Wednesday, August 31, 2011

FREE WORKSHOP OVERVIEW WEBINAR

HOW TO QUICKLY DOUBLE SALES IN YOUR INSURANCE AGENCY

Join Rockford Mutual Insurance Company and Inspire a Nation Business Mentoring for a free overview webinar on the upcoming September 9th, 2011 live workshop sponsored by Rockford Mutual Insurance Company.

This webinar will overview the live workshop and help you understand why you should attend. Listed below are the dates and times for the webinars.

Do you want to know what the top agents and agencies in the country are doing to make their amazing numbers? This workshop will not only introduce you to their best practices, but teach you how to set up similar processes and programs in your agency.

The Live workshop will be held on Friday, September 9th, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at DoubleTree Hotel, 10 Brickyard Drive, Bloomington, IL.

At the workshop, we ask that you bring your laptops and your staff and let us teach you how to properly set up and implement the processes and tools that you need to take your agency to the next level.

Featured Presenter, Billy R. Williams, Ph.D., - He is the President of Inspire a Nation Business Mentoring Services. http://www.inspireanation.com/. This membership-based mentoring company helps 100’s of agents a year to grow their agencies. Billy is also President of Williams Family Agency, Inc. The group currently has 23 partner agencies around the country and produces $400 Million in production, annually.

He is an expert at helping insurance agents and agencies double or triple their current production using no cost conversations and processes, low cost, efficient, marketing and advertising platforms, along with the latest marketing technology.

This is a FREE workshop for all Rockford Mutual Insurance Company registered Agents and their staff.

To Join the Webinar:

1. At the times below, click the corresponding link to join each Webinar:

Wed., August 31, 2011 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CDT
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/410235811/106193512
Webinar ID: 410-235-811

Friday, September 2, 2011 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CDT
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/697142795/106923263
Webinar ID: 697-142-795

These links should not be shared with others; they are unique to you.

2. Choose one of the following audio options:

TO USE YOUR COMPUTER'S AUDIO:
When the Webinar begins, you will be connected to audio using your
computer's microphone and speakers (VOIP). A headset is recommended.

-- OR --

TO USE YOUR TELEPHONE:
If you prefer to use your phone, you must select "Use Telephone"
After joining the Webinar and call in using the numbers below.

Toll: +1 (805) 309-0022
Access Code: 286-968-266
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the Webinar

The registration website for the September 9th, 2011. workshop is: http://www.rockfordmutualworkshopbloom.ettend.com/

RMIC HOLIDAY- OFFICE CLOSING

WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

Surgeons Conduct Live Spinal Operation for WCEC Attendees

August 23, 2011
By Christina Bramlet, PropertyCasualty360.com

Each year, conference organizers reaffirm WCEC’s position as the premier forum for research in workers’ compensation and workplace safety/health issues with unsurpassed educational content and interactive learning opportunities.  read more..

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Four Steps to Better Employee Communication

August 24, 2011
By Ron Agypt

Today's insurance agents and brokers are much more than middlemen. Savvy producers sell workplace strategies, not just insurance policies, by following business trends that directly affect their clients and offering cost-effective benefits solutions to meet their needs. Comprehensive new data provides timely insight that insurance professionals can leverage to better understand challenges their clients face and offer the best employee benefits insurance strategies.  read more..


Monday, August 29, 2011

Druggists' Professional Liability

August 18, 2011
By David D. Thamann

Some pharmacists have chosen not to fill contraceptive and abortion pill prescriptions based on their religious beliefs. Would this open the individual pharmacist and/or his pharmacy business to a lawsuit, with a resulting liability claim being made against the liability insurance policy?  read more..


Sunday, August 28, 2011

Illinois Reforms Workers’ Compensation

August 11, 2011
By Staff Writer

On August 8, Ill. Governor Pat Quinn signed SB 1147, a bill preventing workers convicted of serious crimes from claiming workers’ compensation benefits for injuries resulting from those crimes.  read more..


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Are You Performing the "Mirror Test"?

August 17, 2011
By Curtis M. Pearsall

How many times over the last couple of years has your agency found it necessary to move a personal lines or commercial account to a new carrier? Due to the soft market, it has probably happened fairly frequently. In most of these situations, the premiums were probably lower, resulting in a happy customer and the retention of the account.  read more..


Friday, August 26, 2011

The Science of Glass Breakage

August 8, 2011
By Pete Pearson

Generating about 7.5 million insurance claims per year, vehicle glass damage is the most frequent type of claim. Fortunately, the cost of repair is relatively low and the opportunity to satisfy policyholders is high. For those reasons, it can be seen as the best type of claim to have.  read more..


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Musculoskeletal Disease Is Major Pain in Work Comp

August 5, 2011
By Chad Gray

According to a survey conducted for the Center for Disease Control, 51.5 percent of adults reported a chronic musculoskeletal condition in 2009, twice the rate of chronic heart or respiratory conditions. This issue is so pervasive it is the third most common reason that Americans seek medical attention.  read more..


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Workers’ Compensation Market Continues To Deteriorate

Tough times for WC: Poor underwriting results, inadequate premiums and, perhaps most distressing, an uptick in claim frequency

National Underwriter P&C August 22-29, 2011
By Stephen J. Klingel

In our annual “State of the Line” study, the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. (NCCI) delivers a comprehensive report analyzing the entire workers’ compensation market—from the implications of the overall economic environment, to current and expected industry conditions, to political considerations and more.  read more..


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Industry Pushes for Graduated Teen Licensing

August 9, 2011
By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com
NU Online News Service, Aug. 9, 2:16 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON—The insurance industry is trying to build support for Senate bill provision establishing minimum requirements for state-graduated driver licensing (GDL).  read more..


Monday, August 22, 2011

Workers’ Comp Faces Big Challenges, Changes In Its Second Century

An aging and more obese workforce, rapidly evolving technology and medical-cost containment are among the issues the workers’ comp will face in the years ahead
National Underwriter P&C August 22-29, 2011
By sam friedman

While it’s important to celebrate the centennial of the workers’ compensation system and appreciate how much worse off we might be without this crucial safety net, we’d be remiss not to consider the considerable challenges facing insurers and risk managers in the years and decades to come.  read more..


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Sexual Assaults at Work: When Can the Employer Be Held Liable?

Florida Underwriter August 2011
By Michael L. Forte

If one of your employees sexually assaults someone on the job, is your company liable? The answer depends on the extent to which the company created the opportunity for the assault to occur. Three main legal theories come into play here: negligent hiring, negligent retention, and respondeat superior. If the victim is able to prove each element in court, the victim would be able to recover a judgment against the company based on that theory.  read more..


Monday, August 15, 2011

Obesity: Workers’ Comp’s Big Problem

A Call to Action
Florida Underwriter August 2011
By Stephen J. Klingel

In a May report, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) described the condition of the workers’ compensation market as “deteriorating.” In making that assessment, we pointed to a number of significant challenges confronting market stakeholders, including:  read more..


Sunday, August 14, 2011

“Bet the Company” Cases

Maximize Coverage Or Lose Big
Claims Magazine August 2011
By Charles Hunter Mcree

What does a risk manager do when facing a “bet the company” case? This is a question with which no firm wants to grapple. Occasionally, risk managers must confront the issue, but they do not go it alone. Instead they face it with an insurance company.  read more..

Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Not-So-Great Escape

Remembering the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Claims Magazine August 2011
By Ken Brownlee, CPCU

Disasters, calamities, tragedies, or catastrophes—no matter what we call them, these events happen on a regular basis, and more recent occurrences tend to cancel out memories of the older ones. However, the March 25, 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City has not been forgotten, as its 100-year anniversary this spring prompted public media to recall the horrific event. Perhaps it was because many of the deaths resembled those of the disaster on Sept. 11, 2001, when trapped victims jumped or fell to their fate rather than perish in the flames.  read more..


Friday, August 12, 2011

Proactively Managing Long-Term Claims

Florida Underwriter August 2011
By Kevin T. Glennon

Employers and other workers’ compensation/disability management payers tend to become complacent about long-term, complex claims. Many employees who suffer injuries or illnesses affecting more than one body system and requiring intense home health care stabilize and adjust to their “new normal.” After reaching that stage, it is easy for the patient and the payer to lay low for a while. If the claimant is not complaining, and there are no big-ticket bills, then it is easy to let sleeping dogs lie.  read more..


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Maximizing Your Surveillance ROI

Florida Underwriter August 2011
By Steve Cassell

With insurance fraud ranked as the second largest economic crime in America (income tax evasion holds the top spot), surveillance is frequently used to help evaluate the legitimacy of insurance claims. Industry insiders estimate that carriers and TPAs spend more than $100 million a year on surveillance to investigate suspect and questionable claims.  read more..


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Is Your Program Submission Complete?

July 29, 2011
By Phillip J. Gajewski

A comprehensive program submission includes these parts: Executive Summary, Distribution, Underwriting, Claims Experience, Program Experience, Actuarial Information, Agency Profile and Competitive Market Intelligence.  read more..


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Ethics and Compliance in the Workplace

Demonstrate Your Program’s Worth
Claims Magazine August 2011
By Scot McLeod

With expanded regulations going into effect in many industries, including insurance, organizations must not only show that they have compliance and ethics programs in place, but also be able to demonstrate that their programs are working. The regulatory scrutiny of such programs is shifting from a focus on policies, procedures, and retrospective audits to proactive measures of effectiveness and desired results.  read more..


Monday, August 8, 2011

Physical Damage Auto Claims

Dealing With All of Their Moving Pieces
Claims Magazine August 2011
By Paul Rosenstein

In today’s claims environment, a physical damage claim is not handled solely by the adjuster. Rather, it is passed along a lengthy line of multiple parties inside and outside the claims organization. Staff and third parties, including tow companies, rental agencies, salvors, parts suppliers, other insurers, and glass companies, make up this “extended enterprise,” which consists of all the individuals that need to collaborate at some point during the process of settling a claim.  read more..


Sunday, August 7, 2011

Examining the Benefits of Benefit Programs

Florida Underwriter August 2011
By Barbara Rennard

Change has arrived in the health care insurance marketplace. Employers and employees are looking to their insurance brokers and advisors for guidance; the competition is looking for ways to broaden their client base; carriers are looking to reduce costs by lowering commissions; and brokers are looking for opportunities.  read more..


Saturday, August 6, 2011

Educational Article Series: Program Business—From Submission To Finish Line

Part 1: The start line—developing the submission


July 29, 2011
By Phillip J. Gajewski

In our world of specialized or segmented skills and markets, many independent agencies are thriving by serving distinct, homogeneous classes of insureds. In time, many of these areas of concentrations evolve into formal, carrier-underwritten insurance programs.  read more..


Friday, August 5, 2011

Avoiding Problems with Business Income Coverage

August 2, 2011
By David Hill

This article assumes a working knowledge of income statements and other basic business terminology and information. In the interest of simplicity, we’ll use the term “agent” to refer to the insurance representative that deals with the commercial account on the coverage level. That person could be the producer, carrier representative, account manager, or have some other title, depending on the organizational setup.  read more..


Thursday, August 4, 2011

State Regulators Tout Initiatives, Criticize Fed Expansion Before Congress

July 28, 2011
By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com
NU Online News Service, July 28, 1:00 p.m. EDT

State insurance regulators told Congress today that they have heightened regulation of holding companies in the wake of problems experienced by American International Group.  read more..


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Workers’ Comp Faces Big Challenges in Its Second Century

July 25, 2011
By Sam J. Friedman

While it’s important to celebrate the centennial of the workers’ compensation system and appreciate how much worse off we might be without this crucial safety net, I’d be remiss in not considering the considerable challenges facing insurers and risk managers in the years and decades to come.  read more..


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The Boys of Summer

July 22, 2011
By Christopher Tidball

When Manny Acta took on the role of managing the Cleveland Indians, he was faced with a team that, in recent years, perpetually resided in the AL Central basement. But he didn’t take his role lightly, seeing the raw talent that could be a contender if only the team could focus on fundamentals.  read more..


Monday, August 1, 2011

As Surplus-Lines Law Takes Effect, States Still Unprepared

July 21, 2011
By Arthur D. Postal, PropertyCasualty360.com
NU Online News Service, July 21, 3:32 p.m. EDT

Despite having a year to pass legislation fully implementing the law, the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA), only nine states have enacted legislation implementing a clearinghouse process, supported by state legislative groups and industry associations, designed to create an efficient revenue-sharing mechanism. That model is the Surplus Lines Insurance Multistate Compliance Compact, or SLIMPACT.  read more..