Welcome to 2011: Take Advantage of NetVU to Empower Your Agency Success 
By: Brady Polansky, CPCU, CIC, NetVU President and CEO
Welcome to 2011! Let’s ring in the 2011 work year and take away some key points from 2010. I hope you take advantage of NetVU in 2011 more than ever before, to empower your agency’s success.
NetVU did things differently for members in 2010. We had many new and exciting things transpire in 2010. Of the many great things there are five that really stand out:
- Our new NetVU brand
- Another successful conference
- A renewed focus on local Chapters
- Our new NetVU.org website
- The new NetVU Community
The new NetVU brand didn’t happen overnight. While we literally changed the brand during our opening session at conference, it took many months, thousands of volunteer hours, and a patent and trademark attorney to pull it off.
NetVU is not just a new name, but it is a new attitude. NetVU is a network of insurance professionals collectively making our businesses more efficient and more profitable. We are growing beyond more than a local user group to a professional trade association lobbying for software, industry and or regulatory improvements. Together we can make a difference.
Our conference in Nashville was a great success helping improve the profitability of the more than 1,700 insurance professionals in attendance. Hundreds of classes were available from extremely technical to very high-level business topics. There’s something for anyone involved in the independent insurance agency system. Our 2011 NetVU Conference in Orlando will build upon this making even more valuable to attend.
Our local Chapters are where NetVU grass roots activities begin and flourish. All of the national leadership credits their local Chapter for being where they got their start in NetVU. We’ve seen a significant decline in Chapter attendance over the past few years, so we decided to turn that around in 2010. Not only did we stop the decline, but we actually grew total Chapter attendance by more than 25%! Why? Board members re-engaged themselves into Chapters. The national office started vigorous marketing campaigns, as well as registration assistance for Chapters.
We are also helping bring together great speakers and Vertafore representation back to the local level. In 2011 we will bring the Chapter leaders together for an intense workshop on leadership, to help them grow even more. Our goal for 2011 is to have more than 6,400 people attend Chapter events.
In October we launched a new website for our members. While there is still a lot of work to be done, the new site incorporated the best from the old site plus robust search capabilities, improved navigation, and an improved conference registration system to name a few improvements.
What we are most excited about is our new NetVU Community on the website. One of the biggest benefits of membership is the ability to network with peers. Our new Community offers a huge improvement over the past system. It now allows for following colleagues, attachments in posts, context searches, (and soon—the ‘reply by e-mail’ function).
We have a goal for our members to make more than 17,600 posts in 2011 in the NetVU Community. If you haven’t tried the new NetVU Community, please do and help us help you. It’s usually the fastest way to get answers and to network with others.
While we expect to get back to the basics focusing on Chapters and our Communities in 2011, we are adding a long-requested certification program for system administrators. Starting with Sagitta, we are building classes that will allow our system administrators to demonstrate their elevated knowledge of the system through our new certifications.
A Discussion of Agency Website and Social Media “Best Practices”
By: Rick Morgan, Rick Morgan Consulting
A group of 18-20 Internet savvy agent, carrier and vendor executives gathered at the latest ACT meeting to discuss their experiences and lessons with their websites and uses of social media. What emerged was a consensus on several “best practice” tips for using these online tools, which will be helpful to additional agencies as they seek to build their online presence and brand.
Read complete article.
Disaster Recovery Services for Insurance: Protect Your Promise—Be There for Your Clients
Disaster has no schedule. Nothing tests an insurance agent’s ability to meet a client’s needs like an unforeseen disaster, occurring without warning and creating unpredictable damage. Insurance agencies, more than any other business, have an obligation to their clients to be available when disaster strikes.
There’s no such thing as a minor disruption. Any event that prevents work from happening can be catastrophic for an insurance agency. The reality is disasters happen every day. In fact, over the past two years, Agility Recovery has responded to over 560 disaster events. Whether it’s a broken water pipe, a building fire, or hurricane; rest assured that we’ll rescue your agency.
Agility provides robust, sensible and easy-to-implement recovery solutions for an affordable monthly membership fee. When disaster hits, Agility is there on the scene, providing you with any, or all, of the critical elements you need to keep your agency in business. NetVU users can sign up for Agility’s ReadySuite membership for $295/month, and the day you become a member your agency is covered. One call is all it takes.
At time of disaster, Agility’s ReadySuite solution delivers any or all of the four key elements of recovery:
- Power – emergency generators stationed around North America
- Technology – IT and office equipment stocked for express delivery
- Space – numerous options to fit your business needs, including commercial, retail and mobile office space
- Connectivity – satellite connectivity to restore phone and Internet service
For more than 21 years, Agility has ensured that insurance agents are there for their clients. Our 100% success rate at fulfilling this promise is why our clients and partners comprise over 1,500 insurance agencies.
For more information, visit www.agilityrecovery.com/insurance or call 866-364-9696.