In addition to having realized significant — legendary, even — accomplishments in their respective fields, former President Gerald Ford, investment icon Warren Buffet, dancer extraordinaire Fred Astaire and tennis great Andy Roddick all have something in common with NetVU Chair Barbara Dale, CPCU, CISR, CPIW. They hail from Omaha, Nebraska.
Forbes not long ago called the grown-up cow town the nation's number one "Best Bang-for-the-Buck City." Not only is Omaha home of five Fortune 500 company headquarters and host to the annual College World Series baseball tournament, it’s the perfect place to find an over-the-top steak dinner in a vibrant, cobblestone-street-adorned downtown.
Barb, who assumed the NetVU chair position on July 1, 2016, has been in the insurance business for more than 30 years. Today she serves as principal and director of operations at Omaha-based SilverStone Group, a 72-year-old insurance, risk management and program business firm with offices in Council Bluffs, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Portland, Oregon; and Scottsdale, Arizona.
In addition to her day job overseeing the service staff of SilverStone’s Property & Casualty Risk Services Division, Barb is an engaged industry volunteer. She’s held various roles within NetVU — including that of past president of the Big Red Nebraska chapter. She also is an ACORD User Groups Information Exchange (AUGIE) leader, past president of the Insurance Women of Omaha and of the Independent Insurance Agents of Omaha, and a past director of the Omaha CPCU Society chapter. On top of that, she’s been recognized by the Insurance Women of Omaha as “Insurance Woman of the Year.”
An avid animal lover and health enthusiast, Barb’s business approach is to create a fun, family-like atmosphere as she and her team work to put client needs first — traits that will help the NetVU volunteer family maintain and enhance its focus on members. She’s passionate about innovation and always up for a challenge.
At the 2016 NetVU conference, Barb shared some thoughts on opportunities within the insurance business, the importance of paying it forward, and the value of automation and the NetVU community. She addresses some of these in a
blog post and will cover more in the weeks ahead.
We’re honored to have Barb Dale on the team and look forward to an exciting year ahead. And Barb would be honored to have you come alongside her for the benefit of our members.
If you’re interested in going beyond what comes in the box, you can find it at NetVU’s 2016 PowerUsers Growth & Innovation Summit. Are you someone who pushes the boundaries, and is always looking for the next big thing? Then, you need to be at NetVU’s 2016 PowerUsers Growth & Innovation Summit. Not happy with following the crowd, but thrilled to be a trailblazer? You guessed it…NetVU’s 2016 PowerUsers Growth & Innovation Summit is for you.
Join us in September at the beautiful Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch for two days of the best in technology solutions anywhere around. You’ll hear firsthand from the visionaries who are shaping technology in the insurance industry, not just in the next software release, but the next generation of solutions. Hear from Vertafore and other industry experts how the current disruption in our industry is leading to sweeping changes in the way we work – from software design, to cloud computing, to the changing face of tomorrow’s insurance worker. And, not just blue sky theory – you’ll see how real-world solutions are being designed to impact every facet of your business. Where else can your voice be joined together with your peers to influence the direction and future of insurance technology? Nowhere else but NetVU’s PowerUsers 2016!
Who should attend? Business Decision Makers, IT Professionals , System Administrators and Expert-Level users of Vertafore Core Systems. And, if you are in the C-Suite, you won’t want to miss the preconference sessions that start on Thursday – the CEO/CIO Summit. This is your chance to share your vision with Vertafore and carrier executives, to make sure your path to the future is aligned with your top partners, as well as other solution providers.
If you're committed to driving growth in your organization, join us September 15-17, 2016 in St. Louis, MO. Learn what is on the horizon for both your Vertafore system and the industry. Register now to receive the
EarlyBird rate of $429 - ends August 15.
Check out the itinerary .
PowerUsers event sponsorships and Solutions Showcase spots are still available, click here for details.
Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch
315 Chestnut Street, St. Louis, MO 63102
Make Reservations
Online or Call 314-655-1234
NetVU Group Rate: $159/night + tax until August 15, 2016
Whether it’s drafting a new contract, completing invoices, or filing timely claims, the insurance industry turns the paper “trail” into a four-lane highway. That’s why many in the business have turned to electronic signature solutions to take advantage of paperless convenience while maintaining the integrity of a verifiable signature.
The demand for e-signature solutions, coupled with the need for robust email encryption that protects nonpublic information (NPI), is why AppRiver has added a new e-signature solution to its CipherPost Pro™ email encryption platform, which already includes secure messaging, file sharing and email tracking for a low monthly fee.
How e-signatures and encrypted email work.
Many people mistakenly believe that since standard email does not physically change hands, it is more secure that standard mail. However, email is arguably less secure than a post card traveling from Tahiti to New York, with every postal worker (network server) along the way having eyes on it. Heaven forbid it ends up in the wrong recipient’s mailbox (inbox).
Unlike standard email, encrypted email and secure e-signature solutions don’t pass from server to server or even inbox to inbox. Instead, they live on a secure server within the cloud. When users need to e-sign documents or read encrypted email, they are taken to the secure server to view and sign the document in question, rather than the documents or emails being sent to their inboxes.
With secure e-signatures, signatories sign documents by opening the email attachment, typing their name into the e-signature certificate field, and clicking to acknowledge their signature. All of this occurs right within their email client. In addition, CipherPost Pro automatically tracks documents and alerts the sender when documents are signed via desktop and mobile alert notifications.
Secure e-signatures and email encryption: the dynamic duo.
Unlike many stand-alone e-signature solutions that require users to log in to the secure platform in their browsers, this new secure e-signature offering is unique in that it integrates directly into Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office 365 and other web-based email clients, meaning no additional steps must be taken to e-sign a document.
Additionally, it provides an alternative to costly and inefficient signing and transmission of paper documents with a simple “click-to-acknowledge” function directly from within the email client.
CipherPost Pro’s new e-signature solution keeps documents encrypted and secure from the sender’s inbox to the signatory’s, even when stored. Whether an adjuster filing a claims report, a medical office administrator in charge of billing, or an HR manager in charge of insurance benefits, an agency’s employees can sign all insurance-related documents within seconds from their user inboxes.
In addition to helping businesses remain compliant with HIPAA and other regulations governing how NPI is transmitted, AppRiver's cloud-based e-signature solution helps customers improve productivity and lower costs by reducing courier, fax or email/print/scan costs. It gives users a convenient, fast way to e-sign and exchange various types and sizes of electronic documents and protects sensitive or regulated data.
Additional features at no additional cost.
Here are the features CipherPost Pro users can expect with the new e-signature upgrade:
- Maximum security. Encrypt and protect documents with one click. Files are fully secured and signed documents are stored encrypted.
- User authentication. Every user is authenticated before e-signing and sending a document.
- E-signature non-repudiation. Full authentication, tracking and e-signing data is appended to the document.
- Real-time activity alerts. Users receive automatic notifications of e-signatures and message activity.
- Selectable data residency. Choose a data center location for documents and emails for regulatory compliance.
- Support for large files and various file types. Validate sizable documents such as complex PDFs as well as other file types, including x-rays, without size limitations.
- Contributed to original sender. Emails to signatories originate from the sender’s name, eliminating confusion about who owns and sent the information.
- Mobile functionality. Messages can be sent, signed and tracked through mobile apps for iOS, Android, Windows 10 and Blackberry 10.
The subscription price for a CipherPost Messaging Pro Account, which includes secure e-signatures, in addition to enterprise-level security, tracking and control, large file attachment, and information workflows, is $7.95 per month per user and is free for guest users.
To find out more about CipherPost Pro from AppRiver, visit AppRiver.
Register for the upcoming webinar cohosted by AppRiver and NetVU.
Thursday, August 18 - 11:00 a.m. - Register Now
On June 10, Conner Strong & Buckelew employees volunteered at four organizations in the Camden, New Jersey, area, giving back nearly 5,000 hours of their time as part of the company’s fourth annual Community Day.
Founded in 1959, Conner Strong & Buckelew is one of the nation’s largest insurance brokerage, risk management and employee benefits brokerage and consulting firms. The company has a team of nearly 400 professionals serving clients throughout the U.S. and overseas.
“It has always been a priority of Conner Strong & Buckelew to give back to the community,” says George Norcross, the company’s executive chairman. “It is an important demonstration of our commitment to be a force for positive change in the communities where we work and live.”
Employees volunteered at three New Jersey locations — Cooper's Poynt Middle School in Camden, Harbor House in Toms River and Deidre's House in Morristown — and at the Elizabeth W. Murphy School in Dover, Delaware. Both Harbor House and Deirdre’s House are shelters for homeless, neglected or abused youth.
“By working with these four well-deserving organizations, we are helping to transform the lives of those in our community for the better,” Norcross says.
More than 130 employees volunteered at Cooper's Poynt Middle School, located near Conner Strong & Buckelew’s Philadelphia and Marlton headquarters. Volunteers partnered with the more than 800 students and staff on a range of activities, including a math workshop, an anti-bullying speech, general landscaping, furniture building and mural painting.
Conner Strong & Buckelew is proud to have repeatedly been named a top corporate giver by the Philadelphia Business Journal. The firm is well known in the tristate area and in the insurance industry for its employee volunteerism and charitable-giving initiatives.
Do you have some good news you'd like to share. Be sure to send it to
[email protected].
If you could have on-demand access to your agency’s download connections and visibility into additional opportunities, would you want it?
By using all of the download connections available to you –
including ACORD eDocs & ACORD Messages, Claims and Commercial Lines – you streamline workflows to drive more productivity across your agency.
IVANS Exchange is a complimentary tool that offers you a comprehensive view of your current and potential download activity with carriers, including a graphical agency connectivity dashboard, on-demand, customizable IVANS Connections Report and download usage reports.
The
Agency Connectivity Dashboard is a graphical, customized dashboard that provides you with a single view into your current and available carrier download connections, download transaction volume, and newly activated lines of business downloads by carrier.
The
IVANS Connections Report provides a personalized report for you to review download connections that are inactive or have yet to be activated. It’s updated daily with the latest carrier download offerings and can be customized depending on what information you need. To date, nearly 34,000 customizations have been made by agents utilizing this tool. Within the report, you can indicate available lines of business of interest for future download, mark lines of business that are not currently available from select carriers, or note lines of business that you are actively choosing not to download and why. Keeping track of this information enables you to better manage your download connections.
Additionally, agency download usage reports identify the number of download transactions you are receiving per line of business and per carrier, all within the IVANS Exchange dashboard.
Nearly 5,000 agencies have registered for IVANS Exchange and customized their IVANS Connections Report.
IVANS Exchange drives higher productivity and delivers enhanced customer service through better management of carrier connections. IVANS provides continual enhancements to our carrier-agency interface solutions to improve connectivity and data exchange for your business. We remain focused on the leading edge of interface technology to ensure IVANS solutions can continuously enhance your agent relationships and maximize the value of the independent agent distribution channel.
Visit
IVANS Exchange today to learn more.
Register for the upcoming webinar cohosted by IVANS and NetVU.
Increase Carrier Connections to Drive Productivity Webinar
Thursday, September 8, 2016
2:00 Central -
Register Now
Request your user credentials for IVANS Exchange
It can be challenging to fit local users group meetings into your schedule, but NetVU Chapters are here to help. Our Chapter Leader 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 be able to access during 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 Chapter Meeting Calendar, and Register Now.
Upcoming Virtual Chapter Meetings:
Wednesday, 8/10 Hit Your Marketing Goals Using Target Lists - 10:00 a.m. Pacific
Join our Golden State NetVU Chapter for “Hitting Your Marketing Goals Using Target Lists,” presented by Michael Trouillon of Insurance Agency Automation Associates. Learn how to select the criteria to analyze and choose customers from your own database to run effective marketing and communications programs. You will also see how the tool can be used to help you clean up your database to enhance your agency efficiency.
Thursday, 8/11 AMS360 Invoicing A-Z - 9:30 a.m. Central
Join our MidAmerica Users Group for “AMS360 Invoicing A-Z” with Angela Adams Consulting’s Angela Ford. Angela is an AMS360 guru and will eliminate any confusion you may have.
Thursday, 8/11 London Discussion Group Meeting - 2:00 p.m. Central
Join the NetVU AIM and MGA Users Group for their “London Discussion Work Group Meeting.” The purpose is to gather a group of MGAs who write business in the London marketplace and want to work together to help move forward with bordereau data extraction out of AIM as well as to identify other London challenges we are having.
Thursday, 8/18 Advanced Training for eForms, EZ/Faster Workflows - 11:00 a.m. Eastern
Join the Michigan NetVU Chapter for “Advanced Training on eForms, Setups, Applications, Certs/EPIs, Importing and Exporting Data within eForms,” and “EZ/Faster Workflows” with BluBridge Solutions’ Stephanie A. Zuck, CISR, NcAM.
Thursday, 8/18 AMS360 Accounting Tips & Tricks - 1:30 p.m. Central
Join our AMS360 Accounting Chapter for “AMS360 Tips & Tricks” with a focus on accounting and e-forms with Vertafore’s Carleen Sams.
Wednesday, 8/24 Everything You Wanted to Know about the Renewal List Tool - 10:00 a.m. Pacific
Join the Pacific Northwest AMS360 Chapter and Angela Adams Consulting’s Angela Painter to learn about the renewal list tool including setups, security, running renewal lists, how to manage your renewals and monitor the stage they are in by using renewal comments, marketing, and renewing right from the tool.
Wednesday, 9/7 NetVU AIM & MGA Users Group Meeting - 2:00 p.m. Central
Mark your calendar and save the date to join our NetVU AIM & MGA Users Group for their upcoming meeting.
Thursday, 9/8 London Discussion Group Meeting - 10:00 a.m. Central
Join the NetVU AIM and MGA Users Group for their “London Discussion Work Group Meeting.” The purpose is to gather a group of MGAs who write business in the London marketplace and want to work together to help move forward with bordereau data extraction out of AIM as well as to identify other London challenges we are having.
Tuesday, 9/13 BenefitPoint Users Group (BPUG) Meeting - 2:00 p.m. Central
Mark your calendar and save the date to join our BenefitPoint Users Group for their upcoming meeting.
View our Chapter Meeting Calendar, and register now.
The leadership of NetVU’s Michigan Chapter has been working hard to provide just the right mix of programming and resources for busy Vertafore users, and it’s paying off. Chapter President Rose Thompke, NcIA, accounting and office manager for Larkin Group of Traverse City, says attendance is up at meetings and members are enthusiastic about the Chapter’s offerings.
It doesn’t hurt that Thompke and her fellow Michigan Chapter board members all have a wealth of experience with Vertafore and are passionate about the company’s products. “I love Vertafore,” she says. “I think the technology is exceptional, especially in accounting.”
Thompke explains that most of the members of the Michigan Chapter board “have been active Vertafore users forever. They are a tremendous source of knowledge for our members.
“My agency is a long-time user of AMS,” Thompke notes. “Now we’re in the process of rolling out Vertafore’s Client Portal, and our customers are really embracing it.”
Past President Venus Tondreau, NcIA, NcSA, operations manager at Lake Michigan Insurance Agency in Grand Rapids, believes that having two virtual meetings and two face-to-face meetings a year is a good balance for the Chapter.
After the recession, the Chapter saw a falloff in attendance at its two-day meetings, she explains, so those were cut back to one day. Also, the Chapter made virtual seminars more affordable, charging $10 for 10 people at one connection to a webinar.
The Chapter is creating excitement and providing top-notch programming at reasonable prices, Thompke says, by tapping Chapter members and Vertafore staff as speakers and by using catchy promotions. For example, the upcoming e-forms seminar, “To E-Finity and Beyond,” features Buzz Lightyear of Toy Story.
The Chapter maintains a Facebook
group page, where members can view upcoming events, post comments and share documents. Thompke says that PowerPoints are also posted on the Vertafore website. In addition, the Michigan Chapter has its own section on
NCOM, NetVU’s community forum.
“We provide the email addresses of everyone in our Chapter and encourage networking,” Thompke says. “It can be as simple as a few people getting together for drinks or exchanging emails.”
Thompke’s advice to Vertafore users is to join a Chapter and find a users group that works for them. NetVU makes it easy to
find a Chapter online, or just send an email to
[email protected] to get connected.
Thompke credits her board for the success of the Chapter. “Our board is exceptional. They all are very knowledgeable and willing to share that knowledge with the members.”
Many of the Michigan Chapter board members have served on
NetVU committees and earned certifications by taking online courses through
NetVU University. Thompke and Tondreau have both earned their NcIA (NetVU Certified Insurance Accounting) certification. Tondreau also has the NcSA (NetVU Certified System Administrator) certification.
“Every single board member contributes. Everyone steps up to the plate, and they all have great ideas,” Thompke says.
Find out how you can
get involved with NetVU by volunteering on a committee or work group, becoming a Chapter leader, being a mentor or being a presenter.
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