Big Red Kicks Off
The brand new Big Red Chapter of NetVU is wearing its identity on its sleeve. It heads into its first meeting in January 2011 as one of the very first NetVU Chapters to tap into the new NetVU brand identity.
“We just started our Chapter,” noted Lisa White, CPCU, CLU, CISR, UNICO Group, Lincoln, NE who is the inaugural president of the Nebraska-based Chapter.
To gain members, the officers wore Chapter shirts at the state’s Big I Convention in October 2010.
“Our first Chapter meeting will be on January 25, and we will be wearing the shirts then, as well as giving out merchandise with the new logo.”
NetVU offers templates for Chapters to create a customized logo that uniquely identifies the Chapter in concert with the NetVU logo. Contact Randy Phelps, NetVU’s marketing and communications manager, at (972) 409-6208 / randy@netvu.org for more information.
Go Western! New York Chapter Tops Off Turnout
The Western Central New York State Chapter of NetVU hit its top turnout for 2010 at its September 16 meeting.
Chapter President Kimberley A. Eveland, AAI, ACSR of Perry & Carroll Inc., noted the September meeting focused on Vertafore’s AMS360 by providing a “mini conference” on the agency management system.
Two professionals from Vertafore, Ron Harrell and Jean Gunset, presented an overview of the system, discussing a range of topics including Outlook integration, document management, alerts for management control, import/exports, the My Reports and My Renewals function, bulk distribution, and activity groupings. The presenters also previewed the 5.0 Version of AMS360 by highlighting forthcoming enhancements.
This jam-packed meeting agenda also covered the new updated forms for ACORD 25 Certificates of Insurance, which became effective October 1, 2010.
Why Attend the NetVU Conference 2011? Let’s Count the Ways (and Convince the Boss)
Education + Effort = Greater Workflow, Profitability
That’s the equation that describes the 2011 NetVU Conference, to be held April 28-30 in Orlando.
The goal of the NetVU Conference is to heighten NetVU members’ productivity and profitability. With more than 150 classes, custom tracks for each group of Vertafore management system users, and an Executive Briefing education track for agency leaders, every attendee will go home better equipped to help his or her agency compete.
But perhaps important people (such as your agency leader) aren’t aware of this yet. So we’re helping you out so you can be more effective in your job.
We’re convinced it will be worth the time and money, but want to equip you with a sample letter that spells out the ways the NetVU Conference can make your agency better. Please feel free to use this letter to ask your agency leader to send you to the NetVU Conference:
Getting Approval to Attend the NetVU Conference
If you need a little help making the case to your boss, here it is. We have created a customizable letter that spells out the benefits of attendance—it’s another powerful resource to help persuade decision-makers within your firm. A few high points of the letter are: April 28-30, 2011, more than 1,700 top insurance professionals just like us will gather in Orlando, Florida, to learn new skills, discover emerging trends and technologies, and connect with each other.
Here are a few ways our agency will benefit from attending the NetVU Conference:
- Bring home best practices by networking—NetVU Conference attendees come from agencies of all sizes across America. I’ll be able to exchange ideas and make one-on-one contact with people who have dealt with the same challenges I have and learn how they tackled those challenge.
- Become more competitive—NetVU Conference provides the skills to pass on to my co-workers so they can begin using the tools we have available in our management system today.
- Focus on our firm's needs—I will have the chance to visit one-on-one with 100+ exhibitors in the trade show.
- Bring new visionary energy to our agency—I'll be exposed to new ways of thinking about the use of our Vertafore system. There is also an opportunity to speak directly with developers and Vertafore management to provide input on future enhancements.
- Know it's worth the investment—the majority of those who attended the NetVU Conference in the past have said the event exceeded their expectations in many ways, providing opportunities for networking and learning tips, tricks and the latest industry trends.
Download a Word version of the ‘convince your boss’ letter here.
Is Your Chapter Protected?
Don’t be the proverbial cobbler’s children going barefoot; make sure your Chapter is protected.
As insurance professionals we understand better than anyone the importance of risk management. When assessing risks we know there are many ways to mitigate those risks from avoidance to transference to acceptance of the risk.
When it comes to identifying various risks a Chapter faces, NetVU provides limited protection for the Chapters. Most Chapter officers are not aware of what is and is not covered by the master policy. Accordingly we thought a brief overview of the master coverage might be beneficial.
As everyone knows, each Chapter is incorporated as separate and distinct legal entities from NetVU. They are required by law to run their Chapters like any other business paying attention to their societal obligations like filing taxes, keeping meeting minutes, and protecting the assets of the corporation from unnecessary loss.
While we both need each other to be successful, under our separate legal arrangements, NetVU has established general vicarious liability on an excess basis for the Chapters. What that means is if there is an occurrence claiming bodily injury or property damage as a result of the Chapter’s operation of a NetVU sanctioned meeting or event, then NetVU’s policy would respond. If, however, NetVU did not sanction the Chapter’s event, like a casino night to raise money, then the policy would probably not respond.
NetVU does not extend any other coverage for Chapters beyond general liability. Below is a list of common items not covered by NetVU:
- Property coverage for a stolen Chapter projector
- Money coverage for embezzlement by a Treasurer or other officer
- D&O coverage for faulty decisions made by the Chapter’s board
- Harassment and other EPLI type claims against the Chapter or its officers
Each Chapter should consider these risks carefully and make their own decisions on how to best mitigate these risks. Some Chapters may decide that assuring each officer have a personal umbrella policy may adequately mitigate the risk of a D&O judgment. Perhaps, they could decide to self-insure their owned equipment or the possibility of embezzlement. Regardless of the risk, the decision on how to handle the risk should be consciously made by each Chapter.
NetVU is evaluating if there is a way it can extend other coverages to the Chapters such as D&O. We are not optimistic that we will be able to secure this coverage easily or inexpensively, as the underwriters are not comfortable doing so as we are completely separate legal entities incorporated in various jurisdictions. If this changes, we will be sure to let you know.
The New NetVU Community: Asset to Users and Chapter Leaders
Vertafore users need answers. The new NetVU Community gives them access to more answers than ever before—but the Community can also be an asset for local Chapter leaders to build meeting attendance and involvement.
NetVU member Joyce Sigler of Jones & Wenner Insurance, Fairlawn, OH, is an active user of the new Community. She has two suggestions for Chapter leaders who want to tap into the power of networking at netvu.org:
NetVU members are almost constantly in need of answers on systems issues. “Realizing you need a solution is only half the battle. Finding the solution can choose to be a challenging endeavor. But there may be a solution at your fingertips: The new NetVU Community,” Sigler stated.
“Within an agency, many times an agency owner, trainer, consultant, producer or account manager just wants an answer. They have a reasonable need. They need a viable solution. It really doesn’t matter whether Vertafore, NetVU, a partner or a Chapter is offering the solution. With the new Community, at a minimum level of involvement, each registered user has access to a network that can present a highway of information that can be at their fingertips.
“Chapter leaders are also able to use the Community to their advantage,” added Sigler. “Chapters can use the Community tool to effectively solicit new members, be in touch with current members about upcoming events, and even post a poll about local and regional needs.”
The NetVU Community is set up in a similar fashion to a blog, so members can post questions and answers readily.
One idea for Chapters: Chapter leaders, who tend to be knowledgeable about resources from NetVU, can take the initiative to point out to their local users, the NetVU programs and resources they know about, whether those are from NetVU, Vertafore or partners.
Each Chapter has their own Forum under the NetVU Chapter Community. Chapter leaders can post their mission statement, officer for the current year, membership application, meetings for the year and meeting minutes for their Chapter.
Be sure to Join the NetVU Chapter Community and Subscribe to your Chapter Forum.
New Sagitta System Admin (SSA) Certification
Since NetVU’s mission starts with education, we are adding an opportunity for members: An immersion course aimed to help users gain the new NetVU Sagitta System Administrator (SSA) certification.
The first-ever SSA immersion class—now open for registration—will be held February 21-25, 2011, at NetVU National Training Center in Irving, Texas.
This certification is designed for the Sagitta system coordinator in the agency. Upon completion, the SSA will be able to fully support the various users of the Sagitta system, and the SSA will be permitted to skip Level One Support when contacting Vertafore. Also, NetVU is adding a private community available only to SSA certified members.
For information please contact theresa@netvu.org
Recognized Educators Guild
The Recognized Educators Guild is the upcoming NetVU version of
a speaker’s bureau. We will send more information in the future. NetVU will be pre-qualifying speakers and requesting them to do three things: take a few webinars on the topic of quality
presentations, take a short exam on the topic, and rehearse in front of a panel
of their peers to insure quality to be a member of the Guild and carry the Recognized
Educators Guild certification. Additionally, we’ll have topics and
prepared content in a library of classes to choose future
meeting subjects. More information to come!
Reminders
- Plan for Leadership Conference in June – More information coming soon!
- One Voice Calls – Mark Your Calendars
January 19 - 2:00 p.m. Central
May 18 - 2:00 p.m. Central
August 17 - 2:00 p.m. Central
November 15 - 2:00 p.m. Central
- Electing Officers? Let Us Know So We Can Keep New Leaders In the Loop
- Give Us News About Your Local Chapter!
Send all Chapter information to Sara@netvu.org.