Missouri Agent September-October 2012

Age

nt Doug Cliftnew president celebrates

his insurance family

missouri

sep

tem

ber

-oct

ob

er 2

012

Vo

l. 21

No

. 5

spec

ial fo

cus:

leaders

hip

confer

ence

For more details, contact your Business Development Manager or Customer Service at 1.800.442.0593 or [email protected]

www.mem-ins.com

WHAT DO CLIENTS EXPECT FOR THEIR WORK COMP NEEDS?

www.worksafecenter.com

Your clients demand quality workers compensation service and expertise at a competitive price. And Missouri Employers Mutual offers it.

Top classes earn MEM’s most competitive rates. And small businesses—those with premium $10,000 or less—automatically receive rates 10 percent lower than standard rates.

MEM also continues to write good business in nearly all 600 NCCI class codes.

Competitive rates, coupled with MEM’s exceptional service and proven experience as market leader, give you a workers compensation value unbeatable in the Missouri market.

Log in to iNet at www.mem-ins.com to get a Quick Quote.

The MEM Difference

september-october 2012 missouriagent 3

contentsSpecial Focus: Leadership ConferenceAwards and Installation Banquet 22Leadership Conference Memories 24

A Good Agent Isn’t So Hard to Find 7MAIA Officers and Directors 30Staff Profile: Theresa Flippin 37How to Explain Coinsurance to Clients 38

AdvertisersAcuity 47Aetna 45Agents Marketing Corp. 32AIC 13AmTrust North America 6BC&M 8Burns & Wilcox 36Couri Insurance Associates 40FCCI Insurance Group 44Gateway Underwriters Agency 35JM Wilson 38MAIA Education 29MAIA Events 11

DepartmentsFrom the President 5The Legal Side 9Errors & Omissions 11News & Know-How 13Technology 17From the DIFP 20

Technicalities 33Regulatory Actions 41 Agency News 45Company Partner News 46Classifieds 46

missouriagent

3315 Emerald Lane, P.O. Box 1785, Jefferson City, MO 65102-1785 • 800-617-3658 in Mo. Phone 573-893-4301 • FAX 573-893-3708E-mail: [email protected]: www.missouriagent.org

Publisher Larry CaseEditor Amy J. Hoffman, AIPAdvertising Manager Amy J. Hoffman, AIP

Officers of the MAIAPresident Doug Clift, CIC, St. LouisPresident-Elect Brian Harrison, CIC, ColumbiaVice President Louis Landwehr, CIC, CRM, Jeff CitySec’y-Treasurer Randy Baker, Kennett IIABA National Director Mitchell C. Mills, CWCC, ClintonPIA National Director Richard Minor, CWCA, Hannibal Past President Byron Robison, Springfield

Board of DirectorsRegion 1 Ricky Baker, CIC, ChillicotheRegion 2 Darren Smiley, MexicoRegion 3 Chris Rupp, LUTCF, CIC, LibertyRegion 4 Shane Davolt, LibertyRegion 5 Lee Wilbers Jr., LUTCF, CLU, CFP, Jefferson CityRegion 6 Jim Baxendale, CPCU, St. LouisRegion 7 Jeff Mentel, J.D., St. LouisRegion 8 Jane Dobrinic, CIC, CPCU, St. LouisRegion 9 Randy Smart, MarionvilleRegion 10 Tom Montileone, CIC, CISR, AIS, SpringfieldRegion 11 Steve Rackley, CIC, CISR, GainesvilleRegion 12 Mark Gibbins, PortagevilleAt-Large #1 Wil Turner, CIC, BeltonAt-Large #2 Vickie Winkler, CISR, Ste. GenevieveAt-Large #3 John Patterson, ChesterfieldCo. Rep. Ben Finan, Maryland HeightsCo. Rep Jim Lay, CIC, CPCU, Chesterfield

Staff of the MAIAExecutive Vice President Larry CaseVice President of Operations Sheryl Van LeerVice President of Marketing Lindsay Schmidt, AIPInsurance Services Manager Leona LoethenEvents Manager Jeanne Blomberg, AIPDatabase Administrator Laura BerendzenCustomer Service Representative Theresa Flippin, AIPCustomer Service Representative Monica Mize, AIPEditor Amy J. Hoffman, AIPMembership Services Representative Kelli Kloeppel, AIPEducation Director Emily KoenigsfeldAdministrative Assistant Dawn Patterson

MISSOURI AGENT (USPS 709-210) is published bimonthly by the Missouri Association of Insurance Agents, 3315 Emerald Lane, Jefferson City, MO 65109, phone 573-893-4301. Periodical postage paid at Jefferson City, Mo.

MAIA does not necessarily endorse any of the companies advertising in this publication. Subscription rate for members is $25 per year, which is included in dues.

Address & Other Changes

Notify Missouri Agent if you change your address, change your agency name, or drop or change producers (who are voting members of the association). Write to Missouri Agent, P.O. Box 1785, Jefferson City, MO 65102-1785 or e-mail [email protected].

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Missouri Agent, P.O. Box 1785, Jefferson City, MO 65102-1785.

© 2012 Missouri Association of Insurance Agents

On the Cover: For new MAIA President Doug Clift, the insurance business is a personal one, and the standards set before him are high.

Volume 21, No. 5

Age

nt Doug Cliftnew president celebrates

his insurance family

missouri

mo

nth

1-m

on

th2

2012

Vo

l. 21

No

. 5

spec

ial fo

cus:

leaders

hip

confer

ence

MAIA Partners 48MEM Insurance 2Missouri One Call System 39Missouri Rural Services 18M.J. Kelly 12Ringwalt & Liesche 21RLI 16SECURA 4Surplus Lines Association of Mo. 20Virtual University 14West Bend 42WineryPak 34

Today, the faster you move, the more likely you are to succeed. Agents know this. That’s why so many

choose SECURA to help their business grow. Call 1-800-558-3405. Write your own success story.SM

Success is fi nding an advantage.

©20

11 S

EC

UR

A In

sura

nce

Commercial Personal Farm SpecialtyPersonal

SECURA YELLOW: C=0: M=30: Y=100: K=0

BLACK: C=0: M=0: Y=0: K=100

Secura Buggy Iowa ad.indd 1 12/1/10 3:28 PM


Following in Father’s footsteps

Doug Cliftpresident, MAIA

Today, the faster you move, the more likely you are to succeed. Agents know this. That’s why so many

choose SECURA to help their business grow. Call 1-800-558-3405. Write your own success story.SM

Success is fi nding an advantage.

©20

11 S

EC

UR

A In

sura

nce

Commercial Personal Farm SpecialtyPersonal

SECURA YELLOW: C=0: M=30: Y=100: K=0

BLACK: C=0: M=0: Y=0: K=100

Secura Buggy Iowa ad.indd 1 12/1/10 3:28 PM

This article is adapted from Doug Clift’s speech at the Leadership Conference Installation Banquet.

As you may know, my father, Dick Clift, passed away the morning of July 18, 2012, during the MAIA Leadership Conference. I would like to thank everyone for the kind words and condo-lences. As much as I know my dad wanted to be at the banquet for my installation as president of MAIA, I am sure he was upstairs somewhere sitting comfortably in a hospitality suite watch-ing everything below. There was much dis-cussion among the family about whether we should go back to the convention for the ban-quet. It was decided that it was something Dad would have wanted us to do.

I would like to address a few insurance issues. Like all of you, I’m sure there are days when we don’t always appreciate the insurance business, but I would not choose to be in any other in-dustry. I am very proud to be a part of the insur-ance business and everything it does in protect-ing our neighbors and communities.

This has never been more apparent then the last several years with all the storms and torna-does throughout Missouri. It was rewarding to see how all the independent agents and our partner carriers stepped up when it was most important and put communities, businesses, homes and lives back together.

I am also very proud of MAIA for what it does for the independent agent and our partner insurance companies. As everyone knows, this ranges from education and errors and omissions programs to legislative issues to fighting for the rights of the independent agent. Going all the way back to the fight with Iowa National to the current legal battle we have going on concern-ing the rehabilitation of Barton County Mutual and the contractual rights of the independent agent, MAIA continues to be the voice and ad-vocate of not only its agent members but also our company partners.

I would like to mention that I will continue the effort by MAIA to increase our InsurPac con-tributions. For those who heard James Carville and Mary Matalin speak at the conference, I am sure that should be incentive enough to make a contribution. Keep in mind contributing to

InsurPac is not a Republican or Democratic issue. InsurPac simply protects the rights of the inde-pendent agent and small business owner.

I will close with some personal comments. I would like to tell a story about celebrating life. This story is about our last weekend with my father. I will warn everyone right now that this story starts out very sad, but remember that it ends good because it is about celebrating life. Those of you who know our family will under-stand this story completely. Those of you who do not know us will think we have a problem.

As many of you aware, my dad battled health issues the last six months of his life. They were related to congestive heart failure and breath-ing problems. If you have a family member or friend who has similar health issues, you know it is a roller coaster. There are good days and bad days, good weeks and bad weeks, highs and lows. We were blessed that Dad had a great high several weeks ago, and he attended two family functions.

Unfortunately last Friday, he had one of his worst lows. He was struggling to the point of being unresponsive. We called an ambulance and had him taken to the emergency room. Af-ter they worked on him for several hours, they were able to stabilize him, and he was resting comfortably.

As we were getting ready to leave the emer-gency room late Friday night, we got the ques-tion from the ER doc that no family wants to hear: Would the family please come in to the back room with him? Again the conversation a family never wants to hear: “Your father is very sick. There is nothing more we can do for him, and it is time to let nature take its course.”

We all went numb even though we knew this day was coming. We followed the doctor up to Dad’s room. The first thing we noticed was that they took us to a floor we had never been on before with Dad. It was very quiet. Then they took us to a beautiful suite that looked like someone’s personal bedroom with couches and chairs. We had no idea at the time that this is the floor and room they give to a patient they don’t think will survive through the night.

continued on page 44

fromthepresident

AmTrust has the perfect blend

for small businesses

Your Success is Our Policy.®

AmTrust North AmericaAn AmTrust Financial Company

For more information about how you can write business with AmTrust, please call 877.528.7878 or visit www.amtrustnorthamerica.com.

A.M. Best rating of “A” (Excellent) FSC IX

Complementary workers’ comp and BOP coverage By offering a competitive businessowners policy (BOP) a’ la carte or as an accompaniment to our workers’ compensation insurance or commercial auto products, AmTrust has a brew that serves small businesses well.

Better yet, we offer a 10% discount on BOP for our existing workers’ compensation policyholders. An umbrella policy is also available, with limits ranging from $1 million to $10 million to fit over our BOP and commercial auto products.


Larry Caseexecutive vice president, MAIA

A good agent isn’t so hard to findOnce again, an election is approaching, and those of us who actually vote are weighing our options. We are watching ads and evaluating the candidates. As we watch the negative ads tear down the character of each candidate, it is not hard to understand why politicians have such a low rating with the public and why we have so little confidence that they are really there to represent our best interests.

As I reflected on the low level of confidence we have in our political leaders, it made me wonder why the public historically holds insur-ance agents in such low esteem. Most surveys I have seen indicate that the public generally rates insurance agents not far above politicians or even used car or home siding salespersons despite the fact that they rate their own agent relatively high. I have always felt that indepen-dent agents deserve a much better shake in the public eye.

As I think about it, there may be some paral-lels between politicians and agents, yet agents grade out much better in these areas. While choosing an agent does not include casting a ballot, consumers are evaluating who they believe can provide the best service and value in their insurance dealings and fairly represent them when claims arise.

Before I cast my ballot for someone, I prefer they have my respect. Similarly, you must earn the respect of consumers if they are to be confi-dent that they have proper insurance coverage in place. Such respect is something that must be earned. It cannot be dictated or demanded.

Successful agents all have a number of personal character traits in common that are essential in your business dealings and are so important in earning the mutual respect of your clients and peers. Perhaps that explains why the individual ratings of one’s personal insurance agent are high in spite of the low perception people have in general.

Politicians could be well served by taking a lesson from independent insurance agents and striving to have terms such as trustworthy, integrity, credible, honest and ethical used in describing their character. They could certainly learn from you.

There is a significant responsibility for agents to have someone trust you in protecting their

property, lives and family. It is unfortunate that we question whether representatives or gov-ernment officials understand a similar respon-sibility. When is the last time you really trusted something you heard in a political speech?

You have integrity with your clients because you maintain a rigid code of conduct and con-sider what is morally right in your business deal-ings. Clearly, that does not always occur in the highly charged political world or lethargic gov-ernment bureaucracies, but it is sorely needed to restore the public’s confidence.

You maintain credibility with both your insur-ers and policyholders because of your track re-cord in fair dealing. You are believable because you present facts and circumstances as they exist without spin or superfluous commentary to twist the issue. I doubt I need to expound on a comparison to whether this exists in today’s political climate.

You would not have company appointments or customers seeking your advice and purchas-ing coverage from you if the companies and the clients did not believe you were honest. Your sincerity in doing what is best for the cus-tomer without even a hint of deceit and your straightforward manner in addressing questions are what create customer loyalty and result in continued business growth. How often do you get a straight answer from a politician or bureaucrat?

Finally, I have written in the past about my feelings regarding government mandated eth-ics training for insurance agents. Ethics cannot be mandated. Attending training sessions once or twice a year isn’t going to make someone ethical. Either you know the difference be-tween right and wrong, or you don’t. More-over, either you care about and are committed to doing what’s right or not. This is true wheth-er you are an insurance agent or a politician.

You know, the more I think about it, perhaps one problem with our political system is that we do not have enough insurance agents involved. Have you ever considered running for office or working on a campaign? Maybe it’s time that you did.

myturn

Visit our Web Site at— www.bcmins.com

Phone: 417.869.2550 / 800.779.2550 Fax: 417.869.5102 / 888.869.2550

Accident Reconstruction Appraisers Real Estate Machinery & Equipment Personal Property Auctioneers Billing Services Bookkeepers (Non-CPAs) Business Services Claims Adjusters (All Lines) Collection Agencies Consultants Archeological Arborists Communication Food Service Forestry Horticultural Human Resources

Management Convention Managers County Clerks Court Reporters Credit Reports Custom Brokers

Electronic Data Processors Data Conversion Program/System Design Consulting Executive Search Expert Witness Farm Managers Flood Hazard Search Forensic Analysts Foresters Freight Forwarders Home Inspectors Interpreter Information Retrieval Insurance Inspection Interior Decorators Judicial Research Marine Surveyors Medical Billing Services Meeting Planners Mortgage Brokers Notaries Paralegal Pre-employment Screening Permanent Placement Services

Premium Auditors Process Servers Property Management Residential Commercial Industrial Vacant Land Agricultural Property Tax Consultants Real Estate Agents (Residential & Commercial) Records Copying Services Right of Way Services Tax Preparers (Non-CPAs) Telephone Answering Services (Non-Emergency) Temporary Placement Ser-vices Theater Management Time & Records Management Translators Travel Agents Vessel Documentation Warranty Sales Wetlands Delineation

Surplus & Specialty Lines Insurance Managers

Our experienced team of insurance professionals work diligently to provide specialized insurance coverage for the professional.

Miscellaneous Errors & Omissions


Lewis E. Melahn, J.D.

A new perspective on contractual obligationsAnyone earning a living in insurance is earning a living from a contract, the insurance policy. Producers can spend many hours learning the effects of these policies as contracts. But the other contracts a producer may enter may have more importance to the bottom line.

Several national trade publications have focused attention on a decision of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court in the case of GeoVera Specialty In-surance Co. v. Graham Rogers, which examined the effect of the contract between Graham, the wholesale insurance broker, and GeoVera, which offered surplus lines coverage. GeoVera wrote a homeowners policy submitted by a retail producer and agency, which was under a contract with Graham.

The home suffered a fire loss, and during investigation of the claim, GeoVera discovered the home would not have been eligible for coverage because it did not meet at least three underwriting standards. First, the home was on six acres when the underwriting standards limited acreage to five. Second, the policyhold-ers had filed for bankruptcy within a five-year period. Finally, the homeowners had not signed the application.

GeoVera paid the claim but filed suit against the retail producer and agency, as well as Gra-ham for negligence and breach of contract for failure to follow the underwriting guidelines. The retail producer and agency settled. Gra-ham asserted that because the retail agency could, and did, submit the application directly to GeoVera on GeoVera’s IT system, Graham did nothing negligent. The court ruled that Graham by contract had agreed to follow all the under-writing rules and therefore under the contract was obligated to GeoVera, even though Gra-ham was not negligent.

This was an unusual contractual concept given the fact that the retail agent could submit the application directly and, as the wholesaler, Graham was unlikely to see the home or talk with the homeowner. Both the retail producer

and GeoVera had more opportunities to handle the underwriting. Graham essentially obligated itself by contract to guarantee a process it could not control, unless it independently verified each submission by a retail producer. In the real world, this would be an unlikely process. Thus, Graham was without an effective way to mon-itor its contractual obligations.

Unknown is the retail producer’s contractual obligation to Graham. But the lesson is clear: Retail producers should likewise be cautious with their contractual obligations with any pro-gram to which they agree to submit business, as their contractual obligations to follow under-writing rules could make them contractually obligated for any underwriting error resulting in a loss.

And in the scenario in which a retail agent could be held liable either for negligence or contractual liability, the retail producer must consider that his or her errors and omissions coverage may only apply to negligent acts and not to contractual obligations. Therefore, it is important that the retail producer understand its contractual obligations to its carriers and to any wholesale brokers or program managers with which it does business.

Producers should not contractually obligate themselves to liability for potential losses. They may always have potential liability for negli-gence but should not expand that liability. They should read their contracts carefully and get advice if they see any concerns.

thelegalside

Lewis E. Melahn is a practicing attorney in Jef-ferson City. He provides free legal consultation to MAIA members on a limit-ed basis. He served as the director for the Missouri Department of Insurance from 1989-1993. You can contact Lew at 573-636-5057.

MAIA AutuMn EvEnts

REgIstER onlInE At www.MIssouRIAgEnt.oRg.

CSR Development Conference Nov. 8-9, 2012, MAIA Headquarters, Jefferson City

About the Conference

Our newest conference features

training designed specifically for

insurance agency customer service

representatives and account man-

agers. An optional ethics session will

offer 3 hours of ethics credit, good

for an entire renewal period.

What’s on the Agenda?

• Optional 3-hour ethics course

• Roundtable discussions

• Team-building

• Customer service

• Time management

• Networking

Featuring

Lisa Worley is the president of An-

chor Insurance Agency. She teaches

extensively for the Alabama Inde-

pendent Insurance Agents.

Sam Bennett is a partner at the Har-

rison Agency. He teaches a variety

of topics in insurance education.

E&O Seminar Plus Agency Compliance LuncheonFive dates and locations in October

Agency Compliance Luncheon

INCLUDED in the cost of the E&O

Seminar, the Agency Compliance

Luncheon is a working lunch, where

MAIA EVP Larry Case will update you

on the association’s latest news, as

well as laws and regulations cur-

rently affecting the industry.

Where and When?

• October 2, Cape Girardeau, Drury Lodge

• October 3, Chesterfield, DoubleTree Hotel

• October 4, Jefferson City, MAIA Headquarters

• October 9, Springfield, Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites

• October 10, Blue Springs, Adams Pointe Conference Center

E&O Seminar

This errors and omissions seminar

is designed to provide real-world

loss prevention and reduction tech-

niques, focusing on what an agency

can do proactively. The course pro-

vides loss control credit for both

Westport and Utica.

6ethics CE for whole

day

Insuring Small and Large ManufacturingOct. 30-31, 2012, MAIA Headquarters, Jefferson City

About the class

As part of the Risk Specialist Series,

this class will take and in-depth look

at the manufacturing niche. You

will leave with a comprehensive un-

derstanding of your manufacturing

clients’ special needs and risks and

how to address them.

What’s Topics Will be Covered?

• Comparison of the BPP and CAP

• General liability

• ISO umbrella exclusions

• Ocean marine issues

• Equipment breakdown

• International insurance

Featuring

Instructor Robin Federici is the

founder and president of Insurance

Education and Training Associates.

She previously worked at the Inde-

pendent Insurance Agents of Rhode

Island and has had a lengthy career

in underwriting and sales.

12 p-c ce

credits

3Ethics CE & 1

general CE


MAIA AutuMn EvEnts

REgIstER onlInE At www.MIssouRIAgEnt.oRg.

CSR Development Conference Nov. 8-9, 2012, MAIA Headquarters, Jefferson City

About the Conference

Our newest conference features

training designed specifically for

insurance agency customer service

representatives and account man-

agers. An optional ethics session will

offer 3 hours of ethics credit, good

for an entire renewal period.

What’s on the Agenda?

• Optional 3-hour ethics course

• Roundtable discussions

• Team-building

• Customer service

• Time management

• Networking

Featuring

Lisa Worley is the president of An-

chor Insurance Agency. She teaches

extensively for the Alabama Inde-

pendent Insurance Agents.

Sam Bennett is a partner at the Har-

rison Agency. He teaches a variety

of topics in insurance education.

E&O Seminar Plus Agency Compliance LuncheonFive dates and locations in October

Agency Compliance Luncheon

INCLUDED in the cost of the E&O

Seminar, the Agency Compliance

Luncheon is a working lunch, where

MAIA EVP Larry Case will update you

on the association’s latest news, as

well as laws and regulations cur-

rently affecting the industry.

Where and When?

• October 2, Cape Girardeau, Drury Lodge

• October 3, Chesterfield, DoubleTree Hotel

• October 4, Jefferson City, MAIA Headquarters

• October 9, Springfield, Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites

• October 10, Blue Springs, Adams Pointe Conference Center

E&O Seminar

This errors and omissions seminar

is designed to provide real-world

loss prevention and reduction tech-

niques, focusing on what an agency

can do proactively. The course pro-

vides loss control credit for both

Westport and Utica.

6ethics CE for whole

day

Insuring Small and Large ManufacturingOct. 30-31, 2012, MAIA Headquarters, Jefferson City

About the class

As part of the Risk Specialist Series,

this class will take and in-depth look

at the manufacturing niche. You

will leave with a comprehensive un-

derstanding of your manufacturing

clients’ special needs and risks and

how to address them.

What’s Topics Will be Covered?

• Comparison of the BPP and CAP

• General liability

• ISO umbrella exclusions

• Ocean marine issues

• Equipment breakdown

• International insurance

Featuring

Instructor Robin Federici is the

founder and president of Insurance

Education and Training Associates.

She previously worked at the Inde-

pendent Insurance Agents of Rhode

Island and has had a lengthy career

in underwriting and sales.

12 p-c ce

credits

3Ethics CE & 1

general CE

The power of a signed applicationWith few exceptions, an application is a neces-sary document to secure a proposal or to bind coverage. If accurately completed and signed by the applicant, an application possesses tremen-dous power. In the event of an errors and omis-sions claim, this document could play a huge role in the outcome of litigation.

An application that doesn’t accurately portray the account’s true exposure can be an agency’s worst nightmare, but the role this document plays is up to you. If you are serious about re-ducing your E&O exposure, proper handling of applications is a great place to start.

A critical taskThe first thing to consider is the completeness of the application. While most producers prob-ably don’t enjoy completing applications, it is a critical task in the sales process.

Are applications from your agency completed fully, or are some questions left blank? The an-swers to these blank items could significantly impact the account’s desirability or pricing. What happens if you’re unsure of the correct answer as applications are completed? Do you presume to know the answer, or do you contact the prospect to check? In the haste to get appli-cations submitted, producers or account execu-tives may answer the questions believing they are answering honestly and correctly. Carriers rely heavily on the application and presume the information to be truthful.

What happens if, after a loss, the carrier discovers the information was incorrect? They may very well take the position that they would not have written the account had they known the correct information. They may rescind the policy or choose to honor the claim but then take action against the agency. There are many E&O claims where the carrier successfully sued the agent due to misrepresentation of the na-ture of the risk. This reinforces the benefits of getting the insured to sign the application, as it is hoped that this affirms the accuracy of the information.

The best approachThe best approach is to complete the applica-tion face to face with the prospect, asking him

Curtis M. Pearsallspecial consultant, Utica National E&O Program

or her the questions exactly as they appear and accurately noting the response on the applica-tion. After completing the application, request that the client review it to ensure you have ac-curately stated the exposure. Then have him or her sign it. This is one of the most important procedures for an agency to insist on.

In virtually every state, customers are held responsible for the contents of the application once they’ve signed it. If the prospect misled you in the completion of the application, his or her signature on the document could play a significant role if a problem develops. If getting the signature is not feasible for some reason, explore the possibility of providing the cus-tomer with the application electronically, asking him or her to review and approve the informa-tion for correctness. Be certain your file is well documented with the insured’s approval.

In fact, when completing the application, look to complete the questionnaire from an ex-posure analysis checklist. These questionnaires will help you thoroughly understand the risk and accurately market it to various carriers.

It is also highly sug-gested that agencies not sign the insured’s signa-ture to the document. While the agency may believe the customer has authorized it, after a loss the customer may disavow giving this au-thorization. Handwriting experts have found their way into E&O claims, so extreme caution should be exercised in this area.

Complete and accurateAnother issue that occurs now and again in-volves agencies completing “this year’s applica-tion” using the information from “last year’s ap-plication.” Avoid this. It is extremely dangerous and fraught with potential problems. Because of the possibility that your risk has changed, it


&errors omissions

12 missouriagent september-october 2012

M. J. Kelly Company Managing General Agents Surplus Lines Brokers

1-800-725-7211 www.mjkelly.com

Headquartered in the Show Me State, M. J. Kelly Company can tell you

about our products, in house financing, and quality service, but we’d rather

show you. Our branches are strong; they are rooted in over 35 years of

experience. We’re proud to serve Missouri’s independent agents.

M. J. Kelly Company Managing General Agents Surplus Lines Brokers

1-800-725-7211 www.mjkelly.com

Headquartered in the Show Me State, M. J. Kelly Company can tell you

about our products, in house financing, and quality service, but we’d rather

show you. Our branches are strong; they are rooted in over 35 years of

experience. We’re proud to serve Missouri’s independent agents.

is always best — to ensure complete accuracy — that the application is completed through current discussion with the customer.

If the account is a prospect and you’re look-ing to provide a proposal, secure copies of the current coverage, if possible. When completing the application, this will enable you to request the necessary coverages to ensure your pro-posal is at least equal to what the prospect currently has. If this is not possible, advise the account accordingly. This is also extremely important when remarketing the account to other carriers in your office. Review the cur-rent coverage, including all endorsements, to ensure that, at a minimum, coverage is being duplicated. This is your agency’s responsibility and should be handled as such.

Review and reinforce with your staff the is-sue of providing your carriers with complete, accurate applications signed by the customer. This is also a great time for management to clearly state the expectation that applications will not be submitted to the carrier unless they

are complete and accurate. This requirement typ-ically falls, especially with commercial accounts, on the producers. Customer service representa-tives should be authorized to return an applica-tion to the producer if it is incomplete or if the CSR is concerned about accuracy. In your favorApplications you submit to your carriers are ex-tremely important and must be handled accord-ingly. Your agency’s goal should be that the in-formation in the applications is complete, current and correct and that the application is reviewed and signed by the customer. While getting the insured’s signature may be an additional step that takes time, the power of this signed applica-tion cannot be emphasized enough. Anything less could spell trouble if a loss develops and the carrier believes it was misled.

By mandating and enforcing these require-ments, you are turning the power of the applica-tion to work in your favor.

errors&omissions continued from page 11


WHY IS THIS AGENT SO EXCITED?

ACCIDENTINSURANCECOMPANY

He just gained a huge advantage over his competition by partnering with AIC!

GET EXCITED! GET APPOINTED! CALL AIC.Call 800-896-6884 to learn how you can join our community of AIC direct agents.

www.accinsco.com

I’m working with an A-

rated carrier!

I can offer flexible payment options with monthly

self-reporting!Woo hoo!I have access to

quick & easy online quoting!

The Affordable Care Act: update and Supreme Court impactOn June 28, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to be constitutional, and it will be implemented as written unless there is future legislative ac-tion that changes or rescinds the law. The court did rule on a change of course for some provi-sions (primarily the expansion of Medicaid and the role the states will play), but the key compo-nents of the PPACA remain intact.

The major provisions of the law will be effec-tive in 2014. At that time, everyone, with minor exceptions, will be required to be covered by a qualified health plan. Most of us will con-tinue to be insured by an employer-sponsored plan. The QHP premiums paid by the employer will continue to be tax deductible, and those employer-paid premiums will continue to be not reported to the employees.

How will the law affect you, your family, your employer, employers you know or those you

Jerry Rhinehartowner, Rhinehart and Associates

insure? First, several noteworthy provisions have already been implemented:

• Pre-existing conditions: All group and indi-vidual health plans, including self-insured plans, now have to cover pre-existing con-ditions for children up to age 19. Starting in 2014, insurance companies cannot deny coverage to anyone with a pre-existing condition.

• Prohibition of coverage limits: No carrier may impose a lifetime limit for any fully insured group, self-insured group or individual plan. Annual limits will be allowed until Jan. 1, 2014, but only on non-essential benefits, and after that, there will be no annual policy cap. (Note: Non-essential benefits should be fully defined by late 2012.) The minimum mandat-ed annual limit that every plan must provide in 2012 is $1.25 million in coverage. Note that

&news know-howEXTRA!


papers. online classroomicles. Ask an Expert. com

mentary. critical businessssues. Best Practices. Re-earch Library. white pap

online classroom. articlesAsk an Expert. commentacritical business issues Be

www.independentagent.com/vu

The Big “I”Virtual University is building the best agencies throughquality education, superior resources and expert advice.

Need an answer? Ask an Expert and get a personalized response from one of over 50 industry professionals.

Hundreds of insurance, business and technology articles are available in the Research Library.

The Best Practices program provides real-life agency benchmarks and a wide variety of agency management tools.

Over 100 courses are at your fingertips in the online class-room. Earn designations, complete C.E. requirements or become an efficient manager.

The BIG “I”®: Results for Independent Agents in Research and Education”

Critical business issues are addressed through white papers, articles and commentary about topics that impact your future.

Build a Better Agency


papers. online classroomicles. Ask an Expert. com

mentary. critical businessssues. Best Practices. Re-earch Library. white pap

online classroom. articlesAsk an Expert. commentacritical business issues Be

www.independentagent.com/vu

The Big “I”Virtual University is building the best agencies throughquality education, superior resources and expert advice.

Need an answer? Ask an Expert and get a personalized response from one of over 50 industry professionals.

Hundreds of insurance, business and technology articles are available in the Research Library.

The Best Practices program provides real-life agency benchmarks and a wide variety of agency management tools.

Over 100 courses are at your fingertips in the online class-room. Earn designations, complete C.E. requirements or become an efficient manager.

The BIG “I”®: Results for Independent Agents in Research and Education”

Critical business issues are addressed through white papers, articles and commentary about topics that impact your future.

Build a Better Agency

a number of businesses (almost 1,500) did receive a waiver for this annual limit rule and can currently provide coverage with less than this limit. In 2014, the waivers go away and everyone who purchases or who is provided a QHP will have no dollar cap on coverage.

• Dependent coverage to age 26: All plans will now have to cover dependents up to age 26. Yes, this includes adult children who no longer attend college, those not living with their parents and even those who are mar-ried. (This provision does not extend to the adult child’s spouse or children.) This provi-sion only applies to plans that already offer dependent coverage, and election to this provision does have some exceptions.

• Certain mandated preventive care services with no cost sharing: All group and indi-vidual health plans, including self-insured plans, will have to cover specific preventive care services with no cost sharing. They will also have to cover emergency services at the in-network level regardless of provider.

There are several key provisions that are scheduled in future years:

• 2013: Increased Medicare tax on high-in-come individuals raises the Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) on wages by 0.9 percent on earnings over $200,000 for individual taxpayers and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly. There would also be a 3.8% as-sessment on “unearned income” for these high-income taxpayers. The law defines un-earned income as interest, dividends, capital gains, annuities, royalties and rents. Tax-exempt interest won’t be included, nor will income from qualified retirement accounts.

• 2013: Contributions to a flexible spending account for medical expenses will be limited to $2,500 per year, increasing annually by the cost of living.

• 2014: A QHP will be required to be carried by all U.S citizens and legal residents. Exceptions do apply. There would be a phased-in tax penalty for those without coverage, starting at the greater of $95 annually or 1% of gross income in 2014, and rising to the greater of $695 annually or 2.5% of gross income in 2016.

• 2014: Potential penalties on large employ-ers, which do not provide a QHP to their employees. Large employers are defined as those with 50 or more full-time workers. The penalty would equal $2,000 per worker, although the first 30 workers would not be counted. The penalty would only be assessed

if any full-time employee (defined as work-ing 30 or more hours per week) receives a federal subsidy to purchase a QHP. The subsidy is available if the income (individual or family) is below a certain federal poverty level, currently about $89,000 annually for a family of four. The QHP must be purchased through the state’s health insurance ex-change for the applicant to receive the pre-mium subsidy. The definition goes further to include the possibility of a penalty to a large employer even if it does provide a QHP. This potential penalty would be $3,000 for every full-time employee who receives a premium subsidy through the exchange. The penal-ties, calculations, definitions and exceptions are very complicated with many variables to consider.

The areas discussed above are a fraction of the law’s vast impact. In addition to individu-als, families and business owners, the law will also greatly affect your state’s budget, health insurance companies, physicians, hospitals and even nutritional content disclosure. Almost every aspect of daily life will have some brush with this law. There are numerous websites, which can be helpful for additional information to understanding this complex law. A couple of very beneficial sites are http://www.aetna.com/health-reform-connection/index.html and http://healthreform.kff.org/.

It is safe to say the debate regarding the PPACA’s merits will be a heated topic in this fall’s presidential and congressional elections. Regardless of the law’s ultimate fate, the land-scape of health insurance for individuals, fami-lies, business owners, and health care providers and payors has changed substantially and will continue to do so.

Jerry Rhinehart, CIC, CLU, ChFC, RHU, owns Rhine-hart and Associates, an independent insurance agency in Lynn Haven, Fla. Rhinehart has served on the National Faculty of the Society of CIC and the Florida Insurance School.

news&know-how continued from page 13

Wondering where your clients went?

Increase client retention now. Cross sell with Big “I” Personal Umbrella.

Everyone in the insurance industry knows that the more lines of business a client has with you, the less likely they are to leave you for a competitor. Is your agency taking the extra step to secure an additional line of business with your auto and home sales?

As a Big “I” member, you have access to two stand alone personal umbrella markets which enables you to write most any risk you will run across. Whether the risk qualifies for the Preferred Market with RLI Personal Umbrella or the Alternative Market for more difficult to place risks via Anderson & Murison, you can support your state Big “I” association by placing your stand alone umbrella business with the Big I Advantage® Umbrella Program.

Preferred Market - RLI Personal Umbrella� Limits up to $5 million available� You can keep your current homeowner/auto insurer� New drivers accepted - no age limit on drivers� Up to one DWI/DUI per household allowed� Auto limits as low as 100/300/50 in certain cases� Competitive, low premiums for increased limits of liability� Simple, self-underwriting application that lets you know immediately if the insured is accepted� E-signature and credit card payment options� Immediate coverage available in all 50 states plus D.C.

Alternative Market - Anderson & Murison � Limits up to $10 million available� Ideal for risks that have drivers with multiple violations/accidents� Will consider high profile personalities such as elected officials, athletes, media personalities & entertainers� Will consider risks with prior liability losses exceeding $25,000� Drivers over age 75 acceptable with two violations� Drivers under age 22 can have minor violations� Driver exclusion endorsement available for drivers with unacceptable driving records� Written on A rated Scottsdale paper

To access log onto www.bigimarkets.com or visit www.iiaba.net/Umbrella.

®


Wondering where your clients went?

Increase client retention now. Cross sell with Big “I” Personal Umbrella.

Everyone in the insurance industry knows that the more lines of business a client has with you, the less likely they are to leave you for a competitor. Is your agency taking the extra step to secure an additional line of business with your auto and home sales?

As a Big “I” member, you have access to two stand alone personal umbrella markets which enables you to write most any risk you will run across. Whether the risk qualifies for the Preferred Market with RLI Personal Umbrella or the Alternative Market for more difficult to place risks via Anderson & Murison, you can support your state Big “I” association by placing your stand alone umbrella business with the Big I Advantage® Umbrella Program.

Preferred Market - RLI Personal Umbrella� Limits up to $5 million available� You can keep your current homeowner/auto insurer� New drivers accepted - no age limit on drivers� Up to one DWI/DUI per household allowed� Auto limits as low as 100/300/50 in certain cases� Competitive, low premiums for increased limits of liability� Simple, self-underwriting application that lets you know immediately if the insured is accepted� E-signature and credit card payment options� Immediate coverage available in all 50 states plus D.C.

Alternative Market - Anderson & Murison � Limits up to $10 million available� Ideal for risks that have drivers with multiple violations/accidents� Will consider high profile personalities such as elected officials, athletes, media personalities & entertainers� Will consider risks with prior liability losses exceeding $25,000� Drivers over age 75 acceptable with two violations� Drivers under age 22 can have minor violations� Driver exclusion endorsement available for drivers with unacceptable driving records� Written on A rated Scottsdale paper

To access log onto www.bigimarkets.com or visit www.iiaba.net/Umbrella.

®

BYOD: opportunities and risksEmployees expect it, but employers need to manage the risks.

What Is BYOD?Many workers today expect the companies they work for to allow them to use their per-sonal mobile devices and computers at the office and to provide remote connectivity to the office via personal devices. Technologists dubbed this trend “BYOD,” or “bring your own device.”

Why is BYOD important?Mobile devices, along with their applications and on-the-go Internet access, provide at-tractive options for speed, connectivity and productivity. Many people wouldn’t think of spending their workday without a Blackberry, iPhone, Android, iPad or other device to access company systems and data. Most importantly, senior managers want to use these devices and are using their organization’s technology more because of them.

Many employees see their own personal devices as superior to those provided by their employers. Employees also tend to believe they are more productive if allowed to use their own devices for work and data syncing between of-fice and home.

Employers see the inherent value in a more mobile, more connected and more productive workforce. Many employees and managers have no problem connecting and addressing work issues after hours or on the weekends. It can be considered a motivational strategy.

Thus, BYOD is significant because employee-owned devices are now accessing company systems and being used for work purposes, presenting security and privacy concerns to the employer.

What are the security risks?BYOD mobility offers access to enterprise data, systems and corporate e-mail. Employees can use them to store and process data and connect to networks.

While BYOD may be considered necessary and convenient, this type of connectivity can raise significant data security and privacy con-cerns, which can then lead to potential legal and liability risks.

Consider the following scenarios:

• The device gets lost or stolen with access to company data and systems.

• The device contracts a virus or has malware installed, which can obtain company logins and data from that device.

• The personal device user, however good his or her intentions are, can in effect be circum-venting company security standards.

• The company cannot control the use of the personal device should the employee allow children or friends to use it.

• The employee may use the device to place files in personal applications in the cloud, which may not be secure.

• The employee plugs a mobile device into the USB port of his or her office computer, there-by transmitting a virus to the office desktop.

Here are some facts to consider when trying to balance personal device access with security:

• Employees don’t perceive the risk. Many em-ployees perceive the use of their own devices at work as placing no extra burden on tech-nical support. But dealing with any data or system security issue requires know-how and technical resources.

• Executives perceive the risk, but aren’t fully ready. In August 2011, a Deloitte webcast poll of more than 1,000 U.S. information technol-ogy and business executives found that 28 percent of respondents believe there are unauthorized personal digital assistants and tablets connecting to company systems, espe-cially to e-mail servers. About 87% of respon-dents think their systems are at risk for a cy-ber attack originating from a mobile security lapse, the poll reported. The same poll found 40% of respondents are unaware of whether their organizations have strategies or controls to enforce mobile security. Further, it found

Danielle Johnson, director of IT, InsurBanc

technology


The consumerization of IT revolution — sparked by the iPhone — has shifted the IT culture so that the users are the ones getting the latest, cutting edge technologies first, and they want to bring those devices to work.

— PC World, Dec. 20, 2011, Tom Bradley


that only 24% of respondents believe that “all devices connecting to my intranet are autho-rized.” Despite this, only 17% reported that they monitor for rogue connections.

• Malware is on the move. Malware that tar-gets mobile devices is increasing, reported IBM Security Solutions researchers in a fall 2011 whitepaper. Citing an IBM security re-search report, the whitepaper presented sta-tistics showing that mobile operating system vulnerabilities tripled from 60 to a projected 180-plus from 2009 to 2011.

• Enterprise systems and mobile systems are catching up with each other. While many cor-porations have for years allowed Blackberry-based access to e-mail and other company systems, users are now demanding that iPhone and Android-based smartphones and tablet computers be provided access to these same services.

How do you proceed? Since there are risks to the mingling of personal devices and work systems, companies must take the lead in assessing and managing the risks to safeguard their systems and data. Some simple steps include:

• Institute a strong written BYOD policy, which is consistent with the organization’s employ-ee handbook policies, such as the IT policy and acceptable use policy.

• Determine which data to protect.• Define what devices will be supported.• Determine which employees need remote ac-

cess. Do not open BYOD participation beyond those employees who have a strong business reason for mobile access.

• Define security requirements.• Train and educate employees concerning the

policy and BYOD use.• Monitor employee mobile devices for compli-

ance with your organization’s policy.• Secure employees’ authorization to “wipe”

their mobile devices remotely (restore to the original factory state), as a condition of giving access to any of the business systems.

• Place controls over access to and use of the company’s wireless Internet. For example: Do not broadcast your wireless service set ID; restrict access to employees only using media access control address filtering in the router; and invoke Wi-Fi protected access 2 on the router. (See your IT professional for help with these settings.)

Security SolutionsIf an enterprise is allowing employees to use their own mobile devices, the following security measures should be implemented:

• Require a strong phone startup PIN, which is at least six to eight charac-ters long. If not support-ed, use the maximum allowed. Reduce the PIN-required timeout setting to no longer than 10 minutes.

• Require specified en-cryption and anti-mal-ware software on each device.

• Require and install mobile tracking software or applications, which allow online access to track the location of a lost or stolen phone and have the ability to perform a lock and “scream” (During a scream, a lost phone emits a loud tone to help the user locate it.) or a remote data wipe. Secure employees’ authorization to take these actions on their devices if they are misplaced, lost or stolen as a condition to giving the employees access to the business systems and data.

• Do not allow “broken,” ”rooted” or “jailbro-ken” devices on your network. These phones have removed limitations installed on the phone by the phone carrier, allowing the user to run apps and files not approved by the phone carriers. This process opens the device up to security risks.

• Large enterprises monitoring multiple devices and platforms should consider mobile device management software. MDM software cen-trally controls and protects the data and con-figuration settings for all mobile devices in the network. MDM can also provide a secure document delivery platform and end-to-end data transmission encryption.

The opportunities of BYOD are present and here to stay. As an analogy, home security is more complex for a bigger house with more en-trances and windows. So too is systems security more complicated as smartphones and other remote devices present new entry points to be analyzed and protected.

All of the security tips presented here are simply guidelines to aid agencies in diminishing secu-rity and privacy risks and managing them. None can be guaranteed 100% effective.

technology continued from page 17

Danielle Johnson is the vice president, director of information technology at InsurBanc, which IIABA and the W.R. Berkley Corp. established to as-sist independent agencies with their specific banking needs. This article reflects the views of the author and should not be con-strued as an official state-ment by ACT.


SUPPORT YOUR MISSOURI WHOLESALERSFor all hard-to-place, Excess and Surplus Lines and specialty accounts.

Call the people that support your organization.

P. O. Box 1496 • Jefferson City, MO 65102(573) 635-0736

American Surplus Lines Agency, Inc. 913-888-8400 877-642-2752 Fax 866-936-0400 www.ASLAINC.netBohrer, Croxdale & McAdoo 417-869-2550 800-779-2550 Fax 417-869-5102 www.bcmins.comBreckenridge Insurance Services, LLC 314-725-8394 800-999-4774 Fax 314-725-4317 www.breckis.comBurns & Wilcox - St. Louis 314-819-0400 800-331-4128 Fax 314-819-0440 www.burns-wilcox.comBurns & Willcox - Kansas City 913-451-3135 866-476-0439 Fax 913-451-3156 www.burns-wilcox.comChris-Leef General Agency, Inc. 913-631-1232 800-548-0491 Fax 913-631-1128 www.chris-leef.comContinental American Agency, Inc. 314-241-7969 866-764-8451 Fax 314-241-1474 www.caains.comDavidson-Babcock, Inc. 913-469-1188 800-203-3223 Fax 913-469-1177 www.davidson-babcock.comGateway Underwriters Agency, Inc. 314-238-0070 800-325-7652 Fax 314-238-0065 www.gua-stl.comGraham-Rogers, Inc. 918-336-2800 800-456-8123 Fax 918-336-7196 www.graham-rogers.comGresham & Associates 417-823-3924 866-251-9646 Fax 417-823-3979 www.gresham-inc.comMed James, Inc. - Kansas City 913-663-5500 800-255-6503 Fax 888-216-2014 www.medjames.comMed James, Inc. - Springfield 417-886-3535 800-255-6503 Fax 417-886-2295 www.medjames.comMed James, Inc. - St. Louis 636-524-0080 800-255-6503 Fax 636-524-0088 www.medjames.comM.J. Kelly Company 417-883-2688 800-725-7211 Fax 800-678-7211 www.mjkelly.comSwett & Crawford 314-821-2699 Fax 314-822-2135 www.swett.comWestrope 816-842-8222 Fax 816-842-3081 www.westrope.comWestrope General Agency 816-246-1200 800-788-4347 Fax 816-246-1290 www.westrope.comWorldwide Facilities, Inc. 314-436-3318 Fax 314-436-4309 www.wwfi.com

Association of Missouri

36052_Surplus Lines_Layout 1 7/13/2012 9:11 AM Page 1

New regulation protects farm mutual policyholdersIn an outstanding example of state regula-tors and industry representatives working together, Missouri has a new regulation on the books, which will strengthen the financial condition of Missouri mutual insurance com-panies, known to many of us as farm mutuals.

While most property and casualty insurers are regulated by Chapter 379 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, farm mutuals are regulated by Chapter 380. This chapter brings its own regulatory scheme, so farm mutuals face dif-ferent solvency requirements than standard property-casualty companies.

After the Barton County Mutual Group experienced significant financial stress due to exposure from the Joplin tornado, it became clear that something had to be done to pre-vent future insolvencies from threatening the

policyholders of farm mutuals, most of whom are rural Missourians.

A new regulation, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2013, goes a long way to strengthen the finan-cial position of these companies. It requires each farm mutual to carry enough reinsurance that future losses would not deplete its surplus by more than 20 percent in one year.

While many factors contributed to Barton’s insolvency, one glaring problem was a lack of adequate reinsurance. This new regulation will prevent farm mutuals from taking on more risk than they can handle.

I want to commend three industry trade groups, which worked closely with DIFP on devel-oping this regulation and supporting its imple-mentation: The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies; Missouri Association of

John M. Huffdirector, Mo. DIFP

fromtheDIFP


Ringwalt & Liesche

COMMERCIAL AUTO

GARAGE LIABILITY

GENERAL LIABILITY

MOTOR TRUCK CARGO

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Send submissions to: [email protected]

P: 800-708-7448F: 402-916-3333

Why Quote with Ringwalt & Liesche?

• A++ Markets

• Competitive Rates

• Quick Turnaround

• Attractive Commission

• Online Rater

Whether you’re trying to place an unusual risk or an everyday operation, you can

look to us for a quote! Check us out today at www.ringwalt.com.

Mutual Insurance Companies; and The Missouri Insurance Coalition.

It’s not often that regulators and industry representatives team up to strengthen regula-tions, so it shows how vital this need was. It also shows how effective we can be when working together to strengthen the industry and con-sumer protections in our state.

These farm mutuals need our support be-cause, as you know as well as I do, they serve a unique customer base.

On another note, let me say how much I en-joyed my time at the MAIA Leadership Confer-ence in Lake Ozark in July. It was a privilege to swear in your new officers at the annual instal-lation and awards banquet, and the Eggs and Is-sues discussion on Friday morning, as usual, was a good chance to address tough and complex issues affecting your membership and the insur-ance industry.

As always, thank you for all you do to serve Missouri consumers.

This article expresses the official views and opin-ion of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registra-tion, which may not necessarily be those re-flected by the Missouri Association of Insurance Agents.

Most of the policyholders of farm mutuals are rural Missourians.

Director Huff discusses in-surance issues along with Larry Case at this year’s Leadership Conference

specialfocus leadershipconference

Leadership Conference

Awards and Installation BanquetDoug Clift installed as presidentDoug Clift, Manchester, was installed as the 2012-13 president of MAIA at the annual Leadership Conference in July. Five others were also in-stalled on the association’s executive committee.

In a speech delivered at the banquet, Clift recounted

the example his father, Dick Clift, set for

him as a man, an insurance producer and president of MAIA.

Clift has worked with a number of MAIA committees over the past 25 years. He be-gan his service on the

Education Committee in 1986 and served as

chairman of the Young Agents Committee in 1990.

Since then, he has served on the Membership Committee and

has chaired the Leadership Conference Committee and the Budget-Finance Commit-tee. Clift also served as the Region 8 director for three years.

Before joining Bowersox Insurance Agency Co., where he is now president, Clift worked as a commercial lines underwriter with Fireman’s Fund. He is a past president of the Indepen-dent Insurance Agents of St. Louis.

Clift is an alumnus of DePauw Univer-sity, Greencastle, Ind., where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics. He holds the Certified Insur-ance Counselor designation. Clift and his wife, Anne, live in Manchester. They have two daughters, Hannah and Olivia.

Other executive officers installed for the 2012-13 year are:President-Elect: Brian Harrison, CIC, Harrison

Agency, ColumbiaVice President: Louis Landwehr, CIC, CRM, Win-

ter-Dent & Co., Jefferson CitySecretary-Treasurer: Randy Baker, T.R. Baker In-

surance Agency, KennettIIABA State National Director: Mitchell Mills,

CWCC, Mills & Sons, ClintonPIA State National Director: Richard Minor, CIC,

Trust GDC, Hannibal

Insurance Person of the YearScott Brothers, CICThe Insurance Person of the Year award recog-nizes exceptional com-mitment to the insur-ance industry and dedi-cation to MAIA. This year’s recipient, Scott Brothers, Joplin, was

Outgoing President Byron Robison and Incoming President

Doug Clift

2012-13 Executive Committee



Awards and Installation Banquet

chosen in recognition of his service to the asso-ciation and his fellow agents, and especially for his actions to help everyone in the community and the insurance industry who were impacted by the May 22, 2011, tornado in Joplin, Mo.

Brothers is the CEO and president of The Insurancenter, Joplin. Under his leadership, The Insurancenter has been recognized as a Best Practices Agency every year since 1995. Brothers also serves as the president of agency operations at Glatfelter Insurance Group and has served on the boards of several insurance companies. He has held the Certified Insurance Counselor designation for more than 30 years.

Brothers served on the MAIA board of di-rectors as a regional director for six years. He joined the Executive Committee in 2007 and served as MAIA president in 2010. He has also served on and chaired several association com-mittees, including the Young Agents Commit-tee, the Producer Development Committee and the Leadership Conference Committee.

Company Rep of the YearAndrea Powell, CICMAIA honors company representatives who have demonstrated positive company-agency relations and a desire to support the needs of both agencies and companies.

This year’s honoree, Andrea Powell, received the award in acknowledgement of her dedi-cation to the success of the agencies that she works with.


Powell is the Missouri marketing representa-tive for United Fire Group. She began her career in the industry by working for an independent insurance agency in Columbia in 2000. Powell earned the Certified Insurance Counselor desig-nation in 2004.

Top PartnerAllied InsuranceFor the company’s continuous support of MAIA, Allied Insurance, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, was named the 2012 Top Partner. Mike Pollard accepted the award on behalf of the company.

Scott Brothers with his family

Andrea Powell with Doug Clift

Allied Insurance



Leadership Conference delightsThe 2012 MAIA Leadership Conference, held July 18-20, 2012, at The Lodge of Four Seasons, Lake Ozark, attracted agents and other industry personnel from across the state.

This year’s keynote speech presented opposing political views from noted political pundits Mary Matalin and James Carville. The audience enjoyed the good-natured gibes each threw at the other as they gave their takes on the current presidential race.

Three educational sessions were based on the popular Best Practices platform from IIABA. Jon Persky led sessions on business continuity planning and producer compensation. On Friday, David Holt’s class on crisis management planning was complimented by an agent panel titled, “Lessons Learned in Joplin,” which addressed issues resulting from the May 22, 2011, tornado in Joplin, Mo.

Television was the theme for the annual Block Party and Strolling Dinner, and many of the company representatives came dressed for the occasion. It was one of the best years

we’ve had for costumes. The relaxed atmosphere at the block party set up great relations for the trade show the next day.

As always, the Awards and Installation Banquet was held Thursday evening. President Doug Clift was inducted along with the rest of the 2012-13 board of directors. After the

awards ceremony, MAIA favorites Scott Laytham and Karl Holmes

provided the music for the dance.

Survey Quotes

“I think it was one of the best conferences in several years. [I will be] able to use the info starting today.”

“Excellent information presented in a way that I can use.”

“Couldn’t ask for anything more!”

Senator Scott Rupp opens the keynote session.

Mary Matalin


Agents compete for a free registration to next year’s conference.

Matt Zimmerman, best costume winner

AeroDry as the “Beverly Hillbillies” with Rick and Judy Naught.

James Carville

Jon Persky leads a Best Practices session.

Kim Corlew and Gayle Hugo win their block’s “Captain’s Choice Award.”

Jo Ann Evans and Brent Speight at the InsurPac booth




Leadership Conference continued from page 25

Above: Karl Holmes leads the YMCA.

Above right: Past President’s dinner

Right: Installation of officers

Below: The Champion-ship Flight golf win-ners, Dick and Scott

Minor and Art Schulte

2012-13 MAIA board of directors

Agent Panel: Lessons Learned in Joplin



continued from page 25

Outgoing President Byron Robison and Lorie Estelle

Mary Matalin and James Carville at the book signing.

Shelly and Randal Kraft visit the Foremost booth.

Lee Wilbers talks with Dwight Hager.

Jane Dobrinic and Paula Hutchinson

Alan Hedrick and Jo Ann Evans



FOR INSURANCE PROFESSIONALSEDUC TION

Who Should Attend:CIC Institutes• Agents & brokers • Insurance company personnel

CISR Courses• Account representatives & managers• New producers• All others on the “front line”

AVAILABLE ONLINE

Programs That Give You “Response-Ability”

CIC & CISR

3269 1210

www.piafl.org 800-277-1171

CIC Institutes

Agency Management InstituteSept. 12-15, 2012, Springfield

James K. Ruble Graduate SeminarOct. 24-25, 2012, St. Charles

CISR Courses

Commercial Casualty Seminar Sept. 5, 2012, SpringfieldSept. 27, 2012, IndependenceOct. 10, 2012, ChesterfieldOct. 11, 2012, Jefferson City

Dynamics of Service SeminarSept. 18, 2012, Chesterfield

William T. Hold SeminarOct. 30, 2012, Chesterfield

Register online at www.missouriagent.org.Questions? Call MAIA Education Director Emily Koenigsfeld at 800-617-3658.

See our up-

coming we-binars at www.missouriagent.

org.

Leadership Conference Awards continued from page 23

Allied is a mutually owned company found-ed in 1929. Today, Allied provides home, auto, business, farm and life insurance coverage to individuals in 31 states, including Missouri. The company has more than 80,000 policyholders in Missouri alone.

A member of the Fortune 100 Nationwide family of companies, Allied boasts more than 50 years of A+ rated financial stability. Allied is an MAIA Platinum Partner.

Young Agent of the YearParker MillsThis award, given at the Young Agents Confer-ence in June, recognizes an agent under the age of 40 who has demonstrated dedication through involvement in state or local associa-

tion activities; through personal efforts to advance as an insurance professional;

and through involvement in com-munity activities.

Mills began his insurance career with Allied Insurance after graduating from the University of Missouri in 2006 with a degree in business management. He is now a producer with Mills & Sons Insur-ance, Clinton. In 2009,

he graduated from the National Alliance Producer

School, finishing in the top five of his class.Mills is a member of his local

Rotary Club, the Clinton Chamber of Commerce and the Clinton Elks

Lodge. He also serves as district chairman of Ducks Unlimited. Mills has been an active member of MAIA since 2008 and joined the Young Agents Committee in 2010.

Members of the CSR Development Confer-ence Committee

Committee of the YearCSR Development Conference CommitteeThe CSR Development Conference Committee recently created an entirely new event for MAIA. Recognizing a gap in the association’s offerings, several members came together to envision, create and implement the CSR Development Conference.

The committee members spent hours hash-ing out ideas and analyzing the needs of agency customer service representatives. They wanted to honor the commitment of these front lines employees and give them a fun, relaxing envi-ronment where they could take advantage of education designed especially for them.

After months of planning, the first CSR De-velopment Conference took place in November 2011 at MAIA Headquarters, and the mix of tech-nical and administrative education proved to be hugely popular. The conference has now been made an annual event.

The CSR Development Conference Committee is chaired by Belinda Brenizer, CIC.

Parker Mills (r) and his uncle, Mitchell Mills

FOR INSURANCE PROFESSIONALSEDUC TION

Who Should Attend:CIC Institutes• Agents & brokers • Insurance company personnel

CISR Courses• Account representatives & managers• New producers• All others on the “front line”

AVAILABLE ONLINE

Programs That Give You “Response-Ability”

CIC & CISR

3269 1210

www.piafl.org 800-277-1171

CIC Institutes

Agency Management InstituteSept. 12-15, 2012, Springfield

James K. Ruble Graduate SeminarOct. 24-25, 2012, St. Charles

CISR Courses

Commercial Casualty Seminar Sept. 5, 2012, SpringfieldSept. 27, 2012, IndependenceOct. 10, 2012, ChesterfieldOct. 11, 2012, Jefferson City

Dynamics of Service SeminarSept. 18, 2012, Chesterfield

William T. Hold SeminarOct. 30, 2012, Chesterfield

Register online at www.missouriagent.org.Questions? Call MAIA Education Director Emily Koenigsfeld at 800-617-3658.

See our up-

coming we-binars at www.missouriagent.

org.


MAIA

OfficersPresidentDoug Clift, CICBowersox Insurance Agency Co.3537 S. KingshighwaySt. Louis, MO 63139314-832-8010

[email protected]

President-ElectBrian Harrison, CICHarrison Agency2100 White Gate DriveColumbia, MO 65202573-474-9537b.harrison@

harrisonagencyinc.com

Vice PresidentLouis Landwehr, CIC, CRMWinter-Dent & Co.P.O. Box 1046Jefferson City, MO 65102

[email protected]

Secretary-TreasurerRandy BakerT.R. Baker Insurance Agency808 Independence Ave.Kennett, MO 63857573-888-9021

[email protected]

IIABA State National DirectorMitchell Mills, CWCCMills & SonsP.O. Box 505Clinton, MO 64735660-885-7576

[email protected]

PIA National DirectorDick Minor, CWCATrust GDCP.O. Box 797Hannibal, MO [email protected]

Past PresidentByron RobisonGreat Southern AgencyP.O. Box 310Ozark, MO 65721417-581-3544brobison@

greatsouthernbank.com

DirectorsRegion 1Ricky Baker, CICRobertson Insurance Services417 Locust St.Chillicothe, MO 64601660-646-2221

[email protected]

Region 2Darren SmileyHillebrand InsuranceP.O. Box 856Mexico, MO 65265573-581-6566darrens@

hillebrandinsurance.com

Region 3Chris Rupp, CIC, LUTCFJC Rupp AgencyP.O. Box 543Liberty, MO [email protected]

Region 4Shane DavoltG M Peters Agency11 N. Water St.Liberty, MO 64068816-781-4922shanedavolt@

gmpeters.com

Region 5Lee Wilbers Jr., LUTCF, CLU, CFPWallstreet Financial Group211 Marshall St.Jefferson City, MO 65101

[email protected]

Region 6Jim Baxendale, CPCUMissouri General Insurance Agency425 N. New Ballas Road Suite 201St. Louis, MO 63141

[email protected]

Region 7Jeff Mentel, J.D.AHM Financial Group11975 Westline Industrial Drive Suite 200St. Louis, MO 63146

[email protected]

Region 8Jane Dobrinic, CIC, CPCUCharles L. Crane Agency Co.100 N. Broadway Suite 900

St. Louis, MO [email protected]

Region 9Randy SmartSmart Insurance AgencyP.O. Box 287Marionville, MO 65705417-258-2541rsmart@

smartinsuranceagency.com

Region 10Tom Montileone, CIC, CISR, AISBarker-Phillips-JacksonP.O. Box 4207 GSSSpringfield, MO 65808417-887-3550

[email protected]

Region 11Steve Rackley, CIC, CISRRackley Insurance AgencyP.O. Box 218Gainesville, MO 65655417-679-3331

[email protected]

officers and directors


Find Your Pot of GoldApply for a 2013 CIC Institute Scholarship

If you are an employee at any one of MAIA’s member agencies and you do not currently hold the CIC desig-

nation, you may qualify for a scholarship.

The scholarships each consist of the $396 registration fee for one CIC institute. They are donated by the Missouri Association of Insurance Agents in partnership with the Society of Certified Insur-ance Counselors.

The deadline to apply for a 2013 schol-arship is Oct. 1, 2012. Find the appli-cation online at www.missouriagent.org by clicking the “Upcoming CICs” link in the middle of the page.

If you have questions, you may call the MAIA office at 800-617-3658 or e-mail Emily Koenigsfeld at [email protected].

Region 12Mark GibbinsEllington Insurance AgencyP.O. Drawer DPortageville, MO 63873573-379-5401

[email protected]

At-Large 1Wil Turner, CICTurner Insurance Associates8431 Clint DriveBelton, MO 64012816-322-6611

[email protected]

At-Large 2Vickie Winkler, CISRLakenan Insurance AgencyP.O. Box 407Ste. Genevieve, MO 63670

[email protected]

At-Large 3John PattersonJ.W. Terrill825 Maryville Centre Drive Suite 200Chesterfield, MO 63017314-594-2700

[email protected]

Company RepresentativeBen FinanSECURA Insurance Co.11933 Barbara DriveMaryland Heights, MO 63043

[email protected]

Company RepresentativeJim Lay, CIC, CPCUThe Cincinnati Insurance Co.P.O. Box 4552

Chesterfield, MO [email protected]

Schuyler

ClarkScotland

LewisKnox

ShelbyMarion

RallsMonroe

Audrain

Pike

Callaway

Mon

tgom

ery

Lincoln

W arren St. Charles

St. Louis

Franklin

Gas

cona

de Jefferson

St. Francois

W ashingtonCrawford

Ste.Genevieve

Perry

CapeGirardeau

Scott

Mis

siss

ippi

New

Mad

rid

Pemiscot

Dunklin

Stoddard

Butler

Ripley

Carter

Reynolds

Iron

Madison

Bollinger

OregonHowellOzarkTaney

Shannon

Dent

TexasDouglas

W right

W ebster

Christian

W ayne

StoneBarry

McDonald

Newton

JasperLawrence

Greene

Polk

Dade

Barton

Vernon

Cedar

LacledeDallas

Bates

Cass

Jackson

St. Clair

Henry

HickoryCamden Pulaski Phelps

Maries

OsageMiller

Cole

Moniteau

Morgan

Benton

JohnsonPettis

Saline

Cooper

Lafayette

Boone

Ray

Howard

CharitonCarroll

Randolph

Daviess

Harrison

Mercer

Grundy

Livingston

Linn

Sullivan

Putnam

Adair

Macon

Atchison

Nodaway

Andrew

Buchanan

Platte

Clay

Clinton

DeKalb

Gentry

W orth

Caldwell

Holt 1

2

3-45

121110

6-7-8

MAIA Regions

9


s! E&O HappenWhen that inevitable claim arises, we are your Trusted Choice® for professional liability protection.

AMC offers you a choice of the two most prestigious Errors and Omissions carriers in the country:

Westport

3 In business for 92 years3 In the E&O business for over 30 years3 Insures over 15,000 agencies3 Has over $150 million in premiums3 Endorsed by the Missouri association

for over 30 years3 Rated A+ by A.M. Best

Insurance CompanyUtica

3 In business for 92 years3 In the E&O business for 40 years3 Insures over 11,000 agencies3 Has over $70 million in premiums3 Endorsed by the Missouri association

for over 40 years3 Rated A- by A.M. Best

National Insurance Group

Agents Marketing Corporation is a subsidiary of Missouri Association of Insurance Agents

For a quote or for more information contact Theresa Flippin at [email protected] or 800/617-3658

In fact, with the two best choices in the business...

why would you trust anyone else?

Agents Marketing Corporation Your Trusted Choice®


s! E&O HappenWhen that inevitable claim arises, we are your Trusted Choice® for professional liability protection.

AMC offers you a choice of the two most prestigious Errors and Omissions carriers in the country:

Westport

3 In business for 92 years3 In the E&O business for over 30 years3 Insures over 15,000 agencies3 Has over $150 million in premiums3 Endorsed by the Missouri association

for over 30 years3 Rated A+ by A.M. Best

Insurance CompanyUtica

3 In business for 92 years3 In the E&O business for 40 years3 Insures over 11,000 agencies3 Has over $70 million in premiums3 Endorsed by the Missouri association

for over 40 years3 Rated A- by A.M. Best

National Insurance Group

Agents Marketing Corporation is a subsidiary of Missouri Association of Insurance Agents

For a quote or for more information contact Theresa Flippin at [email protected] or 800/617-3658

In fact, with the two best choices in the business...

why would you trust anyone else?

Agents Marketing Corporation Your Trusted Choice®

Tim WahlGallaher Insurance Group

MAIA Technical Committee

Special HO isn’t really specialA homeowner is at work during deer mating season when a buck jumps through his big picture window, probably mistaking its reflec-tion for another deer. As you can imagine, a 250-pound buck with a nice set of antlers left inside a home for five or six hours while bleed-ing from glass cuts can do a lot of damage to a home and its personal property, or contents.

When the claim is processed, it’s found that the homeowner has a Homeowners 3 — Spe-cial Form Policy (ISO HO 03). While the title of the policy contains the words special form, the coverage provided is anything but special! Special form coverage is only provided on the dwelling and others structures (Coverage A&B). The homeowner is shocked to learn his personal property (Coverage C) is only covered for specific named perils, and a deer loose in home is not a named peril.

Damage to the home is covered, but damage to the personal property is not. The home-owner gets more upset when he learns for $60 in additional premium, he could have purchased Special Personal Property Coverage.

On the commercial insurance side today, we hardly ever write named peril coverage. Unless the building is outdated, Special Form coverage for building and business personal property is most often written. Not so with personal lines homeowners, renters and mobile home policies: Few insureds seem to purchase Special Personal Property Coverage (HO 05) for various reasons:

• They mistakenly think the title of the HO 03, “Homeowners 3 — Special Form,” means all coverage provided is special form.

• The insured declined to purchase the special form coverage.

• The agent did not offer Special Form Per-sonal Property Coverage as an option to the insured.

A basic principle of insurance is that the special causes of loss form provides better pro-tection to the insured than does named peril coverage. This holds true for both homeowners policies and commercial policies.

I have plenty of insurance geek friends, and we have put together a list of claims that might be covered under special causes of loss but are not covered under named peril policies. Some

examples pertain exclu-sively to homeowners policies, while others may apply to both per-sonal and commercial property policies. Our hope is that providing a list helps you and your insureds better understand the benefits of special cause of loss policy forms.

• As in the claim above, a deer or other animal enters the home and causes damage. (Impor-tant note: The 2011 form takes away coverage for skunk spraying.)

• Theft of personal property occurs in a portion of the residence rented to others.

• A windstorm damages a watercraft not inside a fully enclosed building.

• A watercraft is stolen while it is away from the premises.

• Rain enters an open window causing damage to carpet, furniture and a Thomas Kincaid painting.

• There is a mysterious disappearance of per-sonal property. (The maid probably stole it, but that can’t be proven.)

• Damage to the interior of a building by a falling object with no exterior damage: While she is painting, a home-owner’s ladder tips over and breaks the glass table into a thousand pieces.

technicalities


A basic principle of insur-ance is that the special causes of loss form provides better protection to the insured than does named peril coverage.


INSURANCE PROGRAMS.®

WINERYPAK

YOUR TOTAL WINERY INSURANCE SOLUTION.

Your business. Our specialty.

888-386-5701 • www.WineryPak.com© 2010 WineryPak, LLC. All rights reserved.UNDERWRITTEN BY MEMBER COMPANIES OF GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE GROUP.

If you’re an insurance professional targeting the winemaking or distilled spiritsindustries, now you can provide more of the coverages your clients and prospectsneed, in one inclusive program.

WineryPak® offers coverage for:• WINERY AND VINEYARD OPERATIONS • SPECIAL EVENTS & HOSPITALITY• FARM & RANCH COVERAGES • BONDS • CROP INSURANCE • CYBER RISK

technicalities continued from page 33

• A trailer is stolen while it is away from the premises.

• Damage to a falling object itself: Mr. Smith drops a $2,000 LCD TV while trying to install it on the wall.

• Water seeping in around the windows causes damage to furniture.

• A power surge damages tubes, transistors and electronic components.

• A waterbed bursts. • While playing with a Bunsen burner, young

Johnnie damages the dining room table.• Personal property is stolen from a second-

ary residence while the insured is not living there. (See our prior article in the Septem-ber-October 2011 issue of Missouri Agent.)

• Spillage: While painting, Alan drops a gallon of paint on the entertainment system.

• A floor collapses due to the weight of ob-jects, animals or people.

• A toddler drops a watch into the toilet, dam-aging the plumbing system.

• The lawn mower throws a rock through a big triple glass, argon-filled window.

• Non-malicious acts of children: Little Tommy thought it was funny to finger paint on the Thomas Kincaid painting. Little Sara thought it was so fun to use marker to draw on the carpet.

• While painting her nails, an insured’s teen-aged daughter gets nail polish on the couch, chair and carpet.

• A murder occurs in the home, and significant damage results from the blood.

• The use of a shotgun damages a building and its contents.

• A fight causes damage.• A 150-gallon, salt-water aquarium bursts and

water floods the room, damaging the building and its contents.

• A stone disappears from the setting of a ring.• The airline loses Cathy’s luggage.• Property sent by mail never arrives.


• While she is leaning over the rail on a cruise ship, a bride’s wedding ring falls into the ocean.

• A homeowner turns on lawn sprinkler and forgets a window is open, damaging the building and its contents.

• Bothered in the middle of the night by mosquitoes, a homeowner grabs a can of insecticide and sprays it all around the room. He awakes the next morning to discover he had mistakenly attacked the mosquitoes with a can of spray paint, damaging the building and contents.

• A cigarette burns a hole in the brand new sofa.

• An ice dam forms on a roof, causing water to back up under the shingles and flow down inside the ceiling and walls, causing damage to building and contents.

Many of these claims are real. Yes some situations are small, and a good agent would

counsel the insured not to turn in a claim for a few hundred dollars of benefit, yet some claims are not small. In fact, some claims, like the buck loose in the home, are big, and you are going to have a home claim anyway. Turning a claim in on personal property isn’t going to make much of a difference.

The fact is that special cause of loss forms on both homeowners and commercial property policies are superior in providing protection ver-sus the named peril policy forms.

Tim Wahl, CIC, is the com-mercial marketing man-ager at Gallaher Insurance Group, Mexico. He has been an active member of the MAIA Technical Com-mittee since 2008.

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITYCOVERAGE IS IN THE DETAILS

&

&

31186_BURNS_MS1_MO1_Missouri Agent_Data Privacy Ad.indd 1 8/1/12 12:19 PM


PROFESSIONAL LIABILITYCOVERAGE IS IN THE DETAILS

&

&

31186_BURNS_MS1_MO1_Missouri Agent_Data Privacy Ad.indd 1 8/1/12 12:19 PM

Staff profile: Theresa Flippin

Title: Customer Services Rep.Joined MAIA: October 2006

What is your educational background?I graduated from Labette County High School in Altamont, Kan., and I am a few hours away from earning an Associate’s Degree.

I have been a licensed cosmetologist, Realtor and now an agent.

Tell me about a typical work day for you.I review diaries, work on pending accounts, make new contacts and respond to clients by phone and e-mail. And other duties as assigned. This can be the part of my job that is most chal-lenging but the most exciting.

What do you enjoy most about your job?Successfully finding the right answers for our contacts.

What was your first job?Sonic carhop. Yes, I did wear roller skates, and I was good at it.

What has been your most sig-nificant accomplishment as a professional?Learning more about people. At this point in my life, I love being around people of all types.

Who has had the biggest influence on your career?Every person who has inspired me has been a supervisor or coworker along the way who taught me and helped me strive to improve.

Tell us about your family.My husband’s name is David, and we have one son, Paul, who is 30. Paul has a beautiful two-and-a-half year-old daughter named Riley.

Do you have any pets?We have a dog named Freckles. She’s a smaller dog with a cute, curly tail and perky ears. We adopted her from the Humane Society four years ago, and she is very loving and appre-ciative of having a home. She’s obedient but also very sensitive, so we have to treat her like

Theresa with her niece Alyssa

a child. If we scold her, the expressions she gives us are either comical or very sad. We just can’t get mad at her or ignore her for long. She’s been one of the most loyal pets we’ve had.

What is a goal you’re still trying to accomplish?Learning a foreign language fluently.

Who is your biggest fan?My husband accepts me for who I am, is proud of me when I do well, and rallies me along when I’m having a hard time or going through a change. We are enjoying “ma-turing” together.

If you could meet any-one in history, who would it be?Those fellows who signed the Declaration of Indepen-dence and their families. Also George Washington. I’d like to know the women behind those guys.

What crazy fad have you been part of?Those ‘70s clothes, ugh! Big flowers everywhere. I did love the go-go boots and bell bottoms, though.

Theresa in BriefFavoritesFood: What do you have?!Color: Jewel tones of all shades and greenMusic: ChristianTV Show: NCISMovie: Return to Me

Pet PeevesDiscontentment without effort to improve

MAIA Insurance Department


RELATIONSHIPSIT’S WHY WE STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

“ I’m a mom, and for me excellent communication is important. The same holds true for my role as a Bond Underwriter. Developing personal relationships with our customers is essential—it’s who we are.”

Robyn Shepherd Bond Underwriter—professional listener and “customer care” expert

Connect with Robyn on LinkedIn!

800.538.4796 jmwilson.com

PIA National 2011 MGA of the YearProperty/Casualty • Professional Liability • Surety Commercial Transportation • Personal Lines • Premium Finance

Before we get started, take a look below at an excerpt from an errors and omissions case involving an agent who was asked to explain coinsurance. His inability to do so effectively resulted in the E&O carrier settling with the plaintiff out of court.

I could give you the wrong thing, and I can stand to be corrected. But on coinsurance if you’ve got, like, a million dollars’ worth of cov-erage and if a person has an 80 percent coin-surance factor, all right, that means that it’s going to have to be sure that it is insured up to 80% of the value. That comes into play when

it’s a partial claim is one thing that it will come into play. If a person is only insured up to 50% of the value instead of 80%, then it would be stated on the policy. Then there would be prob-ably a 30% depreciation taken off the policy. So, the 80% is really better than a 90% coinsured or the coinsurance being 100%. And so that’s on that particular incident now.

Although most commercial property policies provide examples of how coinsurance works (for example, check out the “Additional Conditions — Coinsurance” in the CP 00 10), why policies have such a clause is a mystery to most insureds ... and many agents. So, let’s look at the purpose behind coinsurance.

The coinsurance condition was introduced as a standard clause by the Louisville Board of Fire Underwriters in 1885 for pork and tobacco risks and was expanded to other property in 1890. However, individual insurer use of this condition dates back to at least 1877 (Continental Insur-ance Co.), if not earlier.

Coinsurance is a contractual requirement that the insured carry agreed upon insurance-to-value, as specified by a percentage (usually 80, 90 or 100%) entered on the declarations page. If, at the time of loss, the limit of insurance is less than the value of the property multiplied by the coin-surance percentage, the insured will become a “co-insurer,” along with the insurance company, when a loss occurs.

The purpose of coinsurance is not to punish an insured for carrying inadequate insurance-to-value but rather to provide a financial incentive that: (1) encourages insureds to carry adequate limits in the event of major losses, and (2) re-wards them (in many instances) with a significant premium reduction for doing so.

Why do insureds need an incentive to carry limits of insurance approaching the value of their property? Simple. Because, in the aggregate, most losses are partial and don’t result in a total, or even substantial, loss. Without a financial in-centive, insureds who are not risk aversive might be inclined to purchase relatively low limits of insurance. Since that inclination depends, in part, on the structure and occupancy of the building, the amount of the incentive is largely deter-mined by those factors.

To illustrate, according to one estimate, less than 2% of fire losses are total, and 86% of fire losses result in damages of 20% or less of the building value. That is, if a building is worth $500,000 and a fire occurs (which isn’t that likely to begin with), there is an 86% chance that the damage will be $100,000 or less. So, if the

Bill Wilsondirector, Virtual University

coinsuranceto clients

How to explain


Chart 2

insured is a risk taker, why not insure the building for $100,000 or less? Of course, the statistics above are just for the peril of fire; if you add windstorm and other po-tentially catastrophic perils, the numbers may change.

These numbers are averages. Statistically, a reinforced concrete office building is much less likely to experience a major loss than a wood frame woodworking shop, so the owner of the office building could be less inclined to carry full insurance-to-value because the probability of a serious loss is virtually nil. On the other hand, the owner of the woodworking shop is much more likely to insure to value because it is easy to conceive of a major loss occurring.

Coinsurance provides an incentive for ad-equate insurance-to-value by providing a rate credit for carrying relatively high limits-to-value. The credit is much larger for the fire-resistive of-fice building because the owner needs a larger incentive, and the rate credit reflects the lower probability of loss. For example, look at the cal-culations in chart 1 to the right.

The gross rates and premiums are the rates and premiums that would be charged if cover-age was written without a coinsurance require-ment. The 80% rates and premiums are those that apply when the insured contractually agrees to carry a limit of at least 80% of the val-ue of the property at the time of loss. Note that the woodworker gets only a 10% credit from the gross (no coinsurance) premium, while the owner of the office building gets a 70% credit.

What if the owner of the fire-resistive build-ing heard that there was only a 14% chance that a fire loss would cause damages in excess of 20% of the value of the building? Wouldn’t he only buy $100,000 of insurance? No, because he couldn’t pass up the bargain, as shown below (and we all know that most insurers wouldn’t let him anyway).

Looking at chart 2, you can see, if the insured elected to buy only $100,000 coverage rather than $400,000, he would experience a premium reduction of less than 17% while reducing the coverage amount by 75%. Conversely, for 25% in additional premium, the insured can increase coverage by 300%.

Thus, coinsurance provides an incentive to purchase higher insurance-to-value than some (perhaps many) insureds would be inclined to do otherwise. In doing so, insureds can save a significant amount of money, and they have the assurance that, in the unlikely event that they do have a major loss, they’re covered.

Chart 1

Const. ValueGross Rate

80% Rate

Gross Premium

80% Prem.

Offices Fire Res. $500,000 0.64 0.18 $3,200 $900

Woodshop Wood $500,000 3.74 3.73 $18,700 $16,850

Office Building Policy Limit

Gross Rate

80% Rate

100% Rate

Premium

$100,000 0.60 $600

$400,000 0.18 $720

$500,000 0.15 $750

Grow your business. with Couri Associates.

Or Ask one of these strategic partners about Couri Associates’ value

Visit www.couriagents.com/raves/

Retain your identity

Hear what our associates are saying about our focus on agents and our great commissions!

Interested in becoming part of the Couri family? Visit our website,couriagents.com or give Steve Albinger a call at 800-444-1215.

Scan thiswith your

Smartphone QR Reader App.

Search “QR Code” in your App storeto download a mobile reader.

Or

This is just a sampling of the quality carriers Couri represents.


Grow your business. with Couri Associates.

Or Ask one of these strategic partners about Couri Associates’ value

Visit www.couriagents.com/raves/

Retain your identity

Hear what our associates are saying about our focus on agents and our great commissions!

Interested in becoming part of the Couri family? Visit our website,couriagents.com or give Steve Albinger a call at 800-444-1215.

Scan thiswith your

Smartphone QR Reader App.

Search “QR Code” in your App storeto download a mobile reader.

Or

This is just a sampling of the quality carriers Couri represents.

Enforcement Actions• Daniel B. Agee, St. Charles, Mo., motor vehi-

cle extended service contract producer license granted under special conditions.

• Michael Ash, Lagrange, Ky., voluntary forfei-ture of $250 for failure to report an adminis-trative action in another jurisdiction.

• Daren Barnes, Springfield, Mo., insurance pro-ducer license suspended from Dec. 14, 2012, through and including the date of the order, June 6, 2012.

• Joseph E. Caldrone, Kansas City, Mo., insur-ance producer license refused.

• Chad T. Callahn, Wentzville, Mo., motor vehi-cle extended service contract producer license refused.

• Todd A. Cooper, Wentzville, Mo., motor vehi-cle extended service contract producer license granted under special conditions.

• Jeffrey David, Gladstone, Mo., voluntary for-feiture of $1,000 for violation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare Marketing Guidelines and failure to post a required CMS disclosure on his business website.

• Chance M. Earnest, Hazelwood, Mo., motor vehicle extended service contract producer license refused.

• Heather N. Flood, St. Charles, Mo., motor vehicle extended service contract producer license granted under special conditions.

• Steve J. Galczynski, Villa Ridge, Mo., motor vehicle extended service contract producer license refused.

• Scott R. Granden, St. Charles, Mo., motor vehicle extended service contract producer license refused.

• William L. Held, Wright City, Mo., motor vehicle extended service contract producer license refused.

• Richard B. Hendin, Cebu City, Phillippines, insurance producer license revoked.

• Sigmar Hessing, Warren, N.J., voluntary for-feiture of $1,000 for failure to file his Surplus Lines Tax Report before March 2, 2012.

• Paul F. Holloway, St. Louis, Mo., motor vehicle extended service contract producer license granted under special conditions.

• Lovecia I. Jones, St. Peters, Mo., motor vehicle extended service contract producer license refused.

• John S. Kuhn, Callao, Mo., insurance producer license revoked.

• Brent Lilly, Independence, Mo., voluntary forfeiture of $200 for “using fraudulent, coer-cive or dishonest practices, or demonstrating incompetence, untrustworthiness or financial irresponsibility in the conduct of business.”

• Aaron K. Loudermill, Springfield, Mo., insur-ance producer license refused.

• Andre L. Love Jr., St. Charles, Mo., motor vehi-cle extended service contract producer license granted under special conditions.

• Richard McClure, Ste. Genevieve, voluntary forfeiture of $500 for using “incorrect infor-mation on multiple homeowners’ insurance applications.”

• Gregg McNelley, Burbank, Calif., voluntary forfeiture of $1,000 for failure to file his Sur-plus Lines Tax Report before March 2, 2012.

• Paul Milby, Roanoke, Va., voluntary forfeiture of $250 for failure to report an administrative action in another jurisidiction.

• Roderick Nelson, St. Louis, Mo., voluntary forfeiture of $750 for failure to report an administrative action and failing to properly respond to inquiries.

• Teresa M. Ovsak aka Teresa Sjostrom, Lake St. Louis, Mo., insurance producer license refused and application for written consent to en-gage in the business of insurance denied.

• Judy L. Patt, Stockton, Calif. (last known), non-resident insurance producer license refused.

• Jeffrey R. Pelletier, Troy, Mo., motor vehicle extended service contract producer license granted under special conditions.

• Cameron T. Penn, Creve Coeur, Mo., motor vehicle extended service contract producer license refused.

• Warren Rogers, St. James, Mo., voluntary for-feiture of $1,500 for allowing an unlicensed person to solicit or engage in the bail bond business on his behalf.

• Korey L. Rush, Belleville, Ill., motor vehicle extended service contract producer license refused.

• Edward S. Walker, Louisburg, Kan., voluntary forfeiture of $450 for failure to surrender his bail bond license while employed by the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office.


regulatoryactions

NSI is a division of West Bend Mutual Insurance Company. Rated A (Excellent) with a financial strength category of X by A.M. Best and Treasury listed at $54,201,000 (7/1/11).

* In 2012, e-Surety will feature SureLYNX, an enhancement that will allow your clients to purchase certain commercial bonds, such as select License & Permit and ERISA bonds, directly from e-Surety using our online credit card payment option. You receive commissions for simply posting a link to your agency website.

Why choose West Bend

for your customers’ bond needs?

Because we offer a standard market bond facility

that doesn’t text-book underwrite.We look at each

account based on its own merit. Having this flexibility

translates into a common-sense approach to bond

underwriting.

Our business is writing your business. Trust our stability and experience when placing

your bond accounts. We’ll provide you with the right solution.

thes i lver l ining.com

Because you’ll find our e-Surety*

on-line bond program offers you an

IMMEDIATE response for ...

• Rapid Bonds – our small contractor program for

contract bonds up to $200,000;

• License & Permit, Miscellaneous, and Court

Bonds; and

• Public Official Bonds.

Some additional benefits offered by our e-Surety

platform are:

• Instant generation of pre-filled bond forms and

power of attorney;

• Additional billing choices, including online credit

card payments;

• Obligee-Specific License & Permit bonds; and

• Email notification of upcoming renewals and the

ability to process or cancel online.

Because our contract surety

programs also include:

• Standard performance and payment bonds

limits of $6 million

single/$15 million

aggregate;

• SBA Contract Bond

Guarantee Program; and

• Rapid PLUS Program for contract bonds of

$200,000 to $400,000.

Because our surety associates offer:

• Experience;

• Stability; and

• Flexibility ... with underwriters who WANT to talk

to you and help you write business!

Because you’ll also get:

• A stand-alone bond bonus program;

• Competitive commissions;

• Competitive four-tier rates;

• Direct or agency bill options; and

• A company that, more than anything, sincerely

values the relationships we share with our agents

and their customers.


• Mark Zins, Princeton, Maine, voluntary forfei-ture of $250 for failure to report an adminis-trative action in another jurisdiction.

• Holmes Murphy & Associates, Des Moines, Iowa, voluntary forfeiture of $250 for failure to report an administrative action in another jurisdiction.

• LSI Title Agency, Coraopolis, Pa., voluntary forfeiture of $250 for failure to report an ad-ministrative action in another jurisdiction.

• True Course Aviation Insurance Services, Ca-marillo, Calif., voluntary forfeiture of $350 for failure to report an administrative action in another jurisdiction and failure to provide timely notification of an address change.

Company changes• ADP Benefit Services Kentucky, Louisville, Ky.,

effective June 8, 2012, changed its name from SHPS Human Resource Solutions.

• Adults & Children’s Alliance, Chicago, Ill., ef-fective May 14, 2012, withdrew as a purchas-ing group.

• Adults & Children’s Risk Purchasing Group, Chicago, Ill., effective May 31, 2012, was regis-tered as a purchasing group.

• American Select Insurance Co., Westfield Cen-ter, Ohio, effective June 1, 2012, was admit-ted with property and liability authorities.

• Arch Insurance Co., Jersey City, N.J., effective June 29, 2012, company’s Form A “Proposed Acquisition of Control of Arch Insurance Can-ada” approved.

• California Casualty Insurance Co., San Mateo, Calif., effective June 22, 2012, redomesticated to Ohio.

• Catalyst Rx Plan Services Insurance Co., Rock-ville, Md., effective June 22, 2012, changed its name from Molina Healthcare Insurance Co.

• Central Adjustment Co., Little Rock, Ark., ef-fective June 11, 2012, was admitted as a third party administrator.

• Construction Services Risk Purchasing Group, Springfield, Ill., effective May 24, 2012, was registered as a purchasing group.

• Dearborn National Life Insurance Co., Downers Grove, Ill., effective June 28, 2012, changed its name from Fort Dearborn Life Insurance Co.

• Dream Co., Huntsville, Ala., effective June 25, 2012, was admitted as a third party administrator.

• First National Insurance Company of America, Boston, Maine, effective June 14, 2012, redo-mesticated to New Hampshire.

• Fitness Insurance, Englewood, Colo., effective June 20, 2012, was registered as a purchasing group.

• Geico Advantage Insurance Co., Washington, D.C., effective June 8, 2012, was admitted with property and liability authorities.

• Geico Choice Insurance Co., Washington, D.C., effective June 8, 2012, was admitted with property and liability authorities.

• Geico Secure Insurance Co., Washington, D.C., effective June 8, 2012, was admitted with property and liaiblity authorities.

• General Insurance Company of America, Bos-ton, Maine, effective June 14, 2012, redomes-ticated to New Hampshire.

• Humana Benefit Plan of Illinois, Louisville, Ky., effective June 12, 2012, was admitted with accident and health authority.

• J&W Cycles, Washington, Mo., effective June 4, 2012, was registered as a motor vehicle ser-vices contract provider.

• Old American Indemnity Co., Frankfort, Ky., effective June 19, 2012, changed its name from Viceroy Insurance Co.

• Preferred Delivery RPC, Indianapolis, Ind., ef-fective June 4, 2012, was registered as a pur-chasing group.

• Safeco Insurance Company of America, Bos-ton, Maine, effective June 14, 2012, redomes-ticated to New Hampshire.

• Technology Insurance Co., Cleveland, Ohio, effective June 1, 2012, added fidelity and surety authority.

• Unity Financial Life Insurance Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, effective June 28, 2012, redomesticated to Ohio and deleted accident and health authority.

• Wastepac Risk Purchasing Group, Port Jeffer-son, N.Y., effective May 31, 2012, withdrew as a purchasing group.

• Western Reserve Life Assurance Company of Ohio, St. Petersburg, Fla., effective June 15, 2012, added accident and health authority.

• Westfield National Insurance Co., Westfield Center, Ohio, effective June 1, 2012, was ad-mitted with property and liability authorities.

regulatoryactions continued from page 41


fromthepresident continued from page 5

My sisters spent the night with Dad, and I got back to the hos-

pital early Saturday morning. At around 11 a.m., my father woke up from what he de-scribed as his long nap and two hours later was eating

a hamburger, French fries and a milk shake while watching the

Cardinals’ game. He obviously had one last high left in

him. We decided to celebrate life. On Sunday night, we had a full-fledged party in his room with more than 15 family members. We took

over not only his room but also the waiting area with food and drink. One of my favorite mo-ments was looking in his room and seeing six or seven of the grandkids sitting around Dad all eat-ing hotdogs, including my father, while watching the Cardinals’ baseball game.

He turned out to be “too healthy” for the suite he was in, so we got him out Monday morning and took him home where he rested comfortably till he passed away Wednesday.

The reason for this story is twofold: First, it dawned on me that they may not have been kicking my father out of the hospital as much as trying to get rid of his family. We had taken over a lot of space. But more than that, I tell this story because it is about celebrating life, and that is what we decided to do with my father to the very end.

As most of you know, my sisters and I grew up in an insurance family, and we have had the great honor and pleasure to work with and for our father over the years. I remember when I had first come back to the agency after working for an insurance company for a couple of years that I was talking to a company rep and he called me an SOB. I was at first insulted that he had called me that, but then I was a little pleased that I had already irritated a company rep and had only been in the agency for a couple of months. He then told me that that SOB means “son of the boss.” There has never been a day go by that I haven’t been proud to be a son of the boss. In fact, our employees can tell you that when an someone calls me an SOB, I just smile because I know what they really mean.

The insurance business, and more importantly life, has been very, very good to me because all I had to do was follow in my father’s footsteps … and follow I did. I played the same sports my father did, went to the same college he did, joined the same fraternity and went to work for an insurance company after college just like he did before coming over to the agency side. As you can see, there is a bit of a trend. I didn’t do any of these things as well as my father, but I was smart enough to know that following in his foot-steps was the right thing to do.

I have been very lucky to have my father as my scout leader, coach, fraternity brother, teammate on numerous softball teams, boss, partner, men-tor, father and, most importantly, best friend. I’m proud to be a part of the insurance industry; I am honored to be this association’s president; and I am very, very lucky that I am once again able fol-low in my father’s footsteps one last time.

Doug and Dick Clift


The Aetna difference: We’re here for you with the latest tools and support.Aetna is proud to support Missouri Association of Insurance Agents.

©2012 Aetna Inc.2012031

Lockton: Champion of BusinessLockton Cos., Kansas City, was recognized as a 2012 “Champion of Business” by the Kansas City Business Journal. The annual program recogniz-es companies for sustained excellence in innova-tion, growth and community involvement.

Connell Insurance honored by chamberConnell Insurance, Branson, was named the 2012 “Small Business of the Year” by the Bran-son and Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. Em-ployees of the agency accepted the award at a ceremony July 24, 2012, in Branson.

Two member agencies recognized in KCLockton Cos. and Westrope, both headquar-tered in Kansas City, were included in the Kan-sas City Business Journal’s recent list of “150 Top Area Private Companies.” Lockton took the #15 spot, while Westrope came in at #116. The rankings were based on the companies’ 2011 revenues, as reported by the participants.

IPMG named Best Place to WorkInsurance Program Managers Group, St. Charles, Ill., has been recognized as one of the “Best Places to Work in Illinois” for 2012. This is the sixth year that IPMG has made the list, which choses winners based on responses to employer and employee surveys.

Ruth named to Ones to WatchJohn Ruth Jr., Wallstreet Insurance, Jefferson City, was named to the 2012 “Ones to Watch” list compiled by Jefferson City Magazine. Recipi-ents of the honor were nominated by members of the community.

In memoriamRichard (Dick) Clift, Chesterfield, Mo., passed away July 18, 2012, at the age of 82. Clift was the owner and CEO of Bowersox Insurance Agency, St. Louis, a position he held until his death. He served as president of MAIA in 1997 and was active with the association for many years. Clift chaired the Leadership Conference Committee and the MAPAC Committee and was a member of several other committees, includ-ing the Producer Development Committee and the Large Agency Committee. He also served on the Executive Committee as the IIABA State National Director for four years.

In addition to his work with the association, Clift was active in his community. He attended Green Trails Methodist Church, bowled, and

played golf, softball and tennis. He is survived by his wife, Carol; son, Doug; two daughters, Susan and Sharon; two step-daughters, Maggie and Liz; and nine grandchildren.

Memorials are suggested to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, P.O. Box 515, Northampton, Maine, 01061.

New faces, new placesCarol Dulle joined the Independent Insurance

Agents of Indiana, Indianapolis, as the execu-tive vice president. Dulle has previously served as the vice president of operations for MAIA.

Sunny Fuller joined Connell Insurance, Hollister, as a workers’ compensation and human re-sources consultant.

Stephen Lee joined Twin Lakes Insurance Agen-cy, Lee’s Summit, as a sales executive.

Kefentse Mandisa joined J.M. Wilson, Kansas City, as a transportation underwriter.

Nathan Reggish joined Akers and Arney, Bran-son, as a risk advisor.

Eric Shwarz joined J.M. Wilson, Kansas City, as a property-casualty underwriter.

Rick Zahner joined Thomas McGee, Kansas City, as a risk consultant.

New MembersLeone-Knipp Insurance Group, Eric Knipp, Lee’s Summit

agencynews

Dick Clift


ClassifiedsAssociation in search of Group Insurance Benefits DirectorA Missouri Association that prides itself in superior service to its membership has an opening in its insurance subsidiary for a Group Insurance Benefits Director. This position is responsible for the supervision and manage-ment of five employees in employee benefits/insurance sales and operations. This position is responsible for the daily administration, operations, marketing, sales, and service to participating association members. Successful applicants must be able to identify financial opportunities and risks to the Association and its members and will work extensively with third party vendors on insurance plan designs, ensuring pricing accuracy, etc.

Applicants must have knowledge and expe-rience in: Self-Insured Medical Plans; Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA); COBRA Administration; HIPAA Privacy and Se-curity; Section 125 Cafeteria Plans; Marketing; Budgeting & Financial Management; Manag-ing Insurance Sales and Operations Personnel; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Applicants must have excellent leadership, written and oral communication skills, and the ability to think critically and strategically.

This position reports directly to the President and CEO of the Association. Applicants must hold their insurance license in life and accident & health lines.

Salary, medical, dental, life, disability, 401(k), pension benefits, and parking are provided. Sub-mit resume, copy of insurance license, and cover letter by September 15th to Insurance Director Search, P.O. Box 57, Jefferson City, MO 65102.

CSR/Account ManagerExcellent opportunity for experienced Commer-cial Lines CSR/Account Manager. Compensation commiserate with knowledge and experience. Location in St. Louis or Columbia. Send resume to [email protected].

The basic classified ad contains a maximum of 35 words (including head). Cost: $27.00 for up to 35 words. Blind ads: $41.00 for maximum of 35 words. MAIA agency members are entitled to a 50 percent discount on classified ads.

Ads must be submitted in writing to Advertis-ing Manager, Missouri Agent, P.O. Box 1785, Jef-ferson City, MO 65102-1785 or [email protected]. Ads will be invoiced.

Deadline for classified ads: first of month pre-ceding publication.

Safeco introduces new presidentSafeco Insurance announced that Matt Nick-erson, formerly the company’s chief operating officer, has been named president of the com-pany. Nickerson replaces Mike Hughes, who has been promoted within the Liberty Mutual family of companies.

MAIA Partners make Ward’s 50Annually, the Ward Group analyzes the finan-cial performance of more than 3,000 prop-erty-casualty and 800 life-health companies domiciled in the U.S. and identifies the top 50 performers in each category. The following MAIA Partners, listed alphabetically, made the 2012 lists in the indicated categories.

ACUITY, p-cAetna, l-hAuto-Owners Insurance Co., l-hPhiladelphia Insurance Cos., p-cProgressive, p-cTravelers, p-cUnited Healthcare, l-h

QBE among top in RE marketQBE Insurance Corp. and QBE Reinsurance Corp. were each listed in the National Underwriter’s mid-year report of the top 25 U.S. reinsurers based on underwriting results. QBE Insurance took the #6 spot, while QBE Reinsurance took the #16 spot.

Electric wins customer service awardsElectric Insurance announced recently that it was presented with a gold Stevie Award in the “Cus-tomer Service Department of the Year” category in the 10th annual American Business Awards. The company was also presented with two bronze Stevie Awards in two additional catego-ries: “Customer Service Team of the Year,” for its commitment to serving policyholder needs, and “Support Team of the Year,” for its work with independent agents.

companypartnernews

Missouri Association of Insurance Agents

PROGRAM 2012Listed below are the companies who strongly support the independent agency system and the Missouri Association of Insurance Agents.

DIAMOND

PLATINUM

GOLD EMC Insurance Co.Accident Fund and United HeartlandCameron Insurance Cos.Columbia Insurance GroupACUITYAnthem Workers’ CompensationAmerica First Insurance Co.

Safeco InsuranceWest Bend Mutual Insurance Co.TravelersUnited Fire GroupAnthem Blue Cross and Blue ShieldBankDirect Capital FinanceThe Hartford

SILVER Electric InsuranceSECURA InsuranceSelective Insurance Co. of America

Foremost InsuranceContinental Western GroupCNA

BRONZE Illinois Casualty Co.AAA MissouriImperial PFSCFM InsuranceState AutoGrinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co.Bituminous Insurance Cos.Valley Insurance Agency Alliance LLCQBEM J Kelly Co.TAS Insurance GroupJM WilsonPhiladelphia Insurance cos.Gateway Underwriters AgencyPrime Insurance Co.Cornerstone National Insurance Co.WestropeSAMBA Safety

United HealthcareAuto-Owners InsurancePatriot National Insurance GroupCommercial Insurance UnderwritersAmerican Mining Insurance Co.BMI Cos.AetnaCapital Premium FinancingAmerisure Insurance Co.FCCIFireman’s FundMissouri One Call SystemMed JamesEMPLOYERSThe Cincinnati Insurance Co.Gumtree Wholesale Insurance BrokersMidwestern Insurance Alliance

Missouri Association of Insurance Agents • 800-617-3658 • www.missouriagent.org

P ARTNERS

Missouri Agent September-October 2012

Documents

Transcript of Missouri Agent September-October 2012