NetVU’s Own Joyce Sigler  to Co-Chair Real Time/Download Campaign  Joyce Sigler, CISR, CPIA, CPIW, vice president of administration at the Fairlawn, Ohio-based Jones & Wenner Insurance Agency, has been named co-chair of the Real Time/Download Campaign. Joyce succeeds NetVU member Cyndy Smith, vice president and director of technology at Haylor, Freyer & Coon.    An active NetVU volunteer and committee participant, Joyce is a leading industry advocate for workflow and technology efficiency in the independent agency distribution system. With 17 years of insurance agency and carrier experience, Joyce has been actively involved on NetVU’s AMS360 R&D Committee and brings great advice to members on how to get the most out of your system. She is equally passionate about Real Time and its ability to bring immediate access to carrier information on any particular client.    Whether it is for quoting, billing inquiry, claim inquiry or loss run, policy view, endorsement, or a request for information, Real Time is making a real difference in your bottom line. For more information on the Real Time/Download campaign, go to www.getrealtime.org.    Take the Real Time Survey.

Joyce Sigler

 

 

  

Have You Achieved Excellence in Agency Automation? 

Are you squeezing the most out of your management system? Are you finding better workflows for your staff? Have you fully implemented ACORD Standards within your agency process? Are you tapped for your expertise at Chapter meetings?

 

If you answered “yes,” or can point to an agency you work with and rely on as a role model, then consider nominating them to be the next Automation Excellence Award recipient.

 

This award exemplifies excellence in agency automation implementation. It is a celebration of innovative thinking that greatly enhances agency efficiency, profitability and streamlined operations. Nominations can be submitted for any NetVU member agency by their own staff, another agency, an insurer, a vendor or others.

 

Nominations for the Automation Excellence Awards must be received by December 31, 2011. Recipients will be selected from among those submitted from two categories:

• Agencies with 25 employees or less
• Agencies with more than 25 employees.

Then be sure to join us April 26-28 in Anaheim, CA for the 2012 NetVU Conference and see which agency wins…it could be yours!

  

  

Astonish Results Integrates its Virtual Profit Center™ with AMS360 

Astonish Results and NetVU are very pleased to announce the integration of its Virtual Profit Center^TM with AMS360! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU? 

 

AMS360 users can now fully utilize the Astonish Results digital marketing system without double entry. With this real time push and pull, communication agencies can now automate thousands of marketing and CSR/Producer activities that used to be done manually.

 

Both NetVU and Astonish Results are so excited about the integration of these two systems that the following is now available exclusively to AMS360 users. Sign up with Astonish Results within the next 90 days and all initial integration fees will be waived. 

 

Plus, Astonish Results will be giving a 10% discount for all NetVU users that sign up for this program. SAVE THOUSANDS and get your agency on the road to digital marketing success!

 

To schedule a free demo on the integration and the greatest digital marketing system in the world call 877.900.0791 or visit www.astonishresults.com.

 

  

QualCorp Announces New Product for BenefitPoint Users

QualCorp Inc. announces the development of their newest product QueryPlus for BenefitPoint.  The long standing, unlimited custom reporting software package, QueryPlus is expanding to include another management system product in the Vertafore family, BenefitPoint.  

 

“QueryPlus has been widely successful for both AfW and AMS360 users.  After careful evaluation, we’ve concluded that the same database savvy that works for our current customers will serve BenefitPoint users well,” says Allen Beggs, president and CEO of QualCorp Inc. 

 

What makes QueryPlus unique among reporting vendors is that the product is user defined and user driven.  When QualCorp’s development team helps one agency design a report, the report format is made available for all users to share.  This community based development combined with allowing users access to every field in their database has resulted in a 32% increase in QueryPlus users over the last two years.  

 

QualCorp Inc. plans to roll out production of their newest product by the last quarter of 2011 in preparation for a grand unveiling at the 2012  NetVU Conference in Anaheim, CA. For more information, please contact SueAnn Priem at spriem@qualcorp.com.   

 

QualCorp is a proud NetVU Gold Corporate Partner. 

 

 

 

Hurricane Irene’s Impact Felt Far & Wide

There’s no question that we are smack dab in the middle of hurricane season. Irene’s recent appearance has left a path of destruction and devastation up and down the east coast. Unlike many weather events, Irene came at us with multiple faces. For some it was all about the pelting rain, others it was the gale winds and still others who may not have faced the major fury of the hurricane itself, were totally destroyed by the resulting floods. 

 

Preliminary estimates are that the total economic impact on the United States will reach about $12 billion with insured damages amounting to between $3 billion and $6 billion. Residents and business owners are without power, thousands are stranded, cut off from access or egress to their homes or families, and for others Irene’s rage left their very livelihoods in question. 

 

Irene came on the heels of the unusual event of an east coast earthquake just a few days earlier making it the 66^th natural disaster of the year. Such a divergency of disasters demonstrates the reality that when it comes to business interruption, the sources can come from anywhere. Oftentimes the specific impact of a disaster isn’t what disrupts business, but rather the downstream results. In fact, a business doesn’t need to be anywhere near the disaster, it could be across the country or half way around the world shutting down its key supplier or major customer, and suddenly the business is stranded, unable to make product or sell as much of its inventory as planned. The business value chain is very tight regardless of geography. 

 

You never know where it might come from and so having an effective and tested business continuity plan in place is critical. 

 

To help focus on this important information, September is officially National Preparedness Month, a nationwide effort to encourage people to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies across all aspects of their lives. In an effort to draw attention to this special occasion, NetVU is supporting its Gold Corporate Partner, Agility Recovery. Agility is hosting a series of free webinars on each Wednesday during the month of September. 

 

Emergency preparedness is certainly not a theoretical topic for most people. For NetVU recent events have brought home the true value of having a business continuity plan tested and in place. Recently NetVU went through an unexpected interruption of its IT infrastructure when power went out on the air conditioning system shutting down all their systems. To find out how they handled just such an emergency and the lessons learned, read NetVU President & CEO Brady Polansky’s blog on what happened and how he and the staff were able to smoothly continue with business as usual. 

 

"As you contemplate your own agency's disaster recovery plan, especially in light of the recent events, check out NCOM. You can learn a lot from those members who've already gone through it. There are tips on how to create a plan, resources for plan templates, and lots of your peers that are willing to share their experiences. Participate in the discussion - don't wait for the next disaster to strike before taking action."

 

 

  

Preparedness Starts Here  

One of our missions as independent insurance agencies has always been to contribute to the communities where we live and work. This month we have an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference by joining forces with companies and communities throughout the nation to help prepare our families, friends, business colleagues, and communities for emergencies, whether naturally occurring or man-made.

 

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM), a nationwide effort to encourage citizens to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools.  During NPM, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Ready Campaign, and Citizen Corps will work with a variety of organizations to highlight the importance of emergency preparedness and promote community involvement through events and activities across the nation.

 

NetVU is supporting our Gold Corporate Partner, Agility Recovery, in its effort to educate businesses about the importance of business continuity planning.  Agility is hosting free Webinars on Wednesday’s at 1:00 p.m. Central (11 a.m. PDT) during the month of September.  Click on the titles below to register and receive more information.    

 

Sept 14 - The 10 Commandments of Disaster Preparedness  

Invite a Friend 

 

Sept 21 – Resilient America - Personal and Community Preparedness  

Invite a Friend 

 

Sept 28 - Survivor Panel – Real World Lessons Learned 

Invite a Friend 

 

When an emergency occurs, our biggest defense is preparedness. Developing a recovery plan and identifying preparedness and response resources within our communities are simple steps we can take to prepare ourselves and our businesses today. If you don’t currently have a plan, you owe it to yourself, your employees and your family to take this opportunity to begin the development of a customized recovery plan. 

 

Please visit Agility’s website or www2.agilityrecovery.com/npm to learn more and to register for these free online seminars.  

 

Agility Recovery is a proud NetVU Gold Corporate Partner.