August/September 2013 Newsletter
Who’s Who in IPSM – Member Spotlight on Janet Holstine
I have been a member of IAIP (formerly NAIW) since 1992. I was introduced to the association by Barbara Norris who was working at State Farm in Marshall at the time and the rest they say, is history!
I attended WesternMichiganUniversity because it specialized in course work in my chosen field - teacher/librarians. I completed my BA (minors in elementary education, social sciences and library/media) and MSL (Master’s in the Science of Librarianship) there. I started into the library/media field in the mid to late 70’s when elementary school positions were being cut in art, music, gym and libraries. After several positions, I knew I needed to get another type of work; that is when I went into insurance.
My insurance career had some of the same challenges teaching did. I sold insurance by explaining coverages and solving needs. When I was given the opportunity to go to OlivetCollege as the Director of the Insurance Program I believed it a marvelous opportunity as the position combined insurance and education. I enjoyed the opportunity to work with students, faculty and the insurance industry. I held that position from 1988 to 1994.
Beginning in 1992 I served as the Michigan’s Educational Consultant for the Certified Insurance Counselors program of The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research and Michigan Association of Insurance Agents. While being Michigan's Ed Consultant, I also share the duties in IN, OH, and IL and often was asked to “fill-in” in other states as well. I was willing to travel anywhere!
In the same time frame, I started Insurance Educators, Inc. with Carol Barrick Breed and Sonia Thorndyke. We started the continuing education business in response to the needs of the insurance community. I currently own and operate the business through contracts, providing quality training and Continuing Education programs in insurance courses for companies, associations or agencies.
I am the Michigan licensee for Certified Professional Insurance Professional (CPIA). CPIA Insurance Success Seminarsenhance the ability of producers, support staff and company personnel to efficiently create and distribute effective insurance programs. Insurance Success Seminars lead to the national CPIA Designation
I am divorced and have one son, Hugh, who is in the video/film industry and was a radio personality. He loves his work and the metro area. He believes the opportunities in the Detroit are out weigh being away from family, all living in West Michigan. He has a steady girlfriend but not plans (that I’m aware of) to be married any time soon.
I love IAIP and believe it offers members tremendous opportunities. IAIP is the only insurance professional organization that has members from all avenues of the industry. Since becoming a member in 1992 I have had many wonderful experiences. I've served as President of IPSM, GKAIW and SMIW; State Director of the Michigan Council twice and have served IAIP in various local, state, regional and national capacities. Michigan is blessed to have such a strong council. IPSM is a great local association and we need to remember that IAIP is much more than any local. I encourage your attendance at local meetings, State Council meetings (quarterly), Regional and National Conventions (annually). At all levels you will get the opportunity to meet others from local areas and all over the USA and Canada. I would love to share the benefits of IAIP with anyone who wants to know more about this fantastic organization.
Keep track of IPSM and NAIW/IAIP with the following websites:
state , regional and national
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IPSM Meeting: September 11, 2013
Topic: Customer Satisfaction
Location: TGIFridays, Kalamazoo
Time: 5:30pm
Reservation: Theresa Masternak, 269-384-8503
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NATIONAL………….STATE…………LOCAL ………………INSURANCE NEWS…………………………..
INDUSTRY
An Open Letter to Independent Insurance and Benefits Agencies
June 10, 2013
(Note: This is an Executive Summary of the full letter, which can be read here.)
/ There comes a time for every business when it must make adjustments, embrace change, and reinvent itself. Occasionally, circumstances arise that bring an entire industry to just such a transformational moment. For the insurance industry, and our individual businesses, that time is now.Some may not want to believe it and others may choose to ignore it, but for all those who are in denial, they may be doing so at their own peril.
An industry in crisis
We are at a defining moment for the independent insurance agency system. Profits are being attacked, growth is a struggle, future revenue streams are uncertain and the result is a level of panic not seen before. The most concerning thing of all is that most agencies don’t seem to have a plan for how to deal with the lack of control they have over their businesses. As a result, there is an almost vulture-like strategy driving agency acquisitions, a development that seems to be gaining momentum and threatening the very survival of the independent agency system.
This isn’t just a personal opinion or observation. This is the collective opinion and observation of a group of 10 industry/agency consultants who recently came together for a somewhat unprecedented meeting. On most days, this is a group of competitors; either competing directly for the same clients or, at the very least, competing for the discretionary time and money of the same agencies.
However, it was out of mutual concern for the future of the industry that this group came together in the spirit of “coopetition.” Rather than retreating into separate corners and competing more fiercely for the shrinking ranks of agencies, this group has made the decision to work together to help keep the ranks of independent agencies as large and successful as possible.
An industry worth saving
This is an unbelievable industry that has been rich with personal and financial rewards for those willing to make the investment. We are provided with great income opportunities have more work/life balance than most other professions, work with diverse and interesting business owners, and, perhaps best of all, we have the potential to make a significant impact on the businesses of those clients.
In fact, this industry has been so generous to independent agencies that it could be argued that the generosity itself has helped create many of the problems we now face.
We do not see the demise of this industry as inevitable. In fact, this group believes the best days of independent agencies still lie ahead. We know the independent agency system can survive; however, the surviving businesses will look different than they do today. What we don’t know is how large those ranks are going to be because the change is starting with a needed cleansing of the industry, something which is already happening.
Now is the time to act
While we believe there is a great future ahead for these agencies, the future glory days are not guaranteed, not by a long shot. Each of us in this group has varied ideas as to how agencies will take part in that glory, but we are unified in our belief that it will require something drastically different than what has been done in the past.
And, as we all know, change is never easy and the right kind of change is rarely quick. While we also have differing opinions as to how much time agencies really have to save themselves, we are all in agreement that now is the time to get started and significant progress needs to be made within the next 12-24 months.
There isn’t one solution for everyone, but everyone needs to find a solution. Being honest, there are self-interests in this group for issuing this letter. After all, our own success is dependent on this industry remaining strong and viable. However, we got into this side of the business because we like to help others succeed, and success now includes a fierce belief that now is the time to fight for our survival. This is an industry worth saving and fighting for, but it is a fight in which we must all engage together.
The unacceptable response is to stick your head in the sand and pretend everything is going to be okay. Most of us don’t like the current course of the industry, so we need to be the ones who start steering the ship.
This is our defining moment; now is the time to take action.
The following are the consultants who met in Atlanta and who have committed to doing their small part in helping protect the independent agency system.
Agency Growth Mastermind Network – Nelson Griswold
The Anderson Agency Report | The Anderson Network – Steve Anderson
The Brokers Broker – Kyle Hodges
Daymark Advisors – Jack Kwicien
HR Technology Advisors – Joe Markland
iC3/The Intellectual Capital Coaching Corporation – Rick Bauman
Marsh, Berry & Company – Rob Lieblein
Q4Intelligence (Formerly Benefits Growth Network) – Kevin TrokeyWendy Keneipp
The Wedge: Insurance Agency Sales & Management Training – Randy Schwantz
(Note: This is an Executive Summary of the full letter, which can be read here.)
Social Media Is Here to Stay, Texas P/C Professionals Say
The value of social media as a tool for marketing and selling property/casualty insurance may be a matter of debate but one thing is for certain: While the nature of social media may be evolving, it’s not going away.
Many property/casualty insurance agencies have embraced tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to varying degrees. The most successful users are those who know their markets and are focused on what they’re going after, said Laird Rixford, vice president of Products and Marketing at Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC), based in Carrollton, Texas.
“The big pitfall is in not knowing your market,” Rixford said. “If you’re sitting there trying to sell commercial policies on Facebook, it’s just a waste of time.”
On the other hand, Facebook and Twitter offer the ability to showcase the personality of an insurance agency and assure customers that they matter to you.
On Facebook, “one out of every seven posts should be self-promotional,” Rixford said. “The other six should be just fun things that you are doing for charity, your community, what’s going on in your community. Just being out there is what people like to see.”
Through Twitter, an agent is able to communicate to their customers that the agency is available and is listening to them.
“Twitter is more of a consumer customer support channel,” Rixford said. It’s about letting them know you are there, “which is what any consumer wants to hear from their insurance agent as they’re going through a claim or disaster or something. They want to know that their insurance agent is there for them.”
With both Facebook and Twitter, “everything goes back to your website,” Rixford said. “It’s where you put all your content, where you educate your customers. It’s your home on the web, so everything points back to there.”
That’s exactly the strategy employed by the Ron Patterson Insurance Agency Inc., in Richardson, Texas.
“What we’re using Facebook for primarily is education to our clients,” said agency Chairman Ron Patterson. “Take claims for example. We had a recent fire here two weeks ago that was caused by a leak of gas. Fortunately the house didn’t explode. But that could happen in a commercial building just like it could happen in a residence. We use that. We warn people about those types of things as a communication tool.”
Patterson, speaking during a panel discussion at the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas 2013 Joe Vincent Seminar, said his agency uses such educational opportunities on Facebook to drive people back to its website.
He cited another instance in which he had the opportunity to connect with his customers through Facebook, this time about car fires.
“We had a car that caught on fire in a parking lot down the street from us. One of our staff people took a picture of that car. … We took that picture and put it on our agency Facebook page — you know what happened? We spiked the interest. An incredible number of people looked at that,” Patterson said.
As a result, Patterson was able to educate customers on the dangers of car fires and ways to prevent them.
“That’s the connection that we’re making,” Patterson said. “When they go to our Facebook page they go back to our website to find out the products and services that we offer.”
Business-to-Business
While Facebook and Twitter are commonly seen as effective ways for retail agencies to communicate with consumers, many wholesale insurance organizations may not view those tools as being as useful in a business-to-business environment.
One specialty insurance wholesaler that sees things differently is Addison, Texas-based South & Western, which uses social media to supplement its overall branding initiative.
“Although some millennials look to social media as their primary source of information when making buying decisions, in the financial services industry, more traditional communication methods at this point are more readily accepted,” said South & Western vice president Bill Martin. “When we define ‘traditional,’ that would include electronic forms of communication including email marketing and highly functional websites.”
However, he said, social media “supports the buying decision by presenting your company brand in a different and fun environment. Since today most people use Facebook or Twitter in a purely recreational or leisure setting, presenting a complex subject such as insurance isn’t going to be on the top of anyone’s list of ‘fun things’ to research. That’s why it is important to present your company in a fun or interesting manner when using social media.”
South & Western’s brand, for instance, centers around the company’s mascot, a golden retriever named “Brighton,” Martin said.
To that end, South & Western’s “web services are appropriately referred to as ‘Rate Retrievers’ and ‘Policy Retrievers,’” Martin said. And through Facebook, the company promotes “Brighton” to its retail agency customers.
“By presenting ‘Brighton’ in a fun and fresh way through social media, hopefully other insurance professionals are able to experience a little humor while becoming informed on some of the products and services our organization can provide. The feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive,” Martin said.
A Powerful Tool
“LinkedIn is an extremely powerful tool for staying in touch with business consumers,” Rixford said.
“It’s a very powerful tool, especially for people who are working larger accounts,” he said. For instance, if a producer is working an account but is not in contact with the actual decision-maker, they can go to LinkedIn to find the right person.
“By having just one connection with someone in that company, you can use LinkedIn to find other people in that company and connect with them. So you can get to the right person,” Rixford said. “That’s really big on large commercial policies that take a lot of time and effort.”
LinkedIn is also an excellent recruiting tool, he said. It’s a way to find and keep in touch with good talent in the industry, people that you know are knowledgeable.
“You will see that they might change jobs, they might be looking for a job, you’re keeping in touch with them,” he said.
“It’s that networking aspect. … It’s being in communication with multiple people with an easy to use channel, where you can post and everybody in your network sees it.”
The return on the investment placed in social media is not easily identified, Rixford acknowledged. But when it comes to marketing, there’s value in just staying in touch with people.
“If you’re consistently out there and you’re asking your insureds to follow you and to be engaged with you, they’re going to know that you’re listening and that actually helps improve retention,” he said.
It’s unlikely that somebody would surf Facebook to find an insurance agent to buy car insurance from, but if they are already connecting with an agency through social media, they are more apt to stay with them longer, Rixford said.
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INDUSTRY - LICENSING
The Time is Now for Agent Licensing Reform
Excitement is building for critical legislation, the “National Association of Registered Agents & Brokers (NARAB II) Reform Act.” The Independent Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”) strongly supports this bill that streamlines nonresident licensing of agents and brokers to better serve consumers.
The bipartisan bill was introduced by Insurance Subcommittee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Ranking Member Mike Johanns, R-Neb., in the U.S. Senate (S. 534) and Insurance Subcommittee Chairman Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, and Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., in the House (H.R. 1155). The Big “I” is proud that the Senate and House Insurance Subcommittee Chairs are the lead sponsors of legislation that will benefit so many Main Street businesses.