T H U R S D A Y ,  M A R C H  1 1 ,  2 0 1 0                                                     
                                                     National News

Young Agents
YAC Gives Back: A Benefit for InVEST Scholarships is a Smashing Success

This year, for the first time, the Young Agents Committee hosted YAC Gives Back: A Benefit for InVEST Scholarships during the Big “I” Legislative Conference & Convention. The casino night event was held the evening of March 4 following the annual Big “I” Day on Capitol Hill, and became home to the InVEST Silent Auction. The event raised $55,000 for InVEST student scholarships which will be distributed this spring to InVEST graduates who are looking to pursue a career in insurance or financial services. The event was spirited and full of energy as attendees played games and bid on everything from pieces of art to Tiffany & Co. jewelry and high-tech electronic gizmos. Attendees were provided with $25,000 in faux gambling money and could purchase additional funny money and drink tickets throughout the night. Through a raffle drawing, 35 attendees walked away winners. Lucky poker tournament players Brian Griffith of The Hartford, Aaron LaRue, of LaRue Insurance and Michael Johnson of Al Torstrick Insurance Agency won a Nintendo Wii sports bundle, a 32G iPod Touch and an Amazon Kindle, respectively.

“We are thrilled with the success of the event and want to thank everyone in attendance for making this such a success for the national Young Agents and InVEST,” said Young Agents Committee Chairman Andy Beauchamp. “With perpetuation on our minds, we look forward to working more with InVEST and continuing to support the silent auction.”

InVEST
Bid Now on Remaining InVEST Silent Auction Items

The 2010 InVEST silent auction, held during the first ever YAC Gives Back event at the Big “I” Legislative Conference & Convention, was a hit!  The silent and live auction, combined with event proceeds, raised more than $55,000 for the InVEST scholarship fund.

While the auction was a great success and nearly every item went home with someone, there are a few items still available for bidding! Check them out by clicking here and e-mail jennifer.robinson@iiaba.net to place a bid. Include the item name and the bid amount in the e-mail. Bidding will close on March 17 at 9 a.m., and the highest bidder for each item will be notified at that time. Winners may pay by check, credit card or cash.

All proceeds benefit the InVEST student scholarship fund which provides scholarships to InVEST graduates pursing higher education or licensing in insurance. Help make a difference today!

InVEST, a 501©(3) non-profit, is dedicated to improving students’ insurance literacy and attracting new talent to the industry. For more information on InVEST, call Jennifer Robinson at 800-221-7917; jennifer.robinson@iiaba.net. 

Big "I" Flood Program
FEMA’s NFIP Partners with NOAA for Flood Safety Awareness Week

Once again, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is partnering with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) to promote Flood Safety Awareness Week March 15-19. Throughout the week, the NFIP will work with NOAA to remind Americans about their flood risk and ways they can safeguard their homes and assets, including purchasing a flood insurance policy. The week also serves as a great opportunity for agents to remind your customers and community residents that a flood insurance policy is the best financial protection against flooding. Most homeowners insurance policies do not cover flood damage.

A new interactive flood map is now available to help agents better educate customers about their individualized flood risks. This resource depicts how floods have affected millions of Americans in recent years and provides users with localized flood event data and damage statistics. Developed by the NFIP’s FloodSmart Campaign, in partnership with NOAA, this interactive flood map will be promoted in conjunction with Flood Safety Awareness Week to offer visitors a more accurate picture of the causes and magnitude of flooding in their areas. Agents can access the map on the Flood Safety Awareness Week landing page located at www.floodsmart.gov/noaafloodweek. The site also provides resources to learn more about the financial costs of flooding, how to get a policy and how to recover if a flood does occur.

Big “I” Markets
Marine Market Available

It's been a tough winter in many parts of the country, but spring is just around the corner and that means boaters everywhere will soon be preparing for a new boating season. To help boating customers make sure their boats are in top shape, send them this in-depth checklist of things they need to think about when getting their boats ready. Also, check out the two boat markets (Marine and Marine Premier) available on Big "I" Markets and see if boating customers could benefit from better coverage or value. Access a comparison chart on the two markets, and learn more or submit a quote at www.bigimarkets.com. 

Education
Webinars Offer Convenient Learning Option

Agents from across the United States recently participated in the webinar titled “Where You Reside – The Where’s Waldo^® Catastrophic Homeowners Policy Exclusion That Could Bankrupt Your Insureds.” The two–hour session, hosted by Bill Wilson, reviewed situations where claims for damage to homes might be denied because of three words: where you reside.

Most homeowners policies provide coverage for the dwelling on the “residence premises.” The term “residence premises” is typically defined to include the dwelling “where you reside.” The question is --- what happens if you no longer (or never) reside there?

This situation can arise unexpectedly with emergency admissions into long-term care facilities, urgent job relocations, military deployments, illnesses or deaths and other situations beyond the control of insureds. Other circumstances may include foreclosures, temporary rentals and renovations. It is not uncommon for a homeowner who has sold a home to move out and allow the purchaser to move in days before the closing, leaving the existing homeowners policy in force.

The March and April live webinar schedule is now available and offers training on ACORD certificate changes and a two-part nonprofit executive liability series with instructor Diane Voit. The nonprofit executive liability webinars will explore the operations of nonprofit organizations and the protections available to those organizations through the executive liability policy. The second session begins with a description of the manner in which the economy, employment trends and claims statistics impact the operation and liabilities of nonprofits.

All webinars are presented by experienced subject matter experts, some at no cost, in a brief, interactive format. Agency principals and staff can learn from professionals without even leaving the office.

To access the webinar library and live webinar information, click here. For more information on any of the sessions, e-mail BestPractices@iiaba.net. 

Virtual University
Online Class Provides Training for New Employees

Each state association offers agents a varied but customized Big “I” Virtual University LearnCenter with online courses ranging from the ACSR designation to NFIP training to information on how to estimate a business income limit without using a worksheet. One of the most commonly required training requests relates to new employees and how to explain the insurance industry, coverage issues, agency operations and necessary skills. Agents should check their state’s Virtual University course catalog for the “Insurance Agency New Employee Training” course, which is designed to introduce a new insurance agency employee to the industry. Major topics include the history of insurance, construction of insurance policies and terms, homeowners, personal auto and personal umbrella forms, total account development, risk management, ethics and the new employee's place in the agency. Big “I” members need their member login and password to receive preferred pricing. Look to the Big “I” Virtual University online courses to meet on-demand education needs. Click here to select your state association and review the available classes. Click here for logon and password recovery information. For more information, e-mail VirtualUniversity@iiaba.net. 

ACT
Four Webinars to be Held in April

ACT will present four free webinars in April covering topics ranging from the social Web to Real Time and secure e-mail. See below for information about each webinar.

Introduction to the Social Web - A New Way to Connect is a new webinar that is the second in a series hosted by the ACT social Web work group. This webinar covers the basics for getting started and implementing a successful agency social Web strategy using tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. The webinar will be held April 7 from 2 – 3 p.m. EST. Click here to register.
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Protecting Independent Agent Clients with Secure Email Using TLS is back by popular demand.
Agent interest in using secure e-mail continues to grow as new privacy laws go into effect, and TLS provides the best workflow for agents and carriers. This webinar will be held on April 8 from 2-3 p.m. EST. Click here to register.

The Real Time agency workflow webinar, hosted by the Real Time/Download Campaign, continues to draw hundreds of agents each session. The webinar provides demos, benefits and tips for successful implementation, including how to take advantage of the Real Time 21 Day Challenge Web site. This webinar will be held on April 15 from 2 – 3 p.m. EST. Click here to register.

Finally, the commercial lines download webinar, hosted by AUGIE, is back for a second session after a highly successful first showing last month. The webinar offers benefits and tips for successful implementation of this much improved, time saving workflow. This webinar will be held on April 21 from 1-2 p.m. EST. Click here to register.