Having trouble viewing this email, active links or waiving flag below? Mouse "click here" at the top of this newsletter to view all graphics, images and text as a web page. OKLAHOMA VOICE
February 2011
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, February 2nd 11:30 AM Note on Meeting Cancellations:Should we have freezing weather on the roads in the Tulsa Area and Tulsa Public Schools are closed on the first Wednesday of the month then, our meeting will be cancelled until the following month.
6510 E. 21st Street Tulsa, Ok. (21st just East of Sheridan) Grab tray, utensils and order from menu at front counter. Mtg room free if we leave service tips on table Non-members welcome
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- Glenn Johnson 918/252-0561
United Farmers Agents Assn. National Office 800-275-8668 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.Write Chapter 15 on app. United Farmers Agents Association Web Site UFAA Chapter 15 Newsletter Archive & Homepage
Learn more about our advertisers in this issue. Ads are hot links to their websites.
R U Receiving Complaints on Delays at non-COD Auto Shops?
Several UFAA members have advised the Oklahoma Voice that it is taking 5 to 7 days for an auto adjuster to inspect a vehicle at the body shop. Agents would have to agree with that. And we would have to agree that claims may be using a football tactic know as an "end around" perhaps, in violation of the state insurance code.
In fact, a member agent advised the Oklahoma Voice ....."A Farmers Auto Adjuster called my CSR & told her it is taking 5 days for adjuster to see cars at non-COD shops and that we should always send clients to COD shops for their benefit. Prompted by my client going to Bethel who told her delay was in adjuster not coming for several days. Sounds like a new tactic to save $ and may need to go into The Oklahoma Voice. Okie UFAA Member
UPDATED EFF: 11-1-2010 Oklahoma Statutes Citationized Title 36. Insurance Chapter 1 - Insurance Code Article Article 12A-1 - Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act Section 1250.8 - Methods to Apply for Adjustment and Settlement of Motor Vehicle Total Losses H. An insurer or its representative shall not require a claimant to obtain motor vehicle repairs at a specific repair facility. An insurer or its representative shall not require a claimant to obtain motor vehicle glass repair or replacement motor vehicle glass repair or replacement facility.An insurer shall fully and promptly pay for the cost of the motor vehicle repair services or products, less any applicable deductible amount payable according to the terms of the policy.
Speaking with HelpPoint State Clerical Manager, Kellie Wilkins, the Okla. Voice was told:
1. Yes, there is a delay on vehicle damage inspections as adjuster attrition is not being replaced.
2. Yes, we have seen the delay drop from 5 to 4 days just this week. 01/20/2011. 3. Yes, claimants and clients can still schedule an appointment with the Branch Claims Drive-Thru Offices. However, ServicePoint must be advised of this when the claim is turned in. Yes, we do
Drive-Thru inspections of damaged cars at the Tulsa Office. The location is 3510 S 79 E. Ave. or 33rd and Memorial turn West to T intersection. Turn South all the way to the dead end circle.
Ph# 918-627-4800 press 0 during recording.
4. Here are some names and email addresses you may want to keep handy as these claims employees want to hear from all agents concerning any problems.
State Auto Manager- james.rose@farmersinsurance.com
State Manager- Auto Liability- brent.tate@farmersinsurance.com
Auto Property Damage (APD State Mgr) paul.lucas@farmersinsurance.com
Property Zone Manager Okla. and Ark- craig.dejager@farmersinsurance.com (pronounced DeYeager)
Craig is probably the one to email concerning the Tulsa Property Office with the "F" BBB rating that is available to your clients & prospects on the Internet.
According to the Tulsa Better Business Bureau, The HelpPoint Claims known as the Tulsa Property Office has had a failing rating for over a year. Go to this link
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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 its appreciation to the many members who assist in and support its 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.
Insurance Fraud Hall of Shame for 2010
Jeffrey Alnut- A tenant died when cash-poor landlord Jeffrey Alnutt burned down his apartment building to steal more than $300,000 in insurance money. The Johnstown, N.Y. man's second-floor tenant Debra Morris died when she dashed back into the flaming building to rescue her cat.
Investigators identified four spots where gasoline was found in the ruins: a staircase, an enclosed porch, the living room and kitchen. A red gasoline can was found melted to the floor.
Alnutt had plenty of motives. His finances plummeted when several of his businesses declined because he spent too much time with his girlfriend, his ex-wife testified during the trial. Hard-up for money, he couldn't cover the mortgages on several buildings he owned. The court sentenced Alnutt to 25 years to life for murder. He's already serving 15 years for burning down his house for nearly $200,000 in fraudulent insurance claims.
Francis Fredette-The Rutland, Vt. man broke his back when he tumbled off the roof of a gas station he was burglarizing. Still scheming despite his painful injury, Fredette had his crony drive him to Fredette's apartment building and dump him on the front steps.Fredette then shook down his innocent landlords and insurer, lying that he had slipped on the landlords' supposedly unsafe steps. Fredette made $700,000 on the deal. The landlords' insurer paid him $550,000, and the landlords gave up their life savings of $150,000 to pay Fredette the balance. The landlords had counted on that money for retirement. Things got sticky when Fredette's crony had a fit of conscience and turned him in. Fredette received 46 months in jail. But he'd already spent the stolen money and was broke, thus forcing his hapless crony to repay the landlords and the insurer.
Pierre Lamont Taylor- Going to body-mangling extremes, swindlers sometimes mutilate themselves for insurance money. Figuring he could make a living without actually working, Pierre Lamont Taylor had his cousin shoot him in the leg to fake a robbery and steal workers' compensation money.Taylor worked for UPS and lied that he was wounded during a job-related robbery in the Washington, D.C. area. Sporting a fresh bullet hole in his right leg, Taylor made a workers' comp claim with Liberty Mutual, which paid out a lump sum of $250,000 as UPS' insurer.
Taylor shared some of his insurance windfall with his crony as payment for the shooting. The dishonest duo got the idea for the shooting after watching a television show involving a similar plot. A former friend of Taylor told authorities about the scheme, and Taylor ultimately confessed.
Taylor and his cousin each received five years in prison (suspended) in a scheme that the cousin's sentencing judge called "one of the dumbest things" he's ever seen.
Kelly Klein-The Seattle, Wash.-area woman may have the unluckiest family in the U.S. They kept getting badly hurt-or so Klein claimed. Klein filed more than $200,000 in fake injury claims. The money involved 96 claims involving family members in less than three years-covering a long list of improbable and phantom accidents. Klein's husband, for instance, supposedly lost his foot after it was crushed by a tractor and required a medical helicopter evacuation to the hospital for amputation. To enhance the seeming realism, Klein even filed a claim for a prosthetic foot.
In addition, her teenage son was seriously burned in a fireworks explosion, needing days of treatment at a burn center, Klein insisted. Her teenage daughter broke her femur in a car wreck that also forced her husband into a wheelchair. The maladies went on.
Klein submitted forged receipts, medical records, and police accident reports to support her fraudulent claims. However, insurer background checks with doctor offices and hospitals showed that Klein's family members had never been patients there, or at least not for the claimed treatments. Despite it all, Klein received only a year in jail, with most of the sentence suspended. She also was forced to repay most of the stolen insurance money. Source: ClaimsMag.com
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Hey! What's the Delay Deal with HelpPoint?
Dear Oklahoma Voice,
Have you heard what is going on in HelpPoint Auto Claims? Seems they can't get it right, When HelpPoint began in 2001, the complaints were unbareble. The last five years have been pretty smooth.
Last week, I had a complaint on an adjuster not seeing a good client's vehicle at the body shop for 5 days. This week, a client called about an auto accident and we entered it into the claims system. He wanted to take his car to one of our COD shops he used before. We said no problem, it's in the system and they are waiting on you. He calls back an hour later blaming me for there being no record of the claim per the body shop. I called HP and gave them the system generated claim number and sure enough, no record. I called HP back moments later and got another CSA and he said he would check the suspense file as we had entered the claim. Sure enough, it was there and it was transferred to the active system and all is happy, except me. I am tired being Agent Jerk in the eyes of my clients. What's going on? Okie Agt.
Dear Okie, The five day delay on adjusters going to the body shop is a reality as of last week. They, HelpPoint, says that time has now dropped to 4 days. (see the article above- Delayed Adjusters- for more info.) As, for the claim NOT appearing on the system after it is input by your office, that's not real time processing. Beware! Agent input claims are held in suspense for several hours or days until the night shift can convert them to active claims. At least, that's what we are being told. Not very timely, huh? You or your client should call the claim direct to HelpPoint to avoid converting delays or contact the Oklahoma Insurance Dept. 1-800-522-0071 or this website for a request for assistance form. I have already spoke with them and delays under 30 days is not against the insurance code. But, forcing policyholder to a particular auto repair shop is a violation. -ed.
OK Insurance Dept To Cut 6 Fraud Investigators
OKLAHOMA CITY 01/24/2011(AP) - Oklahoma's new insurance commissioner plans to lay off six of the office's nine fraud investigators.
Commissioner John Doak says the cuts will save $323,000 per year and will enable the office to focus on fraud allegedly committed by insurance companies. Doak's office told The Oklahoman that it has 142 open cases, but 120 of those cases involve fraud allegations brought by insurance companies against policyholders. The remaining 22 cases involve policyholders who have accused insurance companies of fraud.
Doak's office says its purpose should be protecting consumers and that the insurance companies should not be allowed to rely on the state to investigate claims by its policyholders.The Oklahoman
The Bilbys- Mickey Rick Harold
Agent Harold Bilby Retires
One of the longest family agencies in Okla. ends.
Operating two businesses most of his career, Farmers Agent Harold Bilby recently said "It's time to concentrate our efforts on something where we can be successful. I am going to retire from Farmers after 48 years and work our food operation over which I have total control.
Weber's Superior Root Beer was the creation of Oscar "Weber" Bilby back in the late 1800's. Oscar and his wife Fanny moved to Oklahoma in 1884. Oscar was a farmer, but he enjoyed experimenting with different soft drink condiments. Through trial and error, he put together a secret recipe consisting of 14 natural ingredients which were "fire brewed," then stored and aged in birch bark barrels. His famous Weber's Superior Root Beer was then served at the peak of the flavoring cycle. Oscar used yeast to carbonate his root beer.
Did Oscar also invent Tailgating?
On the fourth of July, 1891, Oscar probably made his most significant contribution to society when he forged a piece of iron into a 3' x 4' grill. He then built a pit and heated the grill with hickory wood. His wife, Fanny, made sour dough buns while Oscar pattied up some black angus all-beef-patties and proceeded to grill the patties on his new hand-made outdoor grill. When they were cooked to perfection, he placed the patties between the buns...thus, the first real hamburger was made. He then served them (along with Weber's Superior Root Beer, of course) to more than 100 people who were the Bilbys' friends and family. Oscar continued this 4th of July tradition every year for the rest of his life. Meticulous research revealed that Oscar Weber Bilby was the first person to serve a real hamburger.
Harold and the Bilby family members have owned and operated Webers Root Beer. Inc. located at 3817 S peoria in Tulsa for decades. Started by Harold's grandfather, Oscar Weber Bilby, in 1933 with hamburgers made on a bun using the original 1891 grill built by Oscar. What a heritage! -ed
UFAA Chapter 15 and it's membership wish UFAA Member Harold Bilby, and wife LaDean, the best in retirement from the agency and the best in business at Weber's Root Beer and Grill in Tulsa.
Chapter 15 Officers and Members P.S. Weber's is ranked #4 in the top 10 legendary burger places by askmen.com
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
Did the DM advise you of the political gathering with Ins. Comm. Elect John Doak in Tulsa on Dec 6th or in OKC a week earlier?
Yes 50%
I heard about it via other sources 14%
No, not until I read about it in the Oklahoma Voice 36%
Concerning Dashboard: Which is most frustrating in your agency?
"Blue line" that traveled across your screen in the OLDER Dashboard version 0%
"Spinning Circle" as you wait & wait next page in the IMPROVED version 100%
Circle is a pop up agency reminder of our "Circle of Dependability" (COD) shops 0%
After viewing the JD Power Ratings and Rankings and using the same 1-5 golden ball awards, How would you rate Farmers Group Management?
5 Golden Balls- "Among the Best" 0%
4 Golden Balls- "Better than Most" 0%
3 Golden Balls- "About Average" 5%
2 Golden Balls- "The Rest" of the pack 30%
1 Golden Ball- "The Worst" 65%
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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How did you FIRST hear about Farmers taking Agents to the movies on Jan 20th?
Directly from the DM or district office source 29%
When I read it in the Okla. Voice. 40%
Another source 31%
At the Jan 20th Farmers Movie, who do you believe Farmers will blame for falling 18% short of 2010 goals causing half billion in corporate cost cuts?
Farmers Agents and DM Exclusive Channel 53%
21st Century Direct Channel 0%
The Independent Agent Channel 3%
The poor economy 12%
All of the above 31%
Farmers to Cancel 10,000 Policies
Major insurance companies are issuing cancellation notices regarding wind and hail coverage to thousands of Gulf Coast homeowners. More.. ================================ Move over Segway. Here comes Honda's U3-X. ================================= Don't forget Valentines Day February 14th.
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Call us- 918.252.RAIN for New Guttering, Repair or Cleaning. 09/11
Flo- Queen of Insurance does TV commercial on website quotes at progressive.com. Not just a by-line like other companies.
Progressive Website Tops In Keynote Evaluation
Once again, Farmers ranks near last.
By Phil Gusman, PropertyCasualty360.com NU Online News Service Dec. 13, 3:58 p.m.
Progressive Insurance Company's website scored highest overall in a Keynote Systems evaluation of 12 insurers, beating other insurers in three out of four categories and all five tasks Keynote evaluated. Progressive scored 85 out of 100, beating out top-five finishers GEICO (79), Nationwide Insurance (73), Esurance (69) and Liberty Mutual (65).
Keynote evaluated the websites based on four categories: functionality, ease of use, privacy and security, and quality and availability. Progressive scored first in all categories except "ease of use," where the Mayfield Village, Ohio-based insurer finished second to GEICO.
Keynote also evaluated how the websites accommodate the completion of specific tasks. Progressive scored highest in all five tasks examined, including getting insurance, viewing policy information, check and bill pay, getting service, and learning and planning. GEICO finished second in all five tasks, while Nationwide finished third in all tasks besides "get service," where Nationwide finished fourth. Esurance took third spot for that task. The rest of the rankings- Insurers' websites ranked 6-12 were #6- State Farm (62), #7- Allstate (61), #8- 21st Century (60), #9- MetLife (55), #10- Hartford (53), #11- Farmers (49) #12- Travelers Insurance (48). ============================ Flo has become quite an icon on You Tube and the social media. Check out this Tribute to her. -ed
You Tube Tribute to Famous Flo the Progressive Spokeswoman
Was the Farmers Class at the Movie on Jan 20th worth your time and effort?
Professor Burke at the University of Farmers where "Every Class is a Disaster."
Professor Burke stars in Farmer's commercials. Click Prof. Burke's pic to see Professor Burk's new educational films that may someday become commercials to run against Flo or, perhaps, Esurance that tends to market more youthful drivers direct. Class instruction at the U of F and click on videos at bottom of screen Other Commercials that you may not have seen Pulse of the AgentsPOLL
Greetings! Availability after March 12. Contact me direct for up to 40% off published rate. NEXT SUMMER, THIS WILL RENT FOR AS MUCH AS $1600/WEEK, REFERRALS PAID 10% Contact Glenn at glenn@gjohnsonagency.comClick pic for panoramic interior/exterior view 07/11
Hammers joins Zurich as Great Lakes area executive
Zurich has promoted Frank Hammers as Great Lakes area executive for Zurich in North America. Hammers will be based in Independence, Ohio and focus his efforts on building Zurich's business segments in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio.
Area executives are responsible for directing all Zurich's general insurance market facing activities in their territory. They are also responsible for delivering Zurich's value proposition to customers through Zurich's Select Broker TM locations, which are a set of broker locations where Zurich focuses its time and resources to help them grow their business with Zurich. Hammers comes to Zurich with 24 years of experience in underwriting, marketing and management within the insurance industry. Most recently, he was vice president of sales and marketing for American International Group Inc.
Save 50% on Prescription Drugs by cutting in half
Dear Editor, I read this in a medical article. I am passing it on for the agents.
Tablet Splitter
Copay Savings Program for Tablet Splitting - You can save on normal monthly copay of various cholesterol-lowering drugs & antidepressants by splitting a higher strength tablet in half (of eligible medications) to reach the prescribed daily dose. The out-of-pocket cost will be reduced with a prescription for the higher strength tablet when the tablet is split in half. One copay will apply to a 60-day supply at retail verses a 30 day supply. Okie Agent Dear Okie. Great Idea! With the savings, you can buy a $5 tablet splitter at Wal-mart. That beats trying to chase that bullet a city block when trying to cut it with a butter knife. As expensive & hard as many tablets are, it makes me wonder if they bind the pill together with diamond dust to justify the price and prevent splitting. Do they actually dissolve? Let's not go there. Next subject! -ed
918-663-5848 Fire, Water, Storm Damage & Other Perils
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.
Quick reference Advertiser listing in this issue you can print or download for your office
Other headlines too late to publish located on the home page.
Zurich Financial Boosts U.S. Presence
Rumblings Of Turnaround In Insurance Market
Breaking News?..
NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles Could be named Farmers
$20 Million a year over 30 years
Los Angeles seems to be doing things backwards: they have a stadium plan in place, potential designs have been unveiled, there's a Web site, and now a possible new stadium in Los Angeles for the hopes of landing a new NFL team has a company interested in naming rights: Farmers Insurance.
According to the Los Angeles Times, AEG, the group that would manage the new stadium reportedly has had talks with Farmers Insurance for naming rights for the yet-to-be-built stadium, that would house a yet-to-be-named team.
The financial details haven't been set in stone. AEG was hoping for a [30 year] $20 million-per-year deal, that would have gradual increases annually. Essentially, it's just another step in Los Angeles' bid for a new NFL team to replace the ones they lost in the mid-90s.
It's interesting that the talks in Los Angeles are going on, however. Two of the newest NFL stadiums: Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, home of the Jets and Giants, and Cowboys Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, are still operating without naming-rights agreements; and no such agreement seems to be in sight for either stadium.
In the business of the National Football League, a naming-rights agreement is just a small portion of the overall revenue a team can generate. According to the article in Los Angeles Times, the Cowboys, Jets and Giants are looking for naming-rights agreements that would rake in more money than the $20 million per-year that the proposed LA stadium would get.
The article quoted Mark Ganis, a "stadium expert" as saying that even if the stadium never comes to fruition, it's good visibility for Farmers Insurance. It's hard to understand Ganis' position, seeing as that the stadium is just a proposal on a piece of paper. As far as corporate visibility for Farmers, who can ignore their latest jingle: "We are insurance, We Are Farmers...ba ba dum ba dum ba dum." Farmers Insurance has good corporate visibility, with or without the stadium in Los Angeles.
Luke Rasmussen is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America, and is Anchor for Allvoicesand has a creditbility rating of 5 stars. More on this subject from the L.A.Times on our home page link above. -ed
Okla Ins Dept 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 Chapter 15 Home Page Link above.
We just can't make it much easier. Just mouse the Join Ufaa logo to obtain the a 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.
Section 1250.8 - Methods to Apply for Adjustment and Settlement of Motor Vehicle Total Losses
One of the longest family agencies in Okla. ends.
