| Quotes of the Month
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"In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him."
-Derek Bruce
"The longer I live the more I see that I am never wrong about anything, and that all the pains that I have so humbly taken to verify my notions have only wasted my time."
-George Bernard Shaw
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Joke Time
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An insurance agent decided to go out on her own. She was shrewd and diligent, so business kept coming in, and pretty soon she realized that she needed an in-house counsel. The insurance agent began to interview young lawyers.
"As I'm sure you can understand," she started off, "in a business like this, our personal integrity must be beyond question. Mr. Jones, are you an honest lawyer?"
"Honest?" replied Jones. "Let me tell you something about honest. Why, I'm so honest that my father lent me $15,000 for my education, and I paid back every penny the minute I tried my very first case."
"Impressive. And what sort of case was that?" asked the insurance agent.
Jones responded, "He sued me for the money."
Source: www.ahajokes.com
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Dingbats and Dillweeds: Because Everyone Loves an Idiot!
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More evidence ISO needs to reconsider adding a "If you are this stupid you shouldn't be allowed to drive so your policy is hereby void from date of issue" provision to the PAP:
"A New York man drove his car onto train tracks because his GPS device told him to. The man and his son managed to scramble out of their car before it was demolished by a commuter train. 'At least he had the sense to get out of the car,' said a railroad spokeswoman, noting that the GPS device did not help the motorist make that decision."
Source: The Week Magazine
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"Finding a Diamond Among the Coal!" Department
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Surely you've heard that many folks now refer to the World Wide Web as the "World Wide Waste." The amount of digital flotsam and jetsam arriving daily merely from ex-Nigerian officials with a need to move money out of the country is enough to clog up the mightiest mailbox filter!
We mean, how much fun is dealing with that? So here at IIF, where we are always about more fun, we decided-as a public service-to help. Each issue, we will find you a diamond from among the coal, a swan from among the geese, a pearl from among the swine-well, you get the idea. So feel free to reroute all your current e-mail bloat into that "automatically delete" file, while trusting us here at IIF headquarters to pass on anything truly worthy of our valued attention. And hey, it'll be fun!
This issue:
Men: has your choice to pursue your God-given right to grow facial hair encouraged chastisement from co-workers? Do members of your own family stare in disgust at the clump of fuzz you proudly display between nose and mouth? If yes, take comfort knowing that you are not alone. By showing your support for the American Mustache Institute at their amazing website (link below) you can review tips on grooming, peruse some fantastic photos and support fellow lazy-lipped brothers in your collective quest for equality.
americanmustacheinstitute.org/
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News Flash: If They'd REALLY Wanted it Cold, They Would Have Stored it in a Meeting Room!
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"Reminds Me of the Menu at a Holiday Inn"
When penning that famous line in his ode to American cuisine, who knew Jimmy Buffett was actually issuing a warning to guests at one of the chain's Pennsylvania locations?! In an effort to cut costs (and provide fodder for insurance agents to discuss equipment breakdown coverage) the hotel was recently fined for storing food (not of the dried or canned variety) in an empty guest room. The reason? The refrigerator had broken down. When health inspectors arrived on the scene, employees assured them that they had turned the air conditioner all the way up.
Source: The Week
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Brand Blog: Tips for Tough Times
By Peter van Aartrijk Jr., CIC
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New York Life's full-page ad in a recent issue of The Wall Street Journal says: "We're Main Street. Not Wall Street....We are built for times like these. As a mutual life insurer, the nation's largest, we have only one purpose: to serve the needs of the families who put their trust in us. Because we are owned by our policyholders, we don't have to please Wall Street."
Mutual companies are in a happy place right now. Indeed, they almost can gloat. Maybe your agency can't, but what can you do?
Click Here for what YOU can do! |
| Video Of the Month
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Insurance video of the month? Now there's an oxymoron! Even though we personally received this from several fellow IIFers, we just couldn't, in good conscience, allow for the possibility you didn't get this one forwarded to you by some insurance buddy. Truly, it is that special. He actually sings pretty good, too!
So sit back, turn on (or up) your speakers, and get ready for some Actuarial Healing!
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Book of the Month: Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson
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 If it works for Best Buy...
Okay, so maybe your firm is not a Fortune 100- the ideas here don't change. This tome showcases what happened at Best Buy that has spread like wildfire in the corporate world in terms of traditional employment. While some suggested changes may seem impossible, approach with an open-mind: there's some really good stuff here that could provide the jolt much needed by some of your firm's most morose.
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Product Deal of the Month: Here Come the Holidays!
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It's that time of the year, Ebeneezer! 
Don't dot another "i", Bob Cratchit, until you peruse the plethora of potential present possibilities at the IIF Store! Where else can you get that perfect insurance gift with that perfect insurance message such as "Bind me, Baby!" or "Kiss me, I'm All Risk!" or a personal favorite "Forget my exclusions, let's talk about your limitations!"
Too many great gift options to decide? Not willing to guess wrong on that clothing size? Practice true risk management with an IIF gift certificate!
Perhaps that insurance person on your list enjoys reading? Then he or she will love a copy of the lappropriately titled book from Chris Amrhein: "Yes, Virginia, There is Insurance!"
But you better hurry! You and we both know what will happen if that perfect IIF gift isn't under the tree on time. Click that link now!
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Picture of the Month: Tough Times Call for Tough Ads
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Killer! These guys back that hearse right up to the door, pinning the gecko under one wheel and that duck under another.
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