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  July 31, 2014

Human Rights Law amendment protects unpaid interns

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed a bill that amends the New York Human Rights Law by adding Section 296-c, "Unlawful discriminatory practices relating to interns" on July 24. The change in the law prohibits employers from discriminating against unpaid interns—and prospective interns—on the basis of age, race, religion, color, nation of origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, predisposed genetic characteristics, marital status or domestic violence victim status. More …  

Ride sharing moves forward in NYC

Media attention has focused on new developments in ride sharing. Among recent examples is an agreement between Lyft and New York state will allow the company to operate in New York City provided the company only uses commercial drivers who operate within existing laws and regulations. For more information about the insurance ramifications of ride sharing, see Ask PIA 900372-00 and the September issue of PIA magazine.  

NYPIUA improves commercial e-application

The New York Property Insurance Underwriting Association introduced improved electronic dwelling applications in April. Effective Aug. 15, 2014, these new features will be incorporated into the commercial application. To make it easier and more efficient for you to submit error free new business applications: 1.) You will be able to electronically attach supporting documents and photographs to the application; 2.) You can save an incomplete application to be completed at a later time; 3.) You can submit more than one application for an insured without reentering common information; 4.) If the final premium is known and it is less than the required deposit, you now have the option of submitting the full premium with the application; and 5.) If the mailing address is the same as the location address, you need to only enter it once. These new features eliminate the need for producers to submit paper applications. At some point in the future, the paper application will be phased out and will no longer be accepted. For more information, click here.  

WCB proposes update to WC medical fee schedule

The New York State Workers' Compensation Board announced the release of a discussion document on a proposal for a new Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Schedule. The New York Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Schedule has remained virtually unchanged for more than 20 years. During that period, advances in medicine have brought about changes to the cost, efficacy and availability of certain procedures, made other procedures obsolete, and generally altered the understanding of quality health care.  

Fugate, Flanigan testify before Senate Subcommittee on post-Sandy flood insurance

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development held a hearing on "The Flood Insurance Claims Process in Communities After Sandy: Lessons Learned and Potential Improvements" yesterdayat the Senate Office Building. More … Craig Fugate, administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, testified that more than 144,000 National Flood Insurance Program policyholders submitted notices of flood loss stemming from Hurricane Sandy; and, with more than 99 percent of claims closed, the NFIP has paid out more than $8.1 billion to enable the rebuilding of homes, businesses and communities. More … Maryann Flanigan, Esq., supervising attorney of the Legal Services of New Jersey Hurricane Sandy Legal Assistance Project, testified that "a potential federal remedy would be modifying NFIP language so that policies are written in clearer terms, and a directive from the NFIP requiring flood insurance agents to explain coverage limits to the insured." More … Donald Griffin, vice president of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, also testified.  

FEMA redesigns its Flood Map Service Center

The FEMA Flood Map Service Center is the official public source for flood hazard information produced in support of NFIP. The latest generation MSC (announced in Bulletin W-14039) serves as a streamlined product portal that provides both general and advanced users with intuitive, powerful and completely free-of-charge access to flood hazard products and tools. Flood Insurance Rate Maps, Flood Insurance Studies and all other information available on the MSC may be accessed and downloaded at no cost. For users looking to quickly find flood hazard information for a particular address or point of interest, the Address Search feature provides results through an easy-to-use map interface.  


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Ask PIA: WC disability benefit for concurrent employment

Q. My client’s employee was injured while working a second job and he will be unable to work for four months. Will his disability benefit include the wages from both jobs? Which employer is responsible for paying the benefit? A. According to the workers’ compensation statute, the employer for which the employee was working at the time of the injury is the one responsible for all wages from concurrent employment. For a comprehensive answer to this question, click here. To access our entire Ask PIA library of frequently asked questions and expert answers by PIA’s technical staff, click here.  

PIA helps members retain clients

Are you looking for a way to reach out to your clients? Think PIA first. PIA Creative Services can create unique marketing materials for your agency. From logos and letterhead to trade-show materials and personal- and commercial-lines newsletters, to self-mailer brochures and postcards, if you can think it, PIA Creative Services can make it a reality. These materials are the perfect tools for sales or retention in your agency—all at a fraction of the cost of an outside marketing firm. For more information, email Mike Lee at mlee@pia.org or click here.  

Commercial umbrella available through PIA

PIA’s umbrella programs, designed specifically for professional, independent insurance agents, provide needed additional financial security over the top of a number of errors-and-omissions products, as well as added protection over most commercial business policies. More …  

PIA, Floodbroker.com offer tool to help agents sell more flood insurance

PIANY and Floodbroker.com offer PIA-member agencies a unique sales tool to facilitate the sale of flood coverage and provide critical documentation of the agency’s efforts to do so. This exclusive agreement provides PIA-member agencies with a customized link installed on their own agency’s website to encourage current and prospective clients to consider and purchase flood coverage. The web portal leads consumers to flood insurance information, and with a simple application it will generate a quote for the customer, as well as a qualified lead for the agency to engage. More …  


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Upcoming NEO series offered through PIANY

PIANY offers its New Employee Orientation series, which are online courses designed for new insurance producers. Insurance professionals with less than 12 months’ experience, who do not have their insurance license, should consider taking New Employee Orientation for Agency Personnel. They will build a foundation of insurance knowledge; explore the "big picture" of insurance (including terms and key concepts); discover how the agency delivers service to customers; and learn the importance of errors-and-omissions and loss-prevention techniques. Commercial Lines Coverage Basics is designed for new employees with 9-12 months’ experience. Employees log on to the course via the computer each week to get the training they need. There’s no travel, no interruption to daily agency activity and, best of all, no time out of the office. Both sessions begin Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. NYCE: N/A. For more information or to register, click here.  

Upcoming Webinars offered by PIANY

PIANY will offer the following Webinars in the next few months: E&O Hotspots … 2014 and Beyond^FF^UM (Thursday, Sept. 4, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., NYCE: 3 BR, C3, LB, C1, LSB, LA, PC, PA); Agency Underwriting Profitability and Contingency Bonus Maximization (Thursday, Sept. 18, from 10-11:45 a.m., NYCE: 2 BR, C3, LB, C1, LSB, LA, PC, PA); An Intro to Cloud Computing and Managed Network Services, Data Security, Business Continuity (Tuesday, Sept. 23, from 10-11:30 a.m., NYCE: N/A); Agency Staffing, Performance and Job Evaluations (Thursday, Oct. 2, from 10-11 a.m., NYCE: N/A); E&O Hotspots … 2014 and Beyond^FF^UM (Thursday, Oct. 16, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., NYCE: 3 BR, C3, LB, C1, LSB, LA, PC, PA); Top Ten Personal Lines Endorsements (Tuesday, Oct. 21, from 10-11 a.m., NYCE: 1 BR, C3, PC, PA); and Ethics—Something Worth Pursuing (Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., NYCE: 3BR, C1, C3, LA, LB, LSB, PA, PC). ^FF^UM—This course has been approved for E&O loss-prevention credit by Fireman’s Fund and Utica Mutual. Call the PIA E&O Department for details at (800) 424-4244. For more information or to register, click here.  

Five steps to choosing an agency management system

Purchasing a new agency-management system is an expensive and challenging undertaking. PIA has developed a tool kit that offers a strategy to assist you in determining the best agency-management system for your organization. To request a copy of this document, access QS90743 in PIA QuickSource library.  

Utica First receives recognition

Utica First Insurance Co., recently received recognition from Ward Group, which named Utica First to its list of the 50 Top Performing Insurance Companies for 2014. More …  


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