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  Aug. 14, 2014

Ride sharing to be a featured topic at NAIC meeting

Insurance industry groups will discuss ride-sharing regulations, and other topics at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Summer National Meeting. The discussion will take place on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., during the NAIC Summer National Meeting in Louisville, Ky. This event will feature a panel of experts, including representatives from ride-sharing and car-sharing companies, insurance regulators, insurers and consumer representatives. It will be moderated by California State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. Panelists will address insurance and policy issues related to the emerging commercial ride-sharing and car-sharing industries. Commercial ride-sharing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, and car-sharing companies, such as RelayRides and Zipcar, have gained in popularity in dozens of U.S. cities over the past few years. More … PIA will have an article on ride sharing in your September edition of PIA magazine. Also, watch for PIA’s two-minute survey on this developing issue, launching Sept. 1.  

Forecasters: Below-normal hurricane season expected

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects three to six hurricanes to form during the peak hurricane season (mid-August to mid-November). The organization said the Atlantic hurricane season will continue to be quieter than originally predicted—seven to 12 named hurricanes. Nevertheless, in the event that a hurricane makes its way up the East Coast, PIA will update its Storm Info Central with all the current information related to the storm. Yet, with the recent thunderstorms causing severe flash flooding throughout New York state, it’s a good time to go over the how to deal with flooded automobiles. Check out Ask PIA 900300 to learn more about the insurance implications for your automobile insureds.   


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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 …  

Ask PIA: Misdemeanor charges for licensees

We recently received the following inquiry: Q. I’m a licensed insurance agent in New York and I was recently arrested. Ultimately, I will plea all charges to a misdemeanor. Our agency’s insurance license is up for renewal and I know I have to notify the New York State Department of Financial Services of this. Is this something that could make me exempt from being able to be licensed? A. It depends. For a more 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.   

PIANY offers E&O assistance to members

Your PIANY membership gives you access to an industry expert on errors-and-omissions questions. These issues are of utmost importance to your day-to-day agency operation—don’t let these important questions keep you up at night. Let PIA’s E&O Consultant Robert Sullivan, Esq., who has expertise in the defense of insurance agents and brokers in professional liability and complex insurance litigation, help you. To pose a question, email resourcecenter@pia.org or fax your inquiry to the PIA Industry Resource Center at (888) 225-6935. Additionally, your association also offers quality E&O insurance coverage for insurance agents and brokers. For an immediate, no-obligation quote, click here. To see a listing of PIANY’s E&O-related courses, many of which offer a discount on your E&O coverage, click here.  


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Need CE and don’t want to leave your office? Think PIA first.

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.  

New York City contracts

Agents and brokers need to make certain that clients are aware that the scope of indemnity that is provided by available insurance may not relieve them of responsibilities required by New York City agencies. Securing manuscript wording often may not be possible. Even if special language is negotiated, it still may not fully comply with the city's requirements. For further information on this topic, access QS31377 in PIA’s QuickSource library.  


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