iiaawny i-ways magazine november 2013
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2 Business Magazine Month 20XX www.businessmagazine.com
keeping you up to speed
wnyagent.com
November2013
IIAAW
NYI-WAYSIndependent Insurance agents assocIatIon of Western neW York, Inc.
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OffIcerS: Wendy clemens, cIc, cIsr president
christine garvelli Vice president
steven Mccarvilletreasurer BOArd Of dIrectOrS: Mark garvellichair of the Board
Leo kuziemkowski karen catalano debbie Junkin, cpcu Michael Mazzara Mathew saxe robert sleap, Jr. tamara storch
Barbara dukeexecutive secretary
GeNerAL eNQUIrIeS
p.o. Box 696Williamsville, new York 14231
tel (716) 926-0322faX (716) 633-8429
President’s MessageIIA
AWNYI-WAYS
Hello everyone:
thank you to those who attended our Legislative Breakfast in october. for all who missed this meeting, IIaBnY’s lobbyist, Michael Barrett addressed our membership and the Legislators in attendance regarding several important issues affecting our industry. following the meeting, we offered a 1-hour ce class presented by kathy Weinheimer. kathy Lawler, aVp of education, had a chance to address the Board giving us insight to IIaBnY’s future. We appreciate the assistance and information they extend to our association.
our christmas luncheon will be held on december 13th at the Mansion on delaware, where we will have an opportunity to meet & congratulate firefighter, Jeff kane, who was the recipient of our Independent Insurance agents award. We will also collect money for the food Bank of WnY, as we have in the past.
note this change to reservations: this is always such a well attended event. this year if we do not have your check or on-line payment on or before the reservation deadline, we will be unable to accommodate your reservation. this applies to both agents and affiliates. It is really too difficult a task to deal with money and reservations at the event. Let’s allow our executive director, Barb, enjoy the day with us. also, please note there will be no refunds if you are unable to attend as we must give a firm count for the meals and are held to that figure. I anticipate your cooperation and hope you understand our reasoning behind these necessary changes to how we handle reservations.
Mark your calendars - tuesday, March 25th 2014 is L-day. We are going back to the successful format of going to albany on the 24th, when we will have an opportunity to get together for dinner prior to the morning event at the capitol when we will visit our Legislators to address our concerns and invite them to join us for lunch. We will then head back to Buffalo. We are hoping that, as in the “old days” we can arrange for a bus and not have to rely on train schedules. We will need the full support of the membership for this event to be a success. More information will be available in upcoming I-Ways newsletters.
We are sponsoring a blood drive in honour of our former member, carol guyett, and really hope everyone will pitch in and do their part for those in our community who will benefit from our blood and plazma donations. details can be found in this newsletter, so sign up!!!
With the help of IIaBnY, we will be taking a look at improvements we can make to our By Laws to reflect current trends in our industry. anyone wanting to help or contribute in any way can contact christine or Mark garvelli.
all of our various committees can use your assistance. no one person can do it all. that is why we have committees. please let us know how you can help.
remember, we are going to be having the child safety seat inspection in the spring and it takes more than one person (Barb) to get things done. some members have the ideas, but can’t work the event, others can work the project. thank you to all who have helped in the past, and to those who will be available and helping this year.
as always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or ideas for IIaaWnY. Have a wonderful thanksgiving!!
Wendy
name surname
senior editor at Business Magazine
[email protected] cell: 716-913-1847
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dates to Note
dec. 13Holiday Party
our annual Holiday party returns to the Mansion on deleware
dec. 17 & 18Blood drive
March 25L-day
one day format to make it easier for you to attend. a new push this year.
Jun. 30 Golf Outing
save the date!
WHAt’S HAPPeNING
out & aboutfrom local events planned for you - our members - to presenting awards in our community, your local team is working hard for you.
Honoring carol - Blood driveplease join us for our blood drive on december 17th & 18th.
Save the date for Golf!Mark your calendar for the IIaaWnY roger gurney Memorial golf outing. the event will be on Monday, June 30th at the beautiful orchard park country club!
IIAAWNY Bravery Award on october 18, 2013, president, Wendy clemens, cIc, cIsr, cpIW, dae attended the Buffalo fire depart-ment’s awards Ball to present a plaque to this year’s recipient of the of the IIaaWnY Bravery award to firefighter Jeffrey kane, from engine 19. We honor firefighter Jeff kane for his valiant off duty actions.
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LEGISLATIVE DAYINDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS & BROKERS OF NEW YORK
road toAlbany
March 25, 2014 | 10:30 Briefing | 11:30-1:30 LunchMeeting Room 6, Empire State Plaza | Albany, NY
FREE for IIABNY Members and Supporters
Albany
Last Name First Name Designation(s) Nickname (for badge)
Agency/Company Name E-mail Address
Mailing Address (Area Code) Telephone No.
Please complete this form and return to:
IIABNY, Attn: Monica Rayder 5784 Widewaters Pkw, 1st Floor Dewitt, NY 13214
Fax: (315) 432-0510
Need help scheduling appointments? Contact Kathy Weinheimer at [email protected] or 800.962.7950 x239.
Yes! I will be there to support our legislative issuesand be a strong advocate for the industry on which my livelihood depends.
IIAAWNY Note:the format has changed. this will be a one day event. We plan
to arrive the night before the meeting, at which time a cocktail
hour will be held by IIaBnY. the morning of the 25th involves a
brief breakfast and scheduled meetings with our local Legislative
Members, followed by lunch. We head back to Buffalo after lunch.
please plan on joining us to make a strong presence for IIaaWnY
at this year’s event.
PUBLIc reLAtIONS
spree MagazineLater this month, the december issue of Buffalo spree will
be out and include our faces of Western new York Insurance piece. the 4 page layout highlights local independent agents by featuring the board in a more relaxed setting. additionally,
we will be running an Independent Insurance agent ad in each Buffalo spree from January through august.
“no text Zone” continues
the “no text Zone” ad campaign with fox29 and Mytv Buffalo is being finalized with the commercial shoot quickly approaching. With the positive feedback we have received in the past for this program we are attempting to get some primetime ad slots this year.
thank you to Janet Valentine and safeco Insurance for their $10,000 grant towards our fox29 commercials! We appreciate your continued support of our advertising endeavours.
tV appearanceWe will also be making an appearance on channel 2’s dayBreak program on
12/6 to make a donation to the food 2 families campaign.
Have You Heard?the public relations committee has a variety of
initiatives underway to maximize awareness in the community for Independent Insurance agents. We
have a number of print and television ads that will be rolled out by the end of the year.
puBLIc reLatIons dIrectorsMatthew saxe
robert sleap, Jr.Mark garvelli
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the executive director’s corner
frOMBArB’SdeSk
Your IIaaWnY board is working hard for You, our members! some of our highlights:
• We have an ad scheduled to run in spree magazine explaining the value of an independent agent• Working on another no tXt Zone television ad for foX tV• recently purchased a beautiful 10x10 e-Z up tent /backdrop with the tc logo on it that can be loaned out to our members• We will be on the channel 2 dayBreak program december 12th, live from the food 2 families collection site at tops on transit & french, giving our annual contribution to the food Bank of WnY. *thanks to deb Hess, a f stager for her continued efforts in securing us a tV spot • Hosting the carol guyett memorial blood drive on december 17 &18• trying to purchase a texting while driving simulator to be used at events and with our InVest classes, and again, this would be available to our members
please let any board member or me know what you would like from us: your input is greatly appreciated for meeting topics, events, programs, community outreach or promotion of our association. We welcome your ideas!
note: Mrp funds are given each calendar year, so take advantage of 2013 money now!
Membership in trusted choice®, the consumer brand of independent agents and brokers, is included with your IIaBnY membership!
this means you have: access to the Marketing reimbursement program: up to $500 per locationaccess to professionally produced advertising materials Licensed use of the logo & pledge of performance Your agency listed on the “find an agent” locator at www.trustedchoice.comaccess to the trusted choice disaster relief fund for you and your staff
Visit IIABNY’s website for all the details
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IIAAWNY Annual Holiday Partyfriday, december 13, 2013
The Mansion on Delaware 414 delaware ave, Buffalo nY
cocktails: 12:00pM
Luncheon: 1:00pM
$60.00
rsVp by 12/3 accepted online only Here
during rsVp, you will need to note meal selection: corn crusted sea Bass, petite filet Mignon, panko crusted eggplant
In keeping with our tradition, we will be collecting for the Western new York food Bank.
Your cash/check contribution is greatly appreciated.
You’re Invited
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as a valued enterprise rent-a-car partner, you know — and research by Jd power & associates confirms — how much better customers feel when their insurance covers the cost of a replacement rental after an accident. and yet a significant number of consumers feel they can do without rental reimbursement coverage because they have another car at home. over the past couple of years, enterprise has developed several initiatives to help our insurance partners grow their rental reimbursement business, including a new continuing education course for agents. now we think the time is right to reach out directly to consumers with a u.s. industry awareness campaign to further support the efforts of our partners.
Introducing My13days.comrather than tell consumers about the importance of rental reimbursement, we’ve decided to show them what it could be like to rely on a family member’s vehicle for up to two weeks. the result is a video called “My 13 days” that follows typical suburban dad Bob newton as he endures the reality of driving a vehicle that only a teenage girl could love. We’ve created a special website, My13days.com, where you can see for yourself what newton goes through. I hope you’ll take a couple of minutes to enjoy the video, then share the link with your customers as part of your social media and marketing campaigns. “My 13 days” uses humor to deliver a serious message about the importance of rental reimbursement, along with a reminder to call their insurance company to see if they have the coverage they need. When consumers get that message, we think it can pay off in improved customer satisfaction – for you as well as for enterprise.
thanks for helping to get the word out about “My 13 days,” and thanks for being a valued enterprise partner.
Mary Mahoney
AffILIAte SPOtLIGHt
Mary MahoneyVice President Industry relationsInsurance replacement division / North America314-512-5000
Here are answers to two commonly asked questions:
Is it legal for me to pay a referral fee to someone who doesn’t have an insurance license?
new York law allows you to pay a referral fee to someone who doesn’t have a license if:
- that person does not discuss policy terms and conditions with the person being referred, and
- the amount of the fee is not dependent on the sale of insurance.
I suggest you base the fee on the number of referrals, number of employees, type of business, or anything other than whether you made the sale.
When can I charge a service fee?
new York law allows you to charge a service fee when you are acting as a broker for that particular transaction.
examples of this are when you place a Wc policy with the nYs Insurance fund, a property policy with the nYpIua, or any policy with a wholesale broker or managing general agent.
You must explain the amount and nature of the fee in a memo signed by the person who will have to pay it.
However, you may not charge a fee when you are acting as an agent for a particular transaction. for example, if you are a travelers agent and you place a policy with travelers directly, new York law does not permit you to charge a fee.
find more answers & read tim’s blog at iiabny.org.
MeMBer ANSWerS
ask timtim dodge, [email protected]
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new Membership BenefitIIaaWnY now has an e-Z up tent available to all members. If you are interested in using the tent for an upcoming event that your agency is participating in, please contact Barb for availability and details.
BeNefItS
LeGAL INSIder
In georgitsi realty, LLc v. penn star Insurance company, 2013 n.Y. slip op. 06731 (october 7, 2013), the court of appeals held that damage to an insured’s property caused by construction on a neighboring property, was covered under the “vandalism” provisions of the policy of insurance. In georgitsi, the insured owned an apartment building and obtained a policy of insurance that covered “Vandalism, meaning willful and malicious damage to, or destruction of, the described property.” the insured’s neighbor decided to build a new building, including an underground parking garage. the insured claimed that the excavation on the neighbor’s property caused cracks in the walls and foundations of the insured’s building. fearing that its building would collapse, the insured complained to the new York city department of Buildings, who issued a series of violations and “stop work” orders. the neighbor ignored the violations and “stop work” orders and its contractors continued excavating. the insured then received a temporary restraining order from the supreme court that directed the neighbor to cease all excavating and construction activities. the temporary restraining order also was ignored.
thereafter, the insured made an insurance claim for the damage. However, the insurance claim was denied. the insured filed a lawsuit against its insurer and the insurer moved for summary judgment. the supreme court granted summary judgment to the insurer and held that the neighbor’s conduct and the conduct of its contractors was not “vandalism” within the meaning of the policy. the insured appealed and the following questions were certified to the court of appeals: (1) for purposes of construing a property insurance policy covering acts of vandalism, may malicious damage be found to result from an act not directed specifically at the covered property; and (2) what state of mind is required for a claim of vandalism?
the court of appeals answered the first question in the affirmative, and held that it sees no reason why the “term” vandalism should be limited to acts directed specifically at the covered property. the court of appeals reasoned that vandalism, as the term is ordinarily understood, need not imply a specific intent to accomplish any particular result and that vandals may act simply out of a love of excitement, or an unfocused desire to do harm, or out of a desire to enrich oneself without caring about the consequences to others. the court of appeals broadly concluded
that where damage naturally and foreseeably results from an act of vandalism, a vandalism clause in an insurance policy should cover it.
the court of appeals then addressed the issue of what state of mind is required in order to find that an act of vandalism occurred. the court of appeals held that based on common speech, and the insurance policy at issue, vandalism is “malicious” damage to property. therefore, the vandal’s state of mind must have been one that amounts to “malice.” the court of appeals further held that conduct is “malicious” when it reflects such a conscious and deliberate disregard of the interests of others that it may be called willful or wanton. the court of appeals explained that this test will serve to distinguish between acts that may fairly be called vandalism and ordinary tortious conduct.
as this decision demonstrates, an insured may be entitled to insurance coverage under the vandalism provisions of an insurance policy in situations where the vandal did not direct its acts toward the damaged property and proceeded with malice.
for answers to your legal questions, feel free to contact Marco cercone, esq. at rupp, Baase, pfalzgraf, cunningham & coppola LLc, 1600 Liberty Building, Buffalo, new York 14202,
constructIon gone WILd
on propertY adJacent
to Insured preMIses
consIdered VandaLIsM
Vandalism?
do follow IIAAWNY on facebook! facebook.com/iiaawny
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Now presenting our
Lunch and Learn Select a date and time
In an effort to share our most important mission of organ, eye, tissue and blood donations, we welcome the opportunity to come to your company to
present an informative program for all who wish to attend. Many people have been touched by our program, and learning the facts regarding the donor registry and Buffalo’s Community Blood Bank help everyone around us to
make informed choices.
Topics can include: Unyts Community Blood Bank
Organ Donor Registry
Please contact: Karen Sorrentino or Michele Dill to arrange a presentation
[email protected] or (716) 512-7967
[email protected] or (716)566-3987
Together we can make a stronger, healthier and committed Western New York Family
Now presenting our
Lunch and Learn Select a date and time
In an effort to share our most important mission of organ, eye, tissue and blood donations, we welcome the opportunity to come to your company to
present an informative program for all who wish to attend. Many people have been touched by our program, and learning the facts regarding the donor registry and Buffalo’s Community Blood Bank help everyone around us to
make informed choices.
Topics can include: Unyts Community Blood Bank
Organ Donor Registry
Please contact: Karen Sorrentino or Michele Dill to arrange a presentation
[email protected] or (716) 512-7967
[email protected] or (716)566-3987
Together we can make a stronger, healthier and committed Western New York Family
Now presenting our
Lunch and Learn Select a date and time
In an effort to share our most important mission of organ, eye, tissue and blood donations, we welcome the opportunity to come to your company to
present an informative program for all who wish to attend. Many people have been touched by our program, and learning the facts regarding the donor registry and Buffalo’s Community Blood Bank help everyone around us to
make informed choices.
Topics can include: Unyts Community Blood Bank
Organ Donor Registry
Please contact: Karen Sorrentino or Michele Dill to arrange a presentation
[email protected] or (716) 512-7967
[email protected] or (716)566-3987
Together we can make a stronger, healthier and committed Western New York Family
dO GOOd
donate Blood - a Win/Winplease help us make our caroL guYett Memorial Blood drive on december 17th & 18th a success! donate blood at one of our locations and encourage others to do so too.
If your office would like to schedule a Lunch or Breakfast & Learn, please contact karen sorrentino to set this up at [email protected] or phone 716-512-7967.
not only will you be helping someone else, you could win one of our three raffle prizes:
grand prIZe: casIno oVernIgHt second prIZe: $50 dinner certificate and regal Movie passes tHIrd prIZe: regal Movie gift Basket
don’t Wait!
Julie Macconnell, [email protected]
d on’t wait another day to complete your profile on trustedchoice.com. Why?
1. consumers are Looking for You!We all know consumers are researching insurance online before purchasing. We also know direct writers are winning in this space. trustedchoice.com is Your chance to compete.
2. You aren’t showing up at the topunless you have completed and published your enhanced profile, your agency is not showing up in the top results group for your area. You may be listed below agents further away. good news - it’s a quick fix. complete you profile!Where does your agency show up on the list? Look now.
3. Help is standing Bythe project cap team can help you any time at (855) 372-0070. process. Visit the IIaBnY website for additional resources.
complete your profile today! simply follow the guide on the right!
dIGItALMArketING
Quick profile tips:Your primary image can be a logo, photo of your building or staff. You can often find this on your website and save to your desktop by right-clinking on the image. then, it will be easy to upload to cap!
Your position statement is a short description about your business and its unique value. You may be able to copy this from your website or facebook page.
reminder!
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WINWIN $250Black FridayS!..!!.! C!!h
We could all use some extra money in our pockets at holiday time, especially when Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals are incredible. Superior is giving you the chance to win a $250 Visa Gift Card to help you spread holiday joy.
... .. ......ForFor each premium finance quote you request from Superior between November 1st & November 22, you will be entered to win. You can prepare a quote online at superiorpayment.com or request one by calling 866-856-1112 or via email at [email protected].
Request quotes on 10 policies - you get 10 entries!
ThisThis is a special contest for IIABNY members only and the winner will be drawn at 5pm on 11/22. The winner will receive their money to spend before Black Friday!
!!.!!..! .. !..! ..!! !.!!.! !!...!. Call the Superior team at 866-856-1112
!..! ! .!!! ..!!!! !