity you have given me to serve as your president. It’s a responsibility I take very seriously, and I want to hear from you on issues that are important to you and your agency. This is our Association. u

"...w e a r e constantly looking for ways to help our agents be better at what we do – aiding our communities...”

Bob McIntire 21

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From Your IIABA National Director Supporting Our Agents on All Levels I’m back on the Insurors Board and honored to serve as the National Director (ND) for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association (IIABA or Big "I") representing Tennessee. I have some big shoes to fill following Lou Moran III who has been elected to the Big "I" Executive Committee. The January 2020 IIABA Winter meeting will be my first as your ND but I hope to represent our Tennessee agents and voice your questions and concerns. Why is it important to have representation for Insurors members on the National level? Our partnership with our National organization is critical as we work together to serve the needs and interests of independent agents. We need to have a voice for Tennessee agents as important decisions are being made by Big "I" volunteer leaders and staff.

bers aware of these programs and make sure they are easy for you to use: •

Our Errors & Omissions (E&O) program is built through national Risk Purchasing Groups (RPGs). These RPGs provide our agents with great purchasing power, and can be accessed by Insurors members through our Director of For-profit Programs, Stephen Holmes. Stephen also handles the personal umbrella (PUP) and Home Business Insurance programs through RLI which continue to be a solid resource for agencies.

•

Our National brand, Trusted Choice, helps raise awareness of independent agents and generates internet leads for your agency. You can receive up to $750 in marketing reimbursement dollars and you are already listed in search results and as a referral option just by being an Insurors member. Be sure to visit TrustedChoice.com and update your agency’s profile to start obtaining your leads, and visit https://cobrand.iiaba. net/ for information on marketing reimbursement and branding support.

The Impact of Our Federal Lobbying With the upcoming Presidential election in November, we need to be sure that the candidates hear our concerns. Our Federal lobbyists from Big "I" are among the best in D.C., and they do a great job of keeping Congress aware of the issues in our industry. They have helped pass and prevent some key legislation, and with each new administration they have to begin some of their efforts anew. In Tennessee specifically, we are a unique state with different insurance needs for each of our East, Middle and West regions – but we all have a need for Flood insurance. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) can provide this, but its instability continues to be an issue. I hope that we can find a permanent solution to providing the flood coverage that our clients need. Nothing is more frustrating than to tell a client that we don’t know if we can issue a policy since the Flood program is set to expire unless Congress approves an extension.

National Programs and Services The Big "I" and Insurors work together to offer several programs that are beneficial to our members. We need to strive to make our memThe Tennessee Insuror

•

Big "I" Hires continues to be an asset to agencies needing to hire Producers or staff members. I would encourage you to consider Big "I" Hires if you are looking to bring on new personnel for your agency.

•

Your membership in the Insurors of Tennessee and the IIABA includes access to Big "I" Markets, Ask an Expert, the Agency Council for Technology (ACT) and Best Practices. These are just a few of the programs offered and I hope you will visit the IIABA website for a full list of programs available.

“...I h o p e t o represent our Te n n e s s e e agents and voice your questions and concerns.”

Between Insurors of Tennessee and the IIABA our state and national Associations work to help our agent members succeed in our industry. I am your voice at the IIABA and I hope you will contact me should you need me to voice those concerns or needs. I sincerely thank you for this honor and opportunity to serve. u

Cindi Gresham, CIC 23

Endorsed Partner of

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From Your CEO Cyber and E&O - A Growing Concern What keeps you up at night? Recently I have been concerned with the next big area of liability for agents. With the significant increase in cyberattacks, it is just a matter of time before your insured gets exposed. When they do, will they be covered? If the answer is “No,” will they look to you and ask “Why not?” Failure to cover continues to be one of the largest areas of E&O claims in Tennessee and the Nation. Make sure you are protected. Why don’t businesses purchase cyber insurance? My guess is that it is becasue only the large attacks are being reported by the media. We have all heard about Target, Home Depot and Marriott – a loss that was estimated at $600 million in 2018. In 2019 Facebook reported that 540 million records were exposed, Capital One reported more than 100 million customer accounts and credit card applications were accessed and Quest Diagnostics reported more than 12 million patient records were exposed, to name a few. The bill for the recent cyber attack on the city of New Orleans is already over $7 million – and it has been reported that their policy is only covering $3 million of that cost. With all that talk of big business and big money, it makes sense that your insured, a small or medium sized business in Tennessee has nothing to worry about, right? Wrong.

A Risk on the Rise Malware and ransomware attacks are growing exponentially. While historically hacking was the concern – where one person targeted sensitive information – giving rise to notification obligations, today and moving into 2020, malware and ransomware attacks are aimed at disrupting business. Chubb regularly publishes reports on cyber claim scenarios handled and paid, and here are three such examples1: •

An assisted living facility had ransomware encrypt its files. Instead of paying the ransom they decided to rely on backups to restore the systems. The company incurred

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losses of more than $250,000 to get the affected systems back online. •

An insured was the victim of a denial of service attack causing a 22-hour outage to the company’s website. This event resulted in $750,000 in business interruption losses and an additional $40,000 was spent on forensic accounting services.

•

A hospital’s computer system was the subject of a ransomware attack. As a result of the attack, more than $700,000 was paid for forensics, data recovery, business interruption and crisis management costs.

Don't Let Clients Assume They're Safe What are the three big assumptions your insureds are making that you must work to overcome? 1) I’m not a High-Risk Candidate. The first assumption is believing that only businesses that store credit card or healthcare data that may be financially valuable to a cybercriminal are at risk. Ransomware is indiscriminate. It can attack any company, any system or any computer and shut a business down for days or weeks. 2) I’m Too Small to Be a Target. The second assumption is that cyber criminals only attack large companies. In fact, it is much harder to hack a large company than it is to attack a small or medium sized business. These businesses typically have lower security protocols and their employees are less vigilant. However, the ransoms being demanded from smaller companies may in fact be the ones fueling the cyber economy. A few hundred dollars per attack can add up to big business for cyber criminals. 3) My Business has More Pressing Demands. Finally, smaller businesses may be deciding where to spend their cash and deciding that there are other more pressing needs. However, a small business cannot afford to be out of business due to a cyber-attack. Even a brief busi-

“ Failure to cover continues to be one of the largest areas of E&O claims in Tennessee...”

Ashley Gold, J.D. 25

ness interruption can cause major brand and reputational damage. What should you as an agent do? First, make sure your business is properly covered. It’s important for agents and brokers to familiarize themselves with the procedures to help prevent losses. This includes: • • • • • •

Multi-factor authentication Proper password hygiene Being able to spot and report suspicious emails Checks and balances for wire transfers and invoicing Segregated, regular critical data backups Ongoing employee training

Second, make sure your insured understands the need for cyber coverage – and with the appropriate limits. It is as important as any other business coverage they currently purchase. If they decline coverage, make sure they do so in writing. Request an email, signed quote rejection or other documentation that you have explained cyber coverage and it is being declined. These simple actions will pay dividends should your insured be the victim of an attack and come looking to you for recovery. 1- per https://www.chubb.com/us-en/_assets/doc/30-01-0054-what-we-havepaid-lately--cyber-claims-scenarios-08.17.pdf u

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EDUCATION SCHEDULE

Education Calendar

NASHVILLE

2020

FE B . 5 - 7 - CIC: Com m e rcia l Ca s ua lty FE B . 1 1 - CISR: Pe rs ona l Res identia l M AY 6 - 7 - CIC: Ruble M AY 1 2 - C ISR: Com m e rcia l P roperty SE P. 1 6 - 1 8 - CIC: Age ncy M a na gem e nt NOV. 1 1 - 1 3 - CIC: Com pa ny Operations D EC. 1 - CISR: Pers ona l L ine s

KNOXVILLE APR I L . 1 - C ISR: Pers ona l Auto AUG . 5 - 7 - CIC: Com m ercia l Ca s ua lty SE P. 3 0 - CISR: Com m e rcia l Ca s ua lty II

C H AT TA N O O G A A PR I L 2 - CISR: Pers ona l Auto O C T. 1 - CISR: Com m ercia l Ca s ua lty II

MEMPHIS FE B . 1 2 - CISR: Pe rs ona l Res identia l M A RCH 4 - 6 - CIC: Com m e rcia l P roperty M AY 1 3 - C ISR: Com m e rcia l P roperty D EC. 2 - CISR: Pers ona l L ine s

JOHNSON CITY

M A RCH 3 1 - CISR: Pers ona l Auto SE P. 2 9 - CISR: Com m e rcia l Ca s ua lty II

AB EN: Webcasts fo c using o n different lines o f business ins uro rs. aben.tv

C OM ING SOON: Insurors & New L evel Partners a nnounce learning so lutio ns fo r New E m ployee Educatio n, inc luding bundles o n: I nsuranc e Basic s, Persona l L ines & C o mmerc ial L ines

CISR 2/11 2/12 3/31 4/1 4/2 5/12 5/13 9/29 9/30 10/1 12/1 12/2

The Insurors of Tennessee offers education opportunities to member agents across a wide range of insurance specialties that satisfy individuals at many different experience levels. If you are looking to further your career, seeking a professional designation, or need to satisfy continuing education requirements, check out the variety of courses available. Registration is fast and easy at www.insurors.org. More information about each class can also be found online.

Fee: $186

Personal Residential Property Personal Residential Property Personal Auto Exposures Personal Auto Exposures Personal Auto Exposures Commercial Property Commercial Property Commercial Casualty II Commercial Casualty II Commercial Casualty II Personal Lines Miscellaneous Personal Lines Miscellaneous

CIC

Fee: $430

2/5-7 Commercial Casualty Institute 3/4-6 Commercial Property Institute 5/6-7 Ruble Graduate Seminar 8/5-7 Commercial Casualty Institute 9/16-18 Agency Management Institute 11/11-13 Insurance Company Ops Institute

CE: 7

Nashville Memphis Johnson City Knoxville Chattanooga Nashville Memphis Johnson City Knoxville Chattanooga Nashville Memphis

CE: 16

Nashville Memphis Nashville Knoxville Nashville Nashville

The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Website: www.nasba.org. Advanced Curriculum Rating = 20 CPE Credits. For more information regarding administrative policies such as complaint and refund, please contact our offices at 800-633-2165.

ABEN Webcasts (insurors.aben.tv) 2/6 2/6 2/6 2/6 2/12

Premium Auditing: Agents Must Know CE: 2 $52 The Basics of COPE CE: 3 $79 The Law of Insurance Contracts CE: 3 $79 Torts, Negligence & Liability CE: 3 $79 Double Trouble - COI and Biz Auto CE: 2 $48

2/12 2/13 2/13 2/13 2/13 2/19 2/19 2/19 2/19

Are You More Ethical Than Politician? CE: 1 $24 NFIP Then and Now CE: 3 $72 E&O: Comm. Prop. Coverage Gaps CE: 3 $72 E&O: Roadmap to Policy Analysis I CE: 3 $72 Commercial Prop. Endorsements CE: 2 $48 E&O: Meet the Challenge of Change CE: 2 $48 Business Auto Claims Problems CE: 2 $48 Ethical Issues: Personal & Org. CE: 3 $72 Business Income and Extra Expense CE: 2 $48

Online Courses (www.iiaba.net/vu) Available from IIABA Virtual University. Member pricing shown.

Ethics for Insurance Professionals How to Calc. Business Income in 5 Min. National Flood Insurance Program New Employee Training Course

CE: 3 CE: 3 CE: 6 CE: 9

$75 $50 $80 $100

*check VU site for current information on CE and pricing

Available from The National Alliance

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Legal & Ethical Requirments of Insurance CE: 4 Insuring Flood Exposures - NFIP Review CE: 4 Available from The Institutes

$75 $75

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Insurance Principles and Policies CE: 7 Long Term Care CE: 24 Workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Compensation CE: 10 Employee Benefits for Small Companies CE: 4 Healthcare Reform and Affordable Care CE: 5 e-Coverage CE: 15 Fundamentals of Personal Auto Insurance CE: 3 Management Process for Ins. Professionals CE: 21 Intro to Flexible Spending Accounts CE: 4 Terrorism and Its Impact on Insurance CE: 4 Toxic Mold and Homeowners Insurance CE: 15 Understanding the Industry of Insurance CE: 5

$49 $99 $59 $39 $49 $79 $29 $89 $39 $39 $79 $39

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He will discuss the process of developing a prospect funnel for your insurance agency; specifically, the niche in which your agency serves. Turley will also drill down into the three specific areas within the marketing and business development funnel that are each necessary in developing a pipeline of solid leads.

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He will discuss how agents can guide their clients through the opportunities, challenges and special requirements of writing their business in a captive insurance program. From the information you need to determine suitability to what you need to form the legal entity. 10:20-11:20 am "Agency Online Content: Where do You Start?," led by Titan Web Marketing Solutions. Our partners at Titan Web will discuss how you can begin to develop a strategy for online content. Learn the mix of what, when, where and how of posting and how to determine your goals and ROI. After our breakout sessions, we will conclude the event with our luncheon and general session,"From Valuation to Perpetuation," with special guest Carey Wallace of IntellAgents and Insurors CEO Ashley Gold. Wallace and Gold will discuss valuation of agencies, how to approach perpetuation, and how analyzing agency data can make these conversations much easier. They'll also dive into how your agency can build reports to compare your numbers with agencies in your region, size or segment of business. Please view more information or register now at https://www. insurors.org/IOT/Events/2020_Agency_Growth_Conference. aspx u 30

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10:20-11:20 am "An Introduction to Writing Business in Captives," led by Michael Corbett of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. Corbett is the Department's director of business development and previously worked developing an institutional financial consulting practice at a major brokerage house that focused on captive insurance companies. For the past 8 years, he has worked to develop the captive market for the State.

She will discuss how the data behind your agency and those in its market space can give you insights that will improve sales, productivity, goal setting and agency operations.

9:10-10:10 am "Data Driven Agencies," led by Carey Wallace of IntellAgents. Wallace is the CEO for IntellAgents, which focuses on leveraging agency data to help agencies make informed business decisions, grow their agencies and compete in the changing insurance marketplace.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;sales teams' dirty work,â&#x20AC;? including prospect list generation, crafting value propositions, marketing consulting, executive outreach and event production & management.

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Layman's Terms

Advocacy Update: Looking Back at Legislative Accomplishments of the Last Decade Insurors Director of Government Relations, Jim Layman, J.D., breaks down the legal and legislative issues facing our industry. With the first legislative session of the 2020s upon us, I thought it’d be fun to take a quick look back at some of the major accomplishments on the advocacy front for the Insurors over the last decade. Here is a list of some of the major topics our association has worked on at the state level: Producer Bill of Rights This was a bill brought by the Insurors and our partners in the legislature in 2011 to provide more due process and protection for agents that are under investigation by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI). The bill required TDCI to provide notice to agents if they are under investigation and for TDCI to close pending investigations within two years. Insurors helped ensure the passage of this legislation. Duty to Read In 2012, following a couple of harmful court decisions, Insurors worked with industry and legislative partners in passing “Duty to Read” legislation. This legislation protects agents by requiring courts to presume that insureds have accepted their coverage if they have paid their premiums. Legal issues still exist with this statute and Insurors and its partners are currently working to ensure that the statute continues to protect agents. Certificates of Insurance In 2012, Insurors was successful in convincing the Department to issue a department bulletin on the impropriety of issuing certificates that attempt to amend, expand, or alter the terms of the underlying insurance policy. The Department declared

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that such conduct is a prohibited unfair trade practice. Certificates remain an issue though as third parties continue to request certificates that seek to alter the underlying policy. Insurors is pursuing legislation this year to define what a certificate of insurance is, and to make it a violation for an person to prepare, issue, or request a certificate that attempts to alter the policy or is otherwise misleading or deceptive. Workers’ Comp Opt-Out This was a proposal in 2014 that would have allowed employers in Tennessee to not provide workers’ compensation. Such a plan would have been devastating not only for our members but also for workers across the state. Insurors partnered with stakeholders in the business community to ensure that this legislation was defeated, but it is possible the idea could be proposed again. Health Insurance Fees Following the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act, many health policies did not allow for agent commissions. In 2017, Insurors helped pass legislation that allowed agents to charge fees for health insurance. Surplus Lines Convenience In 2019, after several months of raising concerns with TDCI, the Department changed its policy to only require proof of one declination in order to provide surplus lines coverage for most coverage categories. Insurors worked with the Department in requesting this change. Referral Fees In 2019, Insurors advocated for passage of legislation that ensures agents can adequately compensate employees and individuals that they employ or are in business with. This leg-

islation removed the $25 cap on referral fees for employees and individuals with whom the producer has a business association with.

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These are just a few of the key issues we worked on and we are looking forward to more legislative successes in the 2020s. If you want to know more about issues that are likely to be discussed in this year’s state legislative session, please take a look at my magazine article from the November/December 2019 issue of The Tennessee Insuror. In addition, be sure to sign up to receive regular session updates through our "Agent Advocate" emails. If you don't think you are already receiving them, just send me an email at jlayman@insurors.org, and we’ll make sure you are on the list. Some hot-button insurance issues for the 2020 session include State-Sponsored Retirement savings plans, Duty to Read legislation, minimum limits for auto, regulatory sandbox legislation, government risk pool legislation, and several workers’ compensation issues. All of the achievements in this article are a direct result of the commitment our members have shown through their contributions to InsurPACTN. Any future results will be an outcome of the same thing. If you haven’t already, please be sure to contribute. As you probably know, 2020 is an election year and, accordingly, one in which we can really work towards reelecting lawmakers that are strong partners of Insurors and our industry. Legislative Town Halls We have already begun planning the 2020 follow up events to our successful luncheons from last year. These Town Hall meetings will take place across the state and help share with our members the happenings at the State and Federal level that impact our industry. Please save the date(s) below for events in your area or that you would be interested in attending: May 19 – Nashville June 3 – Chattanooga June 4 – Knoxville September 10 - Memphis - Insurors of Memphis luncheon TBD - Jackson Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns about any of the work being done. About the Author Jim Layman, J.D. is the Director of Government Relations for Insurors. He previously worked for the Tennessee Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services as legislative liaison and rules coordinator. Prior to that, he worked for the Dept. of Health as a legislative liaison and the Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development as director of unemployment insurance appeals. Jim graduated from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee. He may be contacted at jlayman@insurors.org. u 32

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Association Update Several Members Among Business Insurance "Best Places to Work" "Best Places to Work in Insurance" is an annual feature by Business Insurance and Best Companies Group that lists the agents, brokers, insurers and other providers with the highest employee engagement and satisfaction. In the 2019 addition, Insurors members Reliance Partners, White & Associates Insurance, Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, Martin & Zerfoss, Inc., AssuredPartners and Insight Risk Management were all recognized in the "Small Employer Category" for companies with 25-249 employees.

Hardin, Ragan and Steele Named Principals at Martin & Zerfoss Nashville agency Martin & Zerfoss, Inc. has announced that Amanda Hardin, CPA; Taylor Ragan, CIC, CAWC and Paul Steele, CIC, CRM, CAWC, ACRA have been promoted to principals at the agency. Hardin was also named chief financial officer, and Ragan and Steele also added the title of senior vice president. Hardin has over 18 years of experience with the agency in roles including controller, operations and human resources. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Middle Tennessee State Univ. in 2001 and holds a license as a Certified Public Accountant. Ragan has been a risk advisor with the agency for 11 years and earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Steele has been a risk advisor with the agency for 15 years and previously served on the Insurors Board as Young Agents Director. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University.

Brock Added as Partner at Brock Insurance Brock Insurance in Chattanooga has announced that John Brock, CAWC has been added as a partner at the agency. He has been a producer at the agency for the last 5+ years and previously worked in the industry as a commercial lines underwriter with Union Standard Insurance Group. He The Tennessee Insuror

earned his Bachelor's degree in Risk Management from the University of Mississippi.

Hatchett Ins. Best Practices Award Winner Winchester-based Hatchett Insurance Agency was recently named as the "Top Performing Best Practices Agency" in the country in the category of agencies under $1.25 million in revenue. Principal Nelson Hatchett accepted the recognition at the Best Practices Symposium on January 16 during the Big "I" Winter Meetings in New Orleans. The Best Practices study recognizes agencies across the country for their operational excellence, financial results and overall management achievements, and is presented in conjunction with Reagan Consulting.

Kelman Now Partner at Page, Chaffin & Riggins Memphis-based Page, Chaffin & Riggins Insurance Agency has announced that Clark Kelman is has been named as a partner at the agency. Kelman has been a has been a producer at the agency since 2015. He graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Degree in Risk Management and Insurance.

McDonald Earns CAPI Designation from Chubb Baili McDonald, a personal lines leader with Brown & Brown of Tennessee, recently completed the program to earn the designation of Certified Advisor of Personal Insurance (CAPI). The program is presented by the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Chubb, and only 39 agents from around the world were selected to participate in this year's program.

Lipscomb & Pitts Earns Multiple Awards Memphis-based agency Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, LLC has announced several recent achievements and awards, including being listed as a "Top Workplace" by the Memphis Commercial Appeal, being listed as one of the "Best Places to Work" by Memphis Business Journal, gaining recognition as a continued on page 41... 35

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Company Spotlight Openly

PREMIUM HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE

Openly is a tech-forward premium homeowners insurance provider that is now available in Tennessee and rapidly expanding to more states. The company was founded by insurance executive Ty Harris and serial entrepreneur Matt Wielbut and recently launched in late 2019 with fantastic reception from both homeowners and insurance agents alike. Openly was created to empower rather than replace agents and simplify the home insurance buying process. Openly’s exclusive homeowners insurance product was developed for customers who value broad, innovative and affordable coverage. The company’s focus is on the mid to high end real estate market, primarily homes between $250,000 and $3,000,000 in value.

Modern Technology Openly’s technology is fast, simple and built to make things easier for agents and their customers. With only three questions, agents can easily generate a bindable rate on a multi-million dollar home for their customers. Openly’s program uses sophisticated pricing techniques to capture multiple data points from various vendors and within 20 seconds time: • • • •

Generates a quote Runs loss history reports Obtains an insurance score, and Gathers details about the property

Top Notch Coverage Openly offers beautiful coverage, written on an enhanced H5 contract, with higher sub-limits than their competitors, so that agents can provide the best possible product to their customers. Agents select customized and intelligent defaults for deductible and endorsement options. This allows more time for an agent to consult on The Tennessee Insuror

coverages and tailor each policy to the customer needs. Openly’s rates are extremely competitive for those customers who qualify. In addition to exclusive and competitive rates, Openly provides guaranteed replacement cost up to $5,000,000 on every home. This ensures that customers are adequately covered while simplifying the replacement cost estimate process. They also offer endorsements that consumers most frequently request, such as: • • • • • •

Home-sharing Full water-back up Personal cyber Equipment breakdown Homes under construction, and many more.

In the near future, Openly will offer personal umbrella and private flood as an endorsement.

Agency Support The commissions that Openly extends to agents are extremely competitive, with added incentive based upon their predictive lifetime value on every customer. They also offer an annual profit share incentive that is based on agency book size, growth of book, and profitability.

Tennessee Contact Steve Chauby Chief Marketing and Distribution Officer at Openly Inc. steve@openly.inc About Openly Based in Boston, Openly is a techenabled home insurance provider designed to empower rather than replace agents. Their cutting edge technology and products empower agents to deliver a 21st century customer experience, radically increase agency efficiency, and help more customers. The company was founded in 2017 by Ty Harris and Matt Wielbut and is backed by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AIfocused venture fund, Greenlight Re, PJC, and Techstars Ventures, in addition to other investors and partners. For more information, please visit them at https://openly.inc/

Openly has strong financial backing with admitted, A.M. Best-rated "A-" paper and some of the largest reinsurers in the world. The company is excited to partner with agencies that embrace technology and value simple, yet comprehensive, insurance coverage. Interested in learning more or signing up for an Openly appointment? Visit their website at www.openly.inc, contact them at marketing@openly.inc, or check out an online video overview with more detailed information at https://bit. ly/2tW9K7l u 37

TOGETHER WORKING â&#x20AC;&#x153;Exclusive member agencies, collaborating to bring the best insurance solutions to their clients.â&#x20AC;? The Allison Insurance Group - Jackson Bagley & Bagley Insurance - Fayetteville Boyle Insurance Agency, Inc. - Memphis Burke, Powers & Harty - Bristol Carnal-Roberts Agency, Inc. - Lexington Cate-Russell Insurance, Inc. - Maryville Frank E. Neal & Company, Inc. - Nashville Goss Insurance - Hixson Inter-Agency Insurance Services - Knoxville 38

Martin & Zerfoss, Inc. - Nashville McInturff, Milligan & Brooks - Greeneville Miller | Loughry | Beach Insurance Services - Murfreesboro Ownby Insurance Service, Inc. - Sevierville Powell & Meadows Insurance Agency - Carthage Smith-Berclair Insurance, Inc. - Memphis S.N. Anthony, Inc. - Ripley Tigrett & Pennington Inc. - Dyersburg V.R. Williams & Company - Winchester Watauga Insurance, Inc. - Johnson City

Get more information now at www.securerisk.com

The Tennessee Insuror

Program Spotlight WINS: Women in Insurance EMPOWERING TO LEAD & SUCCEED In 2018, Insurors CEO Ashley Gold worked on an idea with Janet Smith of Bailey Special Risks and Christy Jones of Martin & Zerfoss to begin developing events targeted to women in the insurance industry. The idea was born out of discussion on the lack of diverse topics at industry events that focus directly on female career development. Later that year, our inaugural event was held, and the Women in Insurance (WINS) program was launched. Since that time, we've held 8 events across the state, and the turnout and feedback have been outstanding. "This program has done even better than we expected, and is becoming a real benefit to our female members." says Gold, "We have had such great feedback about how valuable the content is as well as how important it is to make connections with other females in this industry."

Attend an Upcoming WINS Event But don't just take our word for it, we want you to participate

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in one of upcoming events and see for yourself. Dates for this year's schedule include: February 11 - Nashville presented by RT Specialty March 3 - Memphis presented by Bailey Special Risks April 1 - Knoxville presented by RT Specialty May 7 - Nashville presented by RT Specialty We'll also be scheduling events in Chattanooga and other markets later this year. Some of the topics for this year's events will include; "Organization in Business and Life," "Networking in a Wo(man)'s World," "Imposter Syndrome," "Dress for Success," and a panel discussion featuring female leaders in our industry. If you have other topics, events or speakers you think would be of interest to this group, please send them to agold@insurors.org. For more information, please visit https://www.insurors.org/ IOT/Events/Women_in_Insurance.aspx u

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Association Update (cont. from pg. 35) "Top 100 Agency" by Insurance Journal, and several other industry accomplishments. The agency has also achieved several of these awards and accomplishments for multiple years in a row.

Insight RM Named to "Best Workplaces" List Memphis-based Insight Risk Management was recently named as a 2019 "Top Place to Work" by the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The agency was featured in the "Small" category, which included company staff sizes of 35-99 employees.

Bailey Insurance Receives Recognitions

Rep. Keisling Named "Legislator of the Year" State Legislator and Insurors member Rep. Kelly Keisling of Keisling Insurance in Byrdstown was recently named as the 2019 Tennessee Renewable Energy & Economic Development Council’s Legislator of the Year. Keisling is recognized for his leadership in the Tennessee General Assembly on energy initiatives that provide for economic development.

Cate-Russell, Knoxville Insurance Group and TIS Named Among "Best of the Best"

Bailey Insurance Ser vice of Knoxville was recently recognized by Erie Insurance for their milestone achievement of "Platinum Level Life Recognition." The recognition showcases the agency's ability to convey the importance of life insurance to their clients. In addition, agency principal Mike Bailey was named among the "Best of the Best" insurance agents for 2019 by the Knoxville CityView publication.

The Knoxville CityView publication recently named CateRussell Insurance, TIS Insurance Services and Knoxville Insurance Group (KIG) among its "Best of the Best" businesses for 2019. TIS and KIG finished first and second, respectively, in the category of "Insurance-Commercial," while Cate-Russell finished second in the category of "Insurance-Life." The winners were voted on by a tally of 380,000 votes from the Knoxville community.

Vaughan Named Among "Agents of the Year"

Chattanooga-based Reliance Partners has announced the addition of Brenda Wiser as the agency's Chief Marketing Officer. Wiser is an accomplished insurance professional maintaining both her TRS (Transportation Risk Specialist) and CIC (Certified Insurance Counselor) designations. She also serves on the board of the Motor Carrier Insurance Education Foundation (MCIEF) and speaks regularly around the country educating industry associates on motor carrier insurance coverage and programs.

Trae Vaughan, a producer with Brock Insurance in Chattanooga, has been named to the Insurance Journal list of "2019 Agents of the Year." Vaughan specializes in construction and real estate insurance as well as bonding and captives. He worked at his father's Mississippi independent agency in high school and pursued a risk management degree in college at Mississippi State. He then worked as an underwriter for Travelers for five years before joining the agency.

Denbo Listed Among IBA's "Hot 100" Insurance Business America (IBA) magazine has listed Will Denbo of Commercial Insurance Associates (CIA) as one of their "Hot 100" for 2019. Over the past year, Denbo – a principal and producer at the agency – grew his personal business 30% and was also instrumental in CIA’s 30% organic growth during the same period. He was named to IBA’s Top Producer list in both 2018 and 2019. The Tennessee Insuror

Wiser Named CMO at Reliance Partners

Insurors of Memphis Installs 2020 Board The Insurors of Memphis local board installed their 2020 Board and Officers at their recent holiday luncheon. Officers for the new year include; Sky Hamilton of Willis, Towers, Watson president; Kathleen Glass Burk of Kemmons Wilson - vice president; Nick Moorehead of Boyle - treasurer; Hollie Fischer of The Hartford - secretary; Lauren Fisher of Clay & Land - chairlady of the board; as well as regular board members Tom Moots of Clay & Land; Alex Mathis of Mathis, Tibbets, and Massey; Jeff Harris of Gallagher; Eric Collison of Kemmons Wilson; and Darrell Brown of Insight Risk Management. u 41

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Company Briefs Multiple Associate Members Listed in "Best Places to Work in Insurance" In the recent feature, "2019 Best Places to Work in Insurance" by Business Insurance magazine and the Best Companies Group, multiple Insurors Associate Members were highlighted, including West Bend Mutual (#2 Large Employer), AF Group (#3 Large Employer), Philadelphia Insurance Cos. (#4 Large Employer), FCCI Insurance Group (#3 Medium Employer), Amerisure (#10 Medium Employer) and Amerisafe (#16 Medium Employer). The feature lists the agents, brokers, insurers and other providers with the highest employee engagement and satisfaction.

Acuity Achieves Record Growth in 2019 Fueled in part by a record-setting $277.5 million in new business in 2019, Acuity reached an all-time high in written premium in 2019 of $1.66 billion, an increase of more than $115 million over 2018. “We’ve now achieved 10 straight years of positive revenue growth. And, for the past 20 years, Acuity has consistently grown more than twice as fast as the insurance industry,” said Acuity President and CEO Ben Salzmann. “Our growth shows that Acuity is trusted wholeheartedly 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.” In just the past eight years, Acuity has doubled its top-line revenue. With Acuity’s unprecedented expansion came increased job opportunity. The insurer has hired over 900 employees over the past five years and nearly 200 in 2019 alone.

Titan Web Launches Mountain Life Program Titan Web Marketing Solutions and Mountain Life Insurance Company have announced a new co-op marketing partnership to be made available to independent insurance agencies operating in Tennessee. By participating in this co-op, agencies who write with Mountain Life Insurance and work with Titan Web Marketing Solutions will be eligible to have a portion or all of their marketing dollars reimbursed to their agency every month. This is an excellent opportunity for agents to access useful marketing tools simply by doing what they’re already doing - selling Mountain Life Insurance policies. For more info, please call Brad McMillan with Titan Web at 615.890.3600 or Michael Noyes with Mountain Life at 859.202.0185. The Tennessee Insuror

The Hanover Announces Leadership Changes The Hanover Insurance Group recently announced that Matthew S. Mitchell and Scott Grieco have been given new positions in the company's commercial lines division.

strategy officer.

Mitchell was appointed president of The Hanover's middle market business, helping to leverage the company's unique industry expertise and insurance solutions across a variety of businesses. He will report to Michael R. Keane, president of commercial lines at The Hanover. Mitchell previously served as the company's chief

He has been with The Hanover for more than 13 years and previously was president of the company's healthcare business. Prior to joining The Hanover, Mitchell worked in product and underwriting roles at The Hartford, where he managed industry verticals for middle market business, and also worked in the small commercial business strategy unit, focusing on countrywide underwriting, technology, and operational initiatives. Grieco was appointed to the role of chief product and underwriting officer for the company's commercial and specialty businesses, leading enterprise coordination, product, and underwriting efforts. He will report to Richard W. Lavey, president of Hanover Agency Markets. Until his recent appointment, Grieco served as president of middle market at The Hanover, a role he held since 2012. Under Grieco's leadership, the middle market business grew nearly 32%, focusing on industry specialization and portfolio management. He also previously held leadership roles at Selective Insurance and CNA.

Nationwide Opens "The CoOperative" As innovation becomes more of a focus for businesses all across the country, the need for creative spaces to foster the collaboration needed to identify customer needs and develop solutions to address them is growing. For that reason, Nationwide has opened a new innovation center, The CoOperative, at the site of the former Arena Grand theater in Columbus, Ohio’s Arena District. The CoOperative’s unique architectural features pay homage to Nationwide’s farming community roots while also setting up Nationwide for its next 100 years. 43

While The CoOperative will initially be used by Nationwide associates, the goal is for the space to engage the community as well as host events that attract innovators from all over the country and the world to Columbus.

Builders Mutual Leadership Changes Builders Mutual has experienced several years of strong insurance operations and company growth as the construction industry continues to thrive. In the past decade, the Company has more than doubled its premium and policy count. To further strengthen and grow the senior leadership team, Builders Mutual is proud to announce several recent promotions. Mike Gerber has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer to recognize his broad responsibility and strategic leadership over the functions of underwriting, risk management, business development, sales, marketing, human resources and organizational effectiveness. Gerber joined Builders Mutual in 1998 and over the past seventeen years has served as the Company’s Chief Marketing Officer where he has been an important part of nearly every strategic decision that the leadership team and Company have made. Ross Fowler was promoted to Vice President of Underwriting. He joined Builders Mutual in 2012 as AVP of Underwriting and has more than 35 years of underwriting, sales and marketing experience.

eight states including Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Tennessee. Moore was hired as a Production Underwriter at Stonetrust Commercial Insurance Company and will work with agents in its Mississippi and Tennessee region. John earned his degree in Insurance and Risk Management from the University of Mississippi and was formerly a Production Underwriter with AmFed. John is currently working on his CPCU certification.

Chubb Purchasing More Shares in Huatai Chubb has announced that it has agreed to purchase an additional 15.3% of Huatai Insurance Group Company Limited. Upon completion of the share purchases, Chubb is expected to own 46.2% of Huatai Insurance Group. Recently, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) approved other unrelated share purchases previously agreed to that upon closing bring Chubb's stake to 30.9%. Huatai Insurance Group is the holding company of Huatai P&C Insurance Company, Huatai Life Insurance Company and Huatai Asset Management Company, among other subsidiaries. Huatai Group's insurance operations have more than 600 branches and 11 million customers.

TDCI Appoints Corbett and Stalvey to Captive Roles

Brad Moock was promoted to Vice President of Business Development. He joined Builders Mutual in 2006 and played a pivotal role in guiding the Company’s premium recovery from a low of $94 million in 2009 to more than $365 million in 2019.

Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) Commissioner Hodgen Mainda has named two longtime Tennessee captive insurance experts to new roles in the department.

Chris Wetzel was promoted to AVP of Actuarial Services. Wetzel joined Builders Mutual in 2016, and has been serving as Director of Actuarial Services. He continues to demonstrate an exceptional understanding of our business and has built a strong team to lead Builders Mutual to further success.

Michael Corbett has been named to the newly created director of Business Development position for TDCI’s Insurance Division. An expert in the captive insurance market, Corbett has been the director of TDCI’s Captive Insurance Section since 2011.

New Hires at Stonetrust Insurance Stonetrust Insurance has announced the additions of Brandon Lege, CSP, CHST and John Moore. Lege was hired as Director of Loss Prevention at Stonetrust Commercial Insurance Company. Brandon was formerly the Safety and Training Manager for Texas Petroleum Investment Company in Lafayette and has more than 20 years of safety and loss prevention experience. He will have responsibility for providing risk management and safety services to all Stonetrust policyholders in 44

Jennifer Stalvey has been named director of TDCI’s Captive Insurance Section. A native of Nashville, Stalvey has been with TDCI since 2014 and was promoted to assistant director of the Captive Insurance Section in 2015.

MetLife Entering Pet Insurance Market MetLife has announced the purchase of PetFirst, an insurance administrator for more than 40,000 pets nationwide. The Jeffersonville, Indiana-based company was founded in 2014 and will retain its 60 employees and location. MetLife customers will have access to PetFirst product beginning in the summer of 2020. The segment has continued to grow, with pet owner surveys showing that 45% will spend the same or more on an animal’s healthcare than on their own. u The Tennessee Insuror

INSURING OPPORTUNITY THROUGH MUTUAL SUCCESS. ® Harford Mutual Insurance partners with independent agents in Tennessee. We insure restaurants, contractors, mercantile, and other commercial entities. We’re committed to protecting your client’s business and building yours.

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Driving Without a "Seatbelt" Protect Your Customers and Your Agency by Offering UM/UIM written by James Redeker, Swiss Re

As many as 13% of all U.S. drivers are uninsured, according to the Insurance Research Council. That percentage varies state by state, with the highest percentage of uninsured drivers found in Florida where 26% of driver are uninsured (the most recent numbers for Tennessee suggest 20% of drivers are uninsured1).

state-mandated limits are not nearly enough to cover a serious auto accident (Tennessee requires 25/50/15).

Often, it is the worst drivers who are uninsured because their driving record pushes their premiums to levels they cannot afford. Uninsured drivers put the livelihood and financial stability of law-abiding citizens at risk. The solution is uninsured motorist coverage.

Roughly, 40% of states allow drivers to stack uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages (Tennessee does not allow stacked limits). In those states, a policyholder can multiply their UM/UIM coverage by the number of autos they insure, which is an important feature of the auto policy in states that allow stacking. However, except in Rhode Island, insurance carriers are allowed to prohibit stacking policies and agents need to make sure they are offering a stackable policy if the state allows.

What Do Most States Require?

What About Property Damage?

All states but New Hampshire have a minimum required amount of coverage a driver must carry to legally operate an automobile. However, these minimum limits have not kept pace with the rising cost of inflation.

Another twist is uninsured motorist property Damage (UMPD), which is available in 15 states. An additional eight states require it. Traditional UM/UIM coverage includes medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost income damages to a driver and their family members in their auto or another auto, as well as passengers in the covered auto. UM/UIM coverage does not cover damage to your auto. UMPD coverage will pay for uninsured or underinsured property damage resulting from an accident.

Florida, for instance, only requires $10,000 of coverage for property damage and $10,000 of coverage for personal injury. Meanwhile, California requires $15,000 in coverage for personal injury and only $5,000 for property damage. These

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While many see UMPD as a duplication of collision coverage, it is much cheaper than collision coverage and usually carries a lower deductible. UMPD is an excellent alternative for older or lower value autos, especially if the customer wants to drop their collision coverage.

Avoiding the E&O Exposures Agents should always offer limits that match the liability limits of the customer. In fact, some states require a customer to sign a rejection form if they choose less coverage than the liability limits they carry. Moreover, don't forget the umbrella coverage. Make sure to offer matching UM/UIM limits on any umbrella policies you place. UM/UIM limits will never be an E&O issue until you have a customer who is badly injured in an auto accident. That is why it's best to make sure you document that you offered the coverage and note any higher limits that are rejected by the customer to protect your agency from an E&O claim. Per Big "I" Professional Liability, and as seen in the chart below, almost 15% of the total E&O claim count comes from Personal Auto coverage claims.

YOU’RE INDEPENDENT. BUT YOU’RE NOT ALONE.

1-per "Facts + Statistics: Uninsured motorists" by the Insurance Information Institute at https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-uninsured-motorists

About the Author James Redeker is vice president and claims manager at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions and works out of the office in Kansas City, Missouri. He may be contacted at James_Redeker@swissre.com. This article is intended to be used for general informational purposes only and is not to be relied upon or used for any particular purpose. Swiss Re shall not be held responsible in any way for, and specifically disclaims any liability arising out of or in any way connected to, reliance on or use of any of the information contained or referenced in this article. The information contained or referenced in this article is not intended to constitute and should not be considered legal, accounting or professional advice, nor shall it serve as a substitute for the recipient obtaining such advice. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the Swiss Re Group ("Swiss Re") and/or its subsidiaries and/or management and/or shareholders. Copyright © 2018, Big "I" Advantage, Inc. and Westport Insurance Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be used or reproduced in any manner without the prior written permission from Big "I" Advantage. For permission or further information, contact Agency E&O Risk Manager, 127 South Peyton Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 or email at eo@iiaba.net. u

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Recruit. Assess. Train. Retain.

CREATE YOUR DREAM TEAM! Does the thought of hiring a new employee leave you overwhelmed? Are you seeing turnover, or posting a job, but just aren’t finding the “right” person? You’re not alone. According to the Agency Universe Study 44% of independent insurance agency owners say finding qualified new recruits is their top challenge. Find the right recruits with Big "I" Hires, a one-stop resource for independent insurance agencies to identify, hire and assess top-performing Producers and CSRs.

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Meetings Calendar Shaping Up for a Busy 2020 Agency Growth Conference '20 Set for 3/25-26 The 7th Annual Insurors Agency Growth Conference will be held March 25-26 at the Marriott Cool Springs in Franklin. The event will feature sessions, speakers and a trade show geared towards helping agents improve their sales, workflow, technology and E&O claims prevention. More info is available now on page 12 of this issue and online at insurors.org.

Agents Council for Technology (ACT) April 22 The Big "I" ACT meeting for Spring 2020 will be held April 22 at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida. The ACT Meeting covers a wide range of technology-focused topics for agents, insurers, and vendors, including how to become a datadriven agency, cyber misconceptions and real insights on prevention, AI's impact on insurance, optimizing agency tech use, digital marketing, and much more! Please visit https:// bit.ly/2RYlJJA for more info.

Big "I" Legislative Conference 5/13-15 in D.C. The annual Big "I" Legislative Conference will be held May 13-15 at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C. As the industry's premier lobbying event, this conference will feature guest speakers and updates on all the issues affecting our industry on the Federal level. As part of the event, more than a thousand agents will visit Capitol Hill offices to lobby members of the House, Senate and their staffs on issues that directly impact independent agents and consumers.

Could your agency weather a data security breach? A full 80 percent of businesses that experience one donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t.1 The right insurance can keep your agency from becoming part of this startling statistic. Data breaches are common among smaller businesses, and responding to a breach is both costly and complex. You are obligated to protect the data you collect, and package policies are often not enough. Make sure your agency has the right coverage in place to protect you and your insureds. Contact your Insurors E&O Specialist, Stephen Holmes, CIC, CISR, for information on Data Breach coverage.

Please visit https://www.independentagent.com/Events for more information.

Agency Nation Elevate 2020 in Nashville Agency Nation, the agent marketing and branding program of TrustedChoice.com, will hold their annual "unconference" at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville on May 31 June 2. What is it? Elevate 2020 is 800 agents, agency owners, carriers and the most indie-friendly insurtechs, all coming together to fuel the future of insurance. Featuring top keynote speakers and revolutionary breakout sessions, this will be a "can't miss" event for future-facing agents. Please visit www.elevateconference.com for more information. u The Tennessee Insuror

1. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: Chronology of Data Breaches

Stephen Holmes, CIC, CISR sholmes@insurors.org 615.515.2609

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Your customers deserve the best PROTECTION. RLI Personal Umbrella Policies are DIFFERENT.

Member Tips Don't Fall in E&O Text Trap by Barbara Rocco, AVP of Claims, Swiss Re Our society is rapidly moving towards a world where the primary forms of communication include texting and social media. Forget about emailing or calling someone on the phone. Our younger employees want immediate responses, which is what they have come to expect from technology. Unfortunately, with these forms of communication, agencies can open themselves up to significant potential exposures. Take the case of a 21-year-old producer who had just obtained his license and was starting out in the world of insurance. A longtime friend reached out to him to procure coverage for a newly purchased Dodge Charger. The friend had contacted the producer via text as that is how they always communicated. These texts, which were limited to 160 characters, included pertinent info about the car's make and model, VIN, coverages and available limits. The producer didn't think there was anything unusual about getting information in this manner as that was how the pair always shared information. Once the producer received the initial quote, the key information was transmitted via text. Within that text, the producer indicated that he would be able to obtain better coverage but never explained what the better coverage included. In another text, the producer advised that there was an option for lesser coverage at a lower premium. Again, coverage differences were never explained to the client. Most significantly, the client rejected UM/UIM coverage via text and never actually signed the mandated rejection form because the producer never sent him an email or met him in person. You won't be surprised to hear that the client was involved in an accident where the at-fault driver had the state-required minimum liability limits and the medical bills alone far exceeded those limits. A New-York minute later, a lawsuit was filed that named the producer and the agency as defendants.

They stand alone. RLI, A+ rated by A.M. Best, has over 30 years of experience providing affordable personal umbrella coverage - so your customers can protect their hard earned assets.

The plaintiff and former client will be able to submit all the text messages as evidence, which means they become public documents. In addition to the fact that the producer's method of gathering information was inadequate, much of the language within the texts was very unprofessional, which will undoubtedly cast a poor light on the producer before a jury.

CONTACT Stephen Holmes sholmes@insurors.org 615.515.2609

An insurance producer must communicate fully with a client to accurately determine needs and clarify what they are requesting from the agency. Texting does not always lend itself to this. Moreover, by foregoing communication in-person, email and by phone call, an agency opens itself up to E&O claims. u

Directory of Advertisers Advertiser

Phone

Website

Page

ACUITY (920) 458 - 9131 www.acuity.com 8 AmTrust North America (877) 528 - 7878 www.amtrustfinancial.com/tnq1 6 Arlington/Roe (800) 878 - 9891 www.arlingtonroe.com 2 Bailey Special Risks, Inc. (800) 768 - 7475 www.bsrins.com 15 Berkley Southeast Insurance Group (615) 932 - 5508 www.berkleysig.com 16 Berkshire Hathaway Guard Insurance Cos. (800) 673 - 2465 x4567 www.guard.com/apply 34 Builders Mutual (800) 809 - 4859 www.buildersmutual.com 33 Delta Dental of Tennessee (888) 281 - 9396 deltadentaltn.com 42 DocuSign (877) 720 - 2040 www.docusign.com/iiaba 49 Genesee General (800) 282 - 8755 www.geneseeins.com 32 Harford Mutual (800) 638 - 3669 www.harfordmutual.com 45 Imperial PFS (859) 630 - 7369 www.ipfs.com 47 IntellAgents (614) 552 - 3063 intellagents.io 47 INSBANK (866) 866 - 4268 www.insbanktn.com 11 J.M. Wilson (800) 595 - 0063 www.jmwilson.com 17 Keystone Insurers Group (800) 416 - 5498 www.keystoneinsgrp.com 40 KNK Compliance Services (615) 375 - 7419 www.knkcompliance.com 17 Markel Specialty (800) 431 - 1270 www.markelcorp.com 22 MidSouth Mutual Insurance Company (844) 438 - 6642 www.midsouthmutual.com 26 The National Alliance (800) 633 - 2165 www.scic.com 55 National Security Group (800) 239 - 2358 x213 www.nationalsecuritygroup.com 22 Nationwide Insurance (423) 927 -2060 www.nationwide.com 20 Partner Platform - SIS (800) 747 - 9273 www.sispartnerplatform.com 15 Penn National Insurance (800) 395 - 0518 www.pennnationalinsurance.com 56 Preferred Property Programs (888) 549 - 2465 www.umbrellaprogram.com 33 RLI PUP (615) 515 - 2609 www.insurors.org 53 Securerisk (770) 723 - 8096 www.securerisk.com 38 Strickland General Agency (800) 825 - 5742 www.sgainga.com 30 Summit Holdings (800) 971 - 2667 www.summitholdings.com 13 Swiss Re Lawyer's Professional Liability (630) 213 - 9952 www.bigimarkets.com 36 Titan Web Marketing Solutions (615) 890 - 3600 www.titanwms.com 24,34 West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. (800) 236 - 5010 www.thesilverlining.com 7 Work at Home Vintage Experts (646) 807 - 4372 www.wahve.com 52

VISIT INSURORS.ORG FOR REGISTRATION AND MORE INFORMATION

T H E N A T I O NA L A L L I A N C E I N F O M A P

Map your career track and customize your learning experience by selecting the designations and course offerings that fit your needs.

Rubles CIC

CISR Introductory Series

T H E NA T I O NA L A LLI A NC E I NF O MA P

Map your career track and customize your learning experience by selecting the designations and course offerings that fit your needs.

Rubles CIC

CISR Introductory Series

CRM

Dynamic Series

WTH Seminars

CSRM CPRM

The Introductory Series is a good choice for those interested in finding out more about the industry and industry fundamentals. The Dynamics Series, offers career-changing sales training. Providing a variety of pertinent topics, the William T. Hold Seminars are invaluable for expanding your insurance knowledge. The Dynamics Series can be used to meet update requirements across the designations. WTH Seminars satisfy update requirements for CISRs and CSRMs.

The Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) designation provides quality insurance education geared toward customer service representatives, account executives, servicing agents, new producers, and other professionals. The Certified School Risk Manager (CSRM) designation fills a need for quality risk management education for those associated with schools.

The Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) provides an in-depth, practical approach to education for agents and other insurance practitioners. The Certified Risk Manager (CRM) designation is recognized as being the foremost education available in the field of risk management. The Certified Personal Risk Manager (CPRM) designation yields the best training for meeting the needs of an affluent clientele.

The James K. Ruble Seminars are advanced programs that offer a variety of specialty topics. CICs, CRMs, and CPRMs can meet their annual updates with a Ruble seminar.

Dynamic Series

CRM

WTH Seminars

1 CSRM

2 The Introductory Series is a good choice for those interested in finding out more about the industry and industry fundamentals. The Dynamics Series, offers career-changing sales training. Providing a variety of pertinent topics, the William T. Hold Seminars are invaluable for expanding your insurance knowledge. The Dynamics Series can be used to meet update requirements across the designations. WTH Seminars satisfy update requirements for CISRs and CSRMs.

CPRM

3 The Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) provides an in-depth, practical approach to education for agents and other insurance practitioners. The Certified Risk Manager (CRM) designation is recognized as being the foremost education available in the field of risk management. The Certified Personal Risk Manager (CPRM) designation yields the best training for meeting the needs of an affluent clientele.

The James K. Ruble Seminars are advanced programs that offer a variety of specialty topics. CICs, CRMs, and CPRMs can meet their annual updates with a Ruble seminar.

VISIT SCIC.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION OR INSURORS.ORG TO REGISTER FOR CLASSES NOW

Helping people feel secure.

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The Tennessee Insuror Jan/Feb 2020

Articles inside

Member Tips

Meetings

Driving Without a "Seatbelt

Program Spotlight

Layman's Terms

Company Spotlight

From Your CEO

Education Calendar

From Your IIABA National Director

Agency Growth Conference 2020

From Your President

Agency Liquidity Ratios