products and services committee meeting agenda …jewelers mutual insurance company 24 jewelers park...
TRANSCRIPT
Products and Services Committee Meeting
Agenda
May 15, 2018 8:00 a.m. CT
Hyatt Rosemont Hotel Coleman A Room
6350 North River Road Rosemont, Illinois
1
Products and Services Committee 2018 Roster
Marty Jaeger, CPCU, Chair Manager - Property and Auto Claims ACUITY A Mutual Insurance Co. 2800 S. Taylor Drive Sheboygan, WI 53081 800.242.7666 x1370 [email protected] Michael Guerra, Vice Chair Director- Claims, Claims Governance Citizens Property Insurance Corporation 301 West Bay Street, Suite 1300 Jacksonville, Florida 32202 904-407-0322 [email protected] Mike Adams Director, Property Claims Enumclaw Insurance Group 1460 Wells St. Enumclaw, Washington 98022 800-366-5551 Ext. 3208 [email protected] Cedric Battle, AIC, SCLA Senior Manager of Claims Operations Georgia Farm Bureau P.O. Box 7777 1620 Bass Road Macon, Georgia 31209-7777 478-474-0679, ext. 4017 [email protected] Brett Benz , AIC General Adjuster Western National Insurance Group 4700 West 77th St. Edina, Minnesota 55435 952.921.3809 [email protected]
Sylvester Black Home Office Performance Consultant Allstate Insurance Group Claims Learning Department 100 Palatine Road Wheeling, Illinois 60090 847/667-2415 [email protected] Brad Boyer CPCU, AIC Claim Manager Travelers Companies Naperville, IL 60566 630-961-4315 [email protected] Gary Friess, AIC, AINS Property Claim Manager EMC Insurance Companies 717 Mulberry Street Des Moines, Iowa 50309 515/345-2254 [email protected] John Ganga , SCLA, AIC Senior Claim Examiner Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company 24 Jewelers Park Drive Neenah, Wisconsin 800-336-5642, ext. 2217 [email protected] Chad Giesen, CPCU, AIC,AINS Senior Division Manager – HO Claims Ameriprise P&C Companies DePere, WI 920-330-3024 [email protected]
2
Jason Giessinger, CPCU Team Manager – Claims Training Deployed P&C Claims Training – Fire State Farm Group One State Farm Plaza Bloomington, IL 61710 309-831-6053 Mark Greenwald Property Claim Manager Catholic Relief Insurance Company 10483 Oldmill Road Omaha, Nebraska 68154 402/551-8765 [email protected] Don Heinrich, CPCU, ARe, ARM, AFIS Assistant VP-Agribusiness Claims Agri General Insurance 9200 Northpark Dr. Johnston, IA 50131 515-559-1346 [email protected] Scott Jurek, SCLA, AIM Vice President, Chief Claim Officer Berkley Southeast Insurance Group 1745 North Brown Road Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043 678-533-3407 [email protected] Chris Karacalidis, AIC Director-Property Claims Grange Mutual Casualty Group 671 S. High St. Columbus, Ohio 43206 800-342-3785 Ext. 7616 [email protected] Brian Klupper Property Policy and Procedures Manager American Family Insurance 6000 American Parkway Madison, Wisconsin 53783 800-692-6326 x 32270 [email protected]
Melanie Lancaster Claims Vendor Manager UPC Insurance 800 2nd Avenue S. St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727- 308-7551 [email protected] Stephanie Meyer, AIC, HCRI Claim Manager Buckeye Insurance Group 1 Heritage Place Piqua, OH 45356 800-672-3558 x1135 [email protected] Rachel Morgan, MBA, CPCU Asst. Claims Product Manager Liberty Mutual Insurance 157 Berkeley St. Boston, MA 02116 617-654-4865 [email protected] Richard Nouza, JD Claims Manager - Training & Compliance Central Insurance Companies 800 South Washington Street, P.O. Box 353 Van Wert, Ohio 45891 419-238-5551 x 2317 [email protected] Richard Panattoni Claim Manager CNA 801 Warrenville Rd., Suite 700 Lisle, Il 60532 630-719-3138 [email protected] Greg Patterson Sr. Claims Mgr.-Prop. & IM Great American P&C Group 49 East 4th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 513-579-6653 [email protected]
3
Elizabeth Schirm, M.S., AIC, AINS Regional Casualty Claims Manager Cincinnati Insurance Company 6200 S. Gilmore Road Fairfield, Ohio 45014 513-603-5709 [email protected] Andrew White, CPCU, AIC, API Claims Vendor Manager Amica Mutual Group 100 Amica Way, Lincoln, RI 02865 [email protected] Elizabeth Wisniewski Consultant / Claim Manager One Beacon Insurance Group 188 Inverness Dr. West, Suite 600 Englewood, CO 80112 303-531-3922 [email protected]
4
2018 Products and Services Committee Meeting Agenda
1. Call to Order and Introductions Marty Jaeger, Chair 2. President’s Report Thomas Mallin
The PLRB Mission
I recently was asked by our Board of Directors to compare PLRB's mission with that of another organization. I first referred the Board to the Statement of Purpose which has long been part of the "About Us" page of the PLRB website:
Statement of Purpose
In the true sense of a trade association, our purpose is to offer our members those products and services that we can provide more efficiently or economically than they can generate for themselves. More specifically, as stated in its Bylaws, the purposes and objectives of the Property & Liability Resource Bureau are:
• To concern itself with, and encourage productivity and efficiency in, the property and liability loss and claim adjustment processes of members and the industry as a whole;
• To disseminate information on property and liability issues among members and within the insurance industry; and
• To promote education and new and beneficial developments within the property and casualty insurance industry.
While this Statement of Purpose comes straight from our corporate Bylaws and is quite true, the generality of this Statement proved less than helpful in comparing our mission with that of another organization at the needed level of detail. This Statement of Purpose was intentionally broad so as to encompass both current and potential future endeavors. But in stating it so broadly, many trade associations and other organizations might be able to fit within parts or all of these stated purposes.
One of our staff was also recently in contact with a consultant who deals with corporate branding issues. That consultant found that our Statement of Purpose left something to be desired in terms of its understandability to those who could potentially use our services, especially younger people. That consultant also found it less than clear in actually telling users and potential users about what PLRB does which could be helpful to them on a continuing basis.
Further, one of our service goals for 2018 is to present short, "bottom line,” In Brief summary discussion of many topics that we treat in depth in our materials. We will place these In Briefs at the top of information provided to or retrieved by our members, many of whom may only want an overview of a topic. They will appear on the first screen of long documents, eliminating any need to scroll down for summary information.
5
These three factors led me to draft a new, more easily understood, and much more specific description of our services which I've called " The PLRB Mission ." The PLRB Mission is now found on the same "About PLRB" page as our "Statement of Purpose" and is placed at the top of this "About Us" discussion to bring instant clarity to the nature of the services we provide.
So here's what I came up with:
The PLRB Mission
Resourcing the P&C insurance industry through in-depth:
• coverage and legal informational databases and consulting • catastrophe, weather, and seismic information and consulting • live and online education and training
I have long liked the "resourcing" word as descriptive of what we do. When we last re-did the PLRB website, I seriously considered adding "Resourcing the P&C industry" as a tagline to the PLRB logo on our home page. Other staff did not like it, however, finding the gerund or participle form of "resource" rather obscure, uncertain in meaning, or even improper in usage. In the last few years, however, "resourcing" seems to have entered the mainstream vocabulary. Many online dictionaries now define "resourcing" in this context. See, for example, what you get when you type "resourcing" (without quotes) into Google.
The branding consultant I mentioned whole-heartedly agreed with this use of "resourcing," finding it quite clear. That consultant found "The PLRB Mission" statement as a whole to be clear and unambiguous, as well as nicely to the point, complete with the magic number of three bullet points.
Notice a few things:
• PLRB no longer stands for Property Loss Research Bureau. As shown in our logo header on most pages of our website, today the acronym stands for Property & Liability Resource Bureau. The focus of the old organization only on property and the need for the second LIRB acronym to be added to describe our liability/casualty services is gone.
• Since the PLRB acronym does not specifically reference the "Casualty" side of the house, the "P&C" description makes this explicit.
• PLRB resources not only its members, but the entire "P&C insurance industry" by making some of our services (e.g., our educational conferences) available to non-member insurers as well as to P&C claims service providers.
• "In-depth" is part of everything we do. Thin, surface treatments of issues are not what distinguishes PLRB. Everything we do, we strive to deliver in depth and with sufficient detail to be truly useful to claims people and other insurance professionals in solving their toughest real-world problems.
• "Coverage and legal" is broad enough to encompass our property legal services, our liability legal services, as well as our building code services. Not only do we deal with insurance coverage interpretation, we also provide information about the larger legal framework of case law, statutes, laws, ordinances, and regulations which must be applied to properly interpret the scope of insurance coverage. Building codes are an example of such laws, as is tort law in terms of defining the scope of the insurer's "duty to defend" stated in liability coverages.
6
• The coverage, legal, catastrophe, weather, and seismic information we provide is provided online via self-help informational databases. But, in addition, PLRB staff is there to assist upon request, offering consulting services as to particular claims issues confronting our members. PLRB responds in depth and detail to thousands of individual consultation requests each year on property coverage, liability coverage, building code, other legal, weather, and seismic issues.
• Our educational and training services are provided both live (our annual Claims Conference, three Regional Adjusters Conferences, and annual Large Loss Conference) and online (our growing libraries of Distance Learning Modules and live and recorded Webinars).
Finally, I like "resourcing" since it seems more active than "acts as a resource to" or "provides resources to." "Resourcing" better conveys the present-tense, ever-expanding, ever-current, and forward-looking nature of PLRB's services. Our resourcing of the P&C industry never goes out of date and is constantly treating new emerging issues. We constantly expand and update the resources we offer. I covered the changes we made to our 2017 services in Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3 of my annual report in my President's Corner at the end of last year and outlined what you can expect in terms of new 2018 service expansions in January.
Here's an example of the amount of additional resourcing we provide in the course of a year. In addition to the projects mentioned in Part 3 above, during 2017 our property legal services added over 685 new and unique documents to the PLRB Search database, including:
• 300 new property case law reviews • 60 new regulatory bulletins • 300 new property coverage question responses • 25 new Test Your Coverage Knowledge discussions
Further, existing documents in PLRB Search were updated with references to all those new documents so that the web of resourcing we provide via PLRB Search would remain maximally clear and up-to-date.
I hope that the addition of all of the resources completed by the PLRB staff in 2017 will continue to help the staffs of our member companies effectively do their jobs. That is our goal in resourcing the P&C insurance industry, and I know that the 2018 projects will continue to provide the valued resources that our members expect. Thank you for continuing to support PLRB.
Thomas W. Mallin, J.D., CPCU
President & Chief Executive Officer
3. Antitrust Guidelines Len Murphy
7
The Property & Liability Resource Bureau intends to prevent any violation of antitrust laws at all its meetings and conferences. Products and Services Committee members must remember that their respective firms are competitors in the marketplace and that the McCarran-Ferguson Act and the laws of some states provide the insurance industry with only a very limited immunity from federal antitrust scrutiny. Therefore, PSC members must exercise care in their discussions since even innocuous discussions of certain topics might later be misinterpreted as evidence of collusion. Staff requests that, at the meeting of the PSC and the events connected with this meeting, there be no discussion or agreement, formal or informal, expressed or implied, as to any matters which might give rise to an allegation of violation of antitrust laws. Subjects to avoid include: a. rates; b. underwriting policies; c. marketing strategies; marketing responses to legislative, regulatory, or other developments; d. prices or costs of any products or services offered for sale by insurers or purchased by insurers; e. individual insurance company positions on coverage issues and other matters of insurance policy interpretation; agreements or understandings relating to claim practices, policies, or positions; f. standards by which the performance of any insurer could or should be judged; codes of ethics; g. advantages or disadvantages of doing business in particular states; h. refusal to deal with, or boycott of, potential insureds or suppliers of products or services; use of particular suppliers of products or services; and costs or profits of any aspect of any of the above. 4. Survey Results and 2019 Proposed Project Discussions by Department Department heads will discuss emerging issues and project ideas relevant to their departments received through the pre-meeting survey. A copy of the survey results will be handed out at the meeting. In addition to the suggestions made by PSC members in response to the survey, the following are staff suggestions for new projects: A. Building Code Services Len Murphy B. Catastrophe Services Peter Balingit
8
C. Information Technology Pete Becker 1. Add Aritificial Intelligence (AI) features to Search and Cats database search engines so as to allow efficient natural language searches in response to voice commands or by typing. 2. Work with consultant to make PLRB Search powered by Google searches as accurate as possible so as to reduce discrepancy between results obtained by this method and traditional PLRB Search. D. Liability Legal Services Paul Dispensa 1. A quick reference list of all 50 states and Washington D.C. outlining whether or not non-traditional vehicles, such as ATV’s are subject to a particular state’s financial responsibility laws. 2. A mediation and arbitration service geared to insurance coverage disputes. Since we have several hundred member companies, the likelihood that there are coverage disputes between two (or more) member companies should be substantial. Historically, if these could not be resolved, the next step was litigation, usually in the form of a declaratory judgment lawsuit. DJs can be expensive. One of the virtues of a PLRB-sponsored mediation and arbitration program is that it can be included within the dues already being paid by our members, saving member companies the thousands of dollars that are required for a declaratory judgment action. Such a service could be used for either liability or property insurance coverage disputes. E. Property Legal Services Jeff Kerensky State by State Ideas
Fire Policy Statute: Which states are SFP states and what coverages does the law require? This comes into play most often when fire/vandalism are involved in a vacancy or freezing loss.
Faulty Work: What is faulty work? Is negligent work faulty work? Does the exclusion apply if the work is not done by or on behalf of the insured?
Water Damage: what is the difference between backup v overflow? Does on v. off premises water discharge matter?
Change in Temperature Exclusion: Is the exclusion limited to outdoor losses?
Charts
Insects, Rodents, Vermin chart: What animals fall into any of these excluded categories - skunks, squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks, spiders, bats, gophers, rabbits, etc.
9
Pollution Chart: Update existing chart to include more cases, include cases not written up in PLRB law reviews, and include more liability cases as well.
FAQs
Water Damage Exception and Tear Out FAQ: This document would discuss the newer language in the ISO HO form in terms of the water damage exception to wear and tear exclusions, as well as the modified tear out language.
Air B&B FAQ: What are the first party property coverage issues when an insured uses his home to rent out to others on a temporary basis, i.e., Air B&B.
Annotations
New ISO flood Coverage Policy – This new ISO form is a separate line of business, with a stand-alone form to provide coverage for the dwelling, personal property, and loss of use on a primary basis. ISO began the state-by-state filing process (lower 48 states plus the District of Columbia) for this program in December 2017, with the process continuing throughout this year. The program filing will carry an effective date in most jurisdictions of November 1, 2018, subject to regulatory approval. PLRB could annotate this as a 2019 project.
F. General Tom Mallin 1. Consider taking and responding to coverage questions or building code questions by text if the member wants to use that medium. If we have a responsive discussion in our database, we should be able to text the link to that information back to the inquirer. This sort of response will be even more appropriate once we get our In Brief summaries of long discussions added to lengthy database entries. 2. Enable staff to annually visit all companies which are not getting a substantial net benefit (as calculated by our Member Admin system) in excess of their dues. The visits would be for the purpose of training and familiarization of key players with our services. Instead of, or in addition to this, hold regional seminars at neutral locations (not a particular company facility) about PLRB's services where we invite such members to attend for training and familiarization purposes. 3. Use modern electronic platforms for marketing in a manner similar to what other companies do with web marketing. Also, bringing back a meaningful amount of targeted paper-based marketing to encourage members to take advantage of PLRB offerings would be beneficial. This would be further enabled by purchasing print-mailing lists from third parties.
10
G. Educational Services Scott Powell 1. One-time consulting, where an outside e-learning firm evaluates our current online learning platform and programs and offers ideas on a path into the future. This may include a future purchase of LMS software or other relevant software or servers to take us into the future. 2. Have our Educational Counsel staff to attend E-Learning Conferences in the course of each year. E-Learning Guild and others host these national conferences in various locations. Strategically send two or three staff to participate in these conferences and meetings. Some may be online conferences as well. We need to better connect our programs with trends and developments across the online learning world. 3. Purchase avatars and appropriate software to capture short videos, Claims Coaching segments, from members or service providers. These would allow more participants to contribute coaching sessions to this library, including those individuals who don't want their name, likeness, or company to appear in the final product. This could be used in an assortment of micro-learning projects. 4. Purchase a package or series of package tools for live conference presenters to use as we encourage more activity in our classes. This would include polls, simulations, white board activities, video clips, etc. to help participants more actively engage the subject matter. Our speakers are often subject matter experts who don't think much about these kinds of tools or activities as they plan their classes. By having these available and encouraging their use, we help build more meaningful activity in our live conference sessions. 5. Develop podcasts for some of our training materials. Partner with Vale or others to develop Virtual Reality (VR) training modules for adjusters. Vale discussed this project at the 2018 Executive Forum at the Claims Conference. 6. A course on training basics for Underwriters (United Heritage said they would be willing to help on this). 7. Provide 50-state Continuing Education adjuster and perhaps attorney credits by hiring a third-party firm (e.g., the Institutes) to make these arrangements for us on a continuing basis for a fee. 8. Provide free training to insurer members at new meetings where attendance is limited to insurer members only. These meetings would be provided free from the presence of sponsors, exhibitors, and other claims service providers. Basic adjuster training could also be provided at these meetings. 9. Could PLRB develop a Powerpoint presentation that the members could use to present to schools, at a career day, or maybe to college students, etc. If PLRB could put something together, the members can take it all over. It would probably be heavy on photos, big fires, accidents, ships running aground, you name it. We can have slides on about different jobs within the industry, everything from auto appraisers to average adjusters. It could explain roles and responsibilities it could touch on salary, benefits, , etc. Essentially inform and entertain and maybe even inspire. I think this could get the next generation interested in, or at least aware of the claims industry.
11
5. Voting on Priority of New Projects Tom Mallin 6. Election of new Vice Chair Marty Jaeger, Chair 7. Adjournment Marty Jaeger, Chair
12
Appendix
2018 Projects and Services Review
Property & Liability Legal + Building Code + IT In Briefs: Present short, "bottom line,” In Brief summary discussion of many topics that we treat in depth in our materials. We will place these In Briefs at the top of information provided to or retrieved by our members, many of whom may only want an overview of a topic. They will appear on the first screen of long documents, eliminating any need to scroll down for summary information. We will also use the In Briefs as postings on Twitter and Linked-In, with members-only links to the detailed analyses. In other words, we will take what we do for Case Law Update In-Briefs and apply that to lengthy annotation, Q&A, FAQ, coverage question, etc. discussions. Our first priority is that each new discussion will have an In Brief at the beginning of any detailed analysis. This will apply to our individual coverage responses as well. However, it is also vitally important to retrofit these In Briefs to all past discussions as quickly as is feasible. The IT department is included since it will take new programming to both integrate the In Brief with the detailed analysis and to make sure that the In Brief of each document retrieved in response to a search appears at the top of each document retrieved. This retrofitting is probably a multi-year project. This multi-department project is our top operational goal for the year. In late 2017 the President discussed with staff the nature and format of the In Briefs and reached an understanding as to the length and level of detail which should be included in these In Brief discussions. The IT department then completed the needed templates and programming for this project to proceed. Since the beginning of 2018, property and liability legal as well as building code staff have been including these "In Brief" discussions at the beginning of all new responses to members on coverage or building code inquiries, as well as new discussions placed in the PLRB Search database. In addition, In Briefs are now being developed for and added to existing/historical documents in PLRB Search. On the liability side, this work has been completed for the Homeowners Annotations, while on the property side it has been completed for our Q&As we are now working on adding them to FAQs and Emerging Issues. For all new and updated publications of building code research, staff has adopted the format of headlining with the short question posed followed by a brief, spot-on short
13
answer. A detailed fact pattern and analysis is then included to support the "In Brief" response. The length of the In Briefs we are developing vary from a few lines for one-to-three-page coverage responses to a few paragraphs for an annotation discussion of multiple issues comprising 30 pages or more. Here is an example of a short In Brief summarizing a coverage response:
Artificially Generated Electrical Current exclusion would not apply to damage to building electrical equipment caused by power surge when covered wind blew down off premises power lines.
At the other extreme, here is an example of an In Brief summary of a Homeowners Annotations discussion of the multi-issue Flood, Surface water exclusion, a discussion which, printed out, is over 30 pages long:
This portion of the water damage exclusion avoids coverage for loss from six specific phenomena: flood, surface water, waves, tidal water, overflow of a body of water, or spray from any of these, whether or not driven by wind, including storm surge. The exclusion applies regardless of whether these are caused by an “act of nature or is otherwise caused.” “Flood” has generally been interpreted to apply to overflows of natural bodies of water, but it has also been interpreted to encompass losses caused by the overflow of man-made bodies of water, such as dams and creeks. Few courts have extended the definition to preclude other types of losses, such as burst pipes. In recent years and updated policy language, the flood exclusion has also been applied to losses caused by storm surge. "Surface water" is generally applicable to rainwater collected on or overflowing from man-made structures, including patios, gutters, and sewers. There is conflicting authority as to whether the water must strike the ground first to be “surface water” and as to whether rainwater collected on roofs is “surface water.” While melting snow is often encompassed by the exclusion, rain sometimes is not. “Overflow of a body of water,” is intended to encompass waters escaping from bodies of water (having defined limits) as opposed to surface water, but in insufficient volume to constitute a "flood.” The phrase “whether driven by wind or not,” especially when combined with ISO’s anti-concurrent causation preface, intends that this exclusion take precedence over the named peril of “windstorm” when wind and water result in loss. Courts have reached varying results when confronted with losses involving both wind and water damage to property.
14
Under the "natural source rule," many courts limited the exclusion to water from natural sources. The rule has become irrelevant under 2000 and 2011 forms, which specifically apply the exclusion to losses whether caused by or resulting from "human or animal forces" (2000 form) or by an "act of nature" (2011 form).
Property & Liability Legal Report Disruptive Litigation Risks: Monitor suggested Websites and trade press for relevant emerging/percolating issues which are potentially disruptive litigation risks. Examples include:
• class actions on Medicare Secondary Payer Act and Medicaid, application of deductibles to ACV payments, depreciation of labor in ACV payments
• developments in the field of alternative litigation funding by plaintiffs' attorneys These projects are being developed from continuous monitoring in an ongoing manner. So far this year, the following updates on these topics have been posted:
• Discussion of Alternative litigation funding: http://search.plrb.org/?dn=65244 • News item on Class actions on Medicare Secondary Payer Act and Medicaid:
http://search.plrb.org/?dn=66036 Property Legal Cyber Losses: Discuss coverage for the effects of Ransomware and other identified potential and actual first-party losses. To be completed later this year. Replacement Cost: Enhance existing treatment of replacement cost issues. In progress. Staff is expanding PLRB’s existing treatment of replacement cost issues to include a discussion about case law addressing whether the insured (who has received ACV payment) must then actually repair before recovering the holdback amount. We are in the process of researching case law from around the country on this. Code Upgrade Coverage: Refresh treatment of this additional coverage. To be completed later this year. Ongoing Projects:
15
Produce bi-weekly Test Your Coverage Knowledge articles on timely coverage questions. Articles written in 2018 include:
• Personal Property of Others Coverage Following Insured’s Death • Personal Property at Storage Facility Limitation • Artificially Generated Electrical Current Exclusion: What is the Proximate Cause? • Personal Records Special Limit: Travel Expenses for Stolen Green Card • Business Property: Bird Hatchery in a Garden Shed • Debris Removal Coverage: Does Deductible Apply?
Respond to member coverage questions. In addition to responding to hundreds of individual coverage questions from members, over 70 of these coverage discussions were added to the PLRB Search database thus far in 2018. Write approximately six new property case law updates a week. Approximately 75 new property cases have been reviewed thus far in 2018, with these reviews sent to members as part of our weekly Front Lines e-newsletter, as well as added to the PLRB Search database. Create summaries of DOI bulletins/regs/orders . Bulletins written up in 2018 thus far include:
• CA- Coverage of Flood, Mud Slide and Earth Movement Claims Relating to Santa Barbara County Mudslides
• CA - Commissioner seeks to have insurers pass corporate tax savings on to policyholders
• IN - 60-day cancellation moratorium for IN flood victims; 60-day grace period for IN licensees
• OH - 60-day cancellation moratorium and grace period for OH flood victims Liability Legal Shared Economy Coverage issues – expand the treatment of coverage arising out of Airbnb houses to include cars, equipment, and personal property. The existing PLRB Search treatment of this issue is being updated on a continuing basis. So far this year, a new PowerPoint discussing liability coverage for ride and house sharing developed by the law firm of Goldberg Segalla for a PLRB educational meeting has been added at http://search.plrb.org/?src=gsa&dn=63614 . CGL Coverage for Workers Comp 1B Actions Against Employers This project has been completed with a staff-developed discussion of this issue now added to the PLRB Search database at http://search.plrb.org/?dn=65327 .
16
Medicare and Medicaid Lien Issues: Discuss insurers' payment obligations in light of the evolving reimbursement rights of Medicare Advantage Plans and insurer exposure for double damages. Our original 2009 PLRB Search discussion of this issue has now been updated with new developments as of this year at http://search.plrb.org/?dn=47035 . PLRB Communications and Social Media Twitter and LinkedIn: Use these social media as means of communicating new developments and PLRB as a valuable resource more effectively to Millennials. Content could include how-to publications, public versions of issue treatments similar to Claims magazine articles as white papers, and would include images and links to follow for more information. Facebook: Use for posting and “liking” feel-good stories about claims, such as the stories behind the nominees for PLRB's Claims Professional of the Year awards. Staff posts at-least-daily updates on PLRB services, PLRB events, and news events impacting property and liability claims on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Oftentimes these social media posts contain links to more information accessible only to password-holding members, encouraging non-member readers to explore membership. Quarterly updates on project progress continue to be sent to our Products and Services Committee and Advisory Board. Monthly communications with senior claims officers and CEOs continue. Since the last Board meeting, the following topics have been addressed in communicating with senior claims officers and CEOs:
• Building a Happy Workforce in Order to Boost Customer Satisfaction (11/17) • 2017 Project Report (1/18) • The Claims Conference: An Opportunity to Attract Young Talent (2/18) • Seeking PLRB Committee Participants (2/18)
Weekly blogs in President's Corner of our Front Lines e-newsletter have also continued with recent topics including:
New Claims Apps Can Enhance Customer Satisfaction & Retention The days when a policyholder will tolerate waiting for an insurer to pay a legitimate claim are gone. People today expect instant service. Insurers that fall behind their competitors in improving claims processing are at risk of losing their customers to more efficient competitors.
Fraudulent Instruction Schemes Are Emerging Cyber Threat You receive an email from someone high up in your company or from a friend, but the message is very unusual in that it asks you to send money to that person or a third party. How should you treat such a request?
17
Qualities of a Strong Insurance Leader What personal qualities should you be concentrating on to improve your leadership skills? These qualities are not mysterious. They are available to everyone and don't take a degree from the Wharton School to learn. See how many of these you can put into practice. Smartphone Balance No one is claiming that smartphones are not wonderful devices. They have indeed revolutionized the way we communicate in both our business and private lives. But perhaps they are just a little too good at what they do for our own good. Insurers Still Need to Improve Appeal to Younger Generations The insurance industry has had a perennial recruiting problem because of the common misperception that insurance is a boring, unsexy business. This recruiting problem is exacerbated by the new blood needed to fill the talent gap which will result from the final wave of Baby Boomer retirements over the next six to nine years. Thus, closing this talent gap is a No. 1 business issue for 2018. Personal Warmth as a Leadership Skill Last week, I took a look at how you could help yourself become recognized as a leader at your company by doing things which demonstrate your leadership competency. But competency is not all it takes to be a successful leader. Studies show, effective leadership and personal likability go hand in hand, and a lack of likability cannot be compensated for by technical competence. Be a Leader, Don't Wait to Be Asked Want to further your career at your company? Are you just waiting to jump at the chance to take advantage of the very first leadership opportunity offered to you? Well, willingness to respond to a challenge offered is good, but you may end up waiting. . . and waiting. Is there a better way to move your career forward more quickly? Vehicular Crash Scene Investigation Module Now Available Designed for insurance professionals working in the area of casualty insurance adjusting, this course will help adjusters enhance their knowledge and understanding of vehicle crash scene investigation principles. This is the 76th PLRB CE-accredited distance learning module to be developed and made available 24/7 on our website to all PLRB insurer and affiliate members. "Fire Protection Systems & Forensics" Module Is Live This is the 75th PLRB CE-accredited distance learning module to be developed and made available 24/7 on our website to all PLRB insurer and affiliate members. Designed for insurance professionals working in the area of property insurance adjusting, this course will help enhance knowledge, understanding, and professional competence of fire loss investigation and insurance principles involving fire protection systems. "Business Interruption: Fundamentals of Extra Expense" Module Has Debuted The 74th PLRB CE-accredited distance learning module to be developed and made available 24/7 on our website to all PLRB insurer and affiliate members. This course teaches insurance professionals about the basic concepts surrounding Extra Expense coverage, including the types of Extra Expense and the methods for calculating appropriate Extra Expenses. Coming to You From PLRB in 2018 At the PLRB Board of Directors' final meeting for 2017 on November 20, the Board approved PLRB's 2018 new Operational Goals, as well as directing staff to continue all the existing services you and the rest of your company's claims staff regularly utilize. Continuing a long-standing PLRB practice, the list of new goals for 2018 is member driven. 2017 Project Report: Part 3 In the final installment detailing the member-services-enhancing projects which the PLRB has been working on diligently this year, I'm reporting on our liability legal services and property legal services. These projects represent our operational goals for 2017, as recommended by the PLRB Advisory Board and as adopted by our Board of Directors at its November 21, 2016, meeting. 2017 Project Report: Part 2
18
Last week I covered our building code, catastrophe services, and communications efforts. This week, in the second of three installments detailing the member-services-enhancing projects which the PLRB has been working on diligently this year, I'll discuss our education department's services, including distance learning and webinars, as well as developments in information technology. 2017 Project Report: Part 1 This is the first of three installments detailing the member-services-enhancing projects which the PLRB has been working on diligently this year. This week I'll cover our building code, catastrophe services, and communications efforts. "Property Insurance Appraisal" Module Is Now Live The 73rd PLRB CE-accredited distance learning module is now live and available 24/7 on our website to all PLRB insurer and affiliate members. This module outlines the appraisal process, determining when it is appropriate for a particular claim, and some of the "pros" and "cons". The discussion includes several keys to ensuring that the appraisal process works as intended, including knowing the law in the applicable jurisdiction, making a timely demand, using a qualified appraisal panel, and obtaining a proper award form. Knowing When You Are on Thin Ice at Work Your boss stops dropping by your desk with suggestions. You’re left out of important meetings you used to attend. Once-friendly colleagues start to avoid you. If your career IS in trouble, how did you get onto thin ice? Millennials Recommend an Insurance Career to Others A new poll indicates that the industry's efforts to attract Millennials to insurance careers and retain them are bearing fruit. Almost 40% of Millennials surveyed say that they were themselves recruited to the industry by their friends. Also, two thirds said they've been in the industry for three years or more and would stay "for as long as possible." Creating and Maintaining Extraordinary Teams Much of what we do at work is done in teams. Few have been part of an extraordinary team, but for those who have, it makes a lasting impression, one they wish they could recapture and hold on to. Such teams exceed expectations and consistently achieve extraordinary results. So what does it take to move team dynamics from ordinary to extraordinary?
Building Code Services Fortify Existing Services: Complete, update, and refine existing databases of code information and interpretation. In the first quarter of 2018, staff updated 40% of the state building code overviews. Work will continue on that project and then turn to additional resource updating. Duty Created by Building Codes: Create a 50-state analysis of the consequence of failure to meet code requirements from both a property and liability standpoint. In the first quarter of 2018, staff researched and summarized the laws related to legal duty created by building codes for 25% of the states. In addition, staff added discussions regarding "grandfathering" as a defense to allegations of negligence per se based on non-compliance with building codes. Information Technology & ERM
19
Mobilize All PLRB Web Resources: Make all PLRB Web resources (including PLRB Search and Catastrophe current and archived database information) fully accessible and compatible with mobile devices, including cell phones, using new interface technology. Most functionality is now available via smart phones. The primary exception is distance learning modules. Most of the remaining work involves redesigning the artwork and user interface to transition the app from The PLRB Conferences App to The PLRB App. PLRB has partnered with Core Apps, which developed the Conferences App for PLRB to convert that highly successful and user friendly app to The PLRB App. Cyber Security--Respond to Issues Raised in Wolf & Company Report: At the Board's November 20, 2017, meeting, the Board asked staff to update the Board at this meeting as to staff's ongoing response to the "needs improvement" 2017 report from Wolf & Company as to PLRB's cyber security. In response to the 2017 Wolf & Company IT audit, staff has strengthened PLRB staff's passwording in the ways recommended by Wolf. We have also developed the recommended draft policies dealing with patch management, passwording, information security, vendor management, and virus protection. Copies of these draft policies are attached to the email by which this Agenda was sent to the Board. The next IT audit with Wolf has been scheduled for August 2018. Other IT work:
• PLRB's Allworx VOIP phone system has been replaced with a Comcast hosted phone system
• The Regional Conferences website has been completely redesigned • Programming for the 2019 Expo on-site sales in Orlando has been refreshed • Our Sage Accounting system has been upgraded to the latest version
ERM: Staff is working on GDPR readiness because we have member companies with employees who may be European citizens (GDPR is the European privacy law going into effect in May). We also have updated materials to assist our volunteer speakers/presenters avoid potential copyright infringement when publishing handouts and PowerPoints at and for PLRB events. Catastrophe Services Web Apps: Construct additional interactive maps for risk of seismic activity, sinkholes, storm surge, sea-level rise, flooding, wildfires, hail, and precipitation/snowfall. A new Watch/Warnings Research web app has been created. National Weather Service watches and warnings are archived and searchable, through a map interface,
20
from the beginning of 2018 to the present. We have also touched up the user experience/user interface of the Hail Research, Wind/Tornado Research, and Earthquake web apps to make data loads faster and for easier use by the end user. Integrate social media feeds into interactive maps for ongoing disasters. ESRI has spoken to us about ESRI creating a "social media widget" so these feeds can be easily integrated with their customers' Web map apps. We will follow-up with ESRI on the development progress of this widget. GeoStationary Lightning Mapper: Assuming access to the relevant data and our ability to process the data, begin archiving Geostationary Lightning Mapper lightning strike data from new government satellite. We are working with the National Weather Service to begin archiving Geostationary Lightning Mapper lightning strike data from the new government satellite. A test data file was received and there is an issue with the data not displaying properly. The National Weather Service is working to fix the problem. Hail Risk Map Layer: Create using PLRB's database of historical hail spotter reports and ArcGIS software tools. Historical hail signatures from NEXRAD (Level-III Hail Product) could also be used. This would be useful for underwriting departments to determine risk to existing properties and to identify high-risk areas. If this risk model works, we could do the same thing for other PLRB datasets (e.g., wildfire, wind, tornadoes). Our Hail Risk Map web app has been completed. This layer is updated in the Spring of every year, to include the verified hail reports from the previous year. We will be expanding this dataset to include all verified hail reports for the past 25 years (currently 2002-2016). Education and Technical Services Investigation Briefs: Develop short discussions to assist adjusters with starting an investigation of various loss scenarios, giving a brief overview of questions to ask and information to find out in their investigation. We could interview member company people with experience and responsibility in these areas to get the information. These short video coaching sessions, delivered by seasoned claim leaders, will address various specific adjustment challenges that inexperienced adjusters often face. We are currently identifying participants (claim supervisors, managers, senior technical claim
21
experts) and topics and will begin taping soon. We hope to have a collection of these videos ready for release in the third and fourth quarter. PLRB Training Curriculum for Property and Casualty Adjusters: Update and list skills for three levels: trainee, intermediate and advanced. Link the curriculum to the relevant PLRB resources Staff is working to update materials available for members, organized by topic area and identified by skill level (basic, intermediate, and advanced). We have catalogued all materials in our distance learning and webinar libraries and these updated materials will be released as part of this training curriculum in the next 30/60 days. We will then incorporate our additional materials (conference handouts and materials and additional reference materials from our website) later this year. Cyber Claims and Other Hot Topics Webinar Series: Survey members and/or develop a steering committee to develop the topics for a series of one-hour Webinars on hot topics, including cyber claims. We recently concluded a Webinar series on “Technology Tools for Adjusters” that ran from last November through March. Topics included Mobile Apps for Adjusters, Accident Collision Reconstruction, Building Estimating Tools, and Claims Systems Updates. Our next series, the “Hot Topics from the Claims Conference” will launch in May and run through September. Our Webinar series planning for the rest of this year and into next is now set. In response to an online survey of members we recently conducted, we plan to offer an online Cyber Conference of four weekly Webinars in October, 2018. These will examine first- and third-party cyber coverages, investigation tips for cyber losses, measuring and evaluating cyber losses, and common cyber claim scenarios and adjustments. Beginning in November and running through March 2019, we will also offer a new Key Challenges Webinar Series examining water damage estimating, working with difficult contractors, smart homes, Medicare and Medicaid liens, and other popular issues identified by our recent survey. Key Topics for Educational Offerings: Future conference, Webinar, and distance learning offerings definitely should include these high-priority topics:
• Cyber claims • Assignment of Benefits • Water mitigation • Policy Training for CP Forms • Ethics
22
All of these topics are the subject of sessions at our upcoming live 2018 educational conferences, and/or webinars and distance learning modules to be held/released in 2018. Claims Conference Preparation: About 100 educational topics will be presented, many with CE credits for adjusters. Special programs as part of this year's Conference will include the Insurance Career Development Program for college students, Executive Forum, Certifications for Florida Law and Ethics, California Earthquake Adjusting, Flood Program Adjusting with FEMA, “PLRB Presents” video recording, and a Wednesday Luncheon program. The Expo is sold out with nearly 300 participating companies and sponsors. Current registration is 1,260, with 627 members. Receipts currently total 95.5% of budget. In order to avoid being included on early lists of registrants sent to service providers, many member registrants routinely wait until very late to register for the Conference, but register earlier at the hotel. From the hotel room block fulfillment, we anticipate total meeting attendance of around 1,800, not including exhibitors. Still, insurer representation at the 2018 meeting may be down somewhat from prior years. Regional Adjusters Conferences: In 2018 these are being conducted at three locations: Glendale, Arizona, June 26 - 27; Des Moines, Iowa, September 12 - 13; and Hartford, Connecticut, October 30 - 31. Speakers and topics have been identified. Sales of sponsorships and expo booths are underway. Large Loss Conference: For 2018, this meeting will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, November 26 – 28. Topics and speakers have been identified. Sponsorships are to be sold beginning in May. Business Income Module Program and Certification: Staff has now completed six Business Income/Extra Expense distance learning module courses, assembled them into a BI/EE Curriculum Program, and is now building a final exam activity that will be part of this new Curriculum Certification Program. Expected delivery is early summer. Other Distance Learning Modules: We anticipate that a total of nine or more new modules should be completed during 2018. Staff is currently working on five modules. Recordings in our office studio are planned throughout the year. Test Your Claims Knowledge: Articles continue every other week in our Frontlines e-newsletter. Articles published so far this year include:
Can Damaged Wood or Tile Floors Be Repaired? Even severely damaged wood or tile floors may be able to be repaired. This article will show you photographs of damaged flooring and challenge you to assess whether or not the damage can be repaired. Then, the likely answer will be provided along with citation to standards. Kitchen Exhaust Fans Were fumes from your insured's kitchen piped into the wrong place? Kitchen exhaust fans remove unwanted gases from the kitchen, but the vents can be discharged into the wrong place. Find out more about exhaust
23
fans, including a diagram, in this week's article. Geotechnical Investigation of Building Damage There are many reasons for building damage, some not as obvious as others. Let’s take as an example a home with substantial cracks in the basement and living quarters discovered while putting in an addition. The constructed product was the result of a multi-staged process, so let’s follow the history of the design and construction of the house from the beginning. Microwave Ovens Have you ever wondered how a microwave works? In this article, you will find a diagram showing all the parts of a microwave, an explanation of how microwaves work, and an exploration of what kinds of behavior will void an insured's warranty. How to Tell the Difference Between Ice Dam Removal Methods When ice dams form on insureds’ roofs, the snow and ice need to be removed. Remediation companies will likely either use a hot pressure washer or a low pressure steamer for this purpose. This article discusses the difference between the two machines. Try and see if you can identify which is which.