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OKLAHOMA VOICE
October 2010
Published monthly by United Farmers Agents Association, aka UFAA, Chapter 15 Eastern Oklahoma. The chapter meets the first Wednesday of each month. Next Chapter 15 Member Meeting: Wednesday, October 6th 11:30 AM | |
UFAA Chapter 15 returns to the Green Onion for remainder of 2010 meetings
The Green Onion4532 E 51st St Tulsa, OK. 74135Restaurant Reviews Non-member agents welcome!
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Mission Statement
The United Farmers Agents Association -UFAA-
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.Check out our website |
Oklahoma UFAA Contacts:
UFAA Chapter 15 serving Eastern Oklahoma President- Mike Gately 918/481-3277 -Tulsa
UFAA Chapter 12 serving Central-Western Oklahoma: President- Tony Reese 580/355-1335 - Lawton
United Farmers Agents Assn. National Office 800-275-2662 UFAA Oklahoma Voice Editor UFAA Oklahoma Voice Ads To join an Oklahoma UFAA Chapter choose one closest to you and contact the chapter. Or, sign up at the UFAA Website. United Farmers Agents Association Web Site UFAA Chapter 15 Newsletter Archive & Homepage
Letters to the Editor
Learn more about our advertisers in this issue. Ads are hot links to their websites.
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B e t t e r B u s i n e s s B u r e a u
BBB Reliability Report forFarmers Insurance HelpPoint
BBB Rating "F" at these locations
Name: Farmer's Insurance Claim Office Phone: (800) 435-7764 Address: PO Box 108815 Okla. City, OK 73101 File Open Date: June 2006 Type of Business: Insurance Claim Processing Services BBB Accreditation: This company is not a BBB Accredited business. Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of F on a scale from A+ to F. Reasons for this rating include:
35 complaints filed against business.Failure to respond to 12 complaints filed against business.BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating.BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business. Name: Farmer's Insurance Phone: (800) 445-8055 Address: P.O. Box 268994 Oklahoma City, OK 73126 File Open Date: October 2008. BBB Accreditation: This company is not a BBB Accredited business. Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of F on a scale from A+ to F. Reasons for this rating include:
21 complaints filed against business.Failure to respond to 4 complaints filed against business.BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating.BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business. Farmers Insurance - Property Phone: (918) 660-8866 Address: PO Box 470244 Tulsa, OK 74147-0244 File Open Date: March 1997 Type of Business: Insurance Services BBB Accreditation: This company is not a BBB Accredited business. Additional DBA Names: Farmers Insurance Claims Office Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of F on a scale from A+ to F. Reasons for this rating include:
BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business. Failure to respond to one complaint filed against business.
Ratings Explanation The Oklahoma Voice has published these Farmers Claims ratings from the BBB three times in the last 12 months. We have advised the Director of HP in OKC concerning the failing ratings - No response.
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How many Claims Adjusters does it take to change a light bulb?
The above title was an industry joke that went around in the 1970's on the process of insurance claims handling. The punch line is- It takes 5 adjusters- one on the ladder to hold the bulb and 4 adjusters to turn the ladder to unscrew it. Back then, a claim was split among adjusters, each handling liability, medical, material damage, uninsured motorist and subrogation.
After 35 years, and tens of millions spent on the latest highly automated claims processes, the question remains. Has the claims process really improved? Not, according to this woman's well written experience -ed
Navigating the Farmers Insurance National Domination Conglomerate
Once upon a time, before being rear-ended by a Sonnet and getting whiplash, I had never heard the phrase: "You can't receive treatment and be paid for it too." And the only thing I knew about Farmers Insurance was the check I wrote them every month [as an auto policyholder].
"What do you mean I have to pay Farmers back for any medical bills they pay?" I said frustrated to James, the latest Farmers Insurance adjustor assigned to my medical claim. "Well, you can't receive treatment and be paid for it too." James stated as if I understood what he was talking about. "I don't understand." I said confused.
"Farmers is putting a lien on your medical settlement payment, you have to pay Farmers back any money it pays out on your medical bills." James snidely replied. "What the hell are insurance premiums for?" I asked annoyed. "I don't understand." James said as if no one had asked him that question before. "Well the reason you buy an insurance policy and pay insurance premiums is so that when you have a claim the insurance company will pay for the damages." I explained as if this was new information.
"Yes, I understand that concept, but in California you can't receive treatment and be paid for it too." He explained. "Then why the hell do I have insurance if I have to pay the insurance company back for my medical treatment out of my settlement?" I angrily asked.
"I know it's frustrating but that's how it works in California." James placated. "When you negotiate your settlement with the other party's insurance you need to negotiate enough for yourself over and above what you have to pay Farmers back for the medical expenses they pay." He continued.
"But the other party's insurance company is Farmers too!" I exclaimed. "Can't you settle that in house? Why do I have to pay the medical expenses back out of my settlement?" "Because the two party's policies are treated as separate entities. We have to treat the other party as if they were Allstate or State Farm." James explained.
"Do you understand?" He asked. "I think I have the gist of it." I said annoyed. "What happened to Alexis who I was dealing with before? Why are you now assigned to my claim?" I asked. "She is still handling the reimbursement portion of your claim for your medical expenses, I've been assigned to handle subrogation for Farmers." He explained.
"And the two hundred dollar check Alexis sent me for medical co-pays reimbursement generated your letter?" I asked trying to understand. "Yes, that's correct." He said.
"So you're the one I negotiate my settlement with?" I asked. "No, I handle Farmers reimbursement. There's another adjustor assigned to the settlement." He stated giving me the name of the adjustor I would negotiate a settlement with.
Ugh! I sighed as I wrote down another adjustor's contact information. "Wouldn't it be easier for one person to handle every aspect of my claim instead of Alexis in Utah, you in Washington, and now this Doris in Visalia, California?" I asked exasperated. "And the person who took my claim information and arranged for repairs to my vehicle was in Kansas! And every letter I receive comes from Oklahoma!" I continued. "Actually no. We each handle a different aspect of your claim. That's the way its done in Farmers and it works well." James proudly said.
"It seems ridiculous to me." I said fed up. "And very frustrating!" I added.
"I understand ma'am." He placated. Somehow I don't think he does... "Now when you're all done receiving treatment and Farmers has paid all of your medical bills, you'll negotiate a settlement with the other party's policy and pay Farmers back for your medical bills." He summed up.
"Ok, I understand Farmers' process, but my health insurance is paying the medical bills, not Farmers." I explained. "Oh well that makes things more complicated." He stated. "Your health insurance will want to be paid back too." He continued.
"I had my health insurance agent call PacifiCare and find out what the process is in an auto accident; and he was told that the doctors bill the health insurance because they have contracts with PacifiCare, and then when I'm released from treatment, PacifiCare will recover its expenses from Farmers." I explained. "PacifiCare could place a lien on your settlement too." He then stated. "But wouldn't Farmers pay PacifiCare and then be reimbursed from my settlement?" I asked. "It's possible. You might want to hire an attorney to handle everything for you." He replied. "An attorney? Do you think I need an attorney?" I asked.
"I can't advise you either way regarding an attorney. I can't offer you legal advise. But if you hire an attorney, the attorney gets 1/3 of your settlement." James in Washington informed me. Ugh! Sigh! "Ask me how bad my head and neck hurts!" I stated. Navigating the Farmers Insurance national domination conglomerate is more painful than my whiplash!
"I'm sorry ma'am." He apologized. "I hope I've helped you understand how things work at least." He continued.
After I hung up the phone with James in Washington I read Farmers motto on the bottom on his letter:

"Our goal is to provide you with the best possible service, including a clear understanding of your claims process and outcome, and to respond promptly to your inquiries."
Gee, Farmers does a great job of providing a clear understanding of the claims process with four different adjustors from four different States assigned to my one medical claim and correspondence coming from yet another State. I would hate to be the IT guy that works on their national domination conglomerate network system!
I just have to wonder how many hours of phone tag this insured played with all the claims adjusters as they hovered around that ladder trying to change that one light bulb? The insured used the words below that do not promote longevity as a future paying customer in your agency. -ed
confused - don't understand - frustrated - annoyed - angrily - trying to understand - snidely - ugh - sighed - exasperated - ridiculous to me - I said fed up, an attorney? - Do you think I need an attorney? - Navigating the Farmers Insurance national domination conglomerate is more painful than my whiplash!
Pulse of the Agents POLL 
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Edmond 405-330-0025Tulsa 918-270-2888
At Red River Roofing, our goal is to provide you the proper information to make the best roofing decisions. Should you have any additional concerns, questions, or comments, do not hesitate to contact our offices. Residential & Commercial Roof Repair & Replacement 05/11
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UPDATE Oklahoma Agents and DMs Send Message to Home Office Sertember - 2010 Poll Results Oklahoma Agents have been polled for the last 5 months on which song they would send to Home Office that best describes the current condition of their business, The poll history is below for your information. Previous Poll Satisfaction Results No Satisfaction Take This Job We Are Family It's a Celebration
March: 50% 43% 4% 3% (Prior to FA2) April: 79% 21% 0% 0% (Intro of FA2)
May: 65% 27% 5% 3% (1 mo. into FA2) June: 88% 12% 0% 0% (2 mo. into FA2)
July: 81% 13% 0% 6% (3 mo. into FA2) Aug: 100% 0% 0% 0% (4mo. into FA2)
Here are your poll results for Sept. (5 mos. into FA2) You can hear the songs again by mousing the song title below.
Rolling Stones- 1965 "No Satisfaction" 100%
Johnny Paycheck- 1977 "Take this job and shove it" 0%
Sister Sledge- 1975 "We are Family" 0%
Kool and Gang- 1978 "It's a Celebration" 0% As the satisfaction poll numbers are not improving, we will continue these polls on a quarterly basis with the next satisfaction poll appearing in January, 2011. ==================
In another September Poll on the companies rankings and ratings by CR, JD Power and Fitch we asked, Who do you believe is to blame for Farmers poor results in the above ratings and rankings? Agents and/or DMs 8% HelpPoint and /or Service Point 0% Corporate Management Team 92%
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 | Click logo above to obtain UFAA Membership App
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 | Click logo above to view the UFAA Website
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If you wish to be excluded from future mailings please let us know by emailing us at ufaa15@.gmail.com or by using the Unsubscribe feature at the located within this document. Disclaimer - The Oklahoma Voice is published twelve times per year for the United Farmers Agents Association, Chapter 15 Northeastern Oklahoma. The United Farmers Agents Association and the editor neither assumes any responsibility for the accuracy of the articles or advertisers, nor any liability arising from reliance upon them. The Oklahoma Voice expresses it's appreciation to the many members who assist in and support it's publication,. Opinions in the Oklahoma Voice do not necessarily express the views of any single member or Chapter officer or UFAA organization. Products and services advertised are not endorsed by this Chapter or United Farmers Agents Association, Inc. Complaints or inquiries should be forwarded directly to the advertiser. All purchases and services are at the complete discretion of the consumer. Trademarks and/or logos are the respective products or trademarks of their respective owners.
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Insurance Policies Do Not Serve Consumers' Needs, Advocate Says
By MARK E. RUQUET
NU Online News Service, Aug. 19, 3:43 p.m. EDT SEATTLE-Insurance policies lack the standardization consumers, producers and regulators expect for homeowners and other liability coverage and only true transparency will solve this dilemma for buyers, a consumer advocate said.
That was the conclusion from a study done by a professor of contract law who reviewed a series of property and casualty policies purchased by most homeowners throughout the United States. Addressing insurance commissioners during the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) summer meeting here, Dan Schwarcz, from the University of Minnesota Law School, said he performed a study of homeowners insurance policies covering different aspects of coverage. From his research, he determined that the traditional p&c insurance policy is no longer standardized among carriers. "There are now substantial deviations of policies within states," he said, in some cases using contract language that has been struck down by courts in the past. Speaking during the NAIC's Consumer Liaison Committee meeting, Mr. Schwarcz said he researched several perils covering property and liability insurance, comparing the Insurance Services Office (ISO) standard language to other carriers' policies that were substantially different from the ISO forms. In every case, the deviations showed the ISO forms to be more generous in coverage while language changes adopted by insurers over the years excluded risks that buyers, producers and regulators would assume to be there. A major problem with these coverage forms is that consumers have no way of comparing policy coverage because they can only obtain the policy after it is purchased, he said. Making matters worse, he said agents and brokers are under the impression that the policy language in all their products is the same and they are as much in the dark as consumers. They too do not have access to the policies until after the consumer purchases it, he noted. The issue is further compounded by regulators being unaware of the extent of the changes that have been made over the years because they have purged the original policies from their files. "You have no idea what is going on in your state," Mr. Schwarcz told regulators. He said the only solution to this issue is transparency, since any attempt to standardize policies now would be logistically impossible. He suggested that insurers and regulators post policies on the web for consumers to view, allowing them to make an educated choice. Insurers cannot defend against such postings as proprietary information because their forms become public when issued to consumers, he advised. "If you buy a product, you need to know what is there," he said. Policy language also came in for criticism from Mr. Schwarcz, who said he spent 10 hours reviewing some policies to understand the meaning of the exclusions, underscoring the difficulty the average consumer faces because he teaches contract law.
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918-663-5848 Fire, Water, Storm Damage & Other Perils
Full Service Mitigation and Reconstruction 10344 E 58th St Tulsa, OK 74146
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OETA's Oklahoma Votes 2010 coverage comes to Oklahoma Forum, with a discussion with the candidates for state Insurance Commissioner. This is the third in a series of programs featuring interviews with the candidates for statewide office, leading up to the November 2 Oklahoma general election.
Kim Holland, Democratic nominee for Insurance Commissioner
John Doak, Republican nominee for Insurance Commissioner
Video of nominees for Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner 27:46
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Greetings! ONLY 8 WEEKS LEFT AT $400/WEEK. NEXT SUMMER, THIS WILL RENT FOR AS MUCH AS $1600/WEEK, REFERRRALS PAID 10% Contact Glenn at glenn@gjohnsonagency.com for additional information. 07/11
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Hail Fog - Ever Heard of it? (Watch video)
Fog sometimes forms after a good round of hail. The hail doesn't have to be large, there just has to be a lot of it. Hail will cool down the air immediately above it, bringing the air temperature down to the dew point and causing saturation and in turn, fog. Hail also contributes moisture to the hail as it absorbs heat, melts, and evaporates. On some occasions, hail fog can make for very abrupt and dangerous drops in visibility on roadways due to the isolated nature of where hail falls. This You Tube Video of the Oklahoma City May 16, 2010 Hail Storm shows how dramatic a hail storm can be with ice impacts into a backyard pool. You can see the fence at the rear of the property until the hail fog moves in and even the pool is hard to see. The lower left branch on the small potted tree is gone after being impacted by an ice ball at 1:59 in the video. Click pic to view video.
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Call for Board up Service 24/7
 Click to check out our website 08/11 Tulsa Broken Arrow
918/664-7904 918/258-7578
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Please support and recommend our supporters.
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.
 UFAA Chapter 15 welcomes our newest advertiser- Brad's Seamless Guttering and giving agents another resource for claims and referred services for new guttering, repairs or cleaning.
ads rotated for 10/10 issue.
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Arkansas Brother Names Oklahoma Sister's Kids
A pregnant woman from Oklahoma gets in a car accident and falls into a coma. When she wakes up, she sees she's no longer pregnant and she asks the doctor about her baby. The doctor replies, "Ma'am you've had twins! a boy and a girl. Your brother from Arkansas came in and named them." The woman thinks to herself, "No, not my brother... he's an idiot!" She asks him, "Well, what's the girl's name?" "Denise." "Wow, that's not a bad name, I like it! What's the boy's name?" "Denephew." |
Taxes may Increase on Insurance Agents
Independent Contractors better show up at the polls and elect those who will keep the Bush Tax Deductions in force. If those are dumped, you may lose deductions on 1/2 of your SSI payments and 100% deduction on your medical premiums while personal and standard deductions will be reduced in 2011.
A $50k employee with a family of four will lose deductions amounting to $2,900 resulting in additional taxes 2011. Independent contractors may see their taxes increase 2 times over that of an employee in 2011. It's up to you. -ed
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APPS - FPPS of the 1990's
The predecessor to Dashboard -Back then, when they stated-
This household is locked as your transactions process overnight.
Sept 30-2009- Insured wants to reinstate vehicle. FA2/Express denies access to policy as it is in process of being cancelled. Try again in 24 hours!
Farmers has progressed into history.
The question is- who pays for the claim that occurs during that 24 hour period? Likely, no claim will occur but, the insured will go elsewhere to get real professional service.
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OK Lic #879 Click to access our website
 TNT Security- Our goal is providing homeowners and small business owners with a wide range of security options at an affordable price. 04/11
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Bethel Collision Center in Broken ArrowBBB Rated A+

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Oklahoma Voice Beats Industry on Email Newsletter Activity
The Chapter 15 email newsletter provider lists many types of industries on email campaign success. For example, here are the national email stats for Non-profit Associations such as UFAA: Opens Bounces Clicks Association 18.5% 6.2% 11.0% Okla. Voice 47.5% 3.4% 21.8%
The Oklahoma Voice has a 250% better email open rate than associations average nationally. Also, our click rate on linked articles or agent polls is nearly 100% above the average association average. Our bounce rate for returned emails was 200% below the national average until May when it was discovered nearly one Farmers Agent a day leaves the business in Oklahoma.
The worst industry for opening and viewing emails is Marketing/PR at 13.5% while the best industry in this category is Crafts at 27.0%.
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24 More Agents Leave in Aug/Sept
No Satisfaction?
According to the Oklahoma Voice report of non-existent farmersagent.com email addresses, 24 were returned after we emailed the Aug. & Sept. Issues. These are agents that left in August or prior. Here's our count to date.
Jan thru Apr 88 May 5 June 30 July 29 Aug/Sept 24 Total 176
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R U Planning to Vote on Nov 2nd? Voter registration closes October 8.
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You have a choice when it comes to the company to provide your clients' insurance exams--choose the insurance examiners that make you look good! EMSI provides examinations that are convenient, quick, private and professional. You and your clients can trust EMSI.
EMSI Tulsa EMSI Oklahoma City
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BEST LAWYER - INSURANCE STORY OF THE YEAR
Charlotte, North Carolina. A lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, and then insured them against, among other things, fire. Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company.
In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost 'in a series of small fires.'
The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason, that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion.
The lawyer sued and WON!
Delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company, in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be unacceptable 'fire' and was obligated to pay the claim.
Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the cigars that perished in the 'fires'.
NOW FOR THE BEST PART...
After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON. With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine.
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Check out the UFAA Chapter 15 Home Page
with more Farmers, industry news, lots of member benefit information, newsletter archives and breaking news too late to publish above.
Chapter 15 HOME PAGE Link
Reminder: From the Oklahoma Ins. Dept: The administrative fee for submission of a change of address or name more than thirty (30) days after the change occurred shall be Fifty Dollars ($50.00).
Have you missed past issues of the Okla. Voice? If you missed past issues, you can access them and other article headlines on our home page link above.
We just can't make it much easier. Just mouse the logo above to obtain the membership application. Fill it out; attached a check and mail or use the bank card option and fax it to 1-314-631-7963. United we stand. Divided we fall.
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