I A   M A G A Z I N E
IAmagazine.com Gets a Facelift

IAmagazine.com, the Web site of Independent Agent magazine and the home of Insurance News & Views, debuted a new look this week. The new Web site aims to be a more user friendly, streamlined resource for its readers. All your favorites are there, including clues to each month’s Ace Insura and the Premier Insurance Directory. New additions include expanded online-exclusive features. When you visit the new site, be sure to log in with your Big “I” username and password at the bottom left of the homepage to be able to view content that is reserved for Big “I” members only. If you don’t know your password, send an e-mail requesting it to logon@iiaba.net.

N a t i o n a l   L e g i s l a t i v e   C o n f e r e n c e
Senate Majority Whip McConnell Added as Speaker

Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will speak at the Big “I” National Legislative Conference next month. McConnell will speak at a breakfast April 21 to approximately 1,000 independent agents and brokers from across the country attending the conference. Participants also will include agent and broker leaders from McConnell’s home state of Kentucky.

The Big “I” National Legislative Conference is the insurance industry’s best-attended, most effective legislative meeting. This year’s event will take place April 20 through 22 at the Grand Hyatt Washington.

“In his 20-year Senate career, Sen. McConnell has distinguished himself as a leader and a statesman, and it is an honor to have him address our membership at this event,” says Big “I” CEO Robert A. Rusbuldt. “As the Senate majority whip, he is clearly one of the most important movers and shakers in Congress. He is in a key position to advance reforms on issues our members are very interested in, such as tax reform and legal reform, among others. Big ‘I’ members are eager to hear his thoughts on issues that affect their businesses, from taxes and social security reform, to legal reform and other insurance, economic and national issues.”

The legislative conference provides an excellent opportunity for agents and brokers to discuss important issues with their congressional representatives. Top issues this year include insurance regulatory reform, legal reform, tax reform and more. To register online and make hotel reservations, click here.

T R U S T E D   C H O I  C E ®
West Virginia Takes to Airwaves with Grant Money

The Professional Independent Insurance Agents of West Virginia is the first state association to use Trusted Choice^® grant money to advertise the brand to consumers. Earlier this week, PIIAWV saturated the state with radio advertising. The ad campaign, funded half via a grant from the Trusted Choice^® State Grants program, was tied to the state association’s annual “I” Day event held in Charleston, the state capital and the state’s largest population center. The ads were featured all day Monday on the state’s largest radio network that consists of 20 stations across the Mountain State. In addition, the advertising was prominently placed during a talk radio program hosted by a popular broadcaster. During this program, members of PIIAWV were pitted against trial lawyers to debate several important insurance-related reforms pending in the state’s legislature including eliminating third-party bad faith lawsuits and abolishing joint and several liability. For the remainder of the day, the Trusted Choice^® advertising ran on the statewide radio network on nationally recognized program such as the Rush Limbaugh Show. PIIAWV was the second Big “I” state association to be approved for a Trusted Choice^® grant. Rhode Island was awarded the first grant. The state will be conducting a statewide TV and billboard advertising campaign for three months from March 14 through June. Several other state association grant applications are pending. For more information, contact Jeff Myers at (800) 221-7917 or jeff.myers@iiaba.net.

V I R T U A L   U N I V E R S I T Y
VU Expert Announces Agency Merger & Acquisition Seminar Series

WFG Capital Advisors LP, a leading investment banking and advisory firm for the insurance industry and a Big “I” Virtual University expert in the School of Business, will conduct an extensive one-day seminar on agency mergers and acquisitions in addition to other key methods to enhance shareholder value. The seminar is scheduled for  May 18, 2005 at the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (Newark Airport) in Elizabeth, N.J.The intensive full-day seminar is geared toward agency owners, banking executives and other industry professionals providing relevant trends, statistics and guidance on the rapidly consolidating agency market and features a variety of topics including: Economic & Industry Overview, Who Are the Buyers, Agency Valuation & Deal Structure and more. Special rates are available to all Big “I” members for the event, sponsored by the National Underwriter Company. For more information, visit www.wfgca.com. For more information about the Big “I” Virtual University, contact Madelyn Flannagan at 8000-221-7917; madelyn.flannagan@iiaba.net

Make Experience Rating Easy

Independent agents and brokers who want to gain a competitive advantage in the workers’ compensation market can do so with resources from the experience rating experts at Specific Software Solutions. For a limited time, the company is offering a free booklet, “Master Your Workers’ Comp Modifier,” to all Big “I” members. The company is also offering a free software trial of the nation’s leading experience rating software, ModMaster.

Longtime VU faculty member Tim Coomer is CEO of Specific Software and author of “Master Your Workers’ Comp Modifier.”   “This booklet helps the agent and broker to make the full connection —for themselves and for their clients —between experience rating and premium costs,” Coomer says. The booklet and the company’s software tools highlight opportunities such as:

• Understanding that a mod of 1.0 is like a “C” on your report card—only average. By knowing the minimum mod and the controllable mod, your client can be motivated to implement cost saving measures.

• Calculating the true cost of a loss as reflected by its impact on premiums. This value can be surprising, Coomer says.

• Showing the tremendous savings when you keep a loss “medical only.”

• Determining whether loss frequency or loss severity is driving the mod higher.

• Anticipating changes in the mod so that you and your client won’t be caught off-guard by an increase in premiums.

The recently released ModMaster version 4 features an updated interface, extensive online help with Flash videos, and numerous reports. “We first developed ModMaster in 1990,” Coomer says. “We continuously refine our resources as technology changes, but our goal is constant: to make experience rating as easy as possible for the agent, the broker and the client.”

To request a free copy of the booklet and/or the software trial, click the Modmaster link available once you log into the Virtual Universitylink at www.independentagent.com.

For more information, please contact Madelyn Flannagan at 800-221-7917; madelyn.flannagan@iiaba.net.

Y O U N G   A G E N T S
Call for YAC Award Submissions

The Big “I” National Young Agents Committee (YAC) is seeking submissions for the 2005 YAC awards in the following categories: membership development, state committee project, communications, young agents meeting and political involvement. Outstanding Young Agents Committee of the Year and first runner-up honors will also be awarded. Participating in the National YAC awards program demonstrates the commitment state young agents and brokers committees have toward perpetuating the independent agency system and solidifies their presence as the driving force behind its future. The 2005 YAC awards will be presented at the Young Agents Sales & Leadership Conference being held Sept. 9 through 11, 2005 in conjunction with the Big “I” New York Convention at the New York Hilton in New York City. The Magnificent Seven, an interactive session featuring a panel of 2005 YAC award winners who will share their secrets to success, will take place Saturday, Sept. 10. Entries must be postmarked by July 1, 2005. Visit www.independentagent.comand click on “Young Agents” to download the 2005 YAC Awards Criteria. Contact Leslie Mularsk with questions at 800-221-7917; leslie.mularski@iiaba.net.

B E S T   P R A C T I C E S
Tool Available to Help Set Performance Goals and Develop an Action Plan

How can your agency to flourish instead of just get by? You need to evaluate current agency performance, set attainable goals, and develop a comprehensive action plan to help you achieve these objectives. The “Agency Self-Diagnostic Tool” is full of useful checklists, worksheets and case studies designed to help agency owners and principals take a step-by-step proactive approach to overall agency efficiency, profitability and management. With this Best Practices guide you will learn how to conduct an overall evaluation of your agency’s management, operations and performance and begin to develop a Performance Enhancement Action Plan specific to your agency’s needs and expectations. “The Agency Self-Diagnostic Tool” is available for $65 (includes shipping and handling).  Visit the Best Practices Gateway to download an order form and find information on other Best Practices tools and resources. For more information, contact Jennifer Becker at 800-221-7917 or jennifer.becker@iiaba.net.

B i g   " I "   M a r k e t s
Access Non-underwritten Renters Product

According to the Department of Justice, those who rent are more likely than their condo and home-owning counterparts to be robbed. Now consider that a consumer survey conducted for the Big “I” in 2003 found that nearly 64% of those living in rental properties did not have renters insurance. A higher level of risk plus an underinsured population offers an opportunity for agents. How can you take advantage of the need for renters insurance while helping to protect the uninsured? Through Big “I” Markets, you have access to a non-underwritten, stand-alone renters product offered by Balboa Insurance Company. Not only does everyone qualify, but the product features a quick and easy five-minute application process. For more information, log in to www.bigimarkets.com today. Not yet registered for Big “I” Markets, the online market access program available exclusively to Big “I” members? Download your registration kit from www.bigimarkets.com. Contact a Big “I” Markets team member with questions at bigimartkets@iiaba.net; 800-221-7917.