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Join IIABNY's Oct. 7 Webinar on Changes to the ACORD 25 Certificate of Insurance

In 2008 and 2009, I taught a continuing education course titled Certificates of Insurance, or "How I Got a Job in the Prison Laundry". Developed by Big I Virtual University, the class was a big success in terms of the number of people who attended. Certificates of insurance are, to put it in polite terms, a pain in the collective posterior of insurance agents and brokers everywhere. I wish I could say the situation has improved since I went on the road to teach that class, but if anything, it's gotten worse. Attorneys and risk managers seem to lay awake at night dreaming of new and ever more outlandish insurance requirements to go in their contracts.

A year ago, ACORD shook things up even further when a working group (full disclosure: I was a member of that group) recommended some significant changes to the ACORD 25 Certificate of Liability Insurance. Those changes have generated a fair amount of controversy among insurance and risk managment professionals, and they are the subject of a continuing education webinar I'll be presenting on October 7 titled What's Changed in the New ACORD 25 Certificate of Liability Insurance? (Remember what I wrote a few weeks ago about it not being easy to come up with good titles for blog posts? Ditto for course titles.) I'll discuss the changes ACORD made, why they made them, what New York's rules are with regard to certificates, and what agents and brokers can legally do with certificates.

The New York Insurance Department has approved this course for one hour of CE credit, and the topic is one that affects virtually every agency, insurance company and risk manager, so why not plan on spending an hour with me on October 7? And don't let your learning stop there -- Virtual University has the most comprehensive collection of information on this topic that you will find in one site; I encourage you to bookmark it. Also, they are presenting their own webinar on October 27 in which they will discuss how agents can effectively handle objections they receive to the new ACORD 25.

Online registration for my webinar is quick and easy on the IIABNY Web site. See you on October 7!

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IIABNY Urges Members to Prepare for Hurricane Earl

Note: This is a reprint of an article that ran in the Sept. 1 issue of IIABNY Insider.

Don’t be fooled by the blue skies overhead and calm winds. While Hurricane Earl is forecast to pass within 140 miles to the east of Montauk as IIABNY Insider goes to press, not even the experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration know for sure how close it will come to Long Island and the New York City metropolitan area as it travels up the East Coast this week. The storm, now a category 3 storm with wind speeds up to 125 miles per hour, poses such a serious threat that IIABNY member agencies and brokerages in potentially affected areas should begin making preparations.

Besides monitoring the storm’s progress through media reports and NOAA’s Hurricane Center, IIABNY is advising its members to:

• ensure the safety of all employees as a first priority
• create disaster preparation and recovery plans if not already done
• compile emergency supplies of food and water in the event that employees cannot leave the office due to travel restrictions
• back up computer data to offsite servers
• set up a system for communicating with employees and their families if the office has to close during an emergency
• make plans to protect windows
• arrange for any necessary backup systems, such as power generators, water
• forward to clients additional information on how to prepare for the storm, such as the recommendations on the website of the New York State Emergency Management Office
• compile a local emergency contacts list
• complete insurance company personnel disaster response contact information form

"Beyond taking care of their employees and businesses, insurance agencies can once again show their value by reaching out to their clients at times like these," said IIABNY President and CEO Richard A. Poppa. "It is important to tell clients by e-mail or another rapid communications medium what they should do to prepare for the storm and how they should file claims after it’s over."

Agents, brokers and their employees can also assemble hurricane survival kits. Tips for building a survival kit that agency staff can pass along to insureds can be found online at eHow.com. If officials find it necessary to order a mandatory evacuation, you and your employees can begin now to determine evacuation routes and secure your office by:

• making sure all loose items are tied down;
• shutting off electricity and gas;
• boarding up windows; and
• putting all furniture, important files, computer and electronic equipment as high as possible, either up on blocks or in a second story if your property is subject to flooding.

IIABNY members who are clients of Agility Recovery Solutions, the association’s endorsed recovery and business continuity provider, also have access to a range of services to help them weather storms like Hurricane Earl and other catastrophes that might interrupt their business. In preparation of the storm, those members should ensure Agility's contact information is readily available to all employees.

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IIABNY and CIBGNY File Legal Action to Stop Unfair Producer Compensation Transparency Regulation

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York and the Council of Insurance Brokers of Greater New York today jointly filed a legal action to prevent the New York Insurance Department from implementing a burdensome and confusing regulation that will require insurance producers to disclose to their clients certain information about how insurance companies compensate them. The groups filed the action in New York State Supreme Court in Albany.

Insurance Regulation 194, which takes effect on January 1, 2011, requires producers to disclose certain information about their compensation to all clients, regardless of whether the clients have asked for it. Should any client request more information, the regulation requires the producer to provide detailed information about their compensation for the policy sold and the compensation they would have received had the client chosen a different policy.

IIABNY, which in 2004 called on insurance agents and brokers to voluntarily disclose to their clients the existence and nature of all their compensation, has opposed mandated disclosures as burdensome for producers and of little benefit to consumers. The board of CIBGNY had similar concerns. Both groups testified at hearings on the subject conducted by the Insurance Department and the New York attorney general during the summer of 2008, saying that such a regulation is unnecessary and would not be in the best interests of either consumers or producers.

IIABNY and CIBGNY were part of an industry effort throughout 2009 aimed at convincing the department to drop Regulation 194 or minimize its burdens on producers. While standing up to protect producers’ businesses, the industry group hoped to keep the dispute out of the courts. However, after the department adopted the final version of the rule last winter, IIABNY and CIBGNY announced their plans to take legal action, the only producer groups to do so.

The action, known as an Article 78 proceeding, asks the court to annul parts or all of the regulation. In its court filing, IIABNY and CIBGNY asserted that: 

• The Insurance Department does not have authority under New York law to mandate compensation disclosure;
• The regulation “represents an impermissible attempt to rewrite the Insurance Law on a subject as to which the Legislature has already specifically legislated”;
• Parts of the regulation “impose massive and unwarranted costs of compliance on brokers so as to constitute an arbitrary exercise of regulatory power”; and
• The regulation violates producers’ rights to due process and equal protection under the U.S. and New York State Constitutions.

Anticipating that the court proceeding might not conclude before the regulation’s scheduled effective date, IIABNY on May 13 sent the department a proposal for specific language that a producer could use for making the required initial disclosure. However, IIABNY and CIBGNY continued to move forward with plans to pursue legal action.

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Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York Honor Leaders

(DeWitt, New York, May 15, 2009) — A pioneer for women in insurance, an ambitious local insurance producer’s trade association, a dedicated association executive and a solutions-focused volunteer leader were among the recipients of honors given by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York last night. New York’s oldest producer organization gave the awards at its 2009 Leadership Dinner, held following its 127th Annual Business Meeting at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City, New York.

Acting for the final time in his capacity as IIABNY chair of the board, Neal L. Sullivan, CPA, presented the Chair’s Distinguished Service Awards, the association’s highest honor, to three individuals:

• Eileen A. Frank, CPCU, ARe, NASD, president of J.P. West, Inc., Manhattan. Frank, who represents the New York City metro area and suburbs on the IIABNY board of directors, is a past director of former IIABNY affiliate IAMAC and past director at large for IAAC, IIABNY’s member services division. She is the current chair of the Board Development and Accountability Committee and a current member of the association’s political action committee. Active in UNICEF and the United Negroes College Fund, she was the first woman to chair the Conference of Special Risk Underwriters and the first woman to head the National Insurance Industry Alliance. Because of her knowledge and experience with complex alternative risk programs and pricing structures, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America frequently asks her to be a spokesperson on national television programs. She has appeared as a spokesperson for Trusted Choice in national television ads. Very engaged in the New York political scene, she was primarily responsible for securing Gov. David A. Paterson as the keynote speaker for the 2009 Legislative Day (also known as L Day).

• David M. Gelia, executive vice president of United Insurance Agency, Inc. in Amherst, New York. Gelia served as director and officer of the Independent Insurance Agents Association of Western New York before serving as its president from 2005-06. He became an IIABNY director in 2007, joined the IIABNY executive committee in 2008, and is the association’s chair-elect for 2009-10. He currently serves as chair of the Direct Response Task Force and as a member of the Public Policy Management committee. He played an integral role in tackling the business challenges the association has faced in recent years. His advice and counsel on the Finance and Audit Committees helped the association make some difficult but necessary decisions to position it for the years ahead.

• Lisa K. Lounsbury, AAI, CAE, senior vice-president of IIABNY and president of IAAC. Lounsbury has guided the continuing evolution and development of IAAC and helped build an unprecedented high level of member service. Responsible for the human resources functions for IIABNY and IAAC, she has provided guidance and stewardship for the staff to make IIABNY a warm, family-friendly employment atmosphere. She has worked tirelessly to improve the association’s errors and omissions insurance program and built new business lines, including premium finance, employee benefits and a variety of other programs. A firm believer in continuing education, she has earned the Accredited Advisor in Insurance designation and, more recently, the Certified Association Executive designation. Sullivan made special note of the assistance she gave to him during his years on the board of directors and executive committee.

The association also bestowed the following awards:

• Douglas Katz of Jacob J. Katz Co. in Bardonia received the American Association of Managing General Agents Award. As chair of the association’s Technology Leadership and Advocacy Committee, Katz initiated and managed outreach to New York state agency management systems users groups, coordinating education and advocacy on behalf of independent agents. This resulted in better working relationships with these groups. To protect agencies from intrusive and contradictory insurer technology contracts, he worked to deploy supplemental contracts. He also initiated monthly calls with the Technology Committee to keep business on track and to identify new issues that need attention.

• The Independent Insurance Agents of Westchester County received the inaugural award for Local Association of the Year. IIABNY gave this award to recognize outstanding effort and accomplishments by a local association in the areas of enhancing the image of independent agents, planning and executing an outstanding local association meeting, legislative advocacy, increasing attendance at L Day, and establishing effective public relations. The Westchester association had the largest local association delegation at L-Day, increased the number of press releases issued, produced quarterly printed newsletters and monthly e-mail newsletters, held a meeting with a sell-out crowd at their annual “Education Day,” and established a Volunteer Firefighters Fund to grant scholarships to two children of volunteer firefighters in Westchester County.

Nassau County Insurance Agent Elected Chair of Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York

(DeWitt, New York, May 15, 2009) — Insurance agent Lane S. Rubin led the list of officers elected yesterday by members of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc. New York’s oldest insurance producer trade association installed Rubin as chair of the board at its 127th Annual Business Meeting, held at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City. Members also elected and installed new regional and district directors for the 2009-2010 term.

Rubin, managing member of Excel Coverage Group, LLC in Westbury, is a former IIABNY Regional Director. He chaired IIABNY’s Insurance Training Center Task Force, which oversaw the development of the ‘Essentials’ for Customer Service Representatives curriculum, a first-of-its-kind training solution for independent insurance agencies and brokerages. An active participant in the association's government affairs work, he has attended industry legislative conferences in Albany and Washington, D.C. He has been active on a number of insurance company advisory boards and is a past president of the Nassau County Independent Insurance Agents Association.

In his acceptance speech, Rubin laid out priorities for the next year. Reflecting on his work on the training center task force, he said, “One of the biggest challenges confronting our industry today is recruiting new talent.” To improve communications between IIABNY and its members, he pledged better use of technology and face-to-face contact. He called on IIABNY to educate members on how to use Web 2.0 technology in their businesses, and he acknowledged the struggling economy. “When times are difficult, it is even more important that we work together to help us all get through this period and to protect and make our industry even stronger.”

Other officers elected and re-elected to IIABNY’s executive committee for one-year terms included:

• David M. Gelia, executive vice president of United Insurance Agency, Inc. in Amherst, New York, elected chair-elect;

• Christopher A. Brassard, CIC, executive vice-president and director of Ten Eyck Group in Albany, New York, elected secretary-treasurer.

IIABNY members also elected and re-elected the following regional directors to two-year terms:

• Sean L. Hickey, ARM, senior vice-president of Rose & Kiernan, Inc. in East Greenbush, New York to represent the state’s Capitol District and areas north;

• William J. Oliver, CIC, chief executive officer of The Partners in Vestal, New York to represent the central and western parts of the state;

• R. Todd Rockefeller, vice-president of DeRosa, Rockefeller, Sohigian & Werdal, Inc., Harrison, New York to represent the New York City metro area and suburbs; and

• John J. Schwab, AAM, president of Niagara National, Inc. in Buffalo, to represent the central and western areas.

Richard Longueira, AAI, vice-president of Petrocelli Group, Inc. in Flushing, New York won a two-year term as a member representative on the Nominating Committee, which evaluates candidates for leadership positions and makes recommendations to the membership.

Earlier in the day, the IIABNY board of directors elected Rick Morgan of Rick Morgan Consulting, Broomfield, Colorado, to a one-year term as a director-at-large. The board also re-elected Wesley Bissett, president and founder of the Bellemore Group, LLC in Washington, D.C and Baltimore, to a second one-year term as director-at-large.