T H U R S D A Y ,  F E B R U A R Y  1 1 , 2 0 1 0                                                     
                                                    
                                                        National News

Virtual University
Webinar Explains Dramatic Revisions to ACORD 24 and ACORD 25 Certificates

Largely in response to regulatory pressure from several states, ACORD has expedited the publication of new versions of its ACORD 24 and ACORD 25 certificates of insurance forms. The changes to these forms could comprise the single most dramatic revision in more than 30 years.

ACORD swiftly completed the working group process following the 13th edition of the ACORD 25 certificate of insurance in January 2009. The group produced a new September 2009 edition that incorporates what may be the most significant changes since the ACORD 25 was introduced in November 1977. This form’s speedy revision probably resulted from several states’ concern with the cancellation clause language based on recent regulatory directives.

Big “I” Virtual University experts Bill Perkins and Bill Wilson will present a webinar devoted to explaining what agents need to know. This webinar, which examines the major ACORD form changes and related marketplace issues, will take place on March 24 at 2 p.m. EST and will last 75 minutes. The Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) has approved the webinar for one hour of continuing education credits at the intermediate level, CE #71337, CE 2-20 - General Lines (property-casualty). Florida agents will be required to provide additional information following the webinar to receive CE credits. Click here to download a webinar outline and register. Contact BestPractices@iiaba.net with questions, and click here to access other webinars available from the Virtual University.

IIABA News
Chubb Executive to Address Big “I” Legislative Conference & Convention

The Big “I” recently announced that Harold L. Morrison, Jr., Chubb executive vice president and chief global field officer, will address the Diversity Luncheon held during the association’s Legislative Conference & Convention on March 5 at 11:45 a.m. 

“Harold L. Morrison, Jr.’s industry contributions and achievements are recognized nationally and internationally,” says Bob Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “Harold’s experience across the country and around the globe will provide a unique and informative perspective at the Diversity Luncheon. We look forward to hearing from him at such a key event at our Legislative Conference & Convention.”

Morrison leads Chubb’s U.S. and International Field Operations, consisting of approximately 4,500 employees working out of 120 offices in 27 countries. He joined Chubb in 1984 and has held a number of management positions during his career with the company. Morrison earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Duke University and also attended the Duke University Executive Management Program, the Stanford University Strategic Management Program and the U.S. Army War College. He was recently named by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the top 75 minority executives in corporate America.

“Minorities, young people and women continue to be underrepresented in our industry and in the independent agency system — particularly among agency principals,” says Madelyn Flannagan, Big “I” vice president of agent development, education and research. “The Diversity Task Force, with its mission of fostering a profitable independent agency force that reflects, represents and capitalizes on the opportunities of the diverse U.S. population, is part of the solution.”

The Diversity Task Force, which hosts the annual luncheon, is a cooperative industry group comprised of Big “I” agents and brokers, members of groups representing Latin-American, African-American and Asian-American agents and nine leading insurance companies.

The Big “I” National Legislative Conference and Convention is the insurance industry’s best-attended, most effective legislative meeting. This year’s event will take place March 3-5 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Other highlights of the Big “I” Legislative Conference & Convention will include in-depth issues briefing sessions; appearances by numerous high-profile speakers discussing important insurance and national issues confronting lawmakers as well as agents and brokers; a CEO panel comprised of top carrier presidents & CEOs (CNA, The Hartford, Fireman’s Fund and Safeco will participate) and hundreds of meetings on Capitol Hill between Big “I” agents and brokers and their elected representatives in the Congress.

For registration and hotel information, go to www.independentagent.com and select the “Events and Conferences” link.

ACT
Big “I” to Host Free Webinar on Agency E-Mail Security

The Big “I” Agents Council for Technology (ACT) will host a free webinar titled “Protecting Independent Agent Clients with Secure E-mail Using TLS (Transport Layer Security),” on Feb. 25 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. EST. Jim Rogers, director of distribution technology at The Hartford, and Tim Woodcock, president of Courtesy computers, will serve as panelists while ACT Executive Director Jeff Yates will moderate the discussion.

“Agents have a genuine interest in protecting sensitive information transmitted by e-mail and our free webinars on TLS e-mail encryption are a resource to learn about a non-proprietary, user-friendly technology and how to get started,” says Yates. “Commercial lines applications and other documents containing sensitive client information need to be protected at all times, including when e-mailed to carriers.”

The first 45 minutes of this webinar is designed for agency business leaders and explains the risks of unsecured e-mail, the availability and handling of TLS on various types of servers (whether in-house or hosted), securing a security certificate, activating TLS with insurance carriers and detecting TLS encrypted emails. The final 15 minutes will be a more technical demonstration of TLS implementation using a 2007 Microsoft Exchange server as an example. Click here to register for the webinar.

“ACT does not promote any particular vendor, but endorses an industry standard approach to secure e-mail that is transparent to the end users,” Yates adds. “Many carriers are capable of receiving TLS encrypted e-mail from their agents and the use of TLS positions the agency to comply with the various federal and state privacy, security and data breach laws when the party receiving the e-mail is also TLS enabled.”

TLS is available on most up-to-date in-house e-mail servers (such as Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes) and on many hosted servers. It is not currently available on Hotmail or Yahoo hosted e-mail, but Google now provides a Gmail commercial package with TLS capability. Once implemented by the agency’s technology professional, TLS is transparent to the user and the primary cost is the security certificate. It provides a better agent workflow than proprietary e-mail solutions imposed by the carrier.

ACT has produced the article “Protect Your Clients with Secure E-mail using TLS,” as well as  agents’ frequently asked questions about TLS, which can be found at www.independentagent.com/act at the “Security and Privacy” quick link. The Web page also includes a list of carriers enabled for TLS as well as a recording of previous webinars, covering TLS implementation on both 2003 and 2007 Microsoft exchange servers.

Big “I” Markets
Bond Market Available

Last week, reports indicated that the U.S. GDP grew by more than five percent in the last quarter. This glimmer of hope for the economy also bodes well for the insurance bond market, since more construction and building means more opportunities to write performance and surety bonds.  Agents have access to a very diverse bond market that can handle almost any kind of bond need, and Big “I” Markets can work directly with your clients without reducing agents’ commission. Learn more about the bond market available to Big “I” members through Big “I” Markets at www.bigimarkets.com. 

Big I Advantage^®
Member Marketing Activity Center Offers E-mail Marketing

Have you checked out the new EmailNow service available through the Member Marketing Activity Center? EmailNow enables members to search for and purchase leads for e-mail marketing campaigns and helps design and send marketing e-mails and newsletters to existing clients or prospects. Learn more at www.independentagent.com/MMAC.