For the first time, you can nominate those you see as industry leaders for a prestigious NetVU award. If you know an outstanding agency, carrier or MGA who deserves recognition for automation excellence, nominate them today.
The Automation Excellence Award recognizes achievements in automation technology between carriers, MGAs and agencies that have produced advances in productivity, profitability and service for NetVU members (Vertafore customers). NetVU supports customer- and agency-facing collaboration tools as part of the management system products that will allow full access to data in the management systems.
Agencies, carriers and MGAs are encouraged to apply for the category of the award that fits your organization.
Links to awards applications:
Do you know an agency, carrier or MGA that fits these criteria?
- Embraces NetVU’s vision of a thriving, profitable insurance industry fueled by vibrant, efficient entities fully leveraging everything Vertafore products have to offer.
- Pioneers innovative ideas that enhance efficiency, increase profitability and streamline operations
- Encourages peers by serving as model/mentor for other firms.
- Spearheads industry progress by participating in NetVU or other industry specific volunteer organizations.
- Influences cutting-edge ideas which enhance efficiency, increase profitability and streamline operations
Submit your nomination today! Deadline for nomination is Friday, February 10, 2017.
The Automation Excellence Award Winners will be recognized at the NetVU Awards Gala at the 2017 NetVU Conference.
With your nomination, you can have a voice in designating the 2017 recipient of the Insurance Technology Advocate Award in Memory of Wade S. Dunbar Jr., which will be presented to a person who has made significant contributions to insurance industry automation.
Help us recognize an Insurance Technology Advocate who:
- Is involved with automation and leading organizations towards full-system utilization and leadership on an industry-wide basis.
- Has recognizable achievements while serving the industry from a vendor, carrier, agency, or industry organization perspective.
- Is a leader with exemplary personal standards and passion for the success of all industry partners. This person has the ability to pull different groups together for a common goal.
- Has made significant contributions to moving the insurance industry automation forward.
- Is active within the industry, retired, alive, or deceased.
Nominations are due by Friday, February 13, 2017.
Click here to recognize someone who has made a difference in Insurance Technology.
Previous winners:
John Folk, 1988
Lawson L. Swearingen, 1989
Louie E. Woodbury, Jr. 1990
Robert R. Treweek, 1991
Robert Burns, 1992 |
David W. Wroe, 1993
Robert E. Merriman, 1994
Herbert G. Treweek, 1995
Robert Y. Barnham, Jr., 1996
Don R. Jordan, 1998 |
James B. Phelan, CIC, CLU, CPCU, CPIA, 1999
Jeffrey M. Yates, 2001
Mele Fuller, AAM, AIT, AAI, 2009
Dave Acker, 2010
Carolyn "Cal" Durland, CPCU, 2011 |
Cyndy Smith, 2012
James T. Armitage, CPCU, AAI, 2013
Steve Anderson, 2014
Nellie Massoni, 2015
Jim Rogers, 2016 |
The Insurance Technology Advocate Award Winner will be recognized at the NetVU Awards Gala at the 2017 NetVU Conference.
Watch the winners from past conferences:
2015 Awards Gala Video
2016 Awards Gala Video
Speaking at NetVU’s Dec. 15 Town Hall meeting, the new Vertafore CEO Amy Zupon said that she is “passionate about being close to our customers and understanding their needs.” She spent her first 60 days on the job talking to Vertafore users “to make sure we’re aligned with the initiatives our customers are trying to drive in their own businesses.”
In an interview with NetVU CEO Kitty Ambers, Zupon and Houck Reed, NetVU’s vice president of product management, confirmed that listening to Vertafore customers has been a top priority as they position the company for the future. Zupon joined Vertafore in October and Reed last August.
“I have been absolutely floored by the degree of customer engagement,” Reed said enthusiastically of his meetings with NetVU members. “I have never seen a group so supportive and engaged
.”
Zupon said her philosophy “is to build from the outside in, not the inside out. What I mean by that is that we try to understand what is happening with our solutions every day, how people are using our products, and that we understand what their needs and objectives are. Instead of just building software inside our shop any way we can, we want to shift the focus to the outside in.”
She added, “For us, staying in touch with where the industry is headed, what customers are really trying to solve problem-wise for their business and lining up our strategy to support that will be the key to our success.”
Reed gave an overview of some upcoming product changes, noting that Vertafore will continue to make improvements to its developer portal for APIs, so users can better integrate their own products with Vertafore’s offerings. He also predicted Vertafore users will see new developments in the client portal and accounting improvements in AMS360.
He said he looks forward to working more closely with NetVU’s Product Maintenance and Enhancement (PM&E) work groups and receiving PERS (Product Enhancement Request System) feedback as Vertafore refines its product roadmaps.
Zupon and Reed will both be at the
NetVU Conference in Nashville, March 23-25, 2017.
Click here to view the Town Hall recording. In order to access the recording, you will need your
NetVU.org credentials. For assistance with logging in, contact our operations team at
[email protected].
Americans nearing retirement have much more to consider than financial stability.
America’s retirement-age professionals today are living longer, healthier lives, and an increasing number find themselves at the edge of retirement, realizing they haven’t spent much time developing their plans for retired living. A recent Merrill Lynch
study found that “few retirees have thought through how they will spend their time in retirement, with 53 percent having hardly planned at all.” Another
study shared by the American Psychological Association demonstrated that emotional and psychological planning is a critical component of retirement-preparedness:
“Talk of preparing for retirement usually brings to mind financial issues. While you may have put a lot of thought and effort into preparing your financial portfolio,
how much thought have you given to preparing your psychological portfolio? Many people neglect this critical aspect of planning for their future.”
Having made financial plans, many soon-to-be retirees, either with the means to retire or a necessity to continue supplementing their income, quickly realize that they haven’t prepared their “psychological portfolio” with the same diligence. This is why experts like Dr. Nancy Schlossberg are encouraging potential retirees to weigh their priorities for the next chapter of life before they make definitive choices about retirement. After carrying out a study of 100 retirees, Dr. Schlossberg categorized the varying ways in which she thinks retirees psychologically approach the transition out of full-time work:
“Continuers who continued using existing skills and interests;
Adventurers who start entirely new endeavors;
Searchers who explore new options through trial and error;
Easy Gliders who enjoy unscheduled time letting each day unfold;
Involved Spectators who care deeply about the world, but engage in less active ways;
Retreaters who take time out or disengage from life.”
Looking at Schlossberg’s categories we see many of these psychological outlooks align with an ongoing interest in employment opportunities, and that’s no coincidence given current research’s findings. A recent
report by JP Morgan Chase indicates that 67% of employed Americans plan to work beyond age 65, with over 50% of those who do work during retirement citing their reason to continue working as “staying active and involved” as well as that they “enjoy working.” Recent data from the Pew Research Center
indicates that already, approximately 19% of people age 65 and older report being employed part-time or full-time, up from nearly 13% in 2000. Clearly, more retirement-age members of the workforce are working longer, and research shows they’re generally happy about it.
Even with the health, vibrancy, experience and desire to continue working, potential retirees have a lot to consider about retired life, and it involves more than considering their savings: what’s the meaningful way to retire, what does a well-lived retirement look like, and how and when, if at all, does work play a part? For a number of retirement-age people who know they want to approach this next phase for a time, as Schlossberg says, by “using existing skills and interests”, flexible work opportunities are a natural fit. Companies like Work At Home Vintage Experts, offer “continuers” in particular, or as we call them at WAHVE, “pretirees”, the opportunity they’re looking for: to continue using their experience and knowledge, with the freedom of contract-based work and flexible hours that affords them the ability to enjoy, in addition to meaningful work, leisure and other engaging activities.
The benefits of a well-thought out transition from full-time work to flexible work in retirement, as we call it, “pretirement”, is reinforced by current
research, which shows that healthy adults who retired “past age 65 had an 11% lower risk of death from all causes.” In a recent
piece on redefining yourself in retirement, Dan Kadlec described this benefit powerfully: “Because your identity in retirement is so tied to your current interests […] it is critical that you spend your postcareer doing something that matters. Failing to find a purpose can lead to depression and myriad health issues, studies show.” Work at home vintage experts (wahves) operating as independent contractors with flexible hours and remote work environments, know firsthand how beneficial this kind of work-life balance can be to pretirees’ lifestyle and fulfillment. Flexible work situations allow professionals phasing into retirement to transition meaningfully and healthily – to continue working enjoyably and productively, while also empowering them to explore new avenues for their energy, skills and interests in this new chapter of their lives.
Interested in becoming a wahve?
More and more soon-to-be retirees are seeking the means to pursue new and meaningful ways of living life day to day, which for many includes ongoing opportunities to work flexibly and autonomously. Historically, the U.S. economy and corporate culture has had little to offer retirees in the way of engaging flexible work, but recent years have evidenced a surge in both demand and opportunities for retirees to pursue new ways of working in the wake of their departure from full-time employment. Places like WAHVE meet a pressing business need in a working world that is grappling with its largest generation of professionals phasing into retirement. We offer employees the opportunity to be independent contractors, so they can continue to offer their expertise to the insurance industry while affording them increased flexibility and time for new pursuits and work-life balance. At WAHVE we are proud to be part of an innovative business solution that empowers pretirees to live and work productively and meaningfully.
Are you nearing retirement? Interested in phasing into retirement by working from home, and creating the schedule and workload that works for you?
Apply today.
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About the author
Sharon Emek, Ph.D., CIC, is the CEO and founder of Work At Home Vintage Experts (WAHVE), an innovative contract staffing talent solution. WAHVE matches retiring insurance professionals leaving the regular workforce to insurance firms to meet their full- or part-time staffing needs. Insurance firms benefit by improving productivity and lowering costs. WAHVE’s unique qualifying process and technology platform match the right “pretirees” wherever they may live to the needs of insurance firms wherever they are located.
WAHVE bridges the gap between insurance firms’ staffing needs and seasoned professionals’ “work-life” balance preferences as they phase into retirement.
WAHVE.com
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It can be challenging to fit local user group meetings into your schedule, but NetVU Chapters, Education, and Partners are here to help. Our user group volunteers have been working hard to provide virtual opportunities on the latest hot topics to help you better utilize your Vertafore system.
The best part of these virtual meetings is that they’re open to all NetVU members so you have the opportunity to connect to other users and education that you might not normally have access to for a local meeting. Sign up to receive a copy of the webinar recording if you aren’t able to join during the designated meeting time.
View our Meetings & Events Calendar, and Register Now.
Wednesday, 1/11 at 10:30 a.m. Central – Making Download Work for You – Part 1
Come away with the knowledge and tools to build your download plan for your agency. With this class, go beyond the tools and information to make download work to your advantage, and come away with the ability to build a written download plan for your agency regardless of whether you are NEW to download or REVISITING for a check-up.
Wednesday, 1/11 at 11:00 a.m. Central – Interoffice Dynamics: Sales vs. Service, Presented by Omnia
Join us as we discuss how behavioral assessments can unlock the mystery of your agency’s sales and service dynamic. The Omnia Profile lays it all out. It explains why we are the way we are and why that’s a good thing. By understanding the behavioral strengths, challenges and preferences of your team, you really can work together to reach common goals. We’ll talk about how the dynamics between sales and service can make your agency unstoppable!
Thursday, 1/19 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern – IVANS, ReferenceConnect, AMS360 Texting
Please join the Michigan NetVU Chapter for our Winter Wonderland virtual meeting. We have a great lineup to kick off 2017 including presentations on IVANS, ReferenceConnect, and AMS360 Texting. This meeting is open to all NetVU members.
Wednesday, 1/25 at 9:00 a.m. Central – Microsoft OneNote
Join the Midwest Sagitta Users Group (MSUG) for our upcoming meeting. We'll be meeting virtually from the convenience of your desk. SMART I.T. Services' Bryant Caudill will present on Microsoft OneNote - what is and how to use it. All NetVU members are welcome!
View our Meetings & Events Calendar, and Register Now.
Tips from NCOM Posts 
Laure Miller, Johl & Company, Westwood, NJ
Considering DB commission download. How much of a time saver will this be as opposed to having our processing team enter each commission manually?
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Kathryn Ireland, Rossmann Hurt Hoffman Insurance, Ellicott City, MD
I am just setting up CRQ to put on our website. If you have set it up, how do you handle login credentials for carriers? Do you just pick one employee's login and password for each carrier?
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Jay Boyd, Karber Boyd Insurance, Lufkin, TX
We have discovered that we are not able to have the name and dba transferred to ACORD or receipts from a business contact. Are we missing something or is there a work around others have discovered?
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Ronny Nauert, Specialty Insurance Managers Inc., Austin, TX
What method of verification are you using to check the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN) against named insureds on your quotes?
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