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Durland to be named Hudson Valley RAP Industry Professional of the Year

PIANY will present Cal Durland, CPCU, with its Industry Professional of the Year award at the annual Hudson Valley Regional Awareness Program, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014. The event will be held at the Doubletree Hotel, Tarrytown. Durland is director of industry relations for ACORD. This award recognizes an individual from an insurance company, general agency, managing general agency or other insurance profession, who has demonstrated qualities that foster a strong working relationship with agents and brokers, and who has exemplified a commitment to professionalism and service. More …   

Superstorm Sandy after two years

This week marks the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. With this milestone in mind, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo released a report on the state’s ongoing recovery. The report includes first-hand accounts from homeowners, small businesses and other community members who have been assisted by the NY Rising umbrella. More … To reread accounts of how some PIA members reacted to the storm, click here.  

Confused about all the FEMA updates?

Don’t miss The National Flood Insurance Program Revised and Updated, a PIANY Webinar led by Rita Hollada, CIC, CPCU, CPIA, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, from 10 a.m.-noon. This Webinar will discuss the provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 and the Homeowners Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, including what has been delayed and what has been reversed. Additionally, Hollada will review the flood manual changes that continue to bring the NFIP in compliance with the mandates of these two laws affecting flood insurance availability and pricing. She also will discuss the changes effective Oct. 1, 2014, and April 1, 2015. NYCE: TBA. For more information or to register, click here.  

Improper certificates of insurance affect you

Three-out-of-four independent insurance agents who participated in PIANY’s October Two-Minute Survey agreed that there is a large and growing problem regarding the improper use of certificates of insurance in New York. Ninety-four percent of them believe that the improper use of certificates of insurance creates situations in which proper insurance coverage is not in place, putting both workers and the general public at risk. An overwhelming 91 percent believe that there is a need for state law to address the problem of improper certificates of insurance by regulating the use of certificate forms and requiring that certificates clearly and accurately reflect the coverages in the policy. PIANY has worked to pass legislation to do that, and the bill is now headed to the governor’s desk. Have you written to the governor to tell him that certificates of insurance pose a problem? If you haven’t, please do it now. Write Gov. Cuomo a letter on your agency’s letterhead and help PIANY show strong, broad-based support for our certificates of insurance reform bill (A.9590 Morelle/S.6545-A Seward), and send us a copy. More …  

Enact industry change at the political level—Sign up for fall DOVs

Each year at the beginning of autumn, your association kicks off its District Office Visit Program. Now is the time to reach out to your state legislators to set a time to meet with them before they return to office in early 2015 and discuss important issues to professional, independent insurance agents and their clients. PIANY facilitates these meetings, which take place November through January, and give us a head start on priority issues for the coming session. PIANY will help prepare volunteers with background information and talking points, so you can speak confidently on the most pressing issues. Participation is easy. PIA staff will even attend meetings to support your visit. Interested in participating? Email govaffairs@pia.org or call the Government & Industry Affairs Department at (800) 424-4244.  

Survey: Most independent agents expect continued growth

According to a recent survey conducted by Aite and commissioned by Vertafore, 70 percent of large agencies are "very optimistic" about future growth, compared to only 25 percent of small agencies. Primary contributors included increasing commoditization and reliance on personal lines, such as auto insurance and limited technology adoption among smaller agencies. To read more on the survey, click here.  

ELANY stamping fee reduced

The Department of Financial Services has approved a reduction in the Excess Line Association of New York stamping fee from 0.2 percent to 0.18 percent. This goes into effect for all excess line polices with an inception date on and after July 1, 2015. The excess line tax remains 3.6 percent of New York taxable premium. More ...  

NYCIRB updates policyholder rights of dispute and appeal

The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board has announced in R.C. Bulletin 2378 amendments to the New York Workers’ Compensation and Employers Liability Manual and the New York Experience Rating Plan Manual that will increase the visibility to employers of the process available for appealing Board or carrier decisions. The language under Administrative Rule, Item M. is amended in order to clarify policyholder rights of dispute and appeal. Additionally, a new mandatory endorsement is being introduced that explains the availability of the policyholder’s rights to dispute and appeal. The new endorsement, Policyholder Notice of Right to Appeal, WC 31 06 18, is mandatory for all policies with coverage effective on and after March 1, 2015.   

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PIA, Floodbroker.com offer tools 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 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 connected 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: Accident notification

Q. While driving a rental vehicle outside of New York state, an insured has an at-fault accident causing damage to both the rental vehicle and another vehicle. Since the rental-car company pays for the damages to both cars, the insurance company will not know of the accident; therefore, the insured will not be surcharged for an at-fault accident on his or her auto policy and it will not go on the MVR. How would you counsel your clients in such a situation? A. We would counsel the insured to report every auto accident to his or her personal auto policy insurer. There is a potential for personal injury protection claims, supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist claims, excess liability claims and rental vehicle coverage claims due to exclusions in the collision damage waiver protection. If the incident is not reported right away, the insurer may deny a subsequent claim on the basis of late reporting, as long as they can prove prejudice. 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.  

Winter personal-lines newsletters are available for your clients

Now is the time to order your winter issue of Insights and Updates to send to your clients. This newsletter is perfect for your personal-lines clients and features the following topics: the risks of ride sharing; how to prevent ice dams; heating your home with a fireplace vs. traditional gas; the liability of sledding on private property; and travel during the busy holiday traffic. This newsletter, in which you also can include your agency’s privacy notice, can be personalized and sent through PIA Creative Services. For more information, contact dcramer@pia.org or call (800) 424-4244.  

PIANY CE course: Personal lines and E&O, Nov. 13

PIANY will hold Advanced Personal Lines Risk Analysis for E&O Loss Prevention^{^FF^UM} Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., at the PIA headquarters, Glenmont. Taught by Mishell K. Magnusson, CIC, CISR, CPIA, AAI, FIPC, this course can be attended by insurance producers who need to maintain their CPIA designations, but anyone interested in learning more about a customer service representative’s legal responsibility to apply effective loss-prevention techniques that will benefit personal-lines insureds and how using a personal-lines questionnaire for exposure identification can improve customer service and limit E&O exposures also should attend the course. NYCE: 7 BR, C1, C3, LA, LB, LSB, PA, PC. To register for this course, click here. ^{^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: (800) 424-4244.   

PIANY’s QuickSource document—resources at your fingertips

PIANY continually revises its QuickSource document index to reflect numerous additions and updates. Document topics range from technology, agency management issues and company updates to coverage and workers’ compensation issues. The best part—if you previously requested a document and we update it, you will receive an email to make you aware of the update, so keep PIA informed about any changes you make to your email address. To access the most recent QuickSource document index, click here.  

Check your email today, take part in national survey

PIA National will send an email to PIANY members today,to gather limited demographic data and to determine the issues that are important to PIA members across the country. The nine-question survey will ask you where your agency is domiciled; where you are licensed; number of employees, premium volume; composite of book of business; the legislative and regulatory issues you consider important; how well PIA represents you; and how different issues affect your agency’s operations. Those who complete the survey can enter to win a Kindle Fire HD 7 Tablet.  

Upcoming PIANY Webinars

PIANY will offer the following Webinars in the next few months: Are You Linked In? What it Can Do for You and Your Agency (Friday, Nov. 14, from 10-11 a.m., NYCE: N/A); Exploring the Personal Umbrella/Excess Policy (Friday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., NYCE: 3 BR, C3, PC, PA); Ethics—Something Worth Pursuing (Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., NYCE: 3BR, C1, C3, LA, LB, LSB, PA, PC); Two-Part Webinar: NY AIP Producer Procedures Course (Thursday and Friday, Dec. 4-5, from 10 a.m.-noon, NYCE: 2 BR, C3, PC, PA, for each part. 4 CE total); The National Flood Insurance Program Revised and Updated (Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 10 a.m.-noon, NYCE: TBA); and Top Ten Commercial Lines Endorsements (Wednesday, Dec. 10, from 10-11 a.m., NYCE: 1 BR, C3, PC, PA). For more information or to register, click here.  

Upcoming PIANY-YIP events

Save the date for the following PIANY-YIP events: A fall networking event will take place Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, at Wolf’s 111, Colonie. Be ready to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Titans during Monday Night Football, while networking with your industry peers. No registration is required, and attendees may take advantage of the establishment’s happy hour food and drink specials. PIANY-YIP’s Long Island Holiday Social will take place Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, at Jewel Restaurant, Melville. This will be the final opportunity to network before the New Year! Representatives from Jocelyn’s Operation Holiday Spirit will be on-site to accept donations. This event is sponsored by CMS LLC. For more information about these events, email edergurahian@pia.org.  

Consumer guide to health insurers

The New York State Department of Financial Services has released its 2014 Consumer guide to health insurance companies. The guide includes the most recent ranking of consumer complaints, a comprehensive review and comparison of quality of care indicators and also allows consumers to compare plans based on the number of prompt-pay complaints, grievances and utilization review appeals that are charged against them. To obtain a copy, access QS31014 in PIA’s QuickSource library.   

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