In addition, participants are part of an exclusive community within NCOM (the NetVU Community) to generate ideas, keep each other accountable and access resource materials from Dr. Kelly and others.
“This is not an ordinary leadership program,” said Julie A. Freemire of The Burns Agency in Clinton, New York. “We didn’t leave with enthusiasm that can diminish once we’re back in the office. We left with tools to make positive changes, a support system to keep us motivated and the accountability to keep us on track.”
Laurie Gillam of GAD Insurance in Columbus, Ohio, said:
“NetVU has played such a huge role in my life. I am doing things I never thought possible. Involvement in the Volunteer Development Program has surpassed all my expectations, which were admittedly high to begin with. My action plan started on the plane ride home from Conference and hasn’t stopped. Communication at home and on the job has improved 100%. More importantly, I feel as though I am moving forward, no longer stuck in a hopeless situation. The next year promises to be filled with hard work, camaraderie and growth. I met the most amazing people from all over the country. You are all my support system, and I trust you all completely.”
A new class of volunteer leaders will begin the Volunteer Development Program in 2018. Watch for information on how and when to apply. Meanwhile, learn about NetVU volunteer opportunities at:
https://netvu.informz.net/survistapro/sn.asp?gid=11D134FA-4CB7-48CD-954F-DAD0E975D47B.
This year’s NetVU Automation Excellence Award winners in the agency category share a common success driver: the adoption of new technology to increase efficiency, growth and profitability. The 2017 winners are Patterson & Associates Insurance Agency in Richardson, Texas (Small Agency/25 Users or Less), and The Crichton Group in Nashville, Tennessee (Large Agency/More Than 25 Users).
NetVU’s Automation Excellence Award recognizes carriers, MGAs and agencies that have made significant achievements in automation technology and have produced advances in productivity, profitability and service for NetVU members.
Patterson & Associates uses NetVU and Vertafore resources to leverage technology in the most efficient ways possible. The firm uses AMS360, BenefitPoint, PL Rating, Vertafore Agency Platform, Client Portal, TransactNOW, AgencyEDGE, ReferenceConnect, Producer Plus and DocuSign.
“At Patterson & Associates, we take advantage of learning the technology and processing the information that allows us to service our clients better,” says Mincey Williams, CAM, operations manager. “Being ahead of technology and changing with it is has always been a passion for this agency, so being recognized for such an award says a lot about what we have accomplished and how much more there is to come.”
Embracing technology has made the agency more responsive to customers. Clients can access their ID cards and important documents safely and securely 24/7. These improvements in automation have made servicing accounts much easier for both the account manager and the client.
Patterson & Associates has also made training a high priority. It’s taken steps to educate employees, giving them the ability to do their jobs better, resulting in a vast improvement in the overall work flow of the agency.
The Crichton Group uses Sagitta, AMS360 and TransactNOW. The firm’s culture has changed from one that was averse to technology to one that embraces it and celebrates new ideas. Employees feel a sense of empowerment and know management will be receptive to suggestions, whether it’s software development, process changes or creative solutions. The firm offers frequent classes on its technologies and gives employees incentives to participate.
“Being recognized by NetVU speaks to the adaptability and engagement of our employees,” says Ryan Deeds, Crichton Group IT director. “The technology is easy, but the adoption is difficult. It takes a change in culture to do what we are doing, and that's what we have crafted. Our employees bring us problems and solutions we build out, and that's where innovation comes from. It’s fun to work at a place like this.”
Last year, the Crichton Group saw 20% growth in revenue. Yet, because of technology, there was only a 5% increase in staff. Deeds believes his firm’s commitment to a culture that emphasizes efficiency and utilization is a key driver in its success.
To find out more about the NetVU Awards program, see the
Awards page on the NetVU website, or contact Melissa Bond, NetVU’s member relations manager, at
[email protected].
Nearly every day, we see headlines of a new cyberattack that has stolen sensitive data from one industry or held files hostage from another.
It is alarmingly clear that no industry is safe from these types of attacks, and businesses must be more vigilant than ever to keep their data and their clients’ data out of the hands of cybercriminals.
But it seems more industries are starting to take cyber risks very seriously and are taking the necessary steps to protect themselves, as well as their clients’ information.
According to experts at PwC, many industries are turning to cyber insurance to mitigate any losses that occur from a data breach. The cyber insurance market is set to triple in the next several years — reaching nearly $7.5 billion by 2020. And while this type of insurance may cover losses related to a breach of customer data, it will not cover the loss of intangible assets such as intellectual property, brand damage, business interruption, or revenue loss — just to name a few.
One of the biggest things to note is most of these policies include exclusion language for attacks that occur as a result of poor security practices. That’s significant because it highlights the fact that insurance companies intend to be the last line of defense against cyberattacks, not the first. It also underscores the need for businesses (including insurance agencies themselves) to take every practical measure to secure their networks.
“What the cyber insurers are saying, in effect, is that companies must step up to the plate and get serious about cybersecurity or they won’t pay for the losses,” said Troy Gill, manager of security research for AppRiver. “That’s good because it’s a market-based enforcement mechanism that will encourage best practices among all businesses that seek coverage.”
Though it is impossible to make your system 100% safe from attack, there are many safeguards that can make businesses less vulnerable.
For exampe, a business can run regular software and hardware updates to help lessen their risk of attack.
“Software and hardware updates often contain security patches to holes that malware, like ransomware, wiggles its way through,” Gill said. “The best type of regular software updates are the automatic ones, but if that is not feasible, at least set up notifications to let you know when the latest update is available.”
However, the best way to reduce the risk of a catastrophic cyberattack is to implement a layered security approach.
The key layers include Policies & Training, Filtering & Encryption Services and Security Software.
Layer I: Policies & Training
Phishing and spear-phishing attackers use a mix of social engineering and spoofed email addresses to obtain confidential information belonging to employees and customers. As well-known as these types of attacks are, there’s a reason they still exist: People still fall for them.
One of the best defenses against hackers is to implement consistent user training as well as enforce email polices. However, an estimated 80% of organizations don’t conduct security testing. Security policies and training should be reviewed continuously to keep up with the changing threatscape.
“Network admins have told us many times that it’s their own coworkers who cause them the most concern,” Gill said. “The technology solutions can be rendered useless if company employees don’t understand or follow good security practices.”
Layer II: Filtering & Encryption Services
Email is still the preferred means by which hackers can infect your computers. The good news is that high-quality spam filtering services can eliminate all but a tiny fraction of that risk. But it’s a good idea to do some research and make sure that the service is business-grade. If the spam and virus protection comes free, it’s probably worth exactly that.
In addition to spam and virus protection, effective web filters will block a user who clicks on a malicious link and prevent malware from “calling home” while uploading the user's data to a hacker’s server. When web and spam filtering are employed in a layered approach, even sophisticated URL rewriting attacks can be stopped.
Encryption is another critical aspect of a layered security approach. Transport Layer Security (TLS) is the most common form of encryption, but it only protects in transit. To protect emails, point-to-point encryption — which encrypts the message immediately — is necessary to protect the email throughout the entirety of its lifecycle.
Layer III: Security Software
While cloud-based filtering and encryption services can reduce the risk of email-borne malware, it’s important to have the most suitable locally-installed security software to complement your filter as a final line of defense. Layered security is once again important as attacks come in different forms and no solution can possibly block all of them from your inbox. For example: An anti-virus solution can block and quarantine infected files brought in via local media, whereas a network firewall cannot. A network firewall is intended to block attacks from outside the network. Locally-installed security software solutions should include anti-virus protection, content and image control and the ability to adapt to avoid lapses in security.
In the case of ransomware, a secure and current backup of all your files could save you time, money and many headaches.
“A secure backup allows you to rid your network of malware and restore your files,” Gill said. “Sure, it is a pain, but it means you don’t have to pay a criminal and hope he keeps his word to un-encrypt your data.”
Having cyber insurance may be a smart investment for businesses, but building layers of security around your network is even smarter. The former can reimburse you for some of your losses. The latter will keep you from suffering those losses in the first place.
For more information about implementing a layered security plan for your business, check out AppRiver’s
website and download our
free whitepaper.
To drive higher agent productivity and better service for insureds, your agency requires an easier way to track your insurer download connections. IVANS provides a single exchange to seamlessly view current and new download activity with insurer partners, so you can better understand the types of business conducted with specific insurers. Leverage IVANS Exchange to access comprehensive download dashboards that give you valuable insight into your download activity. Instantly track potential connections to pinpoint new growth opportunities, and communicate directly with insurers to indicate download quality and future download connections of interest.
The complimentary online tool enables your business to:
- Expand insurer connectivity to drive higher agent productivity.
- Access a complete view of your download activity to maximize new download opportunities.
- Boost operational efficiency to reduce time spent manually managing administrative tasks.
To learn more about how you can increase automation at your agency, attend the upcoming complimentary webinar hosted by IVANS, Optimize Your Insurer Download.
Register for this webinar to be held July 26 at 2:00 p.m. to drive greater productivity and to provide better customer service through automated download of policy-related information from your insurer partners.
Register Now!
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.
Friday, 7/7 at 11:00 a.m. Central – AMS360-What’s Lost Within Your Management System - Lesson 1
Join fellow AMS360 and Vertafore Agency Platform user Joyce Sigler as she takes a deep dive into Lesson 1 of this 4-part AMS360 series “What’s Lost within Your Management System.” Lesson 1 will cover: New ACORD Forms Demo and Review – Formats, Updates and Data Collection.
Tuesday, 7/11 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific – Certificates in AMS360 - What You Need to Know
Join the Golden State NetVU Chapter for our upcoming virtual meeting! Missy Bishop of Angela Adams Consulting will cover "What You Need to Know about Certificates" including: best practices for certificates, importing certificate holders, refining certificate holders, eForm attachments, bulk distribution, reports, eForm updates, and Q&A.
Wednesday, 7/12 at 10:30 a.m. Central – Making Download Work for You - Part 2
Come back to Part 2 – where you’ll learn how to include the information found in the download reports in your written plan, and ask any questions that have come up during your review of download in your agency and your implementation of your agency’s written plan.
NetVU offers monthly download webinars. Stay tuned to our
Meetings & Events Calendar for details on the next webinar.
Wednesday, 7/12 at 2:00 p.m. Central – NetVU AIM & MGA Users Group Meeting
Save the date to join the NetVU AIM & MGA Users Group for our upcoming meeting.
Thursday, 7/13 at 11:30 a.m. Central – Accounting Unique to Insurance Agencies - July/August 2017 Sessions
Sign up for this four-part series to learn how and why insurance agency accounting differs from standard bookkeeping and accounting practices. Learn from an expert about agency-specific tasks - Melissa Kwasniewski, Upstate Agency will guide your journey through these concepts vital to effectively running the financial aspect of your agency. This course is applicable to all insurance management systems and is not specific to any single Vertafore management system.
Friday, 7/14 at 11:00 a.m. Central – AMS360-What’s Lost Within Your Management System - Lesson 2
Join fellow AMS360 and Vertafore Agency Platform user Joyce Sigler as she takes a deep dive into Lesson 2 of this 4-part AMS360 series “What’s Lost within Your Management System.” Lesson 2 will cover: New ACORD Forms Audience Q & A; SIC/NAIC Code Fields Use and Data Flow.
Tuesday, 7/18 at 12:00 p.m. Central – Easy Submissions with AVYST eForms Wizard
We live in an ACORD form world. AVYST eForms Wizard improves the submission process for all lines of business by removing redundant entry onto ACORD forms, allowing agencies to connect prospects to potential markets faster and easier. During this session, we will demonstrate how eForms Wizard removes complexity for fast, easy and complete submissions every time. Once and done with AVYST eForms Wizard!
Tuesday, 7/18 at 2:00 p.m. Central – BenefitPoint Users Group (BPUG) Meeting
Save the date to join the BenefitPoint Users Group for our upcoming meeting.
Friday, 7/21 at 11:00 a.m. Central – AMS360-What’s Lost Within Your Management System - Lesson 3
Join fellow AMS360 and Vertafore Agency Platform user Joyce Sigler as she takes a deep dive into Lesson 3 of this 4-part AMS360 series “What’s Lost within Your Management System.” Lesson 3 will cover: Security Groups; Bonus: Security to Control Additional Interests Setup.
Wednesday, 7/26 at 2:00 p.m. – Central Optimize Your Insurer Download - Presented by IVANS
Drive greater productivity and provide better customer service through automated download of policy-related information from your insurer partners. IVANS Exchange enables you to increase insurer download connectivity by providing a simpler way for you to create customized agency reports and receive direct communication on new download connections opportunities. Join IVANS’ Cal Durland on this webinar to learn about this complimentary tool provided by IVANS, a NetVU silver partner.
Friday, 7/28 at 11:00 a.m. Central – AMS360-What’s Lost Within Your Management System - Lesson 4
Join fellow AMS360 and Vertafore Agency Platform user Joyce Sigler as she takes a deep dive into Lesson 4 of this 4-part AMS360 series “What’s Lost within Your Management System.” Lesson 4 will cover: VSSO-Using Vertafore Single Sign-On to Manage User Access and Open the Door to TransactNOW and Other System Features.
Tuesday, 8/1 at 1:00 p.m. Central – WorkSmart Chapter Meeting
Save the date to join the WorkSmart Chapter for our upcoming meeting.
View our Meetings & Events Calendar, and Register Now.
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