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News & Notes
IA&B HOSTS FOURTH ANNUAL INTERN DAY
Thirty interns from IA&B member agencies and company partners attended IA&B Intern Day, held on July 31 – National Intern Day – at the IA&B office in Mechanicsburg, PA.
These exceptional young professionals spent the afternoon participating in small group discussions, listening to a young agent panel, and hearing from industry speakers.
A special thank you goes to our young agent panelists: Ava Burchell, of McConkey Insurance & Benefits; Molly Miller, of Hinkle Insurance Agency; and Seth Tarboro, of EHD.
We also thank our speakers: Daniel Metcalf, of Cyberfin, who shared how AI is being used in the industry; Kristen Fike, of Central Penn College, who spoke on professionalism in the workplace; and Julie Webb, of JMW Collective, who presented on networking and making connections.
INTERN GUIDE FOR INSURANCE AGENTS
Check out IA&B’s recently released guidebook – The Independent Agent’s Guide to Creating a Successful Internship Program – to help take the guesswork out of the process. It contains an assortment of best practices, intern activities, and more.
Access the guide: IABforME.com/HR-resources
Questions? Contact Heather Ulrich IA&B Career Services Director at HeatherU@IABforME.com or 717-918-9441.
MIA REPORT ON TELEMATICS USE
The Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) this summer released a report on auto insurers’ growing use of telematics. The report relies on the results of a survey to 18 insurers, which represented approximately 90% of Maryland’s auto insurance market in 2023.
The MIA undertook the survey in response to consumer concerns about the accuracy of telematics data and its use for possible premium increases, as well as how data is stored and whether it is shared with others.
The MIA identified these key findings:
▲ The number of policies enrolled in a telematics program increased by about 45% from 2021 to 2023.
▲ About 55% of the policies enrolled in some type of telematics program saw a change in premiums. At renewal in 2023, about:
31.2% of policies experienced a premium rate decrease;
23.6% of policies experienced a premium rate increase; and
45% of policies experienced no change in premium.
▲ Privacy notices vary from insurer to insurer, and there are currently no requirements regarding how the notice must be written.
▲ In general, telematics programs require the active involvement of policyholders to ensure that data is being collected accurately.
The MIA intends to use the survey data to inform regulatory policy regarding telematics and to advise on potential future legislation.
IA&B MEMBERS PROMPT ACORD 90DE MODIFICATION
The Delaware Department of Insurance this summer approved the revised ACORD 90-DE, which carries a 07/2025 edition date. The modified form incorporates a new question 18 about transportation network and vehicle-sharing companies.
This change is the result of IA&B’s advocacy. During a legislative event organized earlier this year by IA&B’s Government Relations Committee, members raised the issue that ACORD 90-DE did not expressly ask applicants whether their car will be used for ride-sharing services. (Instead, it was covered by the general fraud statement at the end of the form.) This was inconsistent with some company proprietary forms.
Importantly, this discussion occurred in the context of a proposed bill that would add a new crime of application insurance fraud. Failure to ask the question could end up placing agents in a “he said/she said” situation with no clear proof that the question was asked of the applicant. IA&B then approached ACORD, explaining that an update would strengthen the form’s posture on fraud and limit agents’ exposure when policyholders leave out information.
The IA&B Government Relations Committee provided feedback on the new ACORD form question, which now reads:
Will any vehicle for which insurance is requested be used for a rideshare, a vehicle share and/or Transportation Network Company, such as Uber, Lyft or Turo?
REMINDER ON USING THE LATEST FORMS
Applying updates to your agency management system helps to ensure that you are using the most up-to-date forms, which can be introduced periodically throughout the year.
What’s more, updating your agency management system prevents a licensing-agreement violation. It’s a violation to issue prior versions of a superseded ACORD form once a new form has been introduced. This requirement stems from the licensing agreement between ACORD and your agency management system vendor (AMS, Applied, etc.).
PA ADDS ETHIC, FLOOD CREDITS
Important Continuing Education (CE) Update
As a result of enacted legislation, effective April 29, 2025 in Pennsylvania:
FLOOD TRAINING REQUIREMENT:
Producers with a Property & Casualty line of authority must complete 2 hours of Flood CE per licensing period.
ETHICS TRAINING REQUIREMENT:
All producers must complete 3 hours of Ethics CE per licensing period.
Visit Sircon.com to view your CE transcript and check your due dates to stay current with your license requirements.
HOW TO COMPLY
IA&B offers these upcoming live webinars that can assist producers in their compliance:
An Hour with Dave: What Everyone Must Know About Flood (1 Flood credit) | Sept. 17, 2-3 PM
Ethics in Insurance: Protecting the Client and the Agency (3 Ethics credits) | Sept. 18, 1-4 PM
Murky: Understanding Flood Coverage, Rules, and Claims (2 Flood credits) | Sept. 22, 1-3 PM
Ethics, Diligence, Success: What Agencies Need to Know (3 Ethics credits) | Oct. 9, 1-4 PM
Register today: IABforME.com/eventregistrations or 800-998-9644, option 1
