MORSTAN GENERAL AGENCY
 
 
SATISFIED CUSTOMERS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ASSET OF OUR BUSINESS!!!
Morstan General Agency is a privately held company whose base of operations is in New York, with three offices in Florida, as well as, offices in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.   Morstan has been serving the Insurance Community since 1964.  They have had a presence in Florida for over 15 years.

The company acts as a Managing General Agency ("MGA") but also serves as a leading supplier of excess and surplus lines. We are happy to service agents who need immediate quotations, competitive rates, and expedient binding of contracts when their direct markets are not in a position to provide such a service. Morstan is committed to the highest standards of quality and service in the industry and maintains its position as a leader in the Florida wholesale marketplace.

 

We provide service for small to midsize brokers with expediency for certain carriers or specific risks. Morstan represents many of the finest insurance carriers in the industry.
Our product lines are General Liability, Property, Workers Comp, Professional Liability, BOPs, Package Policies, Lessor's Risk, Builders Risk, Vacant Property, Restaurants, Special Events, Artisan Contractors, Commercial and Personal Umbrellas, Liquor Liability, Stand Alone Crime, Environmental, Ocean Marine, etc. etc. etc.
For those with a Life & Health License, our NY office, offers MORSTAN PLUS products to our Florida partners.  The great news is that we give you the choice to do the work yourself or we can do it for you.  Either way you own the book.
To see Companies that Morstan represents:
http://morstan.com/companies.asp

Our goal is to be your MGA / WHOLESALER of choice.  Our underwriters are here to serve you and to be of help to you.  Our mission is to understand your needs, values, fears and goals.

What does Morstan General Agency have to offer you?
- Multiple personal lines and commercial lines markets
- Product mix tailored to your needs
- Competitive pricing and commissions
- Agency binding authority
- Direct access to underwriters
- Placement of risks in your agency name
- In field training for you and your staff
- On-line access to training and sales resources
- Sales & marketing oversight
- Product development and procurement
- Growing product line

Morstan has 3 locations in Florida, Brandon, Margate & Daytona ready to serve you.  Some of the lines, for example, Personal Umbrellas, Main Street Mercantile, Janitorial Services, etc. can be quoted online (see USLI quote at www.morstan.com).  However, please keep in mind that the quote you receive will only be representative of 1 of the 60 carriers we represent and we could have a better quote for you with regard to price and / or coverages.  When you receive a copy of the quote from our website, the underwriter whom you chose, will also receive a copy at the same time.  The Morstan Underwriter will review and get back to you to see if we have a better market for you.
 
Some wholesalers have one underwriter for General Liability, one for Professional Liability, another for Property, yet another for trucking, etc.  At Morstan, all of our underwriters are generalists so that you can contact the underwriter of your choice to submit any type of risk.   
We do not have assigned underwriters.  Agents are free to work with whatever Underwriter they

please. 

 

GROUP PICTURE:   TOP ROW:    Ashley (Cnx); James (U/W); Cindy (U/W Asst)

When you call the Brandon office and dial "0", the first person you will get to speak with is Angela Kelly or Ashley Hass.  We call her Angel because she is as sweet as an angel but both are professional and very helpful to our clients.  Both of them handle cancelations and accounting issues.  For those of you who prefer to speak with a Spanish speaking underwriter or assistant, just let Angela or Ashley know, and she will direct you accordingly. 
 
Below is a list of Underwriters, Assistant Underwriters, Underwriter Assistants, Policy Issuance, etc. who are part of the Morstan family. 
 
Morstan's Brandon office - Jay Mortenson CPCU (formerly of Hull St. Pete), James Hannon (formerly of Tapco), Shirley Weeks and Roberta Galbraith, CIC CPIW AIS (formerly of Program Underwriters), Hector Menendez (formerly from MacNeil) and Robin Steismeister who has joined us from the agency side.  Our Branch Manager, Carl Cohen, who was an agency principal understands what the agency goes through on a day to day basis and Assistant Managers are Steve DePasquale and Ginger McElroy.  Ginger handles all of the Administration and Operation procedures for Brandon, as well as, new appointments. She is also a great go to person when you get in a jam and need assistance.  Assistant Underwriters are Marie Castrodad and Nicholas Capece. Underwriter Assistants are Cindy Caspe, Diane Kelly, Emily Llera, Heather Rowland (who just had a baby, Kailey our newest Assistant Underwriter),

Lisa Miller, Loretta Hicks, Lorna Hamilton and Rose Marie Bates. Endorsements are handled by Linda Cannon and Nellie Llera.  Policy Issuance is handled by Sheri Macia, Daniel Jones, Jessica Rosa and Delmy Orellana.
In Margate, Pat Woodard and Greg Kligler are Co-Branch Managers, as well as Underwriters.  Underwriters are: Vivien Enriquez (formerly of Allrisks),Cindy Anthony, Judi Richards and Sylvia Williams, who will also be more than happy to assist you.  Underwriting Assistants are Christina Keeler, Denise Brunet, Juli Bond, Marganit Cohen and Zoi Deturo,  Cancelations are handled by Michael Crea.  Renewals are handled by Ana Naud, Jean Vladyka, Selina Cooper and Tasha Adkins.  Binders are handled by Valencia Richardson. , 
 
In Daytona, Jim Burt and Janet Carter are Co Branch Managers and Underwriters, joined by Underwriter, Keva Matovina, and Debi Smith as Underwriter Assistant. And Dee Munson as Technical Assistant.
 
Deborah Grey CIC is the Marketing Rep for all Morstan Branches in Florida, as well as, new agency appointments, book roll overs and inquiries as to putting a Program together with a carrier specifically for your agency..  
 

SIAA- WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FLOOD INSURANCE  

 

FLOOD INSURANCE 2009
 
 
Specialty Insurance Agents Association is supporting you the local agent. We have written articles showing what we have accomplished. At this time we continue to push our flood program with National Group that will pay you  20% for new business and 20% for renewal business. I am aware of several companies that will pay 20% (if you are lucky enough to get a rep to offer  you that much) on new business, but don't know any that will pay you 20% on renewals. There are many changes in the flood program for 2009. The main one is a premium increase for new and renewal business.
 
The two policies available in the flood program are 1- the Preferred Risk Policy. This is for homes or renters living in a B, C or X zone. One of my employees suffered a flood loss while living in a X zone without flood insurance. The drainage system backed up below her rented home and as a result the property was flooded with substantial loss to her contents. Although we don't sell many Preferred Risk Policies, we do sell some and make 20% on each one. 2- The Standard Policy for homes located in the other flood zones, A & V zones. The standard policy premium almost always exceeds $500 per policy. Our agency have many clients who have their homeowners policy with another agent and we have the flood policy. There are many reasons this can happen, but the point I am trying to make is that you are writing many policies for many people and some of them are buying flood insurance (that is paying 20% commission to the flood agent) from another agent. If  you let all your customers know that you now have flood insurance available, you would start selling flood insurance.
 
The  flood insurance policy is written through the National Flood Insurance Program, administered by FEMA. You do not have to be appointed by a homeowners company to write flood insurance. This is a very easy program to write, the software program is easy to use and there is help available by internet or by phone. A real person will help you with rating a policy or policy service. If you are not joining our program, both of us are losing.
 
Here is a summary of the pending changes to the flood program:
 
NFIP Program changes have historically been released in the month of May, and therefore the upcoming
October changes are extensive due to the NFIP's late release. NFS StoneRiver is fully prepared to
implement these changes and insureds should not experience any delays in the processing of their
renewals post October 1st. The following document provides a summary of the NFIP October 1st, 2009
Changes.
Premiums will increase an average of 8%. The extent of the rate increase varies by zone:
V Zones - (coastal high-velocity zones) larger rate increases are being implemented again this year as a
result of the Heinz Center's Erosion Zone Study, which clearly indicates that current rates significantly
underestimate the increasing hazard from steadily eroding coastlines. Premiums will increase 10%.
A Zones - (non-velocity zones, which are primarily river line zones)
· Post-FIRM A1-A30 and AE Zones: Premiums will increase 10%.
· Pre-FIRM AE Zones: Premiums will increase 10% to slightly decrease the amount of subsidy in our
Pre-FIRM rate.
· AO, AH, AOB and AHB Zones (shallow flooding zones): Premiums will increase 8%.
· Unnumbered A Zones (remote A Zones where elevations have not been determined): Premiums will
increase 10%.
· A99 Zones (approved flood mitigation projects, e.g., levees still in the course of construction) and AR
Zones: Premiums will increase 10%.
X Zones - (zones outside the Special Flood Hazard Area):
· Standard Risk Policy: Premiums will increase 10%
· Preferred Risk Policy: Premiums will remain unchanged
Elimination of $500 deductible for all policies
· Increase of the standard deductible from $500 to $1,000 for all Post FIRM properties
· Increase of the Preferred Risk deductible from $500 to $1,000 for all properties
· Increase to the standard deductibles from $1,000 to $2,000 for Pre FIRM Special Flood Hazard Area
· Note - Existing policies impacted by the deductible changes will be adjusted at the policy renewal
date automatically to $1000. Insured Renewal Notices will include communication informing
insured.
Increases to the Basic policy limits
· Building Limits - Single Family and 2-4 from $50,000 to $60,000; Other Residential/Non-Residential from
$150,000 to $175,000; RCBAP Low Rise from $50,000 to $60,000; High Rise from $150,000 to $175,000
· Contents Limits - Increase in the basic contents limits: Residential from $20,000 to $25,000; Non
Residential from $130,000 to $150,000; RCBAP from $20,000 to $25,000
Presentment of Premium date requirements
The requirements have been defined and clarify what constitutes premium paid at time of closing (i.e. lender's
check, title company's check, or settlement attorney's check) and reinforces timely submission to honor effective
dates. Check dates will be compared to the company received date when premium payment is not part of the
closing.
 
Please contact me at   tyreagency@hotmail.com to discuss the Specialty Insurance Agent's flood program and how it can benefit your bottom line. 

SR-22 AND FR44

 

 

 

And They're Off....Will They Offer A Ride Or Run You Over?
 
By
 
Travis W. Moore
 
 
The Florida Legislature begin their Interim Committee Meetings in Tallahassee the week of October 5th in preparation for the 2010 Regular Session commencing in March. They will be having monthly meetings in November and December as well with more frequent meetings in January and February. The annual Session starts in March.
 
House Speaker Larry Cretul and the Florida House of Representatives made several changes to their committee structure following last session. (As you may recall, House Speaker was called upon to take the Speaker's office following the removal by the House of Representative Ray Sansom from the position in January leaving very little time for Speaker Cretul to make any leadership changes of his own. He now has.)  However, none of these changes have affected the House Insurance, Business and Financial Affairs Policy Committee.  The House committee did not meet this week as staff is working on various interim reports to present to the Members beginning in November.
 
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee met briefly this week to hear presentations on the Florida Catastrophe Fund, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and from the Insurance Commissioner, Kevin McCarty. No earth-shattering revelations occurred and much of the discussion centered around the desire by some to continue pushing for deregulation of rating for certain property policies as outlined by the legislation from last Session vetoed by Governor Crist.
 
SA will be closely engaged in the work of these Committees as we pursue our legislative agenda. Next month's article will be devoted to laying that agenda out. In the meantime, PLEASE continue to provide us with your thoughts and ideas of issues you
are facing every day on Main Street.       
    

See you on the trail!                

SIAA 2010 CONTINUING EDUCATION
 
Continuing Education for 2010
 
We already have a new 2 hour class on agency management approved for the 2010 convention. There are two other 3 hour classes pending. One is a class on homeowners insurance and the second class is on the subject of flood insurance. We are planning on a class dealing with auto insurance and another class on the subject of  Comprehensive General Liability Coverage, the sub contractors coverage. Many of our members sell the CGL policies and need to know more about them. We always have several participants at the TRADE FAIR who offer the CGL policy as part of their programs. It can add to the agencies bottom line. If you are not currently selling the CGL coverage, plan on attending our class and learn how to add it to your product offering for your customers.
 
The homeowners class is based on the subject of the proper coverage's needed by your customers before a hurricane. Action you and your customer should  take before a hurricane. The personal information they need to have available before a hurricane. The claims information you need to share with your customers after a hurricane.  There will be a discussion on  company adjusters, independent adjusters and public adjusters. We will discuss what the mediation process is. 
 
We will have the mandatory classes, 3 hour ethics class and a 1 hour wind mitigation class to meet the requirement for 2-20 agents and a senior annuity ethics class for our life license members. 
 
Our flood class will discuss in depth the flood insurance program. We will discuss what is a flood, the WYO program, the SFHA and who is eligible for a flood policy.
 
The National Flood Insurance Program has a co op program for yellow page ads. If you qualify and by using a NFIP ad, they will pay from 25% to 75% of the yellow page ad cost. We will have information to share with you on this program and how you can make it a part of your budget for yellow page advertising.
 
Last year Progressive, Infinity and Nations Safe Driver participated in our CE offerings for you. We are looking forward to the biggest and best Convention and Trade Fair in 2010 and we are making plans right now to make it be important for you to attend.   
 
 

 

 

Citizens is pleased to introduce Automated Underwriting (AUW) in ePAS for Personal Residential Multiperil (PR-M) policies. Your agency will be activated for AUW in ePAS beginning October 1, 2009. An Agent Training Guide detailing changes can be found in the the ePAS system. 

 
What is the Automated Underwriting Process?

Audit Process:

If an application is not Automatically Approved, ePAS will allow the submission but will assign a status of Bound/Unapproved. The Required Documents screen will display a list of the forms that must be submitted to Citizens to complete the underwriting process.

Applications that have been Automatically Approved cannot be withdrawn, however, they can be cancelled if circumstances warrant. Agents should create a journal note with the details and then upload a memo, letter or other documentation indicating the situation and requesting the policy be cancelled.

How does AUW differ from Single Personal Lines (SPL)?
Many of you may also be involved in the SPL project where all prior Personal Residential Wind-only (PR-W) policies are being rewritten in ePAS. To ensure there is no confusion between the two, please note:

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this pilot program, please e-mail Citizens.Agent.Communication@Citizensfla.com or call 904-208-7559 for assistance.
 

COMPANIES FIND INCORRECT INFORMATION WHEN IT COMES TO WLM
 

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY CLAIM IT TODAY

 

Check for your unclaimed property before the statewide auction
More than 40,000 items, including jewelry, watches, and rare coins will be auctioned later this month
Florida CFO Alex Sink on Tuesday asked Floridians to check for unclaimed property prior to her Bureau of Unclaimed Property's Statewide Auction, an annual sale of unclaimed safe deposit box contents turned over to the state. The auction, which is open to the public, will be held October 24, 2009, in Ft. Lauderdale at the Embassy Suites Hotel. In the last three months, CFO Sink's Bureau of Unclaimed Property has reunited 67,270 citizens with a total of more than $41 million.
"I encourage all Floridians to visit www.FLTreasureHunt.org and see what property they may have waiting," said CFO Sink. "I am especially proud that in these tough economic times, our Bureau of Unclaimed Property has been able to return record amounts through a diligent, proactive, and business-like approach to seeking owners and responding to citizens."
At the auction, more than 40,000 individual items, including jewelry, watches, and rare coins, with a minimum reserve value in excess of $500,000, will be sold. Featured items include a 13-carat brilliant-cut diamond ring, a Longines diamond and platinum pocket watch, and a Rolex Submariner Oyster Perpetual watch. A free catalog, along with details about the auction, is available at www.FLTreasurehunt.org. Participation in the auction is open to the public, but requires registration and a refundable $100 deposit. A public preview of all items will be held Friday, October 23.
Unclaimed money is deposited into the state school fund, where it is used for public education. There is, however, no statute of limitations, and citizens have the right to claim their property any time at no cost.
During Alex Sink's tenure as CFO, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property has seen record returns, reuniting owners, heirs and businesses with more than one-third of all money returned since the beginning of the program, due largely to aggressive efforts to contact owners. CFO Sink's Bureau of Unclaimed Property returned $173 million in unclaimed property for the 2008-2009 Fiscal Year -- the largest amount in state history. Since the program's inception 48 years ago, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property has successfully reunited owners or relatives of deceased owners with more than $1.4 billion in unclaimed property held in Florida.
The Bureau of Unclaimed Property is currently holding 8.8 million accounts, mostly from dormant accounts in financial institutions, unclaimed utility deposits, insurance benefits, premium refunds, uncashed checks and trust accounts. It also holds watches, jewelry, coins, stamps and historical items from abandoned safe deposit boxes, some of which will be sold in October's auction. Unclaimed property can be claimed for free at any time by the rightful owners or heirs by logging on to  www.FLTreasureHunt.org  or by calling the Bureau at 1-88-VALUABLE.

FOR INFORMATION CLICK HERE 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO 

 

 

 

 

 

Increasing your Revenue Per Client, or How I stay in business and keep all the personnel I need.
 
            As agent's we know a few things.  We know that commissions are going down and service requirements are going up.  We know that we must increase our revenues or we cannot keep the personnel necessary to properly service our clients.  We know that competition is keen and price IS an issue.  We know that many of our clients want to know "How much is it today?" and not "How much is it?"
 
            So, we go to our rating software, enter the information necessary to obtain a quotation and what happens?  We see premiums that are lower annually, but have a higher down payment than premiums that are higher annually, but have a lower down payment.  We choose a company, in come cases, that provide less coverage for more money but have a low down payment. 
 
For many years now,  I have been meeting with agent's who, like any entrepreneur, are just trying to do a good job and make a buck.  That IS the idea of being an entrepreneur.  Do a good job, make a buck.  Keep the family fed and maybe take a vacation once in awhile (ok, probably not too many vacations) (J)
 
            So, as I speak with these nice folks, the theme is pretty much the same.  The pie is the size of the pie.  Each agent gets a piece of that pie.  How can they make more money if the pie doesn't get any bigger.  My answer, find a way to increase your Revenue per Client.  Several companies are doing things to assist the agent toward that end.  Some companies are  incorporating a Towing & Rental Package into their policies.  Some have developed a package that is affordable for the client and has a higher commission for the agent.  Nothing wrong with that, is there?
 
            Some companies continue to utilize Premium Financing as the primary payment source for business.  This allows the agent to present other products to their clients, such as Accident Medical Plans and Deductible Reimbursement Plans, which assist the client in absorbing deductibles on Personal Injury and Comprehensive & Collision claims.  These products are also financeable which make them affordable to the client and help the agent increase the Revenue per Client.  When there are two parties to an agreement and both win, everyone is happy. 
 
When you use a company that allows premium financing of their policies, you have the opportunity sell your client additional products which are beneficial to your clients and assist you in increasing your Revenue Per Client. 
 
In a climate where direct bill carriers  have made down payments so low that it is difficult to compete, even when their premiums are higher than your quoted premium. Agent's often have to choose a higher premium, with less coverage for the client, in order to achieve a lower down payment. 

NOT ANY MORE!
CHECK OUT THE NOVEMBER ISSUE FOR THE ANSWER

 

WHY SHOULD I BE A MEMBER OF SPECIALTY INSURANCE AGENTS ASSOCIATION ?  

 

Want to become a member of Specialty Insurance Agents Association? Just call to receive the new membership application emailed, faxed or download form today. Don't delay call Susan Graves at 1-888-290-8436

                       DOWNLOAD MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION