Published monthly by UFAA Chapter 15 Eastern Oklahoma.Chapter 15 meets the
first Wednesday of each month.
Next Chapter 15 Member Meeting: Wednesday June 3rd 11:30 AM Green Onion Restaurant 4532 E 51st Tulsa. Non-members welcome
Mission Statement
The United Farmers Agents Association is a professional association committed to helping our members through education, communication, support and information and to establish a true partnership with Farmers Group, Inc.
OKLAHOMA VOICE EMAIL DATABASE UPDATED Don't taze me, officerDon't SPAM us either
As we merged aditional email addresses into the Oklahoma Voice master mailing list, we CAN control the inclusion of duplicate farmersagent.com addresses. However, we CANNOT control the inclusion of a farmersagent.com address IF you already are listed under an alternate address such as agent55@gmail.com. Thus, you may receive the Oklahoma Voice under your alternate email address AND your farmersagent.com email address. You may politely go to the bottom of this page and use the safeunsubscribe link to delete the address you prefer us NOT to use. Thx-ed
What's Hotin this Issue-
UFAA Prepares for CONVENTION June 8-11,
2009 $1.85 million bad faith loss charged to Agt & DM Agent Survey on variety of business subjects Do DMs treat agents as staff employees? Ten more Oklahoma agents bite the dust 10 technologies becoming history Telephone scams and cell deals The Pulse of the Okla. Agents Farmers new corporate jet? New life marketing letter UFAA E&O is ready to go New Federal FACTA law
Over two hundred agent-member delegates, guests and attorneys have reserved rooms for the 2009 United Farmers Agents Association Convention to be held at the 4.5 Star Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas on June 08-11.
UFAA Returns: After 10 years of conventions on the Vegas Strip, UFAA returns to downtown Vegas with the largest number of delegates in 15 years. UFAA Directors and staff will return to the Golden Nugget Saturday Jun 6 to prepare to receive chapter delegates, guests, 31 chapter presidents and attorneys arriving over the following two days. Directors will meet over the weekend and finalize the agenda and activities for the conventioneers that begins with a buffet hospitality Monday evening June 8. The Convention opens at 8 AM on June 9th. Oklahoma Voice will have a full report of the convention meetings and activities in the July issue. If members have subjects of discussion for the convention, please email your chapter president listed in contacts section above.
Convention 2009: The Freemont Street Experience
Encompassing
Fremont Street in the center of downtown Las Vegas is a light and
musical show like none other in the world. A permanent TV- like
canopy has been constructed to cover the casino-lined street with 2
million lights and a new 25,000 watt sound system. This $70 million
attraction provides shows in the evening hours and is a popular area
for filming motion picture scenes. There is no charge for entrance
except for their New Year's Eve Street Bash. After dark, the special
hourly shows illuminating on the 4 block long canopy ceiling last for
approximately seven minutes as pictured left.
The Experience Upgraded-
The
9 story high and 1,400' long (1/4 mile) canopy was upgraded over a 2
year project period ending in May, 2004, as old analog technology of 2
million incandescent lights with a 5k life hours were replaced with
digital technology and 12.5 million LED lamps with 50k life hours
creating much sharper images. The sound system was upgraded to a LCS
Matrix 3 system pushing 550,000 watts to 220 amplified speakers
throughout the covered mall area. It was great before. But, it's awesome now. -ed
The Nugget: Convention 2009
Rising 22 stories above downtown Fremont Street and located two miles north of The Strip is the legendary gaming landmark Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas. The lobby opens up into a central pool complex. The moat like pool is surrounded by waterfalls, spa tubs and cabanas with palm shaped fans and brown rattan furnishings. A three story, clear water slide travels through a shark tank that holds six different types of sharks and a stingray. The 1,907 guest rooms and suites feature dark and blond wood furnishings with decor in earth tones. Rooms offer views of the Las Vegas skyline, Spring Mountains or the pool terrace. Marble bathrooms feature lighted makeup mirrors and Davies Gate toiletries. The Nugget has numerous spacious meeting rooms.
UFAA Convention 2009- Pre-rated "A" "Awesome"
Left photo: Outdoor pool. Right photo: Lobby view- Water slide tube travels through a live shark tank. Spectators can relax in semi-submerged lounge chairs and watch the action.
UFAA Guest Benefit
While delegates attend the convention meetings, their guests can enjoy the luxurious pool area. UFAA has rented 2 cabanas from 10A-8P Tuesday & Wednesday
and 1 cabana on Thursday 10A-8P. So, plan now to make use of this guest benefit.
UFAA Convention 2009 will be "The One" to Remember!
June 8-11 Downtown Vegas
Agent & DM Charged $1.95 million for $100k Med Pay Loss Including $1.85 million for company bad faith suit
An agent member was reviewing his losses for 2008 discovering they totaled over $2 million. Thinking back over 2008 losses, he remembered several CAT hail claims on roofs and autos due to wind and hail. That's a lot of roofs replaced, he thought. Reviewing the detail loss runs, the agent discovered a 2001 auto med pay claim with 19 entries of $99,999.99 and one charge for $50,000 and change. The claim description? A slowed to exit expressway B hit A in rear. A was apparently no-fault. Policy med pay coverage: $100k
The agent checked with the BCO handling the claim and was shocked to hear the explanation. He called the Oklahoma Voice stating the BCO had disbursed two checks, one for $1 million and another for $950,000 payable to the insured, his wife and another unknown name. The editor quickly advised the agent the unknown name may be a lawyer and to get online to www.oscn.net and search for the insured's name. The name popped up in Tulsa County with a lawsuit against Farmers for bad faith and fraud. The case was first filed in Tulsa County then, combined with 39 similar cases in Canadian County involving 56 attorneys for all parties. See it here - be patient while master file case# CJ-2004-559 loads.
In tracking the lawsuit, it appears Farmers had been sued for bad faith on several med pay claims perhaps settling with the agent's, now x-client while the consolidated case continued under review by the court for class action status involving the remaining Oklahoma litigants- plus litigants in 13 other states.
The Agent, again, called the BCO claiming "fowl ball" and that he was not responsible for the bad faith and fraud, only the 100k med pay should be charged. BCO stated they had no way to give credit. The agent called the state office and was told the charge back to the agent was company procedure as the amount of the loss is charged back to the policy incurring the loss along with the assigned agent's and the district's loss runs.
As a Farmers Agent- you will have Independent Agent Control?
Farmers refused to reverse the litigated payment back to HelpPoint, that was being setup in 2001 and was still in its' infant stages and very problematic during the period and perhaps, the real cause of the drastically inflated loss. Yet, tagging the no-fault agent & DM for the entire loss is just dead wrong.
Agents & DMs carry E&O insurance to protect them and their staff. However, Farmers just charges off HP employee errors and lawsuit settlements to the DM & Agent losses - because they can. How fair is that?
Meanwhile, as this case drags on, there is an appearance of more individual med pay cases being combined into the Master File case swelling the numbers across Oklahoma and in 13 other states "known as Farmers Med Pay Litigation." So, your loss ratio could be affected if Farmers fails to prevail on this very large case. If the company wins, you may still be tagged with the pro-rata share of legal fees if one of your clients is involved. How fair is that? -ed
Tell us what you think in your "Pulse of the Agents" Bad Faith Poll
Greetings!
UFAA Sponsored
E&O is a Go!
Open enrollment won't last forever
There are many reasons Farmers agents are placing their
coverage with the UFAA Association Group E&O plan every month! The next
binding date is 7/1/2009 and you should have time to stop your next folio deduction.
WHY DO YOU NEED TO REPLACE YOUR
FARMERS GROUP E&O POLICY COVERAGE?
80% of all agencies placing coverage
with this plan save premium
100% improved their coverage
as compared to the Farmers Group Inc. E&O plan
Farmers coverage is excluded
for your claim if you fail to provide an available Farmers coverage that: 1.
Was within your binding authority with Farmers. 2. Would have met Farmers Underwriting Guidelines. 3. Would have covered your
insured's loss. Your agency is exposed to all
defense and settlement costs. There
are many Plan Advantages as compared to the Farmers group plan. You are NOT
required to place your coverage with the Farmers group plan
Kevin Dahlke will be a featured speaker at the UFAA 2009 Convention
Insurance agent E&O is not as visible as construction errors shown here when the ceiling was installed according to construction plans and placed inches above the moving handrails of the escalator to the head-ache floor. You better
UFAA Corrects Email of DM Alleged in Treating Agents as Staff Employees
Decades of DM Leadership by Force and Fear Must End!
A DM's recent email to the district agents below has been corrected within the [bluebrackets] to only SUGGEST what the DM should have correctly stated in his email to true Independent Contractor Farmers Agents. Good morning all,
As you know, district's life production has continued to get worse &
worse, with the exception of last month. District ## is charged with ## FTA. We [The district office is] are currently at only 84 I/P YTD,
leaving[me with] a gap 185 I/P by August 31st. I have been directed by the state
office to formulate a plan to ensure the [my sole responsibility] gap of 185 is met.
I feel this is very obtainable if we[I can ask ] can get everyone to[volunteer] do their [my] part and
write & issue their [my] fair share. During this period, we[I] will be running
several very simple life promotions, probably something along the lines of our
"Chip & Dip" contest. Remember, you must[I ask that you] always meet the minimum 2 I/P per
month to qualify for these contests. The district office will hold a required life training class for those agents
not meeting the 2 I/P per month. If you do not meet your minimum requirement,
you will be expected to provide an agency plan of action, demonstrating how your
agency will meet the individual life production deficiencies. Each plan will
then be forwarded to the state office for review, along with a list of agents
also not meeting the Farmers Way criteria. [Suggest this paragraph be deleted as it is filled with of demands, threats, intimidation in an effort to mandate and transfer with force and fear DM production responsibility to the agents on contract compliance issues that DMs are solely and totally responsible to the companies. In addition, reports, plans of action, other requested documents and meeting attendance are is not required of the agent. They may volunteer to attend and create reports and action plans but, such requirement may form the basis of an employee/employer relationship.] I sincerely feel your time can be better served by reaching your [voluntary] 2 I/P per
month goals and NOT by traveling to my office each month for an additional
meeting.I hope you feel the same. Each of you are more than capable of [voluntarily assisting me in] closing the gap [I am responsible for] by August 31st. Good luck. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Your DM [Actually, you're the Management Company's DM. FGI appointed you AND FGI will select your replacement- not the agents]
==========
Dear DM, Please accept this email or letter writing education concerning your demands and intimidation to agents that may force an employee determination review. As you may or may not know, any independent contractor may request action of the Federal Government for in-depth investigation where evidence is available showing that you have and continue to cross the government defined line of treating independent contractors as employees. Your email above may be a prime example. Remember?
Only you signed an independent DM Contract agreeing to assigned production requirements by the companies - not the agents.
Only you have the ultimate and sole contractual responsibility to obtain the agreed to corporate requirements - not the agents.
Your contract exists ONLY between you and the company - not the agents.
DMs and Agents contract only with the companies, not between each other. Neither the DM nor the Career Agent has any contractual responsibility or obligation to the other. They may freely volunteer to assist each other but, either can activate or
withdraw their volunteerism at any time.
More successful DMs understand their extremely limited powers, if any, over agents and their most vulnerable DM positions and thereby promote positive working relationships, respect & volunteerism within their district without demands, coercion, intimidation, verbal assaults and threats that may seriously violate the Farmer's Corporate Code of Ethics, IRS rules on employee classification and Fair Dealing and Business Practices as defined by the FTC. Those DMs are highly respected by the majority of agents and continually invest in their agents creating a high degree of agent respect, volunteerism and success in their common goals. They likely don't use cheap unexciting contests involving chips and dip. Please, find this suitable for framing for your future reference.
The Oklahoma Voice reader polls take no more than a few seconds to complete. You are informed immediately how your vote compares to other responding readers. It is important to vote in the polls as we all can gain the "Pulse of the Agents."
Your poll votes remain anonymous. We only obtain the numbers of answers converted to percentages, not the source of those numbers. Readers can only vote in a poll once. The percentages shown when a reader votes, is the tally at that moment. We'll publish final poll results in a future issue. Look for this image > < designating a poll where you may vote.
Results of the May, 2009 Pulse of the Agents Polls
On FIG
mailings, calls, emails & other contacts to my insureds, I should..
have
option to Opt-out of selected programs 30%
have
option to Opt-in, if program is desired 70%
100% of poll participants want Opt-in/out options on the company's direct contact with the agent's clients and related programs. 30% want to be able to Opt-out of an active program, while 70% want the option to OPT-into an active corporate program.Both are reasonable requests and should be made available to Independent Farmers agents, with opt-in options leading the pack.
Why are a number of Okla. Agents leaving Farmers monthly?
Over
sold on benefits of becoming an new agent 8%
Just
can't hack the ever changing procedures. 0%
Non-competitive
in the market place 69%
Less
and less control over the agency business. 6%
Expenses
approaching or exceeding income. 17%
An overwhelming majority of 86% with 69% of respondents believing agents are leaving due to our higher rates while an additional 17% of newer and current agents may be starving out of the business for the same reason. 14% note being oversold on benefits of being an agent or less control over the independent agency. Competitive rates must come into play now, as projections show 132 Oklahoma agents (26%) will leave Farmers in 2009. Many will become future Farmers competitors with client relationships left on our book of Oklahoma 500# business- killing new agent opportunities and sucking PIF from career agent livelihoods as offsetting NB sales are nearly dead. Rates continue to rise due to our management created ADVERSE BOOK of Business- those that cannot go elsewhere.
Doesn't management "get it yet?"Hello? Anyone home?
I have the PREMIER agent website and this is my opinion..
It
generates many new sales & highly profitable 0%
It
generates a few sales & somewhat profitable 20%
It's
just so-so and I can tell no real difference 40%
It's
used by a few clients for service requests 40%
It's
mostly dead-end sales and nuisance contacts 0%
I have the BASIC agent website and this is my opinion...
It
generates many new sales & highly profitable 0%
It
generates a few sales & somewhat profitable 0%
It's
just so-so and I can tell no real difference 32%
It's
used by a few clients for service requests 14%
It's
mostly dead-end sales and nuisance contacts 55%
Regardless of which company controlled website you have, neither are generating any great amount of NB sales. It is highly questionable if the Premier sites are even paying their way. 72% report they can tell no real sales improvement with the websites while 54% say it's greatest use is by current clients for service requests. 55% of the agents with free website report dead-end sales and nuisance contacts.
It really does not take a genius to figure an agent can likely do the same with a free email web page or create or purchase their own website with total control that you can change your ad to see what works best over time. The Farmer's controlled sites cannot be changed nor can links be added to redirect clients and prospects to your personally controlled site.
Just like mass produced robots - all websites look alike.
Agents have complained of increased spam. Have you ever thought it may be coming from your free Farmers website? 55% above may be indicating that as scores of agent email addresses can easily be harvested by zip codes on farmers.com > Find an agent.
UFAA Members receive a di$count when they order their business website through ufaa.com website at thislink.
Agent Survey on a variety of agency operations
"The Pulse of the Agents"
Discover if more agents are experiencing the same successes, problems, costs & operations
The link below will take you to a United Farmers Agents Association Chapter 15 multi-question survey on a variety of subjects you may face on a daily basis in your business. It is of utmost importance that all agents take this 3 minute survey. We have tried to acquire as much information as we can with a limited number of survey questions. This is not a hard survey and requires little research to complete.
Just select the survey answers that are most appropriate with your opinion or your operations. Please, complete all survey questions and we will publish the results in the July issue of the Oklahoma Voice. Thank you in advance for your time and answers. Remember, greater survey accuracy is obtained with more survey participants. Your survey answers are anonymous as we only obtain the survey answer percentages not the source or I. D. of those answers.
Bonus: Have you wondered if other agents are experiencing the same problems, headaches, sales, good fortune or whatever? The final entry in this agent survey allows YOU to propose your own survey question to the agents in our next Oklahoma Agent Survey scheduled for September. -ed
Finders fee for each new franchisee we sign that you have referred to us in the States of: OK, AR, KS, MO, TX Contact us atwebersrootbeer.net
Checkout the Weber's website and menu above
Now, take your staff to lunch there today.
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Fred Hollaway- Farmers Agent & UFAA Member Passes
A Farmers Agent for over 40 years and UFAA Member since the 80's, Fred Hollaway passed away on May 7th from a long term illness. Fred established one of the first Farmers Offices in West Tulsa. He purchased a building and operated his agency in the Carbondale Business District.
Fred and his surviving wife, Ralpha Jean, were avid outdoor couple having a large 45' houseyacht on Grand Lake through the 90's. After selling the boat, they traveled in their motor home.
Until his illness, Fred was always present at UFAA Chapter 15 luncheon meetings educating younger members on the trials and tribulations of agency life. We will miss you Fred and your teachings. Services were held at the Carbondale Church of Christ on May 11th 10:00 AM. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ralpha Jean, "the boys" as he called them and the family.
Mike Gately, UFAA Chapter 15 President
Ten Technologies Becoming History
1. Land Lines- fewer homes are being pre-wired for wired phones due to increasing cell and I-Pod usage, 2. Floppy Disks- thumb drives, portable drives and Internet connection between computers driving down floppy usage. 3. Wrist Watches- with portable phone devices so common that include a clock. 4. VHS Tapes & Player/Recorders- tape production and sales at all time low with declining demand. 5. Beepers- replaced by cell technology. 6. Film Cameras- Sales of film is declining steadily with film-less digital camera use. 7. Typewriters- replaced by computer and Internet technology. 8. Walkman portable cassette players- fewer cassettes being made and demand very low. 9. Dial up Internet Access- only 9% in the U. S. use it. 10. DVD's- sales down 40% as Internet access being used to download or watch entertainment. on line.
U.S. Home Foreclosures
In the first quarter of 2009, 803,000 home foreclosure notices were processed and mailed.
Do you receive commercial updates via email?
If so, you have probably seen the Constant Contact Logo below in the lower corner of the commercial email. Farmers uses Constant Contact, the same company UFAA Chapter 15 uses to create and distribute the Oklahoma Voice to agents across the state and to other UFAA Chapters across the nation. Many of those chapters have discovered the advantage of regular newsletters to both UFAA Chapter Members and non-members and have increased their membership using the Constant Contact Newsletter Program.
You can do the same for your agency for as little as $15.00 a month and retain the control over the content and information in your newsletter keeping in regular contact with your clients, and keeping them informed on insurance issues. Chances are they will think of you first when they need new or additional insurance.
You can try it free for 60 days compliments of Chapter 15 by simply mousing the Constant Contact logo below. No bank card needed. Then, take the Email Marketing Tour. If you can do emails, you can do a client newsletter.
Industry publications are touting businesses to make regular contact with their clients in this competitive and recessionary period.
We doubled our chapter membership in just 12 months with Constant Contact. You can benefit too with your clients..
Ten More Oklahoma Agents Bite the Dust Last Month.
Based on the Oklahoma voice email returns, 10 more Oklahoma agent's corporate email addresses were returned invalid following the distribution of the May Issue of the Oklahoma Voice Newsletter. 01/06/09
2 02/02/09
8
02/11/09
13 03/02/09
7 03/30/09
3 05/04009 10 Total
43
That
brings to 43 agents that are history since the first of the year averaging 11 agents lost per month over a 4 month period. Should that trend
continue through 2009, it would total 132 ex-agents or 26% turnover of the
Oklahoma Agency Force based on our newest email address count of Oklahoma
agents.
For those agents not receiving the Oklahoma Voice, it may be because your mail box is Full. Important emails may be returned to the company, customers, HP, SP, etc. Ten agents fell into the "mailbox full" category on our recent emailing of the Oklahoma Voice.
Championship Conference May 17-21 in Palm Springs, Calif., to discuss new
business strategies and key issues affecting customers and the insurance
industry in their communities. Only 251 agents and 17 DMs were
asked to attend the conference. That's less than 1.7% of 15,000 agents and Oklahoma alone has 17 DMs. Are the qualifications set too high or the taxable charge on the agent's 1099 to high?
Oklahoma Voice Far Exceeds
Industry Email Open Averages
UFAA and Insurance agents fall into these three industry categories. Here's how the Oklahoma Voice ranks in these groups on % opening the newsletter, % who click on a link. Bounces = % returned email. Industry Avg: Opens Clicks Bounces Association.. 22.4% 4.5% 12.6%
Non-profit: 24.1% 5.9% 11.6%
Prof. Services: 22.3% 3.1% 13.1% Okla Voice.: 56.6%
21.9%
2.8% We believe non-tracked opens from our home page and on forwarded emails are near 65% or 3 times the industry open average and 5 times the average click rate. Such stats would give rise to our advertising rates. But, unlike Farmer's rates, ours will remain the same in 2009. We thank our readership for your high level of interest in the Oklahoma Voice.
New Life
Marketing Letter
Dear Mr Jones,
As I was asked to
review your account and explain the cost difference and suggest any changes
that might help your situation. You are on EFT and the discount
dropped from 10% to 7%. Your renters discount changed from 10% down to 3%. We
took a base rate increase of over 4% and your zip code took a rate increase of
almost 20%. Also, you had a speeding ticket from 2006 and that surcharge has been applied.
The only discount that you
currently do not have but could be eligible for, is the Life Insurance
discount. I strongly suggest that you apply
for $250,000 of Life insurance. When you see your next bill you probably
will have a heart attack.
Sincerely, your Insurance
agent.
Farmers New Corporate Jet?
Gets you back where you belong? Perhaps, but not very fast as a round trip from L.A. to
Zurich takes 279 days, about the time it takes to make overly frustrating newly introduced
eAgent programs work.
Check this out
All should view this great history video of Farmers Insurance- A history of Stability. (video. 7.27min. This blimp in the final closing shot)
License # 879
$15.99 MonthlyAlarm Monitoring
Ads are now hot links to websites
Support Our
Advertisers
Learn more about our advertisers as you or your clients may need their services in the future.
Educate yourself so you can give your clients more detail about the services they offer.
You may click on any of our valued ads in this issue for direct access to their informative and educational website.
Odor AbatementMeth Labs
Biohazard & Crime Scene Cleanup
THE SPECIFIC SECURITY OBJECTIVES OF UFAA ARE:
1. A two-way negotiated contract. 2. For rendered services contractual compensation schedules encompassing full commission of all premiums. 3. Agent ownership of policies and expirations. 4. Termination for just stated-cause only. 5. Ending discrimination of agent or agent authority. 6. To foster cooperation for mutual benefit, between other agent associations.
"America's Digital Goddess"
By Kim Komando:
You may not have the latest smartphone. But your cell phone can do much more than make calls. Get more out of your cell phone:
· A cluttered hard drive makes it difficult to retrieve data. That equals a slow
computer.So, clean it up!
The economy has made going out to eat difficult. Luckily, the Web has coupons
foryour favorite restaurants.
-Business cards
are always useful. And you can get personal business cards for free. Customize
them any way you like. Three services make it easy.
Matador - Someone who simply loves carpets and rugs.
Speaking of...
An old lady answered a knock on the door one day, and found a man carrying a
vacuum cleaner. "Good morning," said the man. "If I could take a couple minutes
of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very latest in high-powered vacuum
cleaners." "Get lost!" said the old lady. "I haven't got any money." She
proceeded to close the door. The man wedged his foot in the doorway and pushed
the door wide open.
"Don't be too hasty!" he said. "Not until you have at least
seen my demo." And with that, he emptied a bucket of horse manure on
her carpet. "If this vacuum cleaner does not remove all traces of this mess from
your carpet, Madam, I will personally eat the remainder, he said. "Well," she
replied, "I hope you've got a good appetite, because the electricity was cut off
this morning."
I heard you laugh!
Hugs to all!
Kim :)
You can listen to Kim's week-end radio show every Sunday in Tulsa 1-4PM on KRMG 740AM or 102.3FM. In the OKC area you can listen on KOKC 1520 AM Sunday 5PM
Oklahoma Voice has reprint rights. Copyright 2008 WestStar TalkRadio Network.
Reprinted with permission. No further republication or redistribution is
permitted without the written consent of WestStar TalkRadio Network. Visit Kim
Komando and sign up for her free e-mail newsletters www.komando.com
When Pigs Fly Top 5 Steps for Employers to Take to Prepare for Flu Pandemic
"Evaluating specific risks and planning well beforehand for a variety of
potential emergencies that could disrupt day-to-day business is critical, no
matter how big or small a company may be," states IBHS President and CEO Julie
Rochman. "Fortunately, most catastrophes can be managed with advance, effective
preparation - and that means having a well-thought out action plan with
specific, appropriate policies, resources and contingencies."
The Top 5 IBHS pandemic preparedness steps are:
Determine when to curtail employee travel, domestically and internationally.
Develop business continuity policies that provide work-at-home options.
Address sick leave policies, since people with swine flu or those attending
to relatives may need to be on leave longer that the current policy allows.
Consider the impact a shutdown of public transportation or the loss of basic
utilities would have.
Determine at what point the organization would need to close its
doors.
IBHS has created a self-assessment tool for business
owners and managers. By answering nine basic questions, they can rate their
readiness for a flu pandemic. For more information visit the IBHS web site http://www.disastersafety.org/.
Telephone Scams, Cell phone deals & Convenience ADVISE YOUR STAFF Beware of international
calling scams
RIP-OFF
ALERT: Are you old enough to remember the days when an entire metro area had
a single area code? Over the last 10 years, legions of new area codes were
implemented across America.
It got to the point that you might not even
recognize all the area codes in a given city. That ignorance actually
creates an opportunity for criminals.
Scamsters
will call you and let the phone ring once. Most folks have cell phones or caller
ID on their landline or business line, so if they miss a call, they'll simply
call the number back.
Bad move. Many international locations have
similar area codes to our domestic ones -- even though they're not based in the
United States. So that callback can trigger massive fees.
So, how can you
protect yourself? First, don't respond to any number you don't know. If it's an
important call, they will leave a message. Second, you can block international
calling with most cell and landline providers.
But you
shouldn't expect a lot of help from your phone provider on this one. They make a
cut of the action by splitting the revenue with whatever overseas phone company
that handles your call.
We call that a conspiracy to profit in this part of the world- ed
Better Cell Phone Deals
Meanwhile, you may recall that Clark's been talking a lot about Boost
Mobile, which offers a $50 unlimited cell plan on calls, text and internet even including junk fees.
In just 90 days of operation, Boost has signed up nearly 800,000 new
customers, according to Fierce Wireless. Boost's competitors were no slouches
themselves during the same period. Metro PCS added 700,000 customers and Cricket added 500,000.
Partly, they're all gaining customers because of the recession and competitive pricing.
But,don't overlook the fact that each one offers a better deal. And, get this, no contracts to cement you to their con game like thetraditional
cell phone players. In fact, the BIGGIES of the cell industry are fighting
back against these smaller outfits.
For example, AT&T has a new pre-paid unlimited calling plan where you pay $3 for each day you
use the phone. No roaming and no long distance charges. It's a good option for
an occasional on-demand cell phone. Above per Clark Howard.com $3.00 to take a call when the spouse calls to have you pick up bread and milk? That's what a 1/2 gal of milk and bread would cost! -ed
Convenience Calling
Few things in life are worse than calling a company answered by an electronic system forcing you through layers of select this or select that to get you to the proper department or person. There is now a short cut to getting through quickly.
A UFAA member sent this website to the Oklahoma Voice to share with you. Simply, you look up the company on a web database and it advises you a certain procedure to get through to a human with minimal effort.
So, this editor tried it with HelpPoint. It worked great using the website instructions stating "dial to 800# and do nothing." A live human answered. A similar call to 1-800-Farmers directed me to a UFAA member's office recording. Acceptable, as the call was made at 10 PM.
You might want to try it. First you go to this website and follow the instructions. Finding Farmers on the website is tricky as it is spelled Farmer's. You may even want to bookmark the website. -ed
Please advise the Oklahoma Voice
Mozilla Firefox
We keep hearing rumors that Mozilla Firefox works well on Dashboard when replacing Internet Explorer 6 on a system running Windows 2000. Can anyone confirm this? Editor
Free hour of Computer Support- Monthly
UFAA Tech offers phone support for most products. As a UFAA Member you
get 1 hour of FREE support a month on technical issues. Call us at 866-441-8018.
Please have the product information, problem and your agent number available
when calling or emailing for support- help@ufaa.com
Farmers Dumps Next Gen H/O
Farmers has advised Michigan Agents they will stop writing the Next Gen H/O in Michigan in the near future. Lack of product profit was cited as the reason. Farmers will reactivate the Protector Plus and Special H/O for use in future sales.
New COO of Farmers Business Insurance
LOS ANGELES----Simon Noonan, senior vice president and
president of Bristol West Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Farmers Group, Inc.,
has been promoted to chief operating officer of Farmers Business
Insurance.
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance - May 18 9:42
AM
New President for Bristol West
Robert Sadler, chief financial officer of Bristol West Holdings, Inc., a
subsidiary of Farmers Group, Inc., has been promoted to President of Bristol
West.
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance - May 21 10:43
AM
NEW FACTA LAW- R U AWARE OF IT? This new Federal law became effective June 1, 2009
You heard it from UFAA First (1st printed 03/11/09)
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, known as FACTA, is a consumer rights bill designed to protect consumers' private information and prevent identity theft. It was published on November 24, 2004 in the Federal Register and became effective June 1, 2005. Yet, parts of the law have been delayed until June 1, 2009 related below. This same law gives you access to a free credit report annually.
FACTA aims to protect consumers, employees and employers alike from identity theft. As identity theft is considered the fastest growing crime in the country, this bill seeks to enforce the proper disposal of confidential consumer and employee information. Not only does FACTA require the proper disposal of information, it requires companies and organizations (anyone taking private information) to be able to demonstrate that they have a proper information protection and disposal plan in place.
Penalties for Non-Compliance Your business can be liable, should a customer' identity be stolen! If your business is found to be non-compliant with FACTA rules and regulations, you could be subject to severe fines, penalties and civil lawsuits. State Fines: Up to $1,000 per violation. Federal Fines: Up to $2,500 per violation. Civil Liability: If Identities are stolen or lost due to lack of protective procedures and actual damages are sustained as a result of corporate inaction. Statutory damages are up to $1,000 per employee. Class-Action Lawsuits: If a large number of employees or customers are affected, a class-action suit may evolve against the organization suspected of improper disposal procedures.
Loss of Customers: According to a recent study, 19 percent of customers said they would terminate their relationship with any company that encounters a data breach. An additional 40 percent said they would strongly consider terminating their relationship with the company. What To Shred?
Documents: Information that should be destroyed includes: Names and Addresses (when they appear together) Social Security Numbers, Credit Card Information, Finance Statements, any Data Compiled From the Above Information. Electronic Media:
Digital storage devices such as Hard drives, zip disks, floppy disks, CDs and DVD's are also subject to the above FACTA regulations. Upon disposal, these digital storage mediums must either be completely destroyed or the content must be completely erased. *NOTE* Simply selecting the delete function on your computer system will NOT completely remove the file.
Shred insurance invoices paid in your office and received envelopes by mail or in person with return names and addresses. Be careful of what you trash that was printed from Dashboard such as quotes with any vital info or anything containing name, address, DOBs, SSNs or other vital info. All should be shredded, burnt or pulverized. -ed
"Agents Helping Agents"
Check out the UFAA Chapter 15
Home Page with lots of member benefit information including access to past Oklahoma Voice editions, company updates and Industry articles.
Are you looking for more discounts with Farmers?
Do not call the Okla. Ins. Dept. They now provide information on line: History of 21st Century Insurance Bad Economy Not
Impacting Essential Insurance coverage
Check these Out on our home page!
Personal Insurance
Express Known Issues and Enhancements
As of May 7, 2009. Here are some great tips to reduce your frustration. Just mouse the Home Page above.
Farmers Pilots Use of IBM Simulation Game in Call Center
Training
Opinion Poll Results 
