THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2010 

                                                Big “I” National News

Big “I” News
Big “I” Government Affairs Leaders Featured in Press
Interviews cover everything from the NFIP to looming tax changes.

The national media continues to turn to the Big “I” on issues important to consumers and business owners. Last week, John Prible, Big “I” vice president of federal government relations, was featured in an article on CNBC.com. Prible reacted to banking regulators’ decision to continue home loans to flood-prone properties during the current temporary expiration of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). He also discussed the need for longer-term reforms and extensions to the NFIP. To read the complete article, click here.

Meanwhile an excerpt from an interview with Charles Symington, Big “I” senior vice president of government affairs, is now playing on Insurance Journal TV. In this piece, recorded at the recent Big “I” Legislative Conference & Convention, Symington outlines the challenges facing independent agents and other small business owners as the ‘Bush tax cuts’ are set to expire at the end of 2010. He explains how member agencies will be affected and what the Big “I” is doing to try to bring stability and certainty to the tax code. To watch this video, click http://www.insurancejournal.tv/videos/3491/. 

For more information about either of these interviews or any other recent Big “I” media hits, please contact Margarita Tapia (margarita.tapia@iiaba.net) or Sue Nester (susan.nester@iiaba.net).


Best Practices
2010 Agency Nominations Hits Record High
Study offers participants chance to benchmark against the best agencies in the business.

Watch your mailbox! Letters were just mailed to more than 1,200 agencies across the United States notifying them that their firms have been nominated for the 2010 Best Practices Study.

Every three years the Big “I” and Reagan Consulting ask insurance carriers, state associations and other industry organizations to nominate what they believe to be the country’s best agencies. This year these groups nominated a record number of firms! That is good news for the agency community since each nomination recognizes an agency’s positive contribution, performance and reputation in their community.

If your agency is a nominee, don’t pass up the chance to participate in the study. Here are just a few of the benefits:

• An opportunity to earn the prestigious “Best Practices Agency” status – Be among the top 30-35 scoring agency in one of the study’s six revenue categories and your firm joins an elite group of 195 agencies that claim the “Best Practices Agency” designation.
• Recognition and brand enhancement – Earn the “Best Practices Agency” status and you can take part in a campaign to recognize your accomplishment. Use the recognition to boost your agency’s brand, gain new clients, aid in employee recruitment and enhance carrier relationships. 
  • National exposure in two-page ads in several national trade publications
  • Press kits containing press releases to send to your local media, clients and carriers
  • Use of a special “Best Practices Agency” logo on your marketing materials
• A Best Practices Performance Analysis Report – Participate, and whether you rank as one of the top scoring agency or not, you will receive this valuable management tool free of charge. The report, a $395 value, provides valuable insights into your agency’s performance and compares your results with others in your peer group.
• The Best Practices Symposium – Qualify as a Best Practices Agency and you can attend the multi-day event in Rancho Mirage, Calif. where you can learn, network, and relax with the other 2010 Best Practices Agencies.

Participation in the Best Practices Study has become a prestigious recognition. Don’t let this opportunity pass by!

For more information, contact Shirley Lukens at Reagan Consulting at 404-233-5545 or e-mail bestpractices@iiaba.net.  For information on Best Practices resources, click here.


InVEST
Celebrate Financial Literacy Month
Help bring insurance to life for students by volunteering for InVEST.

Volunteer today to celebrate Financial Literacy Month and help bring insurance into the classroom. InVEST has been working with high schools and colleges to improve insurance literacy and attract new talent to our industry. Students are often surprised to learn about the variety of careers available in the insurance industry-and your knowledge of how insurance works and helps our economy to grow and prosper can enlighten these students.

InVEST teams high school educators with representatives from the insurance industry to provide insurance instruction, exposure to an insurance environment, and insurance career opportunities to students. A nationally administered program that is free for teachers and offered in 31 states, InVEST traces its history back over 40 years. InVEST is an office simulation program that combines business skills and financial literacy to engage students in learning insurance as well as office skills. Students learn risk management, auto, homeowner, and liability insurance in an interactive environment with guest speakers and a chance to run their own business selling and serving auto insurance policies.

InVEST is a non-profit 501(c)(3)  educational trust funded solely through tax deductible contributions by insurance companies, foundations and insurance professionals dedicated to improving insurance literacy in the classroom and attracting new talent into the insurance industry.

Call your state association or InVEST national staff to get involved. Visit www.investprogram.org for more information.


Big “I” Flood
Still Time to Attend the 2010 National Flood Conference
Learn more about flood map changes, improving the claims process and more.



Register online or onsite to join insurance industry partners, lenders, local and state representatives, and top FEMA officials at the 27th annual National Flood Conference. Participants will congregate at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina in San Diego, April 11-14, to discuss the importance of flood insurance and other flood-related issues. Topics include flood map changes and the new Risk MAP program, writing commercial coverages, improving the claims process, Community Rating System and mitigation efforts, private and excess flood insurance, marketing, and much, much more!

Agents are encouraged to attend Agents’ Day on April 13 at a reduced registration fee of $30. Agents can attend comprehensive, agent-focused workshops such as The Claims Process: Everything the Agent Needs to Know, Effects of Map Changes on Insurance: Understanding the Role of Grandfathering, Conversion and Vertical Datum, and Introducing the New National Flood Insurance Designation Program, among others. Also, there will be a Flood 101 and a Flood 102 course (CE approved for California) taught by Sonja Wood, CFM of H2O Partners, Inc. sponsored by IIABA Big “I” Flood and IBA West Insurance Skills Center.    
For more information about registration, hotel availability workshop schedule and descriptions, visit the 2010 National Flood Conference homepage at http://www.nfipiservice.com/nfc.html.

Learn more about Big “I” Flood at www.iiaba.net/Flood.


Big “I” News
Big “I” Hires New Republican Lobbyist
Young brings Capitol Hill experience on financial services legislation to national association.

Ryan Young recently joined the Big “I” Capitol Hill team as senior director of federal government affairs.

Young joins the Big “I” bipartisan lobbying team primarily as a liaison to Republican congressional offices. The position was previously held by Joe Wall who recently departed the Big “I” to join the Goldman Sachs Capitol Hill team.

Most recently, Young served as legislative director to Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) where his numerous legislative responsibilities included Financial Services Committee issues. He also comes to the Big “I” with congressional committee experience having served in various positions on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines during the chairmanship of Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).

Young, a native of Denver, N.C., earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.


Big “I” Markets
Insure Fast Casual Restaurants with Expanded Restaurant Market
Capitalize on a segment that has been a key growth driver for the restaurant industry.

Big “I” Markets is pleased to announce the addition of fast casual restaurants to the Big "I" Markets hospitality program.

The growing segment known as fast casual was a key growth driver in 2008 and 2009 in the restaurant industry. A fast casual restaurant does not offer full table service but promises a higher quality of food and atmosphere than a fast food restaurant. Examples of fast casual restaurants include Panera Bread, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Au Bon Pain and Cosi. Although these examples are franchises, non-franchise concepts, such as a local deli, are also eligible for the program on Big “I” Markets. Characteristics of fast casual restaurants include speed and freshly prepared food, gourmet level food or drink, interiors that wow the consumer and price driven by value. Coverage is placed with Great American Insurance Cos. which carries an A.M. Best's Rating of A XII (admitted). Because of the national scope of Great American, this product is available in all states except Alaska.

Submission requirements are identical to the other hospitality programs on Big "I" Markets. Learn more at www.bigimarkets.com.


Big “I” Professional Liability
Request a Quote for Your Agency E&O Today
Take advantage of a comprehensive program with risk management resources.

Are you one of the more than 20,000 IIABA member agencies that is covered through the Big “I” Professional Liability Program? If not, contact your state association today to learn more and request a quote. The Big “I” Professional Liability Program offers not just a policy, but a comprehensive program for insurance agents, including exclusive risk management resources.

Visit www.independentagent.com/EOContact to find contact information for your state’s dedicated E&O administrator.