Carriers See Great Value in Agency Education

EMC Insurance Companies sponsors 3 agencies to NetVU Conference 

 

As a growing trend, carriers are investing dollars in agency education by sponsoring them to attend the NetVU Conference. EMC Insurance Companies is the latest carrier that knows educated agencies are successful agencies.

 

As part of its NetVU Corporate Partnership, EMC has once again chosen, through a series of contests, three winning agencies:

• Miltner Insurance, Corning, IA
• Butler & Messier Inc., Pawtucket, RI
• DM Lovitt Insurance Agency, Tucson, AZ

Other carriers have recognized leaders in their agency force, as well, by targeting their sponsorship dollars on education.

 

“We are grateful to all our Corporate Partners that year after year see the ROI of the NetVU Conference and want to extend that value on to their Vertafore agents,” said Lisa H. Harrington, CPCU, CAE, AAM, AIAM, AIP, vice president and COO, NetVU. “EMC’s repeated presence in this regard is especially noteworthy,” she added.

 

If you’re one of NetVU’s Corporate Partners and want to demonstrate to your agencies the ROI of the 2012 NetVU Conference, let us know.

 

  

Past NetVU Chair Leads AUGIE Meeting in Tampa

Serving as the rotational chair of the ACORD User Groups Information Exchange (AUGIE), Carl Schlotman, III, CPCU, CIC, president & CEO, CAI Insurance Agency Inc., and immediate past chair of the NetVU board, kicked off the day-long meeting by leading numerous discussions, and moderating a panel on the ease of doing business.

 

Schlotman was just one of several NetVU members that not only participated in the event as an attendee, but also were in leadership roles within the AUGIE and ACT (Big “I”s Agents Council on Technology) groups. Joyce Sigler, Jones-Wenner Insurance Agency and chairperson of the AMS360 PowerUsers Committee, was on the agent panel, and serves as the co-chair of the Real Time / Download Campaign.

 

Gray Nester, BB&T Insurance Services, and current NetVU chairman, is the chair of the Password Advocacy 2012 Priority Committee for AUGIE. Working with Jim Rogers from The Hartford, Nester has been working the bugs out of the ID Federation initiative, which will ultimately remove the need for multiple passwords, while increasing security and the ease of doing business with one another.

 

These are just three of the many NetVU members and staff that volunteer their time to valuable industry groups. The NetVU Playbook, too, has already been recognized for its cogent positions on specific initiatives and, as a result, the user group’s leadership role. The benefits to the organization and those volunteers are often greater than what they give.

 

Consider volunteering your time and expertise. There are plenty opportunities here at NetVU and throughout the industry on many levels that will ultimately impact you and your agency in such a remarkably positive way, you’ll wonder why you didn’t volunteer sooner.

 

 

There’s a Place for U at NetVU Conference….Front and Center 

Continuing education credits, accounting certification, discussions on security issues and Standards implementation, Vertafore Product-Specific updates and future direction, IIABA Best Practices Classes, everything a Vertafore power user can use!

 

All in one place. At one time. With one purpose. To get you together with your peers so you can help each other learn and grow.

 

There’s a place for U at NetVU Conference. Come to Anaheim, April 26-28 and jump in.

Will Your Video Be the Next to go Viral?

Grab your camcorder, smart phone or iPad, and start shooting. NetVU is hosting a social media contest to find the most creative videos that demonstrate what’s great about NetVU and NetVU Conference.

 

Just shoot a short (90 seconds) video, and submit to NetVU at videos@netvu.org by Friday, March 9, 2012. Three videos will be selected; one for each category and announced by Friday, March 30. Then it’s up to your friends and how many “Likes” it receives that will determine who wins the grand prize.

 

The theme for the video is “There’s a Place for U at NetVU!” 

 

Categories for submission are:  

• Young Professional (under 40-years-old or new to the industry)
• Most Creative
• Best Use of NetVU Brand

Each category winner will receive: 

• Registration for one (1) person to attend the 2012 NetVU Conference, three (3) nights at one of the host hotels for the conference stay, and a $100 gift card.
• If you’re already registered for conference, your prize can apply to the 2013 NetVU Conference, or you can bring a new attendee!
• The Grand Prize winner will receive a complimentary registration for the 2013 NetVU Conference, three nights at one of the host hotels, gift card and a plaque acknowledging your exceptional creativity.
• All prizes will be presented at the NetVU Conference and the Grand Prize video may be used in marketing the 2013 NetVU Conference.

  

Commercial Lines Agents:  Extend Service with Online Access Webinar 

Wednesday, March 14, 1:00 p.m. Central - Register Now 

 

If your client-base has high certificate of insurance needs (Truckers, Contractors, HOA's, etc.) you know how time consuming it can be to service these accounts. With CSR24® online client access you can give your clients and staff the ability to create certificates efficiently - saving time and money. “I have one contractor with over 600 certs and we did his renewal in about 5 minutes,” remarked one CSR24 user in northern California. Not only does this extended service increase efficiency, it is a great sales tool. Agents have won clients and kept clients because of the online services they provide. Even against very competitive quotes. 

 

Join fellow NetVU members and learn how CSR24 can support your clients’ service needs.  Join us and learn:

• How online service can create a competitive advantage with industry specific customization
• How to save time and resources with multi-named insured capabilities
• How mobile capabilities allow for fast delivery of certificates and auto IDs to contractors and other clients on the go

Not available to attend the live demonstration? No problem. Register and receive the recorded version to watch on-demand.
 

  

  

Overcoming Sales Call/Contact Reluctance Webinar

Thursday, March 8, 1:30 p.m. Central - Register Now 

 

The only clear predictor of success in generating new sales is the number of contacts made with existing clients and new prospects on a consistent basis.  Call Reluctance is a career threatening condition that hinders the initiation of prospect contacts.  Join Tom Redmond, Redmond Group, for a complimentary webinar designed exclusively for NetVU members. 

 

 

Making Download Work For You - Part 2 Webinar

Wed., March 21, 10:30 a.m. Central - Register Now 

 

Part two includes reports, and a review of additional settings and tools you have available.  This session will then be turned over to the audience to ask questions specific to the testing and evaluation that has been done from part one. 

 

 

 

Vertafore Free Training Fridays

   

Vertafore is offering free training every Friday, on the topics that are most requested by users. Each Friday we’re hosting five one-hour training sessions on a wide variety of popular subjects. The sessions are free, so bring your questions! 

Space is limited, so if you’ve been looking for more information on these topics, don’t miss this opportunity to register. Be sure and check back often, new classes are being added weekly. Have a suggestion for a new topic? Send it to FTFtopics@vertafore.com. 

 

  

Social Media Use

Measuring the Return on Investment of marketing efforts, whether traditional or through social media, is not important for most agents. 

 

A recent survey by independent agency consultant Jason Hoeppner, B. H. Burke & Co. Inc. determined that more than 60 percent of respondents are not measuring the ROI of current marketing efforts regardless of what that entails.

 

Several other surprises were uncovered, including the statement that more than 30 percent have no plans to use social media at all, and of those responding, a bit more than 60 percent do not have a coordinated marketing plan of any kind.  In response, the question was asked at the recent ACT meeting, “Where will these agencies be in five years?”  Is this your agency?  Share with us on NCOM.

 

The survey also found an equally balanced dichotomy between agencies that allow unlimited use of social media during working hours (34%) and those that don’t allow it at all (35%). Sixteen percent actually block access entirely to sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

 

The survey, conducted over last fall, received responses from 293 agencies across 41 states and Canada. Just about 60 percent of respondents identified themselves as agency principals or management. Another 40 percent or so said they worked in IT, marketing or sales.

 

For a copy of the complete findings, click here.