Tague Alliance - Info Central

Tague Alliance - Focus on Retention

2012-01-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

This was a great post from MetLife Auto and Home and Tague Alliance felt that it was worth sharing:

Focus on Retention
As you enter the New Year, take some time to reflect on ways to improve your business model in the coming year. This may include expecting more than others think possible. One area of critical importance is customer satisfaction. Ask yourself, “Is your client the most important person on the premises?” A few simple steps can start you down the road to improved customer service.

5 Simple steps that can make a difference in your retention (by Larry Moffett)

Review your agency's 3-year retention numbers
This simple act will give insight on how your customers view your agency. Is your retention level in the 90 percent range or in the 70’s? The lower the retention percentage, the more probable customer satisfaction is an issue. Often, when we think about customer satisfaction, we think in terms of “over the top” service. That’s great, and a worthy goal to strive for. But, “over the top” service probably won’t happen in most agencies on a consistent basis. What is possible and attainable is for the agency to render service that will resonate with their clients. Generally, this can be achieved with little or no investment. Customer satisfaction is achieved not through programs, but by changing behaviors and attitudes. Customer satisfaction increases when agencies intentionally focus on areas that truly resonate with clients. Educating front-line staff—training and coaching them to adopt skill sets that resonate with customers—pays big dividends.

Determine how your agency measures up

Reliability - if the level of service dependable? Are the clients' concerns addressed and questions answered in a reasonable timeframe?
Assurance - does the service build confidence?
Empathy - do the people giving the service communicate they care?
Responsiveness - are customers needs uncovered and addressed?
Tangibles - pay attention to the things your customers see and feel. Do staff and surroundings appear professional and inviting?

Take control of factors that can influence customer satisfaction
Multi-policy: Customers who have more than one policy with the same agency/company, such as auto and homeowners insurance, are more likely than clients with mono-line policies to be satisfied with their policy offerings. “Bundled clients” renew policies at an 11 percent higher rate than “single policy” clients.
Get it right the first time: Customers are more satisfied when they only have to contact their agent once to resolve an issue. Satisfaction declines significantly with each additional client-initiated contact.
Return calls: When call backs to clients are required, agents who call back as promised get consistent high satisfaction ratings.
Time is critical: Clients who file physical damage claims expect prompt service. Same-day response to the first notice of an accident, followed by a settlement within a week and repairs completed within two weeks, characterize best practice. Some data suggests satisfaction with claims handling drives 44 percent of the overall impression of the insurer.

Policy reviews
Clients who have their policy needs reviewed each year report satisfaction levels that are significantly higher than those who do not. Customer surveys reveal that nearly half of those surveyed report that they have not been offered an annual policy review by their agent. Unless a customer files a claim, offering the client a “risk review” is one of only a few opportunities an agent has to build trust with the customer. Otherwise, the sum of their interaction is limited to paying their bills and reviewing periodic policy changes.

Stay focused and enjoy the benefits
High levels of customer service mitigate price; good service helps shift the focus away from price. Our friends in retail learned long ago that the better the service, the higher the prices they can charge for their products. The bottom line is that happy customers directly equate with agency financial performance. Every customer lost has an impact on the bottom line

Tague Alliance is focused intently on R.P.G. - Retention, Profit, Growth! Growing is made much more difficult when your agency retention is lagging. For every client and policy that you keep, it is one less that has to be found, quoted, and sold.

Snowmobile Safety

2012-01-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

Do you have any clients that take winter trips to the snow? If you clients have snowmobiles, here is a good article to share with them. It's a great lead in to get the opportunity to quote the business!

Bounding over trails through woods, over fields and across frozen ponds or lakes with cold blasts of air whipping around are all part of the fun that thousands and thousands of people enjoy during winter in their snowmobiles. Snowmobiling’s fun should not mask the fact that it still involves the use of fast, heavy vehicles that, in collisions, can cause severe injuries and damage to property. Some models of snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles operate at speeds that rival automobiles. Unlike autos, they are open vehicles, lacking the structural protection of even the smallest auto; therefore the danger to snowmobile users is far higher.

The danger of being injured while operating snowmobiles is compounded by some important factors. Snowmobiles are operated over rough terrain with obstacles that are often hidden by snow. They are operated in areas where the drivers are not familiar with paths or trails. Novices and older operators with poorer reflexes are attracted to recreational snowmobiling and these vehicles are often used very late at night, in remote areas. Another consideration regarding use of snowmobiles is that operators also combine driving with drinking and alcohol intensifies the other dangers.
Naturally there are practices that can help lower the chances of being in a serious accident. Snowmobile operators should:

Avoid solo snowmobiling - having another person around in case of an accident is probably the greatest safety practice.

Properly maintain the snowmobile to insure safer operation

Dress in appropriate safety gear and clothing, including water-repellant apparel

Operate snowmobile at speeds that are appropriate for conditions and terrain

Do not drink alcohol while operating a snowmobile

Use marked trails and don’t stray off of them

Carry a first aid kit, as well as other emergency equipment, especially tools, flashlights, compass, matches, etc.

Avoid crossing bodies of water as breaking through ice is a major peril (drowning is a chief source of snowmobile accident fatalities).

If you've got your own snowmobile, make sure it's insured! We can provide you with the best snowmobile policy available. And our companies don't require that you have a homeowners or renters policy.

Contact Tague Alliance with any questions about placing stand alone snowmobile business!

COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 2010

Tague Alliance - We Have Been Saying The "Hard Market Is Coming"

2011-11-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

Tague Alliance members need to be prepared for what a Hard Market brings: disruption to our books of business, more pressure on carrier appointments and production, a sharper focus on profitability and book quality, and policy rewrites. The Hard Market is disruptive and every few years the insurance cycle shifts. In our estimation, 2012 will be the transition year and possibly very disruptive.

The silver lining is that many more people will be shopping their insurance which creates more new businesses opportunities for our members. On the flip side, proactive client management is the name of the game to ensure you are retaining the majority of your client base.

Be prepared so your agency can take full advantage of the changing market place.

Below is a great article which provides some insight into the first nine months of 2011 and how the industry is doing.

Specialty Insurers Lead Way in 2011, but Industry Underwriting Results Down

By Phil Gusman, PropertyCasualty360.com

November 22, 2011

NU Online News Service, July 21, 1:41 p.m. EST

Specialty commercial insurers continue to lead the way for property and casualty insurers’ underwriting results for this year’s first nine months, but results overall are down sharply compared to same period in 2010, according to a Fitch Ratings analysis.

Fitch says underwriting results for a group of 47 publicly traded P&C insurers and reinsurers it follows have deteriorated so far this year, posting an aggregate combined ratio of 105.3 compared to 96 a year ago. Fitch adds that 32 of the 47 companies posted underwriting losses for the year’s first nine months compared to 15 companies in 2010.

“These lackluster underwriting results led to anemic profitability for most GAAP filers,” says Fitch. “Fitch’s universe reported an operating profit of $8.1 billion year to date, versus $24.2 billion for the same period in 2010.”

Fitch adds that the group reported a net profit of $9.7 billion during the year so far compared to a net gain of $26.4 billion last year.

Catastrophe losses are partly to blame, with losses for the group more than doubling to $28 billion for the first nine months this year compared to last year. Additionally, realized investment gains are lower, totaling $4.2 billion in the current year so far compared to $5.9 billion in the first nine months of 2010.

While all lines are feeling the effects of the weather and economy, specialty commercial insurers have seen the best results of commercial-lines sub-segments, which Fitch says is a trend that has continued over the past several years. “The group’s aggregate combined ratio rose by 5.9 points to 98.1, but was still the only segment in Fitch’s analysis to produce an underwriting profit,” Fitch says.

The segment benefitted from favorable loss-reserve development, which trimmed 5.9 points from the aggregate combined ratio, but that favorable development is down from the 6.4 points trimmed in the first nine months of 2010.

The benefit of reserve releases across the industry is down for 2011 so far compared to 2010. The overall impact has been 2.8 points trimmed from the industry’s aggregate combined ratio in 2011 compared to 3.5 points in the first nine months of 2010. Fitch says the vast majority of underwriters in its group continued to report favorable development, but the rating agency cites Hartford Financial Services Group and HCC Insurance Holdings as two notable exceptions that saw unfavorable reserve development.

For personal lines, the aggregate combined ratio jumped from 95.7 to 102.4 as the sector was hit by Hurricane Irene on the East Coast and heavy tornado activity and winter-storm losses earlier in the year.

Reinsurers saw their aggregate combined ratio climb to 117.3 from 93.1 a year ago due to first-half catastrophes such as earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, Australian floods and U.S. storms. Reinsurers did report a third-quarter underwriting profit, Fitch says, as Hurricane Irene losses centered more toward primary writers.

Commercial diversified insurers’ combined ratio is 104.6 for the year so far, compared to 96.6 at this time last year. Fitch says only two insurers in its group for this sector—ACE Ltd. and Hartford—produced accident-year combined ratios under 100.

Pointing to trends over the year so far, Fitch says capital generation is at a standstill, loss reserve releases are moderating, catastrophe losses are compounding and there has been a sharp drop in return on capital. However, Fitch notes that signs of a pricing shift have materialized.

“Fitch Ratings believes that this price reaction is well overdue,” the rating agency says, “but it remains unclear if momentum will hold for further pricing improvement that is necessary to return the broader market to adequate return on capital levels.”

Tague Alliance - New California Work Comp Laws

2011-10-20T11:38:00.001-07:00

Tague Alliance and SIAA member agencies who write commercial insurance and specifically Workers Compensation Insurance in California need to stay somewhat current on the plethora of new laws that were recently signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. Take a look at this great article from the Insurance Journal:

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2011/10/19/220793.htm

California Workers’ Comp Institute Compiles List of Bills Signed by Brown

October 19, 2011

The California Workers’ Compensation Institute on Wednesday released a review and compilation of 20 bills signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2001.

The bills include:

• AB 55, Gatto: Extension of the right of entertainment production companies to use payroll firms as the employer of record to pay taxes, union dues and workers’ compensation.

• AB 228, Fuentes: Allows State Compensation Insurance Fund a limited ability to cover out-of-state employees of California employers.

• AB 300, Ma: Sets new requirements for safety, training and sanitation for those engaged in the business of tattooing, body piercing or permanent cosmetics.

• AB 335, Solorio: Calls for benefit notice changes in the content and delivery of benefit notices and other injured worker information.

• AB 378 Solorio: Sets guidelines for dispensing compound drugs to injured workers, defines when such drugs are reimbursable and reimbursement amounts, and eliminates incentives for doctors to refer patients to pharmacies in which they or their families have a financial interest.

• AB 397, Monning: Requires contractors to show proof of workers’ compensation coverage or exempt status (if they have no employees) when renewing their license with the state.

• AB 436, Solorio: Authorizes a $4.3 million loan from the Uninsured Employers Benefit Trust to the State Public Works Enforcement Fund to enforce prevailing wage requirements on public works projects.

• AB 469, Swanson: Requires private employers to give a new written notice to nonexempt new hires, with detailed wage and employment information and the name, address, and phone number of the workers’ compensation insurance carrier.

• AB 507, Hayashi: Revises the “Pain Patient’s Bill of Rights” and removes Department of Justice’s authority to: 1) employ a physician to interview and examine patients about the prescription, possession, or use of controlled substances; 2) require the patient to submit to the interview and exam; and 3) allow the physician to testify in administrative proceedings.

• AB 585, Fong: Extends the work-related cancer presumption given to firefighters and fire and rescue services coordinators to active firefighting members of a fire department serving NASA.

• AB 878, Berryhill: Requires workers’ compensation insurers to report the cancellation of a contractor’s policy to the State Contractors License Board and makes the violation of workers’ compensation laws a cause for disciplinary action by the License Board.

• AB 1136, Swanson: Requires general acute care hospitals to set up safe patient handling programs with trained lift teams or lift support staff and back injury prevention plans by Jan. 1, 2013.

• AB 1168, Pan: Requires the state to adopt by Jan. 1, 2013 a fee schedule setting maximum fees for services by vocational experts used in workers’ compensation claims

• AB 1263, Williams: Prohibits former State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) officers and directors from lobbying SCIF for two years after their employment ends, and requires that any consulting they do for SCIF be approved by SCIF’s board.

• AB 1425, Assembly Ins. Committee: Allows insurers to disclose with the quote (prior to acceptance) that a policyholder’s premium may be refunded on other than a pro rata basis.

• AB 1426, Solorio: Abolishes the workers’ compensation court administrator position and redistributes the duties to the Department of Workers’ Compensation administrative director and the appeals board.

• SB 457, Calderon: Requires the WCAB to determine, based on liens filed, reimbursement for benefits paid or services provided by self-insured employee welfare benefit plans, notwithstanding the Official Medical Fee Schedule, when payment for self-procured medical costs for a work injury or illness is awarded.

• SB 459, Corbett: Prohibits and sets penalties for the willful misclassification of employees as independent contractors.

• SB 684, Corbett: For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2012, workers’ comp insurers must disclose when a quote is provided if they want to use arbitration to resolve disputes and make explicit that businesses do not have to agree to out-of-state arbitration/dispute resolution.

• SB 826, Leno: Allows the DWC to fine claims administrators up to $5,000 per year for violating workers’ compensation information system data reporting requirements and calls for an annual report showing claims administrator reporting compliance rates.

Breaking Down Equipment Breakdown!

2011-10-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

Equipment Breakdown Protection

Equipment Breakdown coverage can be hard to understand! Tague Alliance wants to make sure you are able to present these types of coverages to your clients with confidence and knowledge. Read below to get the low down on the breakdown:

Many businesses use commercial property forms to insure their tangible assets. However, they also need Equipment Breakdown Protection Coverage due to some limitations found in those same forms. An Equipment Breakdown Coverage policy handles a substantial loss exposure to items such as unfired vessels - Air, steam or water tanks, refrigeration systems, rollers, steam pressers, ironing equipment, steam cookers, generators, chemical processing tanks, motors, switches and controls, compressors, pumps, gears, etc. because commercial property policies typically exclude losses involving machinery or equipment breakdowns. The breakdown form provides the following coverages:

1. Property Damage - This coverage pays for direct damage to covered property (certain types of office machinery and equipment) that has to be listed (described) in the policy.

2. Expediting Expenses - This coverage applies to extra costs insured experiences in order to make temporary repairs and to speed-up (expedites) the permanent repair or replacement of damaged property.

3. Business Income and Extra Expense – Extra Expense Only - These coverages may, optionally, be purchased together; or to buy extra expense coverage alone. For example, a covered business loses most of its records due to a breakdown of its main server. Most of the costs associated with restoring the information would be covered by the equipment breakdown policy.

4. Spoilage Damage - Spoilage damage to raw materials, property in process or finished products is covered when that property is either in storage or in the course of being manufactured, the insured owns or is legally liable under written contract for the spoiled property and a lack of or excess of power, light, heat, steam or refrigeration caused the spoilage.

5. Utility Interruption - This coverage is available ONLY when a customer also purchases coverage for Business Income and Extra Expense – Extra Expense Only or Spoilage Damage. This coverage responds to loss involving equipment breakdown created by loss of utility service (gas, electric, water or communication). Also, the loss or service must last beyond the time-limit that appears on the policy (a sort of time deductible).

6. Newly Acquired Premises - This feature automatically covers newly acquired premises purchased or leased by the insured and the period of protection depends upon the length of time selected for this coverage (i.e. such as 30 days, 60 days, etc.).

7. Ordinance or Law Coverage - The Ordinance or Law Exclusion eliminates coverage for loss created by the imposition of ordinance or laws affect the rebuilding of the damaged property. This coverage pays such costs, within guidelines in the coverage, provided any increase in the loss amount is necessary due to the enforcement of any laws or ordinances in force at the time of the breakdown which regulate the demolition, construction, repair or use of the building or structure.

8. Errors and Omissions - This coverage pays for loss or damage that would have been covered except for the insured’s error or unintentional omission in describing covered property, a failure to include any premises owned or occupied by an insured when coverage began or, the insured’s error or unintentional omission that results in the company canceling coverage at one of the insured's premises.

9. Brands and Labels - This provision pays part of a company's expense to remove and re-label its own, salvaged merchandise.

10. Contingent Business Income and Extra Expense – Extra Expense Only Coverage -. This Protection applies to loss resulting from a breakdown to equipment at premises upon which the insured is dependent upon in order to run its own operation, such as a key materials supplier.

Be sure to talk to the professionals at Tague Aliance in case you need details on how to best present this critical coverage to your commercial clients!

COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 2006

Insuring Your Bling

2011-09-15T12:48:00.001-07:00

Your clients may not know that they can insure their jewelry on their homeowners policy. This is a great article to share with them so they are educated on their options when it comes to insuring their bling!

Most homeowners policies provide very limited coverage for jewelry. The reason for this is that jewelry is high-valued (especially in relation to its size), is easily lost or destroyed and is vulnerable to theft (as well as fraud). If you only own a modest amount of jewelry (say just a few hundred dollars), perhaps the limited coverage provided by a basic policy is adequate. However, when high values are involved, consider buying special insurance coverage (sometimes called a floater). A few options are available such as buying supplemental insurance that is attached to your homeowners or tenant's policy or purchasing a separate jewelry policy.

Discussing what is needed and expected from separate coverage is very important. Does the coverage consider jewelry values that increase over time? Does it cover mysterious disappearance (when you know the property is gone, but can't pinpoint when and how the property was lost) and other causes of loss, or just fire and theft? Discussing the coverage also helps you understand the steps you must take to make sure that you keep the maximum coverage in force and whether the coverage you receive is worth the additional price.

Documenting The Jewelry's Value
If the jewelry has just been purchased, a store receipt or certificate should establish the insured value. However, as time passes or circumstances change, the insured value must be reevaluated, perhaps by seeking an appraisal (expert opinion). Getting an appraisal that affirms your jewelry's current value is an excellent way to assure that your property is properly protected. Of course, make sure that you work with a competent appraiser (check their credentials and number of years of experience). It is also helpful to talk to a potential appraiser. Does she seem to have the necessary expertise? How willing and able is she to explain her work? There are several professional jewelry and appraisal associations that can give you information on appraisers and appraising methods. All of these items are important, especially since you have to pay a fee for an appraiser's services.

Handle With Care
Once you're certain about the value of your jewelry and the adequacy of its insurance coverage, you need to properly handle your jewelry. After all, who wants to actually file a claim? If you own a significant amount of expensive jewelry you may want to look into other precautions such as:
* Get new appraisals every two or three years, sending a copy to your insurer
* Take photos of your jewelry from several angles; again, share copies with your agent or insurance company
* Consider a quality in-home security system, including a hidden vault or storage area
* Take care on where and when your jewelry is worn to try to avoid becoming a theft target
* Keep original receipts and all appraisals, especially if they demonstrate that the jewelry's value is appreciating
* Ask your jeweler whether they have access to "Gemprint," or a similar jewelry identification system that documents a jewel's distinctive markings much in the manner of fingerprinting.
* Consider storing jewelry that is rarely worn in a bank or saving institution’s vault. (Note that such special storage often qualifies for an insurance premium discount)

Again, your first step is to talk to an insurance professional since he or she shares your concern that you have the protection you need at a price you can afford.

If you have additional info regarding scheduling your client's jewelry, Tague Alliance can help you answer any questions you may have. They can be reached at 760-729-1143, or you can visit them on the web at www.TAGUEALLIANCE.com

COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 1999, 2002, 2008

The Business Owner Policy

2011-08-01T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a VERY educational article to read about Business Owner policies. Commercial accounts are a great way to build your book of business and are an even better way to increase your cross sales. Check out the article below to educate yourself on the basic idea of a BOP!

If you own and/or run a smaller business, your insurance needs may be properly handled by a businessowner policy (BOP). BOPs are similar to a homeowners policy, offering both property and liability protection. Businesses such as retailers, wholesalers, small contractors, artisan contractors, dry cleaners, restaurants, offices and convenience stores (including those with gas pumps) are eligible for BOP coverage. All such operations may be insured by a BOP as long as they are not larger than 25,000 square feet in total floor area or have gross annual sales greater than $3,000,000 (per location). Cooking operations, due to the higher fire and other accident exposures, have significantly more restrictive guidelines, such as being disqualified for a BOP when it square footage exceeds, typically, 7,500 s.f.

PROPERTY COVERAGE
BOPs protect buildings as well as the following:

* building additions (completed or being built)
* indoor and outdoor fixtures
* machinery and equipment
* landlord furnishings,
* mowers, ladder, snowblowers, and similar maintenance property
* outdoor furniture
* floor coverings
* refrigerating appliances
* ventilating appliances
* cooking appliances
* dishwashing/Drying appliances
* clothes washing/drying appliances
* materials, equipment, and supplies
* temporary structures
* located near the insured premises

LIABILITY COVERAGE
The policy's protection for business personal property (such as office equipment, copiers, desks, etc.) applies whether the property is located inside or immediately outside the covered buildings. The category also includes property you own, lease or control (i.e., borrow or control) as long as the property is used by the business.

Businessowners liability coverage provides comprehensive protection for claims or suits made by other parties. Its liability section covers losses involving injury to other persons or damage to property that belongs to others. It also provides limited protection against personal injury (slander or libel), advertising injury and losses involving an operation's products or services.
Naturally, there are certain situations that are not covered by a BOP. For instance, there is no coverage for losses involving most vehicles, money and securities; illegal property (contraband), land, water, growing crops or lawns; or watercraft.

A BOP may be supplemented to provide additional protection. Property coverage options include adding insurance for accounts receivable, valuable papers and records, earthquake, spoilage, etc. Liability coverage can be expanded to handle additional business interests, limited vehicle liability, losses related to personnel situations, liquor liability and injuries to leased employees.
A BOP may be the answer to your company's coverage needs and it may be worthwhile to get more information on the BOP from the nearest insurance professional.

Questions about BOPs? Contact Tague Alliance for additional information or check out our website!

COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 2004, 2008

How Much Is That Doggie In The Lawsuit?

2011-06-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a great article to share with your clients that have pets, or are considering getting a pet. It's very important to ask your clients if they have pets due to the additional exposure they create! If you have questions about the acceptability of certain dog breeds and/or dogs with bite history, contact your SIAA Master Agent, Tague Alliance for more information!

While dogs make great companions, playmates, and protectors, they also continue to be a problem for insurers. Nearly two million people are bitten by dogs each year with around 800,000 persons requiring professional medical treatment for their wounds. Each of these incidents is a potential lawsuit.

Have Teeth, Will Bite
Tens of millions of U.S. households own dogs and biting incidents keep climbing. A key factor that contributes to these incidents is the failure of dog owners to supervise and train their pets. Another problem is that many persons, especially children, do not know how to behave around dogs. Bites may occur when:

* a person stares at a dog, which the animal perceives as a threat or challenge
people attempt to handle dogs during sensitive moments (while a dog is trying to eat or while nursing puppies)

* trespassers or house guests invade a dog's territory

* "rough-housing" with a dog escalates beyond playing.

An Issue Of Control
Insurance is still designed to handle accidents, and companies are at a severe disadvantage when policies are asked to respond to losses that are easily avoided. Dog bite claims involve the insured having control over areas such as:

* choosing to own a dog

* choosing the particular breed of dog

* raising the dog in a certain manner

* housing the dog in a certain manner

* exposing the animal to various social situations

* being knowledgeable about a dog's temperament and inclination to bite or attack.

All of the above elements can contribute to lawsuits and to action from an insurer.

The "Policy" On Dogs
If you have homeowners insurance and you own a pet, the liability portion of your policy provides protection for losses arising from pet ownership. Not only are you and your household protected, but coverage even extends to persons who have custody of your pet. However, your policy won't cover businesses that may have custody of your pet, such as kennels, obedience schools, groomers and professional sitters or walking services (they should carry their own coverage). Further, coverage could become problematic if dogs in a home are related with unreported, in-home business activity. Losses involving persons who are bitten while in a home for business reasons may not be covered.

Minimizing The Problem
Owners have a responsibility to raise and handle their dogs in a manner that reduces the chance for a loss. Steps to take include becoming knowledgeable about their breed of dog and about general principles of ownership and care. They should make certain that family members, social visitors, neighbors and strangers are protected from the owner's pets. Owners should also take advantage of resources to help them, such as tips from animal shelters, dog ownership clubs, the AKC and a plethora of Internet sources.

It may not be the fairest set of circumstances, but more insurers are choosing not to give dogs the benefit of the doubt. It is becoming more common for companies to refuse to write coverage for persons who own certain breeds of dogs. Therefore, owners must fight this trend by not taking their pet ownership lightly....because insurers aren't.

COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 1998, 2004, 2010

What's The Difference?! Vacant & Unoccupied Homes

2011-05-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

First, there IS a difference. The difference between the two is a matter of time and intent. While unoccupancy is a temporary condition and an exception to a residence normally having occupants, vacancy generally represents abandonment of property. The point is that either condition may affect your coverage under a typical homeowner policy. It is quite important to understand the consequences of either condition in order to keep your coverage intact.

Peeking At A Homeowner Policy

Generally, a homeowner policy has a couple of areas that may be affected by a home's occupancy status: damage caused by freezing, or certain property and loss due to vandalism. Let's talk about them in detail.

A homeowner policy usually protects a home from any loss that is caused by a frozen:

plumbing system
heating system
air conditioning system or
appliance

Example 1: Fern Guddyson and her family leave their home in Minnesota in January. They'll spend the next 10 weeks in Miami because Fern is teaching a graduate course in Zen awareness at Palm Leaf University. During a bitter cold spell at their home at the end of March, the water line to their refrigerator (for its ice-maker) freezes and breaks. Later, when the line thaws, it overflows and, eventually, soaks all of the home's oak flooring and carpets. Fern makes a claim to her insurer when the family returns home. The insurance company rejects the claim when they find out the home was unoccupied for more than 30 days before the loss.

Unfortunately for the Guddysons, most homeowner policies will not cover freeze-related losses that occur during an extended period in which the home is either vacant OR unoccupied. But this loss of coverage can be avoided if the homeowner takes special steps. Precautions usually involve either draining any systems or appliances of water and shutting off the home's water supply, or keeping the home heated during the absence.

A homeowner policy typically offers protection to a home that is damaged by acts of vandals.

Example 2: Fern Guddyson and her family leave their home in Minnesota in January. Again, they'll be in Miami for the next 10 weeks while Fern gets her doctorate in surfing from Palm Leaf University. A week before the Guddysons return, a group of kids breaks most of their home’s windows. They then enter the home and use tools to smash doors, floors and walls. Fern makes a claim to her insurer when the family returns home from Miami. Their insurer estimates the damage and gives Fern a check to cover her loss.

Typically, vandalism losses are covered even during periods of extended unoccupancy. However, if the Guddysons had emptied their home of all furnishings and turned off the power for the time they were gone, the vandalism loss would not have been covered.

Why Are Such Exclusions Necessary?

Homeowner policies contain such exclusions in order to avoid special loss situations. A vacated home becomes an attractive nuisance, often attracting vandals. If a home is to be vacated, it may be necessary to purchase dwelling fire coverage to protect the home. In regards to loss caused by freezing, insurers want to encourage homeowners to do a little planning in order to reduce or eliminate the chance that a system or appliance causes a loss. If an insured refuses to act responsibly toward their property, they risk the chance of an uninsured loss.

If you're facing a situation in which your home will be unoccupied or vacant for an extended period, talk to the helpful people at Tague Alliance and make sure you do whatever is necessary to preserve your full insurance protection.

COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc., 1996, 2000, 2007

Umbrella Coverage – Part 2

2011-04-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Here is Part 2 about Umbrella Insurance - I'm sure your clients were on the edges of their seats learning about everything we had posted in Part 1!! Remember you can always direct your questions about coverage to the personal lines department at Tague Alliance! In part 2, we continue our discussion of how umbrella policies work. Umbrella vs. Excess Coverage A traditional umbrella offers broader protection, covering primary policies as well as a variety of, typically, uncovered exposures. For instance, you may have to go to court after being accused of slandering another person. The liability section of your homeowners policy may not cover this type of loss, called personal injury. An umbrella policy might include coverage for personal injury, so the loss is covered. You may also need a traditional umbrella to handle odd situations such as hobbies or activities that may increase the likelihood of facing liability losses. For example: • • you have an in-home hobby of training guard dogs and a neighbor's child is attacked • • you publish a newsletter on the Internet covering local or state politicians and one issue wrongly accuses a state senator of committing a crime • • You collect rare instruments and, as a part of the hobby, you also repair and restore such property for other people. One day you drop an antique mandolin which shatters when it hits your garage's concrete floor Generally, umbrellas provide coverage for any amount of a loss that exceeds the primary policy's deductible. However, when handling a loss that is not covered by primary insurance, a special kind of deductible called a self-insured retention (SIR) may apply. An SIR is the dollar amount you have to pay before the umbrella coverage is triggered. Of course, umbrellas don't always work as named. Your policy may just provide additional amounts of coverage to supplement existing protection. This is how an excess policy performs. Excess policies respond the same way as a primary policy. In such cases, an umbrella may "follow the underlying coverage." This means that the umbrella covers ONLY the situations handled by its underlying coverage. Only a careful evaluation of the actual policy wording will reveal the extent of the additional protection. The best way to find out if extra coverage is necessary is to discuss your coverage needs with a professional insurance agent. See Part 1 for other basic information about umbrella coverage. COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 1998, 2002, 2008

The Scoop on Umbrella Insurance (Part 1)

2011-03-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

Tague Alliance would like to provide the article below to help you provide detailed information about umbrella policies to your clients. If you have any questions about the items discussed in this article, please call Tague Alliance at (760) 729-1143!

Let’s say you have a policy for your home and the cars driven by your family. You have just the right policy for the apartment you rent out to others as well as special coverage for your boating excursions. Your homeowner's policy even has a special, added coverage to handle the business that your spouse runs out of your home. Yes, it looks like you can be confident that you have all the coverage you need. But let’s take another look. Maybe you need an umbrella. An umbrella is the term for a liability policy that fits over your primary policies. Besides providing an additional (excess) level of coverage, it sometimes provides protection that is not available under your primary coverage.

Umbrellas are designed to be carried over a person's primary (also known as underlying) liability coverage. Primary refers to the fact that in the event of a loss, the liability portion of your auto or homeowner coverage is the first to respond. Umbrellas or excess liability policies respond to an eligible loss only after the primary insurance has paid its limit.

It's quite possible that your primary insurance limits provide more coverage than you'll ever need. However, circumstances could involve a type of loss that is not completely covered by a primary policy. For instance, your newly licensed child is driving the family car and slides on an icy highway. He ends up causing a chain collision damaging several cars and injuring a dozen drivers and their passengers. Or maybe you often volunteer to help transport members of your son's first grade class on field trips and you have an accident because you tried to beat a yellow light. If you don't have enough primary coverage, any shortage may have to come out of your personal assets.

Umbrellas generally provide additional liability coverage for the following underlying policies:

• Personal Automobile
• Homeowners / Farmowners
• Recreational Vehicles
• Watercraft
• Personal Liability

The additional coverage may often extend to providing for related expenses, also on an excess basis, such as the cost of providing a court defense. Part 2 for Umbrella Insurance will be posted in the next week or so!

COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 1998, 2002, 2008

Tague Alliance 2010 Year-End Meeting

2011-02-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

Tague Alliance hosted our members and some of our partner insurance carriers. The event was a success and our members learned a little bit about using Facebook as a marketing tool. Tague Alliance distributed over $40,000 in PMSF earned from our national SIAA insurance company relationships.

The meeting presented great opportunity for our members to network with our partner insurance companies. Our semi-annual business meetings provide everyone a chance to come together to build relationships and expand horizons.

Reviewing Homeowners Policies With your Clients

2011-01-06T12:39:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone!

It's that time of year again! A great time to review your homeowners policies with your clients. Below is an article that we are posting for our clients. You may find it helpful as well:

Be Sure to Review Your Homeowners Insurance Policy Annually

Most Homeowners insurance companies will simply send out a reminder for a renewal of your home insurance policy when the end of the year is up for your insurance coverage. Many will also automatically renew your policy unless you call and let them know that you want to change or cancel that policy. This makes it easy for many homeowners to simply begin sending in the next set of payments for another year without reviewing the policy to make sure it adequately reflects their needs for the year.

Whether you have upgraded or remodeled the home, added a deck onto the back, turned the home into a rental property or realized that you may have problems with flooding in your area, there are several reasons to review your home insurance policy every year to assess whether the coverage still meets your needs.

Even if you have just begun a new home insurance coverage policy, it is important to review the policy as soon as you receive it to make sure the policy has the correct coverage amounts and coverage needs you have asked for. Remember that this policy will be in place for an entire year and will most likely cost between $300-$2000 so be sure that you are getting what you want.
If you asked for personal liability of others in the amount of $100,000 and the policy only shows $50,000 don’t be afraid to call the insurance agent back to have this problem corrected. The problem can simply be solved by issuing a new policy or a policy change.

Once the year time period has expired on your current policy and you are getting ready to renew again, it is always a safe bet to call the insurance agent and ask if the replacement cost value has gone up on your home or on anything in your home.

Remember that the financial market continues to increase and with this rates of building and replacement tools will go up, so there is no shame in calling to ask if the figures on your policy need to be changed.

If you have done any renovation of the home in the last year, such as replacing countertops or flooring, or even adding on a deck, it is important to inform the insurance company of these changes. This protects you from being underinsured in case of damage or loss.
If you have acquired any major purchases of personal property, it is also important to contact the insurance company about changing the coverage amount on your interior belongings. This could include major electronics equipment like an LCD television, a personal computer or laptop, an expensive piece of jewelry or fur coat, or even new furniture or a new piece of artwork.

It is also important to review your insurance coverage policy every year to determine if you have adequate peril coverage and liability insurance. Although some basic plans cover certain types of natural disaster and others cover personal liability, you may want to consider adding on specific insurance clauses for flooding, hurricanes, or tornados if you live in a high risk area.

If you started a plan out with little or no hurricane insurance but realized that the previous year brought major hurricanes to your area, then you may want to reconsider the amount of coverage. As well, some policies do not require homeowners to have personal liability insurance but this is a good idea if you are planning on having others in your home quite often.

This could include construction workers who are remodeling a kitchen or bathroom or even a babysitter or housekeeper. You will also want to change your policy if your children are starting to get older and invite over friends to play in the yard or to spend the night. Personal liability insurance will cover any accidents that happen while others are in your home.

One final reason to review your insurance policy each year is to assess discounts or possible price quote deductions that you may be able to receive. When you purchased the home it may not have had a security system installed, fire sprinklers or been equipped with up to date smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

But if you have installed this equipment over the past year, it is a good idea to call and inform the insurance company to see if you this makes you eligible for a discount. You may also be able to receive a discount if you started receiving car insurance from the same company, turned a certain age, or began a membership to a certain club or organization that the insurance company recognizes and gives discounts to on a regular basis. - http://wagnerstott.com/be-sure-to-review-your-homeowners-insurance-policy-annually/ (Posted by Wagner Stott)

Change of Plans - Tague Insurance Fan of the Week #23

2010-12-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

Our boss told us to close the office early today, so we followed his instructions. Due to our early closing we had to change our plans for picking this week's winner. Watch the video below to see if you are the lucky Tague Insurance Fan of the Week.

Happy New Year's Eve and have a safe and fun time!

Tague Alliance - Hoodie Drive for North County Solutions for Chantge

2010-12-27T19:48:00.000-08:00

Tague Alliance is supporting North County Solutions for Change. We collected a full box of new hoodies donated by our clients, fans, staff, and insurance companies. To see the various people who donated to the cause you can visit the Tague Insurance Facebook Fan page. See how we incorporated our Fan of the Week with our Hoodie Drive.

Christmas Tree Safety Article for your Clients!

2010-12-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

Here is a great article to share with your clients! You can incorporate it into a newsletter, put it in outgoing mail or give it to your clients when they walk through the door!

CHRISTMAS TREE SAFETY TIPS
15 Must Know Christmas Tree Safety Tips

Let's face these days it seems like there danger in everything we do. But don't worry there are plenty of safety tips to ensure there are no mishaps this holiday season. Below is a list of things you can do to make you have a happy, accident free holiday season.

1. Make sure you buy the freshest tree possible (brittle leaves is an indicator that your tree is dry)

2. Cut off a half inch of the trunk of your tree, this will allow the tree to suck in more water

3. When choosing a spot for your tree, make sure there are no heating vents, radiators, fireplaces or used electrical outlets.

4. Make sure your tree is not blocking any exits

5. Make sure you keep candles and other sources of fire away from the tree at all times.

6. Make sure your Christmas tree lights are for indoor use and are the correct voltage. Also only buy UL lights because they are tested for safety.

7. Try to use miniature lights, they produce less heat and are more energy efficient.

8. Make sure your Christmas tree stand is secure and stable

9. Give you thirsty tree a lot of water and re-fill it everyday

10. Check all of your lights for shorts before you put them on your tree

11. Shake your tree free of dry bristles before you take it inside

12. Turn your Christmas trees off at night and when you're leaving the house

13. Keep flammable items like curtains, paper and combustibles away from your tree

14. Have a fire extinguisher nearby for those rare emergencies

15. Discard your tree right after Christmas to avoid having a dry, dead fire hazard in your house!

And remember, most of all, to have a safe, and happy holiday season!

- www.premiumchristmastree.com/a23/Christmas-Tree-Safety-Tips/article_info.com.html

Tague Insurance Holiday Hoodie & Toy Drive!

2010-11-22T12:46:00.000-08:00

This holiday season, Tague Insurance is supporting North County Solutions for Change in Vista by collecting hoodies (hooded sweatshirts) and toys for children in our community!

North County Solutions for Change has a driving commitment to ensure that every child has a home. They help homeless families get back on their feet by providing support and permanent solutions to those that need help.

If you would like to support our Holiday cause this year, please bring a new, unwrapped hoodie sweatshirt (any size), or a new unwrapped toy for a child or teen to our office in Carlsbad (2801 Jefferson St). Your donation will help bring a smile to a child's face during this holiday season!

For more info on North County Solutions for Change, please visit their website at http://solutionsforchange.org/index.htm

Tague Alliance - Renter's Insurance Needs

2010-11-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

Attention: Tague Alliance members. It is very important to make sure you are consistently cross-selling your auto accounts. Many people are renters and they do not realize that they can get Renter's Insurance virtually for free. How you may ask? Almost every insurance carrier provides large multi-policy discounts. Many times these discounts fully or almost fully offset the annual cost of Renter's Insurance.

Consider working on all of your mono-line auto policies by cross-selling Renter's Insurance to your clients. The article below will give you some info to use in your marketing effort.

Renters’ Insurance Needs

Persons who live in apartments or rent a residence are fortunate. Most insurance companies can protect their assets and belongings by using a policy that is designed especially for tenants. Typical policies cover your possessions for common causes of loss, additional living expenses related to making other living arrangements, medical expenses for treating people injured on your premises and, of course, lawsuits.

Property Coverage
Protection under a standard renters policy is on an actual cash value basis (item’s replacement cost less depreciation).

Example: Stewart’s kitchen catches fire and his five year old refrigerator is destroyed. A new model of the refrigerator costs $750. His insurance company pays him $162, explaining that it’s the effect of five years of deteriorating value. Most companies offer coverage on a replacement cost basis if you purchase a separate endorsement.

Theft Limitations
Certain types of property are quite vulnerable to being stolen, therefore very limited coverage is available for items such as jewelry, furs, gems, gold, silverware, pewterware, money, securities, guns and accessories. Protection can be increased by adding additional coverage to the tenant policy or by purchasing a personal article floater policy.

Additional Living Expenses
A typical tenant policy provides a limit equal to 20% of your contents insurance limit. If your contents limit is $15,000, then your additional living expenses limit will be $3,000.

Liability Coverage
Liability insurance covers you for injury you cause to others and for damage to property that belongs to others. The policy also provides for the cost of a lawyer (if necessary) and most court costs. Examples of liability claims include: slips and falls; beaning a neighbor’s child with a baseball; hitting a golfer with your errant hook shot; or a friend breaking her hip when she trips on a skateboard your child left on the stairs.

COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 1998, 2001, 2009

Best Pumpkin Vote: Tague Insurance Fan of the Week #14

2010-10-30T14:21:00.001-07:00

The Tague Team fan captains (Jen, Robin, and Tony) each had a baby pumpkin with which they could do as they chose. The goal was to get the most votes from our Facebook fans. Jen did a spectacular decorative carving on her pumpkin and the majority of voters chose her pumpkin. I guess our fans have an eye for beauty and skill!!!

Since Jen was the winning fan captain she drew this week's winning fan...watch the video below and stay tuned each week for the Tague Insurance Fan of the Week drawing.

Fan Flip - Tague Insurance Fan of the Week #12

2010-10-15T18:49:00.001-07:00

Tague Alliance utilizes the retail operation of Tague Insurance as a testing ground for new marketing ideas. Essentially we view the agency as a laboratory to find things that work. We then relay the ideas that work to our member agencies so they can use them if choose to.

We embarked on a one year journey into building a fan base on Facebook and really having fun rewarding the fans of Tague Insurance with the hopes that we will be able to broaden our relationships with prospects whom we would never have come into contact with outside of Facebook.

Tague Alliance is a SIAA California Master Agency. SIAA is the largest network of independent insurance agents in the country. We provide valuable resources to our member agents such as direct carrier appointments, high commissions, profit sharing, agency training and consultation, discounted rating and management systems, and many additional benefits.

Below is our current Fan of the Week Drawing video:

Fan Bounce - Facebook Fan of the Week #10

2010-10-01T22:28:00.001-07:00

Tague Alliance and Tague Insurance bring you another Facebook Fan drawing. Tague Insurance loves rewarding our fans. Some of them are auto insurance or home insurance clients, some are fans that do not currently work with Tague Insurance. We look forward to these fun drawings each week and hope that our Facebook Fans find them funny and enjoyable.

Congrats to this week's winner, Christopher Rusk. You won a $25.00 Visa card!!!

SIAA & Tague Alliance Members - Remind Your Clients

2010-09-26T10:58:00.001-07:00

Duty To Preserve Property

When a loss happens under an insurance policy, besides a need to get the damaged or lost property replaced or repaired, the property owner has a number of immediate responsibilities. Besides being obligated to report the loss to her insurance company and to cooperate with the insurer in handling the claim, she also has a responsibility to minimize the loss. This obligation holds for both personal and commercial loss situations.

Most insurance policies contain specific references to the duty to protect property from further harm. It may be called a Neglect provision or Preservation of Property; regardless, insurance companies rely on their policyholders to make a reasonable effort to reduce the level of loss under their policies.

Here’s an example. Jenny’s restaurant staff is in an uproar as a fire has been discovered in a small storage area located behind the main kitchen. It’s after closing time, so Jenny only has to worry about clearing her employees out of the building and she orders everyone out and then arranges a role call to be certain that everyone is safely accounted for. Then she makes a call to the Fire Department. All the while, she stops anyone from attempting to extinguish the fire. As it turns out, the fire spreads from the storage area and into the kitchen, severely damaging the heart of her restaurant. After investigating the loss, Jenny’s insurer reduces her claim payment by $10,000. The lower payment is justified by their finding that the loss would not have been nearly as severe if Jenny had allowed her staff to use the available fire extinguishers and had made the emergency call more quickly.

Policy wording with regard to the duty to protect property typically notifies the policyholder that he or she is expected to take any and all available measures to save or preserve property in the midst of a loss. This does leave room for interpretation, but the obligation does fall comfortably in between the extremes of using heroic measures and failing to make any effort to protect property. A failure to meet the obligation can result in either a partial or, in extreme instances, a total denial of coverage for a given loss.

Here’s another example. The Laggleson family goes outside to check for any damage to their home after a violent windstorm. Besides a lot of scattered debris and an overturned patio set, they notice that a large limb from their Chinese Elm was blown onto their roof, creating a large gash. Several hours later a rainstorm comes through the area and the rain that pours through the hole damages expensive furniture stored in the attic as well as damages creates drywall damage to a bedroom ceiling and walls.

Scenario One – the initial damage occurred early on a Thursday morning with the storm occurring in the afternoon. The Lagglesons decided to go on to work and school and to handle things after returning home.

Scenario Two – the initial damage occurred on a Sunday morning, around 3 a.m. with the storm occurring around 6 a.m. The Lagglesons made several frantic calls but could not find anyone willing to come out to their home to deal with the open roof until Monday morning.

In both scenarios a failure to preserve the property after the initial loss created additional damage. However, it is only in the first scenario that the policyholder may suffer a consequence. In such cases, the loss circumstances have a significant bearing on how the insurer may respond and the policyholder’s actions are critical. A reasonable effort under the circumstances may mean all the difference.

If you need more help in understanding your responsibility after a loss, be sure to discuss your concern with an insurance professional.

COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 2010

Fan Crush - Tague Insurance Fan of the Week Drawing #9

2010-09-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

Tague loves rewarding our Facebook Fans with our weekly Fan of the Week drawing. Congratulations to this week's winner. Please visit our Facebook Fan page and click the "Like" button.

Tague Insurance: Facebook Fan of the Week Drawing #8

2010-09-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Tague Insurance: Facebook Fan of the Week Drawing #7

2010-09-10T17:34:00.001-07:00

Tague Alliance continues to encourage our members to utilize social media as a personal extension of their agencies. Our retail agency has some fun with Facebook and rewards clients and prospects at the same time.

Tague Insurance: Facebook Fan of the Week Drawing #6

2010-09-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

This week Tague Insurance introduced the "Featured Fan" to help assist our staff in choosing the Fan of the Week winner. Thanks to our Featured Fan and congratulations to this week's winner!

Please tell all your FB Friends to come and Like our page. All Tague Insurance Fans have a shot at being the Featured Fan and or winning the Fan of the Week drawing!!! Spread the word.

Tague Alliance Partnership Agency Uses Facebook

2010-08-27T21:24:00.001-07:00

Tague Insurance, the partnership agency of Tague Alliance, began fully engaging clients and prospects through the use Facebook. The concept is to reach out to clients and prospects in a way that brings a personality to the agency and that builds relationships. See a sampling of what Tague Insurance has been doing recently:

WCIRB Proposes Huge Rate Increase

2010-08-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

Read the article below....

WCIRB Says 29.6% Rate Increase
As we reported last week, Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California decided to file its largest ever recommended increase in the workers' comp pure premium rate. It is 29.6%. It was decided on a “party-line” vote that divided the 8 carrier members from the 3 public members.

Public members of the Governing Board all voted to oppose the filing, but in the deciding count it was carriers 7 and the public 3. One labor representative who voted last go around with her fellow public members was absent, but her vote wouldn't have changed the outcome.

Public members were also rebuffed in attempts to get the committee to recommend a more moderate increase in the pure premium rate. Public member Bruce Wick, director of risk management for the California Professional Association of Specialty Contractors, urged the committee to exclude the loss adjustment expenses (LAE) reported by the State Compensation Insurance Fund which is the approach that the Department has taken in past decisions.

State Fund's expenses are out of line with the rest of the industry and ultimately inflate the LAE ratio used in the pure premium rate calculation. WCIRB has attempted to deal with this anomaly in the past by tempering the State Fund's data by 50%, which the committee voted to do so again. BY including State Fund’s results the increase is considerably larger. The tally on that vote was also 7 to 3.

State Fund's unallocated loss adjustment expense ratio was a whopping 51.4% last year compared to 8.9% for private carriers, while State Funds allocated loss adjustment expenses were 9.8% compared to the industry’s 13.8% respectively.

CDI has regularly rejected the WCIRB’s approach in the past and is expected to do so again. The change is not insignificant. According to data presented by WCIRB, the LAE ratio for private insurers is 19.8% but this ratio balloons to 22.5% when State Fund's data is included in its entirety. Under WCIRB's methodology the LAE ratio comes in at 21.1%, which is what will be in the filing.

Employers in the construction industry did catch a break in that WCIRB's final recommendation will not include a $1 per hour increase in the dual-wage classification rate. WCIRB proposed the increase to account for wage inflation in the sector, but even carrier representatives had a hard time believing that wages for California's construction workers were actually going up. The vote rejecting the increase was unanimous.

Stay tuned for additional coverage and analysis in the premium edition of Workers' Comp Executive.

-30-

Copyright 2010 Providence Publications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Tague Alliance - Collapse Coverage Definition & Overview

2010-08-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

The overview and descriptions below are provided by Rough Notes and they do a very good job of outlining the many considerations when it comes to Collapse coverage. Tague Alliance wants to help our SIAA member agencies stay informed. As an SIAA Master agency in California we see earthquake as a form of collapse...but generally not a frequent cause of collapse. It is important that insurance agents understand the nuances of coverage and we hope this overview of Collapse sheds more light on this intricate subject.

Direct loss to covered property that involves either total or partial collapse of a building is insured by most "broad" and "special" commercial and personal property forms. However, the coverage only applies if the loss is caused by a hazard (peril) listed in the policy. "Collapse" has been removed from the Perils Insured Against section of such forms and is included under the Additional Coverage section. (Please refer to the form used.) However, two issues that make consideration of collapse coverage so difficult are the facts that collapse is often created by sources of loss that are, by themselves, ineligible for coverage (such as construction problems, acts of insects, rotting, etc.) and that collapse is typically gradual rather than sudden. Therefore, the peril’s dependent nature makes its handling significantly different from other perils.
COLLAPSE AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
Generally, collapse is covered for commercial property when caused by:
· any one of the specified causes of loss: fire; lightning; explosion, windstorm or hail; smoke; aircraft or vehicles; riot or civil commotion; vandalism; leakage from fire extinguishing equipment; sinkhole collapse; volcanic action; falling objects; weight of snow, ice or sleet; water damage
· breakage of building glass
· hidden decay
· hidden insect or vermin damage
· weight of people or personal property
· weight of rain that collects on a roof
· use of defective material or methods in construction, remodeling or renovation, but only if the collapse occurs during the course of the construction, remodeling or renovation
· if collapse occurs after construction, remodeling or renovation is complete and is caused in part by one of the causes listed above, the loss or damage is covered even if defective material or methods used during construction, remodeling or renovation, contributes to the collapse
For direct losses that do not involve collapse of the building or any part of the building but rather from some other type of collapse, there is coverage for otherwise covered personal property if:
1. the personal property that has collapsed is located inside an insured building and
2. the collapse was the result of an otherwise covered cause of loss

Example: A fire occurs in one section of Consumerland’s warehouse. The fire is put out, but it severely damaged the base of a 50 foot length of heavy duty shelving. The shelving collapses, destroying thousands of dollars worth of office equipment. Since fire caused the collapse, the damaged equipment is eligible for coverage.

Other types of property are covered for collapse if it is due to a covered cause of loss as listed above, but only if the damage or loss is a direct result of the collapse of a building covered by the policy form and the property damaged is also insured in policy. The other types of property are:
· outdoor radio or television antennas, satellite dishes, and their lead-in wiring, masts or towers
· awnings, gutters and downspouts
· yard fixtures
· outdoor swimming pools
· fences
· piers, wharves and docks
· beach or diving platforms or appurtenances
· retaining walls
· walks, roadways and other paved surfaces
Collapse is considered to be a sudden event; therefore, incidents involving settling, cracking, shrinkage, bulging, or expansion do not qualify.
The Additional Coverage for collapse does not in any way increase the limit of insurance provided in policy.

Example: Heavy monsoon-type rains pelted a covered building for more than two weeks. The weight of accumulated rain on the roof caused the building to collapse. As the building collapsed, it pulled down the satellite dish and several other antennas attached by lead-in wires, along with awnings, several outdoor light fixtures in close proximity, and portions of a fence. Further, the impact of the collapse damaged the adjacent sidewalk and parking areas. This all would be covered by the definition of collapse.

Example: However, there is no coverage when, as a result of the same monsoon, a mudslide occurred. The mudslide damaged the walls and lining of a swimming pool, filling it with mud, damaging pool equipment and fixtures. This would not be covered because the damage caused by a mudslide is not a covered cause of loss nor was the damage caused directly by the collapsed building.
COLLAPSE AND PERSONAL PROPERTY
There is coverage for direct physical loss to covered property involving collapse of a building or any part of a building caused only by one or more of the following:
1. Perils insured against in personal property (Coverage C). These perils apply to covered buildings and personal property for loss insured by this additional coverage;
2. Hidden decay;
3. Hidden insect or vermin damage;
4. Weight of contents, equipment, animals, or people;
5. Weight of rain which collects on a roof; or,
6. Use of defective material or methods in construction, remodeling or renovation if the collapse occurs during the course of the construction, remodeling or renovation.
Loss to an awning, fence, patio, pavement, swimming pool, underground pipe, flue, drain, cesspool, septic tank, foundation, retaining wall, bulkhead, pier, wharf, or dock is not included under items b through f above unless the loss is a direct result of the collapse of a building.
The same as with commercial property, collapse does not include:
· settling
· cracking
· shrinking
· bulging
· expansion

Example: After being built, a restaurant starts to settle and this causes cracks in the walls and foundation. Damage of this type would not be covered in the policy.

Also, just like commercial property, the personal property coverage does not increase the insurance limit that applies to the damaged covered property.
WHEN DOES "COLLAPSE" OCCUR?
"Collapse," as specifically covered under Additional Coverage in the various standard provisions of property insurance forms, does not include "settling, cracking, shrinkage (or shrinking), bulging or expansion." With this in mind, we may look to dictionary definitions and significant court rulings for guidelines in determining if a structure has "collapsed." Webster’s International Unabridged Dictionary defines collapse as follows:
"To fall or shrink together abruptly, as the sides of a hollow vessel; to cave in; to fall into a flattened state; often, with the idea of design, to fall into, or to be reduced to, a more compact form (this table collapses) .”
"To break down or fail abruptly and utterly; to go to pieces; as, his health and plans collapsed together.”
"To cave in; crumble suddenly"
"To suffer a physical collapse; to fall suddenly helpless."
COURT DECISIONS
A major problem throughout the years has been the determination of the nature or degree of structural damage that must occur before a structure can be considered to have "collapsed" per a policy’s definition. Various courts have contributed much to our present understanding and determination of when coverage is applicable.
Courts have relied heavily on dictionary definitions, those meaningful and acceptable to the average person, in deciding cases involving application of insurance policies to losses. Though now more than 40 years have passed, it was a 1964 decision that substantially influenced how courts and insurers continue to handle this issue. What the courts said about "collapse" was more important than the cases’ particulars.
Graffeo et al. v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., N. Y. Supreme Court, Appellate Division, decided January 6, 1964, was concerned with an "all risks" Homeowners policy. The court said:
"It is our conclusion that there was not a ‘collapse’ of the premises within the intendment of the policy (see Gage v. Union Mutual Fire Insurance Co., 122 Vt. 246; Employers Mutual Fire Ins. Co. v. Nelson, 361 S.W. 2d 704 Tex.). The Appellate Division in the Third Department has interpreted the ‘collapse’ of a building as used in an insurance policy to include ‘an element of suddenness, a falling in, and total or near total destruction.’ (Weiss v. Home Insurance Co., 9 A D 2d 598.). It is true that there is a minority view which construes ‘collapse’ as a ‘sinking, bulging, cracking, pulling away of the wall’ (Travelers Fire Insurance Co. v. Wahley, 272 F. 2d 288, applying Kansas law). The latter construction, however, if applied to the instant case, would do violence to other provisions of the policy, particularly the basic exclusionary clause with respect to settling, etc. Only recently the principle has been reaffirmed that courts cannot construe a particular provision of an insurance policy in such a way as to emasculate the clear intent of its other provisions. (Walters vs. Great American Indemnity Company, 12 N. Y. 2d 967.)”
"Since we find that there was no collapse within the purview of the policy, its basic exclusionary clause with respect to settling is applicable."
COLORADO CASE
Sherman v. Safeco Insurance Company of America, Colorado Court of Appeals, No. 82CA-1311, June 16, 1983, confirmed that "collapse" need not be total. Judgment denying an insured’s claim for the collapse of a residence under Homeowners insurance, which provided coverage for "collapse of buildings or any part thereof," was reversed. The trial court had construed the term "collapse" to mean a complete falling down of the building, and since the insured’s residence did not completely fall down, concluded that a collapse did not occur. The appellate court, however, construed "collapse" as not necessarily involving a complete falling down, and also stated that the policy provided for collapse not only of the entire building but also of "any part thereof."
MISSOURI CASE
Eaglestein v. Pacific National Fire Insurance Co., Kansas City Court of Appeals, Missouri, February 3, 1964, also involved "all risk" coverage on a dwelling and comparable cracking of walls, etc. The court said:
"14 C.J.S., p. 1316, defines ‘collapse’ as follows: ‘To break down or fail abruptly and utterly, to cave in; to close by falling or shrinking together, to fall together, or into an irregular mass or flattened form, through loss of connection or rigidity and support of the parts or loss of the contents, as a building through the falling in of its sides.’”
"The policy on which this suit was brought did not insure against ‘collapse’ and stop. It carried a plain exclusion of ‘settling, cracking, shrinkage or expansion of pavements, foundations, walls, floor or ceilings’ from coverage.”
"We believe that the policy provisions are not ambiguous, certainly not under the factual situation before us. In our opinion, the phraseology used has a clear and commonly understood meaning and hence needs no construction over, above and beyond its plain meaning. We regard the opinions of those appellate courts denying coverage under a `collapse clause’ in those instances where the walls cracked or settled as being better reasoned and as having reached more logical results. We concur with the conclusion of the trial judge that plaintiff’s casualty, as shown by the evidence, is not covered by the policy."
OHIO CASE
The Ohio Supreme Court asserted, in the case of Olmstead, Trustee, v. Lumbermens Mutual, that there is no ambiguity in the word "collapse." The case was decided May 27, 1970 on appeal from the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Appeals. In summary, the court stated that, "The word, in its plain, common and ordinary sense, means a falling down, falling together, or caving into an unorganized mass."
Let’s look at one final court case regarding collapse:
"COLLAPSE" HELD COVERED ONLY ACCORDING TO ITS POPULAR MEANING
A "broad form" homeowner’s policy contained the following insuring provision: "We cover direct loss to the property owner insured under the Dwelling and Personal Property Coverage caused by ...13. Collapse of buildings or any part of a building....Collapse does not include settling, cracking, shrinkage, bulging or expansion...."
The insured filed a claim when large cracks and bulges were observed in the living room ceiling after he and his wife had lived in the house for nine years. A contractor he hired to inspect the damage reported that the sheetrock had separated from the truss or rafter, but could not determine the cause of the separation. The insurer denied the claim on the basis of "no coverage." In the course of litigation, the insured appealed a trial court judgment in favor of the insurance company.
The insurer contended that "collapse" means total destruction or caving in and further pointed to the specific policy language that, with respect to coverage provided, the named peril does not include "settling, cracking, shrinkage, bulging or expansion."
Citing various precedents and authorities, the appeal court said that the familiar rules of construction require the terms used in insurance policies "to be construed in their plain, ordinary and popular sense." Referring to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 443 (1961) for such meaning, the court found "collapse" defined as follows:
"1: to break down completely: fall apart in confused disorganization: crumble into insignificance or nothingness: disintegrate ...2: to fall or shrink together abruptly and completely: fall into a jumbled or flattened mass through the force of external pressure: fall in... 3: to cave in, fall in, or give away: undergo ruin or destruction by or as if by falling down." Other definitions examined were similar.
The court said: "Applying the ordinary meaning of the word to the facts as found, the ceiling clearly has not ‘collapsed.’ Accordingly, there is no coverage under the policy, and the trial court is affirmed."
Editor’s Note: "Collapse" has been removed from the Perils Insured Against section and is included under the Additional Coverages section of policies used by numerous companies. The change is to make it clear that "collapse" is covered only when caused by specified perils enumerated with respect to Coverage C, plus several other stated causes.
(Owens et ux., Plaintiffs, Appellants v. Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, Defendant, Appellee. Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Section. C.A. No. 127. June 9, 1989. CCH 1989-90 Fire and Casualty Cases, Paragraph 1933.)

Tague Alliance - Business Insurance

2010-07-14T19:02:00.001-07:00

Business Insurance Costs

Besides worrying about the daily responsibility of running their business, commercial insureds may have other concerns such as rising insurance costs, reduced insurance availability, the impact on coverage due to experiencing recent losses, etc.

Businesses price their products to cover the costs of production as well as their sales and marketing expenses. Prices also reflect some post-sales costs such as repair or replacement under warranty. At one time many industries used a pricing strategy for their products that failed to reflect their true costs. They assumed that lower prices would promote increased sales and the higher sale volume would make up the cost difference. The strategy wasn’t successful. It hasn’t worked for the auto industry, the computer industry or the insurance industry.

The problems of the insurance industry became apparent within the turn of the century and were drastically exasperated by the events of September 11, 2001. That catastrophe substantially affected the insurance industry. Workers Compensation, a coverage that had never experienced a loss of that magnitude, was struck by a catastrophic loss. Property losses, business income losses, liability losses, life insurance claims, every category of insurance coverage affected by that man-made event.

The insurance industry’s beginning attempts to gradually correct their faulty pricing practices was replaced by the need for a sudden and violent change. For much of the current decade, insurance companies have had to handle many more claims being presented many years after their policies have expired. In the case of pollution, asbestos and employment practices, the industry is being asked to handle losses that policies weren’t designed to even cover.

Well, what can a business owner do to minimize their high insurance cost? Before considering sacrificing the amount of protection a business carries just to save money, consider alternatives. Some other solutions would be:
1. Review your coverage:
a. Take a close look at your insurance. Could you increase the deductibles to lower your premium?
b. Are you carrying physical damage coverage on commercial vehicles that aren’t worth it?
c. Are you insuring items you could replace out of pocket? Are there pieces of equipment that are insured when they could be replaced from operating funds without submitting a claim?
2. Review your exposures:
a. Could you reduce the premium by installing an alarm system or fire protection system? Would these premium savings offset the cost of the system?
b. Could you implement safety programs that would reduce the cost or make the insurance company more interested in providing coverage? For example: driver safety programs, back to work programs, safety training in proper use of equipment and job functions.
3. Identify your insurance goals:
a. Do you need an insurance company that can provide loss control services?
b. Do you need an insurance company that can provide claim-handling services for your Workers Compensation insurance?
c. Do you need an insurance company that will allow you to make payments by phone or on-line 24/7?
d. Do you need an insurance company that has a local agent/representative that can assist you in your insurance solutions?
Shopping and price are not the only issues in insurance. What you don’t know can cost you more in the long run than you could ever save in premiums. Discuss your situation with an insurance professional and make the choice that works for you.
COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 2003, 2008

Tague Alliance hosts a K-1 Racing Event for the winners of our Elite and Elite Plus Member Incentive

2010-06-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tague Alliance - Don't Get Caught In The Price Trap

2010-06-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a great article that was posted by Safeco Insurance. Our Tague Alliance members and independent insurance agents in general need to be more than "order takers". It is unacceptable that a teenager working the McDonald's drive-thru line can be more effective at selling value than licensed and educated insurance agents. Think about it...what questions are you asked every time you go through McDonald's? "Would you like to make that a large combo?" "Would you like to try our Mocha blah blah blah?" "Would you like an apple pie with that?" So as insurance agents we need to be sure that we are offering our clients all the protection they need. Just as McDonald's is "rounding out" your meal by offering you additional products; we need to be doing the same thing by offering to write the home/auto/umbrella, etc.

Remember one simple fact: Those who sell on price will die on price!

Selling value: Don't get caught in the price trap 6/24/2010
Insurance sales conversations frequently start with an apples-to-apples price comparison. If that describes the approach you take, Josh Stirpe, director of Safeco's Licensed Sales department, wants you to tip the proverbial cart over and use a more effective approach.

"Once you start a conversation with price as the focal point, it becomes difficult to engage the client in a conversation about the value of a particular insurance policy, even if it costs a little more than their current policy," explains Stirpe, whose background in the industry includes a stint as an agent. "It's imperative to present a total package of benefits to them. Agents first must sell value, explaining what coverages and services the client will get."

"Statistics show that more than two-thirds of clients are willing to pay a higher price for maximum protection."

— Josh Stirpe, director of Safeco Licensed Sales

He recommends that you:

Avoid falling into the “price trap” by positioning yourself as a way to save the client money.
Find out why the client is shopping. Uncover the catalyst for the quote inquiry.
Take the time to understand all the risks in the household (not just those that are covered in the requested quote).
Tailor the presentation to the overall risk exposure.
Above all else, invest time in educating the client by providing examples he or she can relate to … Insurance is more than the lowest price; it is something that can protect the client's way of life in the event of a tragedy.

Value-selling policies results in loyal, long-term clients — boosting your retention. But that's not all your agency will gain.

"Producers also are more satisfied because they get away from being 'quote generators' and instead are doing what they got into this business for in the first place, to educate their clients and protect people," he says.

Benefits vs. price
While many consumers certainly look to save money wherever possible, research shows that price is seldom the primary reason people make a buying decision. According to comScore's Auto Insurance Survey, when offered a choice between low-cost/minimum coverage and high-cost/maximum coverage, the majority of consumers fall in the middle to upper-middle range. What that indicates is exactly what value-selling is all about: People are more interested in feeling protected than in saving a few dollars.

"Statistics show that more than two-thirds of clients are willing to pay a higher price for maximum protection," Stirpe notes. "A high percentage of clients will go that road with their agents who value-sell the protection."

The value-sell approach involves bringing to the forefront what you as an independent agent can provide that insurance consumers can't get elsewhere:

Expert advice
The ability to identify coverage gaps and overlaps
A knowledge of industry trends that affect consumers
The ability to customize a plan that meets each individual's protection needs
A variety of policy choices

"When insurance consumers initially meet with an independent agent, they may start out with a desire to see how they can save money, but quickly become ecstatic if an agent first educates them on benefits," says Stirpe.

He says price should be the last resort in the sales process. At the point that price does enter the equation (and of course it will for many people), you can remind customers that Safeco offers a variety of cost-cutting solutions, such as discounts when they purchase multiple policies, including Home, Auto and Specialty policies. Eighty-five percent of insurance consumers will consider hearing how bundling their coverages can translate into a discount.

"Clients will be less likely to shop elsewhere – including online – when agents value-sell and show that they are looking out for their clients' future."

Tague Alliance - Inducted Into The Safeco Insurance H.K. Dent Society

2010-06-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

Tague Alliance is excited and proud to have been inducted into the H.K. Dent Society. This is an elite group of independent insurance agencies who represent Safeco Insurance. Only 7% of Safeco's 12,000+ agents are part of the H.K. Dent Society.

Many thanks to all the members of Tague Alliance for their Safeco production over the years which has allowed us to qualify for this honor.

Tague Alliance - Carlsbad Condo Court Case Overview

2010-06-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

The court case review below provided by Rough Notes is an interesting case where some more complex coverage triggers are discussed.

270_C276
EFFICIENT PROXIMATE CAUSE DOCTRINE DID NOT APPLY TO THIRD PARTY CASE

Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (ISOP) insured the City of Carlsbad (City) under a general liability policy that covered bodily injury and property damage losses to third parties resulting from City's negligence. It defined property damage as "physical injury to or destruction of tangible property, including all resulting loss of use of that property." However, an exclusion provided that ISOP would not defend or pay for claims or suits brought against City for property damage arising out of land subsidence for any reason whatsoever. The definition of land subsidence included landslide.

As a result of City's negligent maintenance and repair of a fire hydrant and water line located within the La Costa de Marbella Condominium Complex (Marbella), an earthen slope above it became saturated with water and failed. The resulting landslide damaged or destroyed 15 units and part of the common area. The Marbella Homeowners Association sued City, seeking damages for property damage and emotional distress. ISOP defended under a reservation of rights. City settled the lawsuits for $12,670,000. ISOP indemnified City for the bodily injury claims but denied coverage for the property damage claims. City sued ISOP, alleging breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. City asserted that it was entitled to indemnification under the "concurrent causation doctrine" because the exclusion did not explicitly negate coverage that resulted from more than one cause, that the exclusion was illegal, and that it did not apply to landslides caused by man-made forces. ISOP argued that the exclusion unambiguously applied to all property damage arising out of landslide, that the concurrent proximate cause doctrine did not apply because there were not two separate and independent acts of negligence to cause the damage, and that the exclusion applied even if the concurrent proximate cause doctrine applied.

The trial court heard the motions together, denied City's in its entirety, and granted ISOP's in its entirety. City appealed on essentially the same basis as its initial motion. It asserted that the trial court erred because the exclusion was ambiguous as to whether it covered landslides regardless of cause, that it did not apply to landslides caused by man-made forces, and that it was entitled to indemnification under the "efficient proximate cause" doctrine and related Insurance Code. The Court of Appeal determined that, based on the evidence, there was no need to interpret policy language and that the issue was a pure question of law.

Under the "efficient proximate cause doctrine," when a loss is caused by a combination of covered and specifically excluded perils, it is covered if the covered peril was the efficient proximate cause of the loss. On the other hand, the loss is not covered if the covered peril was only a remote cause of the loss, or the excluded peril was the efficient proximate, or predominant, cause. An insurance company is liable for a loss where a peril insured against was the proximate cause, although a peril not contemplated by the policy may have been the remote cause of the loss; but is not liable for a loss where the peril insured against was only a remote cause. However, this doctrine is limited to first party cases, where an insured seeks coverage for its own property interests. In third party cases like this one, where coverage is sought for liability to third parties, the concurrent proximate cause doctrine applies. As a result, the first party cases that applied the "efficient proximate cause doctrine" that City relied on were irrelevant to the appellate court's analysis. City did not assert coverage under the concurrent proximate cause doctrine that applies to third party cases. Even if it had, it would not have applied because it applied only where there were two negligent acts or omissions, one of which independent of the excluded cause rendered the insured liable for the resulting injuries. The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's judgment in all respects.

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1, California. City of Carlsbad, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, Defendant and Respondent. No. D053843. Nov 20, 2009. 180 Cal.App.4th 176. 102 Cal.Rptr.3d 535

Tague Alliance - Insurance Study On Serving Future Customers

2010-05-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

The member insurance agencies of Tague Alliance and SIAA can learn a few interesting things from watching this video. Does "trust" rank as the most important factor that comes to your mind when considering what our client really wants from an insurance company? My guess is that you would say great products and/or a low price. Based on the study conducted in 11 countries with 4400 insurance consumers price is a factor but not the most important factor. You will also see in the video that about half of the consumers who are classified as being "people" centered prefer to work with an insurance expert, i.e. an agent.

So while "trust" is hugely important for the insurance carriers to foster with insurance clients, it is equally important for independent insurance agents to foster and focus on trust building with their clients. One key element in building trust with clients is being able to place their business with top rated insurance companies who have a stellar claims handling reputation and claims processing. A claim is when the trust factor is put to the biggest test.

Tague Alliance members need to realize that they must engage the client multiple times throughout the year in a number of different ways. Trust is built in multiple ways, but one key foundation of trust is the "relationship" that the agent has with their clients. This does not mean that you have to be best friends with every client, but it does mean that you need to be accessible when the client needs you, respond with relevant and efficient service, and be consistent in the handling of the client needs.

In addition, trust can be facilitated through "transparency" and "openness". A simple way to be more transparent is through the use of Facebook which can be used to create more personalization of your agency to your clients. This is a simple concept and one that takes time to create and manage. However, this personal extension of your agency helps to to foster relationship which in turn breeds more trust. Side note - if your agency is not careful about what is posted, said, and shown on a site like Facebook you can destroy all your good intentions very quickly. So the agency must be aware of posting only relevant consumer focused information that works toward building more client relationship.

The video below is meant for insurance companies, but has some good insights for Tague Alliance members and independent insurance agents in general.

Tague Alliance - Do Not Lie On Your Insurance Application

2010-05-16T20:51:00.001-07:00

By Tony Veteto
Tague Alliance, a SIAA Master Agency

As an insurance agent one of the most challenging things to work through with the insured is the "truth". There are many prospects that come to us for a quote on auto insurance and when we question them about accidents and tickets they suddenly have selective memory. To be fair, many of us cannot remember exactly when we may have received a ticket or had an accident. However, most of us know that we have had some type of incident during a given time period. I recently came across an article from Rough Notes Magazine regarding a court case where coverage was denied due to misrepresentations by the insured.

Insured responsible for statements on application

On October 22, 1992, Jaber (first name not shown) met with William Kasirye, an independent insurance agent, about automobile insurance from Prudential. He stated that he was married, employed, had not been cited for or convicted of a traffic violation in the past 60 months, and had not been involved in any losses or insurance claims during the 36 months preceding his application. At that time, Jaber paid a premium of $129 and Kasirye issued a binder effective immediately.

Prudential then requested and received a report from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles which showed that Jaber had moving violations in 1989 and 1991, and had been involved in an accident on January 2, 1992.

On November 9, 1992, Jaber submitted a notice of loss in which he reported his car had been stolen two days before. On December 7, Prudential sent him a letter denying liability and declaring the policy void from inception. The company returned the premium that Jaber had paid.

In May 1995, Jaber filed suit for declaratory judgment and sought reimbursement for his car and compensatory and punitive damages. Prudential asserted that the policy was void from inception since his statements in the application were warranties and that the application was a part of the policy. Also the binder had been issued based on the application.

The trial court entered judgment in favor of Prudential, and Jaber appealed.

Jaber contended that, although he had signed the application, the agent had filled in the answers to the questions and, thus, he was not responsible for the falsity of those answers. Furthermore, he asserted that the policy did not warn that any misrepresentations in the application would void the policy.

The higher court pointed out that the policy contained the following statement: "By accepting this policy, you agree that the statements on your Application are true and correct. This policy is issued relying on the accuracy of these statements." The binder that had been issued also contained a similar statement.

The judgment entered in the trial court in favor of Prudential was affirmed.

Jaber, Appellant, v. Prudential Insurance Company of America--No. L-95-347--Court of Appeals of Ohio, Sixth District, Lucas County--August 16, 1996--681 North Eastern Reporter 2d 478. *

©COPYRIGHT: The Rough Notes Magazine, 1998

After reading the case above there should be no doubt in the mind of the agent or the insured that true and accurate information must be represented on the insurance application! The insurance company has grounds to deny a claim if an insured misrepresents the facts when applying for the insurance policy.

Tague Alliance 5th Annual Awards Dinner

2010-05-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well another successful event is in the history books and what an evening it was! Thank you to all our members, staff, and sponsoring companies. Everyone had a wonderful time of fun and networking. Tague Alliance works hard to provide resources to our members through SIAA so they can grow their insurance agencies. Our Annual Awards Dinner is a celebration of the Tague Alliance member agency results!

Tague Alliance - Stay Educated and Connected

2010-05-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

The blog post below by Penny Hagerman is a great reminder that insurance agents need to get out of their office and start networking with other professionals. In addition, it is critically important that the agent become educated and knowledgeable on the coverage and products they are selling. Get out and make it happen. Tony

The Importance of Staying “Edumacated”

by Penny Hagerman

Last week, one of the agents on our network called to speak with me directly after reading this blog. He wanted to contribute his views on a previous post “in person,” rather than leaving a comment.

During that conversation, which ended up lasting nearly an hour (and I loved every minute of it!), we ended up talking about the challenges of being an agent, from persistency, to the cost of underwriting, to finding ways to stay in touch with clients.

But one thing this agent asked resonated especially loudly with me: Why aren’t agents getting out away from their desks, taking seminars and conferences, becoming experts on their products, and networking with other professionals?

And he’s right. There’s a definite perception in the industry that if you’re not sitting at your desk working leads, making calls and following up with clients, you’re not making money.

In fact, a recent article published online at American Agent & Broker indicates that “…agents aren’t particularly keen on lunches and conferences for new product information. Just 4 in 10 say they learn about new insurance products at lunches or speaker events, while less than that say they go to conferences to gain this knowledge.”

I’d like to pose another question I think has equal merit: How much more time could you save and money could you make if you started:

learning everything there is to know about the products you’re selling (as well as new ones being introduced)
networking with other agents to gain their perspectives, ideas and opinions (and possibly find some you’d consider partnering with)
talking and role-playing with others to learn techniques for educating, selling and forming long-term relationships
Staying up-to-date on the laws and regulations that govern insurance in your state
Visiting with customers “in person” (as I did with this agent) to let them know you’re there if they need anything and are always willing to help (this can be accomplished in person, by email from a PDA or by phone while you’re on your way to another appointment or out grabbing lunch)

We all know the power of referrals. They cost you nothing and can result in some pretty substantial income. By staying educated, possibly trading business with other agents whose products compliment yours, and using your knowledge to educate clients and promote yourself and your agency, you’re likely to, in turn, increase your referral volume.

Staying educated can also help you gain confidence in yourself and what you do, enabling you to more effectively convey value to new leads and clients.

Do you sit at your desk day after day, working leads but neglecting opportunities to grow your business in other ways? If so, I’d like to encourage you to make a change today. You never know what you’re missing until you try.

P.S.—Please pardon the title. I couldn’t resist!

Tague Alliance - Is Your Mortgage Company Forcing You To Have More Insurance

2010-04-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

There are legitimate times when a mortgage company requires the borrower to have more insurance coverage when a home is truly under insured. However, on more than a rare occasion the mortgage company will attempt to require the borrower to carry property insurance coverage in the amount of the home loan. If the home is insured to replacement cost the mortgage company is not legally able to require the borrower to insure the home for more coverage. This pertains to California.

The member agencies of Tague Alliance run into this situation too often. We have successfully helped our clients by providing the mortgage company a copy of the replacement cost estimate and a the civil code below. You may find this helpful in your agency when working on behalf of your clients.

CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE - 2955.5

___________________________________________________________________________

THE CODE

a) No lender shall require a borrower, as a condition of receiving or maintaining a loan secured by real property, to provide hazard insurance coverage against risks to the improvements on that property in an amount exceeding the replacement value of the improvements on the property.

b) Any person harmed by a violation of this section shall be entitled to obtain injunctive relief and my recover damages and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

c) A violation of this section does not affect the validity of the loan, note secured by a deed of trust, mortgage, or deed of trust.

d) For purposes of this section:

1) “Hazard insurance coverage” means insurance against losses caused by perils which are commonly covered in policies described as a “Homeowner’s Policy,” “General Property Form,” “Guaranteed Replacement Cost Insurance,” “Special Building Form,” “Standard Fire,” “Standard Fire with Extended Coverage,” “Standard Fire with Special Form Endorsement,” or comparable insurance coverage to protect the real property against loss or damage from fire and other perils covered within the scope of a standard extended coverage endorsement.

2) “Improvements” means buildings or structures attached to the real property.

CODE INTERPRETATION AND SUMMARY

California Civil Code - 2955.5 - specifically addresses the issue regarding the limit of insurance a lender is able to require their borrower to purchase covering a loan that is secured by real property. The Code places the Maximum Limit of Insurance that a lender can require at the Full Replacement Cost of the real property and it’s improvements. It does not state that a property must be insured or a lender require the real property be insured at full replacement cost value of the real property and it’s improvements.

We hope this information is helpful to your agency and clients.

Thank you.

Tony Veteto

Tague Alliance

Tague Alliance - CDI Rate Filing Approvals

2010-04-12T21:25:00.001-07:00

Tague Alliance likes to keep it's members updated on recent CDI rate change approvals as a way to help stay up to speed on coming changes that impact our marketplace.

How To Improve Your Auto Insurance Loss Ratio

2010-03-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

How to Improve Auto Insurance Loss Ratio article by eHow.com

Step 1:
Check out the area where the individual lives. Although insurance companies know where the highest crime rates occur, these are often in chart form and as averages. You have the advantage because you know your town well. Don't market to these areas.
Step 2:
Use several different companies for quotes. If you find iffy behavior in your client, don't quote companies that offer a bonus for improved loss ratio. You can't refuse to sell insurance, but you don't have to use the same company for every client.
Step 3:
Watch the client's behavior on the cell phone. If it rings constantly while you're interviewing him and he responds, chances are he answers while he drives. This can cause accidents, so use an alternative company for his application.
Step 4:
Direct your marketing list to married men and families, because married men often have fewer accidents than single men the same age. Younger women statistically have fewer accidents and tickets than men the same age, so marketing to women is another option.
Step 5:
Recommend higher deductibles for your clients. Many accidents are fender-benders that don't meet high deductibles or are so close that clients prefer to pay for the damage themselves rather than incur a claim. By recommending a higher deductible, you lower the amount of premium you receive. But that doesn't matter because the potential payouts keep your loss ratio a lot lower.
Step 6:
Secure referrals from clients you know have excellent records. Most people enjoy the company of people similar to them. The maniac driver is seldom included in the carpool-driving list. Ask your clients for names of people they consider good drivers. Explain that the fewer accidents paid by the company, the lower the premium becomes in the future.
Step 7:
Include all the information you can when you're writing an application for clients, and select your marketing list carefully. Ask about any drivers who frequently use the car. A good driver might have a crazy boyfriend or girlfriend who often drives the car. Know your clients well. Include all the information about them on

Recruiting Young Producers Can Pay Big Dividends

2010-03-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

The article below is from National Underwriter online and is good food for thought for all agency owners.

Recruiting Young Producers Can Pay Big Dividends, Study Finds

Given mentoring and the proper resources, college recruits excel

By BRIAN MCNEELY AND ANGELA BEMISS

Published 3/19/2010

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Many in the industry have long held the view that hiring young production talent is a bad idea. You often hear people say “young people can’t command the respect of the clients, so they probably can’t be successful,” or “they will just leave us in a few years after we’ve invested in their training,” or “young people have never worked out for us.”

In the summer and fall of 2009, Reagan Consulting—in conjunction with The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, UNUM, Chubb and Hanover—conducted “The Young Producer Study” to test the validity of these assumptions. (You can access the entire Young Producer Study at www.reaganconsulting.com.)

The study was designed to determine if there was an opportunity to hire more young production talent and document the best practices in hiring young producers.

Young producers were defined as producers hired when they were under the age of 30, hired in the last 10 years, and selling commercial property and casualty insurance or employee benefits.

The first part of the study was an assessment of the industry as a whole to determine the baseline level of hiring for these young producers. The survey included 206 agents and brokers (firms) throughout the country, with the data used as a proxy for the industry as a whole.

Based on the survey results, the success of young producers (48.6 percent) was approaching the success rate of all producers in the industry (53.0 percent), with the success of 23.4 percent of the young producers still unclear.

This data confirmed our belief that some firms were having success attracting, hiring and retaining young producers, and that there is an opportunity to learn from the best practices they were employing.

The next step was a deeper investigation of the firms and producers identified in the baseline study that were experiencing success. Fifty-four firms agreed to complete a detailed survey on their hiring and development practices for young producers. The firms also agreed to identify one or two young producers they considered successful.

A total of 91 successful young producers were indentified, completing a detailed survey about their educational background, a personality and behavioral assessment, and an interview. The firms also provided data on each successful young producer’s production history.

During this process we met and interviewed an extremely talented group of successful young producers and developed a deep understanding of the best practices employed by the successful firms in regards to attracting, hiring, developing and retaining young producers. There were three primary takeaways from our look at successful young producers:

• College Recruiting Works.

The 91 successful young producers that participated in the study were recruited from various sources, including other industries, other firms, college, insurance companies and in-firm transfers.

College, however, was easily the most popular source for successful young production talent. This certainly makes sense given that colleges and universities are concentrated sources of talented individuals, but it also contradicts conventional industry wisdom regarding college hiring.

Further, the success of producers hired directly from college was similar to that of those hired via other sources with regard to production numbers and time to validate.

• Well-Rounded Individuals Often Perform Best.

There wasn’t one characteristic of the successful young producers that stands out. Rather, what was apparent after analyzing the backgrounds of these individuals was their capacity to be involved in many activities and leadership roles while maintaining strong academic credentials.

However, interestingly, in terms of months until validation (when the commissions a producer generates at least equals their personal compensation, so they are in effect paying for themselves), a grade point average over 3.5 did not indicate greater success than that of those with a lower GPA, and within the group the producers with the highest GPA validated slowest.

Also, neither prior sales experience nor a specialty focus indicated success at a greater rate than that of those without prior sales experience or those that were generalists.

• Young Producer Economics Are Attractive.

When compared to hiring other experienced producers, the economics associated with hiring young producers can be attractive. As might be expected, the initial investment (salary) in a young producer is typically much lower than that of an experienced producer.

However, we also determined that successful young producers can perform at a level comparable to successful producers of all ages when give the appropriate resources.

Given the difficult economic environment we find ourselves in, both the relatively low initial investment of a young producer and the ability to generate organic growth for the firm could prove to be attractive.

With all that said, hiring, training and retaining young producers is a different game. Those firms that will succeed must do four things well.

• First, if they want to recruit college kids, they must establish a presence on college campuses as a means to identify the best talent.

• Second, the firms should invest in mentoring of the young producers to the point that mentoring becomes part of their firm’s culture.

• Third, young producers should be hired in classes, fostering a collegial bond among the young producers.

• Fourth, the young producers should be provided with resources that will make them successful.

In summary, young producers will not be able to rely only on experience to win business, and firms that can provide support to young producers via experienced producers or in-house risk management or other resources will have greater success.

None of this is to say that hiring experienced or “older producers” is a bad idea. However, “The Young Producer Study” confirmed our suspicion that a large, untapped resource exists for firms in their search for production talent.

There are compelling advantages young producers can bring to firms from a cultural perspective in the form of energy and enthusiasm, as well as practical advantages from the perspective of shareholder return and client relationship perpetuation.

While it won’t work for everyone, the opportunity to hire and develop young producers is compelling and worth exploring.

Brian McNeely (Bmcneely@reaganconsulting.com) is a consultant and Angi Bemiss(Angi@reaganconsulting.com) is senior vice president at Reagan Consulting Inc., an Atlanta-based management consulting firm that developed and produces the “Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America Best Practices Study.” More information about the firm can be found at www.reaganconsulting.com.

Tague Alliance - Home Insurance and Auto Insurance Questions

2010-03-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

The questions below will prove helpful in determining a client's needs regarding their auto insurance and home insurance.

AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE

1. Have you considered increasing your deductible to lower your premiums?

2. Are your liability limits adequate to protect your income and assets from a negligent lawsuit?

3. Do you presently insure all of the vehicles in your household?

4. Are all the licensed drivers in your household listed on your automobile policy?

5. If you own a pickup or a van, does it contain any customized equipment?

6. Do you own any camping or recreational vehicles (including electric or gasoline driven golf cart)?

7. Do you have a non-factory installed stereo system?

8. Do you have a vehicle, not your own, furnished for your use?

9. Do you have rental car coverage in the event your car is damaged in an accident?

10. Have you reviewed your auto insurance in the last two years?

11. Would you like to review the current limits and other coverage's on your vehicles to see if they are still suited to your needs?

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE / RENTERS INSURANCE1

1. Do you own any antiques, fine art, or paintings?

2. Do you own any jewelry, furs, or silverware valued over $500?

3. Do you own any guns?

4. Do you have replacement cost contents coverage added to your policy?

5. Do you presently have either a burglar, fire or smoke alarm in your home?

6. Have you remodeled your home recently? Do you plan to in the near future?

7. Would you like an estimate of your home's replacement cost at today's prices?

8. Do you own a second home or any other real property such as a mountain cabin or farm property?

9. Do you conduct any business or give private lessons in your home?

10. Do you own any rental or investment property?

11. Do you have an Excess Liability (umbrella) policy which extends your automobile and homeowners liability coverage to $1,000,000 or more?

12. Would you like us to send a form to assist you in making an inventory of your personal property?

13. Have you reviewed your homeowners coverage in the last 2 years?

14. Do you currently have a photo inventory of your personal property?

15. Would you like a review of your current homeowners coverage?

Tague Alliance - Hired & Non-Owned Auto Claims

2010-02-24T14:06:00.000-08:00

The info presented below was provided by Philadelphia Insurance and is a great case study of the loss exposure that companies create when allowing employees to use personal vehicles or hired vehicles during the course of their employment. Tague Alliance encourages our independent insurance agent members to research their client's needs to help uncover loss exposure that may exist for a client. Read the case study below:

Source Philadelphia Insurance Company

HIRED AND NON-OWNED AUTOMOBILES

Type of loss:

Bodily injury cases in excess of $1,000,000

Line of Coverage(s) involved in loss:

Hired and Non-Owned Automobile Liability (HNO) coverage

Description and narrative of the loss:

Four losses involving personal vehicles operated on company business:

• Organization incurred a $1.3M auto liability loss resulting from over-loading a 15-passenger van with luggage. An employee of the organization was driving the top-heavy van when it rolled, fatally injuring one passenger and severely injuring the other twelve.

• An employee of a social service agency was operating his personal vehicle, struck a middle-aged pedestrian moving in a crosswalk. Liability loss exposed the organization to a lawsuit and damages of $1.1M.

• Rental vehicle, operated by a policyholder employee, struck a motorcyclist while attempting to execute a left-hand turn. Motorcyclist died and the organization was sued; damages were in excess of $1M.

• Another motorcyclist was struck by an employee driving to a non-profit business meeting. The driver executed an improper U-turn killing the cyclist. Lawsuit resulted in a loss excess of $1M.

What controls were missing that would have prevented or lessened the loss?

Organizations often miss or under risk manage exposures related to the use of personal or “non-owned” vehicles for organization or company business. Whether you have an associate or volunteer “running an errand” to pick up office supplies or staffer transporting a consumer or others in their personal vehicle, the organization is ultimately responsible for the consequences of their driving. Be certain that individuals assigned to the task are screened, trained and have adequate insurance coverage. Errands and rental situations are a part of today’s business world. Let’s look at some of the basic elements of sound loss control aimed at mitigating non-owned auto loss.

Written Procedures

• Screening procedures were limited during new hire and subsequent to; motor vehicle records (MVR) checks were not conducted annually; MVR indications revealed driving infractions on one driver.

• Company Policy was missing in all of the above cases by not outlining the use of personal vehicles and what was expected of the employee regarding personal car insurance “liability limits”. This lack of planning resulted in the organization’s coverage to pick up “as excess” where personal auto policy limits were exhausted.

• There was more than one instance where personal vehicle coverage’s were basic having well less than the desired limits but while still meeting minimum statutory requirements.

• Pre-trip inspections were not completed in one case. Tires on the van that rolled over were under-inflated. There was no pre-trip vehicle inspection that day. A homemade roof rack loaded down with 1,800 pounds of luggage and gear quite possibly lead to greater instability due to the much higher center of gravity of the van and the roof mounted load.

Training

• There was some instruction but mostly geared towards on the road procedures, what to do in case of an accident, distraction policies, etc. Training typically was geared towards drivers of company vehicles.

• Weak documented efforts in defensive driver training or demonstration of such trained techniques during a road evaluation.

What recommendations apply?

DRIVER SCREENING & QUALIFICATION - Screen all drivers. Screen those that drive organization vehicles as well as those employees who may on occasion or regularly operate personally owned vehicles. Obtain (MVR) data at least annually and compare to best practice guidelines per the criteria in the Technical Bulletin provided on the main page.

PERSONAL INSURANCE - Develop and establish a policy requiring employees and volunteers to maintain adequateliability limits on their personal auto policies. The preferred limits should be at least $300,000 unless the person is transporting clients, in which case the limit should be $1,000,000.

DRIVER TRAINING - Provide all drivers with a course in defensive driver training to review fundamental techniques of collision avoidance by recognizing road hazards, understanding defensive measures and having the skill and time to act. Philadelphia Insurance Companies has a FREE web-based interactive Defensive Driver Training Course available through www.losscontrol.com.

ROAD EVALUATION - Develop and maintain a road evaluation process. This process involves drivers taking the defensive driver course and demonstration of those learned skills in an “on the road environment”.

VEHICLE INSPECTION - Develop policies of regular and documented vehicle inspection. Inspect vehicles before and after every trip. Follow through on vehicle condition reports and repair or replace defects as needed.

Other tips:

• Restrict and limit personal auto use where possible! Strive to provide and make use of agency vehicles for medical appointments, deliveries or pickups or anytime consumer transport is required.

• Review all employees and volunteers using their personal vehicles for agency business. Treat them just like any staff member using an agency vehicle would be screened. Verify backgrounds, including driving records for the past five years, even if the worker lived in a state different from where employed.

• Develop policies where all drivers follow agency’s standard policies and procedures when using personal vehicles; (i.e., driver eligibility, use of seatbelts, etc).

• Employees and volunteers using a personal vehicle should provide proof of insurance, confirmation that there are no exclusion regarding vehicle use, proof of inspection and the agency should determine appropriateness of personal vehicle (i.e.,condition, type, etc).

• Implement periodic checks on employees’ and volunteers’ personal insurance and require copies of their declaration showing limit of liability carried.

Under Insured Properties - Tague Alliance

2010-02-22T17:04:00.001-08:00

In the article below...the Insurance Journal discusses the CA DOI's desire to mandate some form of ongoing training for insurance agents in the area of replacement cost calculations for properties. This is probably a good idea as long as the CA DOI does not hold the insurance agent liable for the validity of the reconstruction estimate provided by a third party vendor.

Under insured properties cause nightmare scenarios for property owners and the insurance companies. Finding the proper replacement cost for a property is one of the most important and fundamental things that an insurance agents works on with their clients. Therefore, it makes sense that some form of ongoing training in this area be put in place for insurance agents. We do not need any type of burdensome regulation, but rather a streamlined and efficient training mechanism that keeps pace with the changing construction environment.

California Regulator Considering Regs to Alleviate Underinsurance

By Patricia-Anne Tom
February 22, 2010

The California Department of Insurance is considering proposing new regulations governing standards and training for estimating replacement value on homeowners’ insurance. Among the ideas that was floated at a recent CDI workshop on the matter was to require continuing education for agents and brokers on replacement cost minimum standards, according to Steve Young, senior vice president and general counsel for Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West.

The idea for new regulations or legislation governing replacement value on homeowners insurance stems from the concern that homeowners are under-insured, explained Darrel Ng, CDI spokesman. He said the problem arises frequently after wildfires in California, when hundreds or thousands of homes in the same geographic area are destroyed, which causes construction costs to increase.

“The genesis of the issue was seen in the 2007 San Diego Fires and fires in Santa Barbara that demand surge is an issue that’s not addressed by the current model used by insurance companies,” he said. “We hold insurance recovery forums after every major wildfire, and that’s the No. 1 complaint we get most consistently, and one as a Department we’re not empowered to fix because state law currently says the homeowner is in charge of determining how much insurance to get for his or her home.”

Ng said the Department held the workshop to gather information on how to fix the policy issue.

IBA West’s Young said in his testimony that he appreciated the DOI’s and Commissioner’s “collective desire to address the pernicious issue of underinsurance in homeowner’s insurance, and for convening (the) pre-notice public discussion in order to fully evaluate not only (the DOI’s) contemplated solutions, but also alternatives.” And he noted that his association's membership shares the "desire to ensure that California homeowners better understand how the replacement cost of their insured property and contents is cacluated, and to make fully informed decisions regarding replacement cost when they select policy coverage limits."

Young noted it was “essential to understand the complex and varied reasons for the existence of the ‘problem’ of underinsurance,” such as economic incentives; the impossibility of obtaining an objective calculation because of too many variations in construction, contents, etc.; and lack of information. It is important to keep those factors in mind as the DOI contemplates imposing new duties upon insurers, producer or consumers, Young said. IBA West is concerned with any proposal that would, as a matter of law, make agents and brokers personally liable for replacement cost estimates produced by third-party vendors that insurers require broker-agents to use.

Ng said it would not be appropriate to comment on potential solutions discussed at the workshop, as the Department is still evaluating all of the information.

Paperless Insurance Agency

2010-02-19T22:26:00.000-08:00

In the world of the independent insurance agency being efficient is one major key to being profitable. One of the easiest ways to improve agency work flow and efficiency is to be utilize paperless filing.

Tague Alliance offers our members access to management systems that allow client documents to be scanned or files attached directly to the client within the management system. If you are an independent insurance agent who is not currently paperless you should seriously consider making the switch from paper files.

The switch is not extremely expensive as you only need a decent scanner (scans at least 30ppm with sheet feeder) and a management system that allows you to attach files directly to the client. Look into the Fijitsu and the Evolution client management system.

There are many reasons beside efficiency to be paperless. With an online based management system with client documents attached you reduce potential E&O issues with date and time stamping, tracking of who is doing what on client files, no worries of fire destroying paper files, and your data is backed redundantly without you having to manage a server.

Remember, as an agency owner you need to look for every way possible to drive efficiency in your organization with the goal of continually improving your bottom line profit. Tague Alliance offers our members help with these types of issues. Call or email us if you are interested in these types of insurance agent resources.

Tague Alliance is a SIAA master agency with 52 member agencies.

2010-01-23T13:32:00.001-08:00

Tague Alliance - Is Tort Reform Dead?
http://ping.fm/ciRnt

Tort Reform Is DEAD Or A Crisis Is Looming

2010-01-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

Tony Veteto

Tague Alliance

A SIAA Master Agency

Dr. Robert Hartwig of the Insurance Information Institute on Tort Reform:

2010-01-23T12:57:00.001-08:00

Continuous auto insurance discount, good or bad?
http://ping.fm/t7HqP

Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates Qualifies Initiative for June 2010 Ballot

2010-01-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

Tony Veteto

Tague Alliance

A SIAA Master Agency

How many more changes do we need to our California auto insurance regulations? We are in the midst of working through the Prop 103 regulation enforcement which is already causing serious rate dislocation among the carriers, and now we have another potential wrinkle coming up in June.

Tague Alliance members are fortunate to be able to represent numerous preferred insurance carriers so they will be able to offer choices to their clients. However, rate dislocation from the top of the rating bands to the bottom of the rating bands can cause major service work if the variance is +-5% or greater. The consumer is so price sensitive right now that any rate changes are causing agents to have to remarket their accounts.

So what will a discount for continuous insurance do to the marketplace and the competitive landscape in the auto insurance world? Only time will tell....

Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates Qualifies Initiative for June 2010 Ballot

Measure expands auto insurance discount for California drivers

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates, a coalition of consumer advocates, businesses, senior organizations, taxpayer advocates and insurers, announced today that the Secretary of State has certified the Continuous Coverage Auto Insurance Discount Act for the June 8, 2010 Primary Election ballot. CalFAIR submitted 726,199 signatures and needed 433,971 valid signatures in order to qualify. This measure will allow auto insurance companies to offer discounts to drivers who have continuously maintained their auto insurance coverage.

Under current law, insurance companies are allowed to offer a discount to their existing customers who maintain continuous auto insurance coverage, often referred to as a loyalty discount. However, an inconsistency in the law prohibits drivers from being allowed to take their continuous coverage discount with them if they change insurance carriers. The Continuous Coverage Auto Insurance Discount Act fixes this inconsistency and makes the discount portable.

Like the good driver discount, this ballot measure would reward the more than 80% of responsible California drivers who maintain insurance coverage as required by law by making them eligible for a discount, even if they switch insurance companies. That means drivers will be eligible to take this discount with them when shopping for rates, giving drivers more options when it comes to their insurance coverage. The result will be increased competition, which will lower rates and result in reduced premiums.

That's why the measure is endorsed by groups like Consumers First, Consumers Coalition of California, Citizens Against Regulatory Excess, California Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Action Committee, League of United Latin American Citizens, California Taxpayer Protection Committee and many more.

"We are pleased that the Continuous Coverage Auto Insurance Discount Act has qualified for the June ballot. California consumers will be happy to know that by voting for this measure, they will be eligible to take their continuous coverage discount with them if they decide to change insurance carriers," said Jim Conran, coalition co-chair, president of Consumers First and former director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. "The current inconsistency in the law prevents insurance companies from extending the continuous coverage discount to new customers and punishes good drivers who want to change insurers. That will change when this measure is passed and will provide consumers the opportunity to shop around for more savings and with more options."

The vast majority of California drivers (82%) maintain insurance and should be rewarded for keeping their insurance current.

Insurance companies still will be required to base a driver's auto insurance rates primarily on their driving safety record, miles driven annually and driving experience. Other discounts, like the good driver or student discount, will not be taken away.

For more information, please log on to our website at www.Cal-FAIR.org.

SOURCE Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates

Tague Alliance - Top 5 Things To Grow When Slow

2010-01-14T20:33:00.001-08:00

Just a few short years ago I managed our Personal Lines department at Tague Insurance. I can tell you that our focus was relentless on cross-selling, account rounding, and generating as much business from our existing book as possible. If you have been in business for a number of years then you have a ton of opportunity ripe for the picking in your client base. EFT is a great money saver for clients and a huge boost to your retention. I have seen estimates from various studies that showed increased retention on clients with EFT ranging from 8-14%!

Sometimes though it is easier to take advice from an industry expert rather than me who manages Tague Alliance and SIAA member agencies. Dan King, a well know agency development trainer from Travelers, has an article he wrote in National Underwriter and it is his list of the top five things an agent can do when things are slow.

Check out 'Tis The Season To Get A Jump On 2010.

So go put his advice to work and I can guarantee you will see results from your efforts, and if you ever have a chance to attend one of Dan King's Agency Development classes do so.

Tony Veteto

Tague Alliance

An SIAA Master Agency

www.taguealliance.com

2010-01-12T19:33:00.001-08:00

Tague Alliance members and prospects...check out this free advice on Building A Successful Website at http://ping.fm/YGSDQ

Web Design Tips For Tague Alliance and SIAA Members

2010-01-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

Almost all of us have a website these days. Some of our sites are better than others but one thing is for sure...no matter how good your website is things constantly change. Therefore it is extremely important to have a handle on the core concepts behind creating and maintaining a web presence.

I am just a rookie and still learning about the concepts and methods to be successful in search optimization and content management. There is a great resource that I came across and wanted to share with you.

Check out the Rothman Guide To Building Successful Websites for a good deal of free tips and advice.

Best wishes.

Tony Veteto

Tague Alliance

Live R.P.G. - Retention. Profit. Growth!

Using Social Media To Drive Traffic

2010-01-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

In my last post I talked about making sure you have the right expectations when embracing Social Media. The article I posted by Kevin Conway Social Media for Business is CRAP! did a good job of challenging many of the assumptions about how wildly successful you will be just because you are using Social Media. At Tague Alliance I use the various Social Media sites to communicate with members and prospective agents, but not with the intent to "sell" anything.

One of my members challenged my comments about "not selling insurance on Facebook" and her remark to me was that she had sold four policies as a direct result of being on Facebook. I am thrilled at her results. The bottom line is that you need to figure out how to embrace the trend of Social Media. Regardless of whether you are selling insurance as a direct result of using Social Media or are just trying to build a deeper connection with your clients.

Now the question becomes: how do I use Social Media and just as important how do I track the results. The video below from David Bullock will take you through a very quick case study with actual results on the use of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Analytics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pB8cI3omjE

Social Media For Business Is Crap

2009-12-29T08:56:00.001-08:00

This post from one of my LinkedIn groups really resonates with truth and challenges the hype. One of the most important questions you have to ask yourself as a business person embracing Social Media (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) is "why am I doing this". My wife saw me tweeting the other night and asked me why are you, an insurance guy, wasting your time on these social media websites. My answer was two-fold: "to own the first page of Google" for Tague Alliance and to begin building connections online with our member agents.

I have no intentions of selling insurance on Facebook or Twitter and no illusions that I ever will. However, building a relationship with people is at the core of what an independent insurance agent sells to his/her client. Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are great mediums for building relationships that may lead to a sale. Don't put the sale ahead of the relationship.

So think through your purpose for being involved in the Social Media space...

by Kevin Conway

Social Media for Business is CRAP!

OK, I finally said it publicly, Social Media for business is Crap! .

Maybe because my feeling for the hyped-up benefits of social media was recently confirmed by a top millionaire online guru. If you follow the most successful gurus his name is always at the top of the list. As a matter of fact, he was the first online entrepreneur to make a MILLION $$ in a day. That said, recently he published a PDF where he said “I think social media Su-ks”. When I read that I felt a sigh of relief, “maybe I am not off the tracks after all”. You see when you don’t “follow the pack” you tend to sometimes feel like you are going down the wrong path or at least missing an opportunity. Now, I must admit I use all the major social media outlets including Twitter, Facebook, Squidoo, etc, etc. However, not for direct marketing. And, even though I publish new product releases on Twitter, analytics tells me no convertible traffic comes from that source or Facebook. My primary use of social sites is for building backlinks, but that is for SEO purposes. And, of course the added exposure. i.e. "branding" doesn't hurt.

However, I never felt like any of the exposure or traffic was ever really serious “convertible traffic”. In other words social media is used for entertainment and communication, ahh, socializing. "Socializing" people are not in the “consumer mode” when they are cruising the social sites. They are looking for friends, maybe a date, etc. Proof of this observation is that these social sites still cannot monetize themselves via paid advertising to nearly the level of search engines like Google or Yahoo. Why? Because you really cannot target potential consumers when they are out at their “buying behavior mode”, i.e. when they are specifically looking to buy a product or service. To try and pull social surfers out of the “social mode” and into a “buying mode” requires many steps before a behavioral shift is realized. Sure, you can start a dialogue and maybe down the road they will recall your business, but the effort to generate business is much more ROI effective using PPC or SEO. The one bright spot for social media as a business tool may be list building, but my own results have been mixed (via measuring quality of opt ins).

And yes, I have read the eMarketer predictions that social ad spend will increase by about 400% by 2013. But, these same groups are also publishing reports like today’s “Does Social Media Work for Small Biz?” where 88% of all small business owners say social media is not helpful to their business. Proof that most of us are not yet seeing the tangible benefits, i..e., sales, leads, etc, from our social media profiles. Personally I am not even seeing much return on creating and maintaining groups within the social media outlets. And, one of the most raved about tools within social media is creating specialized groups.

So, at the moment using social sites for business generation, in my opinion is still highly overrated. As an owner of several e-commerce business I don’t see myself investing advertising dollars in social media any time soon. And, even though there are those that will disagree, I don’t think many of them can show you their own e-commerce business that has experienced any serious ROI using social media. If anyone can show me any REAL results otherwise, please I am all ears. But please Hold the HYPE.

What May Be Wrong With Congress

2009-12-28T22:09:00.000-08:00

by Tony Veteto

As I observe our government at work I sometimes wonder what is going through our "representatives" minds. Could it be that they just cannot relate to us a common human citizens any longer? According to one headline it seems that some members of Congress are out of this world....thought this was funny and decided to share it with you. Explains a lot!

Merry Christmas from Tony Veteto and Tague Alliance

2009-12-24T11:10:00.001-08:00

It is with the utmost sincerity that we say thank you to all of

our members, partner companies, and vendors. The collective

success of Tague Alliance is due in full to all of your help and support. Merry Christmas!!!

Insurance Marketing Advice - Circa 1897

2009-12-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

by Tony Veteto

I was browsing through some old text on Google Books and came across this wonderful little nugget of an article about how an insurance agency should market themselves to the public. Far too often, we as insurance agents, get trapped in the idea that we need to talk about things like:

Insurance company representation
The strength of the insurance company
How old or established the insurance company is
Competitive rates or having the best price

The reality is that as an independent insurance agent it is critical that we follow the advice given in 1897:

The brand is "You", not the company
You are the expert at providing the best coverage for your client
You make sure the client is taken care of in the event of a claim
Clients benefit from working with you, do not waste your time on clients who don't care about their insurance needs

Check out this vintage article below and remember "YOU" are the brand and make sure your clients know that it is you who are the reason they have decided to purchase insurance coverage through your agency.

As you read the article below take a look at some key statements:
- The first paragraph could be a synopsis of how most agents brand today
- The second paragraph of column two clearly states, brand "yourself"
- If a prospect is not currently insured, do not work with them
* One of our best member agencies asks every prospect, "Do you have current insurance?" If the answer is "no", the member tells the prospect that they cannot help them. Simple but effective way to get clients who care about their insurance.

Link to: Insurance Marketing 1897 Article

href="http://books.google.com/books?id=lJhIAAAAYAAJ&dq=insurance%20marketing&lr=&pg=RA10-PA10&ci=90%2C41%2C834%2C1459&source=bookclip">

Economy & Internet Trends

2009-12-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

By Tony Veteto

The internet has completely transformed the way business is done. Tague Alliance Insurance Services and our member agencies can attest to the productivity and other improvements fueled by the internet. Independent insurance agencies are internet centric and the trends in within the economy and internet impact the ability to be a successful insurance agency.

Mary Meeker at Morgan Stanley put out a really good presentation on the internet and economy. Take a look at slide show from Meeker Tech '09.

2009-12-11T15:47:00.001-08:00

Insurance Agents should use Constant Contact... http://ping.fm/Vp8KO

Tague Alliance Uses Contstant Contact

2009-12-11T15:36:00.000-08:00

By Tony Veteto

For all of us small business people out there it is a real challenge to stay in touch with clients in a simple way. Constant contact is a great resource especially for insurance agents.

Cross-sell clients
Send newsletters
Reach out on special days (birthday, holidays, etc.)
Schedule email campaigns with ease
Don’t reinvent the wheel – use the templates that are already done and simply add your content
Survey your clients on occasion and solicit testimonials
Track who is opening and responding to your email campaigns (hugely important)
500 email addresses will cost you $25/mth for both email and survey capability

As an insurance agent it is very important that you find a consistent way of staying in front of your client so that when they are ready to buy you are in their mind.

Tony Veteto
Tague Alliance

Message from Tony Veteto at Tague Alliance

2009-11-25T15:20:00.001-08:00

Twitter Business Guide

2009-11-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

Great article that contains a ton of useful information for any business embarking on the use of Twitter as a means to communicate with clients and constituents.

Direct link to the article below: http://www.agentzoo.com/2009/11/18/twitter-business-guide/

Twitter Business Guide

Written or posted by Jimmy Martin on November 18th, 2009

Every day, millions of people use Twitter to create, discover and share ideas with others. Now, people are turning to Twitter as an effective way to reach out to businesses, too. From local stores to big brands, and from brick-and-mortar to internet-based or service sector, people are finding great value in the connections they make withbusinesses on Twitter.

When people working in the Empire State Building twittered that they were craving ice cream delivery, New York local chain Tasti D Lite was there to listen and meet their need. When electronics buyers look for good deals, the Dell Outlet Twitter account helps them save money with exclusive coupons. When Houston’s coffee drinkers decide where to get their daily dose, many choose Coffee Groundz, which lets them order via Twitter. Read on to learn whatTwitter is and to get detailed examples of how companies are using it. On these pages, we’ll also reveal how Twitter can helpyour business right now.

So what does Twitter do for businesses?

Twitter is a communication platform that helps businesses stay connected to their customers. As a business, you can use it to quickly share information with people interested in your company, gather real-time market intelligence and feedback, and build relationships with customers, partners and other people who care about your company. As an individual user, you can use Twitter to tell a company (or anyone else) that you’ve had a great—or disappointing—experience with their business, offer product ideas, and learn about great offers.

So how does it work?

A brief history of Twitter

Initially inspired by the concept of an ‘away-message’ merged with the freedom and mobility of SMS, Twitter began as an experiment in 2006. When value as an instant communication network during shared events like earthquakes, conferences, and festivals emerged, Twitter began to grow—Twitter, Inc. was founded in 2007. Today, Twitter is a privately funded company based in San Francisco, CA.

Twitter lets you write and read messages of up to 140 characters, or the very length of this sentence, including all punctuation and spaces. The messages are public and you decide what sort of messages you want to receive—Twitter being a recipient driven information network. In addition, you can send and receive Twittermessages, or tweets, equally well from your desktop or yourmobile phone.

When you combine messages that are quick to write, easy to read, public, controlled by the recipient and exchangeable anywhere, you’ve got a powerful, real-time way to communicate. And real-time communication is turning out to be ground-breaking for users and businesses alike.

Tip: To listen in on the conversations happening right now, searchTwitter for the name of your company, product or brand. If you have a Twitter account already, your home page has a handy search box on the right side. If you don’t yet have an account, try typing in the box below or go to search.twitter.com.

So how do businesses use Twitter?

What’s up with the name?

Twittering is the sound birds make when they communicate with each other—an apt description of the conversations here. As it turns out, because Twitter provides people with real-time public information, it also helps groups of people mimic the effortless way a flock of birds move in unison. On these pages, we’ll show you a few examples of that powerful Twitter characteristic.

Twitter connects you to your customers right now, in a way that was never before possible. For example, let’s say you work for a custom bike company. If you run a search for your brand, you mayfind people posting messages about how happy they are riding your bikes in the French Alps—giving you a chance to share tips about cyclist-friendly cafes along their route.

Others may post minor equipment complaints or desired features that they would never bother to contact you about—providing you with invaluable customer feedback that you can respond to right away or use for future planning. Still others may twitter about serious problems with your bikes—letting you offer customer service that can turn around a bad situation.

You don’t have to run a bike shop or a relatively small company to get good stuff out of Twitter. Businesses of all kinds, including major brands, increasingly find that listening and engaging on the service leads to happier customers, passionate advocates, key product improvements and, in many cases, more sales.

A key benefit

One of Twitter’s key benefits is that it gives you the chance to communicate casually with customers on their terms, creating friendly relationships along the way—tough for corporations to do in most other mediums.

But Twitter isn’t just about useful immediacy. The conversational nature of the medium lets you build relationships with customers, partners and other people important to your business. Beyond transactions, Twitter gives your constituents direct access to employees and a way to contribute to your company; as marketers say, it shrinks the emotional distance between your company and your customers. Plus, the platform lends itself to integration with your existing communication channels and strategies. In combination, those factors can make Twitter a critical piece of your company’s bigger digital footprint.

For instance, let’s say you run a big retail website. In addition to learning more about what your customers want, you can provide exclusive Twitter coupon codes, link to key posts on your blog, share tips for shopping online, and announce specials at store locations. And you can take things a step further by occasionally posting messages about fun, quirky events at your HQ, giving others a small but valuable connection with the people in your company.

Why 140 characters?

SMS (i.e., texting on your phone) limits each message to 160 characters. Twitter takes that limit and reserves 20 characters for your username, leaving you 140 characters to play with. That’s how it started and we’ve stuck with it!

Tip: Twitter can be “ground-breaking” for businesses—a big claim. We truly believe it because we’ve seen lots of examples, many of which we share here. But if you’re new to Twitter and still wondering what all the fuss is about, hang around the site (or a good third-party client) for a week or two and give it a few minutes a day. Twitter almost always delivers “Aha!” moments for people, but it can take some getting used to before you have your moment of enlightenment.

Go deeper

These are just a few of the ways Twitter is helping businessesserve customers; you’ll discover more. If you’re new to Twitter, head over to Getting started for tips on twittering successfully. If you’re already on board, check out Best Practices and Case studiesfor ideas to get the most out of Twitter.

Getting started

One of the cool things about Twitter is that it gives you a way to have friendly, public conversations with customers. You’ll make the most of those casual conversations if you do a little planning first. In this section, we’ll suggest a few strategic things to think about before you dive in, and then we’ll give you some pointers to start twittering smoothly.

Before you post your first message

Here’s a quick video on how to get started!

Before you get started, it’s important to understand that onTwitter, people choose to view your updates by searching for specific keywords or by following your account. This recipient-controlled model means that if you are compelling to people onTwitter, they’ll choose to view your updates. The reverse is also true—people may choose to un-follow you just as easily.

Dry, boring feeds rarely draw many people. Successful Twitterbusiness accounts, though, can take many forms. They may be personal and chatty or they might even have mostly automated information. But no matter the style, the key is to post messages that your followers will find compelling.

Tip: Help people understand what to expect from your Twitteraccount by posting a little description in your Bio.

So making your posts on Twitter interesting is key, but what are you going to post about? That depends on your goals. Do you want to build deeper relationships? Get on the radar of potential new customers or partners? Or do you want to provide more responsive and immediate customer service?

You can meet several communication goals simultaneously by thinking about your Twitter account as a friendly information booth or coffee bar. It’s a place for people to ask you spontaneous questions of all kinds—a spot to share intriguing company insights they might find interesting. When you hit stride with these exchanges, they often lead to unexpected, valuable relationships.

Of course, you can have accounts that focus exclusively on specific goals, like providing customer service or offering deals to move inventory.

Tip: Companies sometimes worry that twittering might require a lot of staff time or even hiring new people to maintain an account. In fact, Twitter works best for businesses when you start slow, devoting a few minutes a day to see whether and how it’s valuable to you.

Regardless of how you plan on using Twitter, you should figure out how to integrate it with your existing communication channels. For instance, if people make enquiries on Twitter that should be handled by your customer service team, how will you connect those customers and staffers? Or if your R&D department does your twittering, but your marketing department wants to share info on a promo, how will they do so?

The answers will depend, of course, on things like whether your company is run by three people or thirty thousand and how you already handle similar cross-platform issues. But don’t hesitate to have multiple accounts that serve different purposes, and check out our Best Practices and Case studies for additional ideas.

To get a sense of what Twitter can do for your business, spend a little time listening in on the conversations happening right now (you can use Twitter search whether or not you have an account). Listening will help you quickly learn what people are saying about your company, and it will also give you a feel for the flow of conversations on Twitter. In addition, it can give you insight into how other companies handle Twitter exchanges (ourCase studies can give you more ideas).

Once you’ve got a sense of how you want to engage on Twitter, you’re ready to dive in.

Dive in!

If you haven’t yet signed up for an account, it’s easy, and it takes just a few minutes. Here’s how to get started:

1. Sign up

Head over to the sign-up page, and fill out the four fields. If you’re creating a company account, use the “Full name” field to type in your company name. That’ll help people find your company on Twitter. (You can add your own name in the Bio field, as described below.)

The Username is the handle by which you’ll be known on Twitter, like ComcastCares. Choose the shortest name that best describes your company or this particular account.

Tip: We don’t allow name squatting on Twitter. So if somebody who doesn’t work for your company is holding or using your brand name inappropriately, contact us to get it sorted out.

After you’ve signed up, the site walks you through a couple of screens to help you find people on Twitter you know or might be interested in. The process is quick, but if you want to jump directly to your account page, just head to the bottom of each page and click “Skip this step.”

2. Fill out your info

When you first arrive on your account page, it’ll look something like the picture on the right. Before you do anything else, clickSettings to get a page where you can fill out a few more details to help people recognize your company. Most of the fields are self-explanatory. But pay special attention to the Bio, which gives you 160 characters; this is a great place to list the person or people twittering for your organization (if individual staffers have their own Twitter accounts, you can list their @usernames here).

Before you leave Settings, check out the Picture tab, which is the place to add your company logo or photo of yourself. On theDesign tab, you can upload a background image for your Twitter home page and tweak the page colors.

Tip: Because the Bio gives you just 160 characters, companies often use the background image to share additional contact info.

3. Find highly relevant people and companies to follow.

Whether or not you chose to follow anyone in the sign-up process, now’s a good time to search for people and companies of specific interest to you. Use the search box on your Twitter home page to look not only for people talking about your company, brands and products, but also for partners and mentions of key terms in your sector. When you find interesting messages, consider following those accounts. No need to worry about the number of people you’re following—just follow a few whose updates you really want to read, say hello and let conversations grow. Also look at the Find People section.

Tip: By default when someone follows you, you’ll get an email from Twitter saying so with some basic information about the user. Anyone can turn off those notifications, though (under Settings > Notices), so don’t assume people will know you’re on Twitter just because you’ve followed them.

4. Post your first message.

This is where the real fun starts. On your Twitter home page, in the box at the top, type in a message. As you type, the counter on the upper-right corner of the box guides you down from 140 characters. When you’ve got a message ready to go, hit Update to post it (pressing Enter won’t do the trick).

If you’re thinking, “Sounds easy, but what should I say?”, consider trying something like, “Excited to start twittering. Let us know what you want to hear about from Our Company.” Or you could go with, “Hello! Is this thing on?” A conversational, playful tone flies beautifully on Twitter, so don’t hesitate to add some fun into your messages.

Promote your accountPaste the Twitter badge on your website! [+]

Once you’ve posted that first message, you could follow up with some hellos to people you know on Twitter, and perhaps post a link to an interesting news story about your industry (just copy the link and paste it into the update box).

Tip: Once you’ve set up your account page, add your mobile phoneto your account so you can Twitter from the road. Customers can also follow you from their mobile phone by texting “follow YourUsername” to 40404. If you have a smart phone, like an iPhone or a Blackberry, download any of the numerous Twitter clients for those platforms.

Learn the lingo

On the one hand, Twitter is pretty simple: send and receive short messages. On the other hand, what’s with all the symbols and strange terms? In this section, we explain the weird stuff that’s important so that you can use Twitter like a pro.

Some of the most useful conventions on Twitter—including retweets (RT), hashtags (#), and @username messages—were user innovations. When people wanted features Twitter didn’t provide, they created their own, and we later incorporated them into the system. We assume new features will evolve from users in the future, so feel free to experiment!

The key terms

Following

To receive messages on Twitter, you follow other people and companies you’re interested in—which means you get their messages as they post (put another way, their messages show up in your incoming timeline on your Twitter home page). Conversely, people get your messages by following you.

Users refer to an individual message as a tweet, as in, “Check out this tweet about our CEO dancing on the sidelines of the Phoenix Suns game.” People sometimes use it as a verb, too, as in, “I tweeted about the stimulus package this morning.” If “tweet” is hard for you to use with a straight face in a business context, try “twittering” as a verb instead. Alternatives include “post,” “message” and “update.”

@username

For companies, one of the most useful things about Twitter is that it lets you exchange public messages with individual users. Simply start a message with @username of the person you want to reach, like this:

“@Ev Glad you liked our vegan cookies. Thanks for twittering about ‘em!”

If Ev is following your account, your message will appear directly on his Twitter home page. (If he’s not following your account, your message will appear in his folder of @username mentions.) People who are following both you and Ev will also see the message on their Twitter home page. Finally, the message will appear in search results, and people who come to your Twitter home page will see it among the messages in your outgoing timeline.

Tip: On Twitter, @username automatically becomes a link to that person’s account—helping people discover each other on the system. Put another way: when you see an @username, you can always click through to that person’s Twitter page and learn whether you want to follow them.

To find the public messages that are directed to you (i.e., those that start with your @BusinessName) or that mention you (i.e., those that include your @BusinessName elsewhere in the tweet), head to your Twitter home page, and then on the right side of the screen, click the tab labeled your @BusinessName. For businesses, it’s a good idea to keep a close eye on incoming @mentions, because they’re often sent by customers or potential customers expecting a reply.

Tip: To reply easily from the Twitter website, mouse over a message, and then look on the right end for the “Reply arrow”.Click the arrow to start a new message addressed to the original user.

DM, or direct message

Direct messages—or DMs—are Twitter’s private messaging channel. These tweets appear on your home page under the Direct Messages tab, and if you’ve got email notifications turned on, you’ll also get an email message when somebody DMs you. DMs don’t appear in either person’s public timeline or in search results. No one but you can see your DMs.

The one tricky concept with DMs is that you can send them only to people who are following you. Conversely, you can receive them only from people you’re following.

You can easily send DMs from the Direct Messages tab by using the pull-down menu to choose a recipient and then typing in your note. To send a DM from your home page, start your message with “d username,” like this:

“d Ev Sorry those cookies gave you food poisoning! Would you prefer a refund or a new batch?”

Tip: If you’re communicating with a customer about something potentially sensitive—including personal information, account numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, street addresses, etc.—be sure to encourage them to DM or email you. As we mentioned earlier, @mentions are public, so anyone can see them.

RT, or retweet

To help share cool ideas via Twitter and to give a shout-out to people you respect, you can repost their messages and give them credit. People call that retweeting (or RT), and it usually looks something like this: “RT @Username: Original message, often with a link.” Retweeting is common, and it’s a form of conversation on Twitter. It’s also a powerful way to spread messages and ideas across Twitter quickly. So when you do it, you’re engaging in a way people recognize and usually like—making it a good way to connect.

Hashtag (#)

Twitter messages don’t have a field where you can categorize them. So people have created the hashtag—which is just the # symbol followed by a term describing or naming the topic—that you add to a post as a way of saying, “This message is about the same thing as other messages from other people who include the same hashtag.” Then, when somebody searches for that hashtag, they’ll get all of the related messages.

For instance, let’s say you post, “Voted sixty times in tonight’s showdown. #AmericanIdol.” Your message would then be part of Twitter search results for “#AmericanIdol,” and if enough people use the same hashtag at once, the term will appear in Twitter’s Trending Topics.

Companies often use hashtags as part of a product launch (like #FordFiesta), and conferences and events frequently have hashtags associated with them (like #TED).

Tweetup

A tweetup is simply an in-person gathering organized via Twitter, often spontaneous. Companies use them for things like hosting launch parties, connecting with customers and introducing like-minded followers to each other.

Shortened URLs

With just 140 characters at your disposal, Twitter doesn’t give you much room to include URL links—some of which are longer than 140 characters themselves. If you post a link on Twitter via the website, sometimes we automatically shorten the URL for you. There are also a number of services—URL shorteners—that take regular links and shrink them down to a manageable length for tweets, and some even let you track clicks.

Best practices

Every company has its own experience on Twitter. But whether a business has been here for a couple of years or just a few months, its twitterers tend to find that certain approaches lead to success. In this section, we share that wisdom, which falls into a couple of big categories.

Think about Twitter as a place to build relationships

Instead of approaching Twitter as a place to broadcast information about your company, think of it as a place to build relationships. Put into practice, that means you could do things like:

Include in your Bio and/or custom background the names (or @usernames) of the people twittering from your company account. It’s also a good idea to include additional contact info, like email addresses.

Listen regularly for comments about your company, brand and products—and be prepared to address concerns, offer customer service or thank people for praise.

Tip: In addition to keeping an eye on your @messages, you can use our Saved Searches feature to easily track mentions of your product, brand, company, etc. From your Twitter home page, simply run a search, and then at the top of your results page, click “Save this search.” A link with your search term will appear on the right side of your page, and whenever you click it, you’ll get real-time results for that query. To delete a search, just head to the top of your results and click “Remove this search.”

Use a casual, friendly tone in your messages.

While you shouldn’t feel compelled to follow everyone who follows you, do respond to some questions or comments addressed to you.

If you like a particular message, retweet it. People often appreciate the sharing and amplification of their ideas, so look to retweet cool stuff.

Post links to articles and sites you think folks would find interesting—even if they’re not your sites or about your company.

Make sure your tweets provide some real value. You know better than we do what is valuable, but here are few examples to spark ideas:

Offer Twitter exclusive coupons or deals
Take people behind the scenes of your company
Post pictures from your offices, stores, warehouses, etc.
Share sneak peeks of projects or events in development

Don’t spam people. Twitter’s following model means that you have to respect the interests and desires of other people here or they’ll unfollow you. The most common way to run afoul of that understanding—and to thus look like a spammer—is to send unsolicited @messages or DMs, particularly when you include a promotional link.

Of course, if you run an account that focuses explicitly on sharing exclusive coupon codes or sale information, you’re probably just fine posting promos. But tread carefully, and consider explaining in your bio or background how the account works.

Tip: You can test the waters by sending just a few promos to start, and then continuing only if people show interest.

To make sure you’re not spamming folks, we also suggest you avoid the following:

Posting duplicate updates to an account: Posting the same update over and over throughout the day is considered spammy and a possible violation of our terms of service.
Cross-posting duplicate updates to multiple accounts: If you post the same update to multiple accounts, you could violate our terms of service.
Following churn: Following and unfollowing the same people repeatedly, as well as following and unfollowing those who don’t follow back, are both violations of our terms of service.

Tip: Think you’ve encountered a spammer? Let us know, and we’ll look into the account. You can alert us to spam profiles by sending a direct message to @spam! In addition, you can block the spammer by heading to their account page, and on the right side, clicking the block link (they won’t know you’ve blocked them).

Understand the real-time nature of Twitter

Messages on Twitter are short, quick and able to reach people wherever they happen to be. That combination makes it an instantaneous medium, which has a couple of implications for businesses:

You can ask questions, float ideas and solicit feedback on Twitter—and expect pretty quick replies most of the time.
If you’ve just launched a product, ask users what they think or search for real-time tweets from people talking about your product. You can also ask or search for feedback on new ad campaigns you’ve launched, stores you’ve opened or murky issues you have to handle.
When people raise customer service issues on Twitter, they generally expect a quick reply—within a day, if not within a few hours, depending on the nature of your business. Keep an eye on your @mentions.

Measure the value of Twitter

Before you set up measurement tools, focus on the quality of your engagement, and use your gut to check how things are going. How’s the feedback and interaction with your followers? Are you responding to most or your @messages? Are most tweets about you positive? Or if they started out largely negative, are they coming around? Are more people beginning to engage with you and mention your company?

Next, think about quantifying your experience. Although it can be tricky to add up the value of relationships, Twitter does lend itself to measurement in a few ways—especially if you’ve already defined what you hope will be different for your company in three months, six months or a year if you succeed on Twitter. Tactics like these can then help you assess your progress in meeting that goal:

Keep a tally of questions answered, customer problems resolved and positive exchanges held on Twitter. Do the percentages change over time?
When you offer deals via Twitter, use a unique coupon code so that you can tell how many people take you up on that Twitter-based promotion. If you have an online presence, you can also set up a landing page for a promotion, to track not only click-throughs but further behavior and conversions.
Use third-party tools to figure out how much traffic your websites are receiving from Twitter.
Track click-throughs on any link you post in a tweet. Some URL shortening services let you track click-throughs.

Tague Alliance Named To Safeco Insurance Advisory Council

2009-11-23T20:54:00.000-08:00

For Immediate Release:

(Carlsbad, CA) November 23, 2009 - Seattle based Safeco Insurance selects Tague Alliance to advisory group.

Tony Veteto, Vice President of Tague Alliance Insurance Services, was appointed to the Safeco Agent Advisory Council. He looks forward to serving the agency force by representing their needs and views.

Tague Alliance is a master agency with Strategic Independent Agents Alliance (SIAA) which has approximately 3150 member agencies nationwide. Tague Alliance currently consists of fifty-two member agencies and is proud to have represented Safeco Insurance for over thirty years.

Click here for more information on Tague Alliance Insurance Services.

Click here for more information on Strategic Independent Agents Alliance (SIAA)

Click here for more information on Safeco Insurance, a Liberty Mutual company.

Contact Info:

Tague Alliance

info@taguealliance.com

760-729-1143

Certificates of Insurance - Perils and Pittfalls

2009-11-16T13:13:00.001-08:00

If you are an insurance agent who writes Commercial Lines the chances that you are issuing certificates of insurance on a regular basis are fairly high. Before you issue another certificate I would highly suggest that everyone who issues these documents reads the article below.

There is no sense in exposing your agency to Errors and Omission Claims needlessly and as you read through the seven page article you will inevitably find things that you have done or may be about to do which can cause extreme risk to your agency.

Tague Alliance is always trying to look out for our member agencies and we hope the information presented below by author Bill Wilson and CPCU will be beneficial.

Certificates of Insurance –– Why ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’
Third-party requests for certificates of insurance, additional insured status and other demands have escalated out of control. For many insurance organizations, certificates have become a costly black hole, creating unnecessary expense and increasing their E&O exposure. In the November 2009 CPCU eJournal article,“Certificates of Insurance, Insurance Agents and Rolling Stone Syndrome ,” Bill Wilson, CPCU, ARM, AIM, AAM, explains why agents may be unable to comply with requests and explores solutions.

FACEBOOK ETIQUETTE FOR BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS

2009-11-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

The article below is a good reminder for all of us who are embracing social media sites for our business uses. In fact, Tague is going to be making some changes to our Facebook group and push more into our Fan site rather using the normal Facebook Friends setup that we have currently. Read Jill Bremer's post from LinkedIn for some helpful insights.

Jill Bremer

Owner, Principal at Bremer Communications

FACEBOOK ETIQUETTE FOR BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS

The lines are blurring between personal and business personas on interactive social media. Many business professionals started using LinkedIn for their business relationships and reserved Facebook for their personal connections. Now, FB is being used more and more by businesses to establish a presence and build new professional contacts and FB users are melding their personal and work-related contacts together. Here are some tips for building and maintaining a helpful – not harmful – online presence.

1.Think carefully about who you want as your FB friends. If you count business colleagues, direct reports, or bosses among your “friends”, you won’t want to post status reports that reveal too much about your personal life. You shouldn’t talk about your runs down the ski slopes when you’re supposed to be home with the swine flu!

2.Check your privacy settings; you can control who sees what info about you. For instance, the groups you’ve joined can be very revealing to viewers of your profile. You do want to offer professional contacts a reasonable glance into what makes you “you”, but beware of revealing too much about the Big 3 (politics, religion, sex).

3.Consider creating different lists of friends on FB – one personal, one professional – and set different privacy restrictions for each. Read more at http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/

4.Make your profile photo a professional one or something that is neutral. Refrain from pix in costume, in something revealing, or holding drinks or smokes.

5.Keep a tight reign on the photos in which you’re tagged. And have the courtesy not to tag others in photos that would embarrass them.

6.Avoid posting your answers to online quizzes. Professional contacts don’t need to see which “Lord of the Rings” character is most like you. And they probably don’t want to be invited to take that same quiz

Workers Compensation - Insurance Cycle

2009-11-05T23:48:00.001-08:00

The article below written by Joseph Peduda of Managed Care Matters is short but good synopsis of what lay ahead for the Workers Compensation Insurance marketplace. Check out a link to the article by clicking here to see Joseph Peduda's weblog.

It feels like the party's just about over

It's been a wild party in the comp world - and a long one too. A brutal hangover may well be next for work comp payers.

Those who remember the late nineties are getting increasingly nervous, as well we should. The longest soft market in my memory is still around, doggedly refusing to firm up - as it should have, long ago. Work comp premium rates continue to decline, especially in key states such as California (down by a whopping two-thirds in five years) and Florida (an equal drop over six years). Most other states have also seen precipitous declines, driven by successful reforms and a decline in frequency.

Yet medical severity - the comp industry's somewhat-misleading term referring to medical cost - continues to increase in most jurisdictions.

Pause and think about that. Workers comp insurance costs have dropped by two-thirds over five years. Two-thirds. How is that possible? Does that make sense? Is there any way that's sustainable? Don't cite statistics and financials and actuarial reports - tell me what your gut tells you.

Mine's really queasy.

Back in the late nineties, most comp payers thought medical inflation was tamed, as their view in the rear-view mirror indicated medical trend was in the seven to eight percent range. Not so fast, the gods of workers comp proclaimed. Inflation roared in the ensuing years, crushing many payers' financial returns and bankrupting more than a few carriers in the process.

While NCCI reports medical inflation is under control, that's not what I'm seeing. Facility costs are trending up, driven by declining 'savings' from broad, generalist PPOs. Prescription drug costs are on the increase after four years of declining trend. Ancillary costs are also heading higher, especially for those payers yet to fully embrace specialty managed care programs - and regardless of what you may think, that's most of the payers in the industry.

Today's WorkCompCentral reports [subscription required] Liberty Mutual, the nation's largest writer of work comp with premium of $5.4 billion in 2008, is backing out of California and very nervous about Florida. I have reason to believe the big carrier is not leaving California, but the points made in the article regarding market conditions are spot on. Employers Direct already pulled out of the Golden State, and if it weren't for new entrants to both Florida and California competing hard for share, the market in both states may well have firmed up by now.

Yet new carriers are entering these markets - which may be either a horrible idea or a pretty smart move. Unburdened by an existing book of comp claims incurred by writing policies that I believe are increasingly underpriced, the smart ones (if there are any) may be able to prosper as the carriers who showed up early for the party are heading towards the floor.

A more likely scenario is these johnny-come-latelies will party hard to catch up, consuming large quantities of business on an empty stomach. Kind of like freshmen at their first college party, with equally unattractive results.

Is it possible that there will be a 'soft landing'. It is, but it is much, much more likely most carriers will feel like they fell out of a moving cab onto cold, wet, and very hard pavement...

Posted by on October 29, 2009 6:26 AM | Permalink

The Hartford Q3 Financial Results

2009-11-04T15:21:00.000-08:00

Hartford released their third quarter results this morning and held their conference call. The results were solid, but on the surface it appears that much of the improvement in the financials are a direct result of accounting rules pertaining to investment and other valuation measures. Total premiums are down slightly, while new business in Small Commercial and Personal Lines is robust.

To listen to the conference call click here: http://biz.yahoo.com/cc/4/107594.html

Q3 Financial Supplement

Below is a copy of the email text that was sent out to agents this morning by Juan Andrade, President and Chief Operating Office, P&C Operations:

November 4, 2009

Dear valued partners:

I am proud to share with you our third quarter results, which continue to demonstrate how well our company has emerged from the challenges of the last year. With core earnings of $660 million - an increase of over one billion from the third quarter of 2008 - and new business indicators showing improvement, our results demonstrate that The Hartford's protection and wealth management businesses are stable and competing vigorously in our markets.

The Hartford's capital position is also strong and able to withstand a sharp decline in equities markets. During the quarter, our capital position improved with the completion of a $900 million equity raise, increasing our overall estimated sources of capital to $9.9 billion. In Property & Casualty, our statutory surplus increased by about $400 million in the quarter to $6.8 billion - this is an $800 million increase since the start of the year.

The Hartford's book value per share jumped to $37.90, an 18% increase from the second quarter. Overall, the company recorded a net loss of $220 million in the third quarter -- compared to a loss of $2.631 billion in 2008 -- driven by investment impairments and variable annuity hedging losses.

Within Property & Casualty, our strong quarterly core earnings reaffirm the strength of the franchise. Clearly we are executing well in a challenging economy, as profitability remained strong and submission flows continued to grow. For the quarter, our core earnings were an impressive $246 million - 58% above the third quarter of 2008 and 16% higher than the second quarter of 2009. And, the combined ratio for ongoing operations was a very solid 93%.
The weak economy continues to reduce our industry's exposure base and pressure overall premium growth. Our 3Q 2009 written premium was $2.4 billion, down from the prior year. Still, I am pleased to say we continue to gain traction in new business within all segments. This was particularly evident in Personal Lines and Small Commercial where new business grew +26% and +20% respectively.

Our customer service and claims handling capabilities continue to be recognized as best in class with J.D. Power and Associates ranking us in the top 5 of all carriers in both auto claims handling and new buyer satisfaction.

In summary, our franchise is performing well, our capital position is strong, and we continue to develop and enhance our product and service offerings to better serve you and your customers. Thank you for your partnership.

For more details on our results, please review the attached snapshot and visit our website at www.thehartford.com.

Auto & Home Insurance Rate Increases

2009-11-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

by Tony Veteto

In my last post, Determining P&C Insurance Trends, I detailed an easy way for you to figure out the direction of the insurance market. Now I want to give you some very specific information so you can see rate trends based on carrier actual filings.

Auto and home insurance is regulated by each state and as such rate filings must be submitted and approved by each state's department of insurance. In California, all auto insurance carriers were required to become 100% compliant with Proposition 103 Good Driver regulations. Many of these filings are still pending, while a few have been approved and hit the "street" already.

Some of the companies filings are listed below:

Auto Filings

Fireman's Fund Filed 08/2009 +7% Approved
Progressive Filed ? +4.7% Approved
Allied Filed 07/2009 +7% Approved
Encompass Filed 07/2008 +7% Pending
Mercury Filed 10/2008 +2% Pending
Travelers Filed 07/2008 +3% Pending
Kemper Filed 07/2009 +3% Approved
Safeco Filed 05/2009 +4% Approved
Hartford Filed ? +6% Approved
Allstate Filed ? +4.5% Approved

Home Filings

Auto Club Filed 10/2009 +5.2% Pending
Hartford Filed 10/2009 +3% Pending
Metlife Home Filed 10/2009 -7% Pending
State Farm Filed 08/2009 +7% Pending
Fireman's Fund Filed 09/2009 +7% Pending
Allstate Filed 08/2009 +7% Pending
Farmers Filed 07/2009 +4% Pending
Kemper Filed 06/2009 +2.5% Pending
Nationwide Filed 06/2009 +35% Pending
Mercury Filed 05/2009 +4% Pending
Allied Filed 03/2009 +7% Pending

The filings above are just a sample of how the rates are trending and one thing is clear, on balance the direction is upward. There are a number of reasons why we are seeing rates trending up: loss costs are rising, impaired investment income, capital surplus declines, etc.

As I referenced in my last post, the carriers tend to move with a herd mentality. This is very clearly seen in the sample of filings detailed above. My hope is that this information will enlighten you as the independent insurance agent. For those agents who work with a number of the carriers listed, you now have a better idea of what to expect in the near future.

Another great resource that will help you stay informed about issues impacting our industry is the Insurance Information Institute run by Dr. Robert Hartwig. Stay informed for the sake of your agency and the sake of your clients!

Tony Veteto

VP Agency Development

Tague Alliance

tv@taguealliance.com

www.taguealliance.com

www.siaa4u.net

Determining P&C Insurance Trends

2009-10-27T12:31:00.001-07:00

by Tony Veteto

Independent agents are often "blind sided" by carriers who change their rates seemingly out of the blue. The reality is that insurance companies, much like people, tend to have the herd mentality (very few like to lead when rates are going down and even fewer like to lead when rates need to rise).

So how does an independent insurance agent get a handle on the rate trends that will inevitably impact their clients and subsequently the agent's income and workload?

While there is not a single magic answer to this question, a great place to start is by getting informed. How you may ask? Simple, listen to as many conference calls as possible each quarter. Every publicly traded insurance company holds regular conference calls which are open to analysts or any member of the public who wishes to participate.

As an example, I have been listening to conference calls for a number of years now. The "hard market" is coming sooner rather than later. How can I make this statement? Well, on virtually all of the second quarter conference calls this year I heard the words "positive rate action" over and over again. Positive rate action is just a polite way of saying rate increase! Prior to the second quarter of 2009 I had not heard the words "positive rate action" for at least three years. Now every carrier is throwing these words around and you can bet that a rate increase is coming to a policy near you.

When you start to hear a consistent theme amongst multiple carriers you must realize that in the near future that theme (whatever it happens to be) will reach your locality. So it behooves you as the agent to be aware of the trends that will impact you.

A great resource for conference calls is Yahoo! Finance. Check out this link for the conference call area: http://biz.yahoo.com/cc/

Key areas to listen for on the conference calls are:

Loss cost trends within the various lines of business (personal, commercial, etc.)
Catastrophe losses and trends
Expense ratio management
Investment portfolio changes and trends
Management's commentary regarding their results

It is very important to listen "between the lines" and try to pick up the subtle trends that may not be as obvious as the items listed above.

In summary, one of the best ways for independent agents to be informed of trends in the P&C industry is by listening to as many conference calls as possible. By doing so you will have a better understanding of future impacts to your clients and your agency.