UFAA RESPONDS TO JOPLIN DISASTER

           

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President- Glenn Johnson 918/252-0561  

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President- Tony Reese 580/355-1335 - Lawton  

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UFAA Responds to Joplin Devastation    

Immediately following the tragic news of the Joplin, Mo. devastating tornado, Eastern Oklahoma Chapter 15 of the United Farmers Agents Association (UFAA) laid plans to respond to Joplin with over a ton of cased bottled water, Granola bars and fresh fruit to hand out to victims devastated by the storm.

Upon hearing of the Chapter 15 plans, the UFAA National Board immediately approved funds to be placed in a disaster account to support Joplin and future disasters. Many UFAA chapters and members across several states donated to the UFAA Disaster Fund in support of the victims.

Five Chapter 15 Members met at the Farmers Tulsa Claims Center At 7AM May 24th. After removing rear seats from two 7-passenger vans and dividing the load of supplies, Chapter 15 members, wearing white shirts bearing the blue UFAA logo, caravanned to Joplin to meet the Farmers Mobile Claims Bus #9 at 7th St. & Range Line Road. Members set up operations near the Bus and other CCVs on the Toys'R'us parking lot.

UFAA and Farmers Working Together

UFAA Chapter 15 members were happily greeted by HelpPoint personnel and encouraged to use one van in the claims area to assist the needs of victims and send the other van to the devastated area about a mile away to assist victims with UFAA's water and food supplies. In addition, HelpPoint personnel provided bags of gloves, flashlights and batteries to distribute in the field. This worked well as many victims were clearing debris without gloves and could not report to the claims area due to lack of transportation as hundreds of vehicles were destroyed.

UFAA Vice Pres. Ward assisting victims

"Total Devastation"

"The total devastation was absolutely shocking," stated 37 year Farmers Agent Michael Ward, Vice President of UFAA, "There were vast areas of homes destroyed down to the foundations by the storm. These victims have nothing- no home, contents, a bed or a car," Ward commented, May 24th. "UFAA is very proud to do our part to bring some level of temporary comfort to the citizens including our Farmers policyholders. With over 100 deaths and 1,500 still missing, many tragically lost more than their possessions."

Pictured in right photo are Joplin responding UFAA Members from Eastern Okla. Chapter 15 (L-R) 

Mike Gately, Chapter 15 Past Pres.

Terry Wilson, Chapter 15 Treas/Media  

Glenn Johnson, Chapter 15 Pres.   

Del Janzen, Chapter 15 Past Vice Pres. 

Mike Ward, UFAA National Vice Pres.

Upon preparing to leave Joplin, several mobile kitchens were arriving. These are competition BBQ'ers who compete regionally throughout the Midwest. They were volunteering at the HelpPoint site and were to be used as warming stations for the 50,000 lbs. of frozen cooked chicken donated by OK Foods scheduled to arrive later in a refrigerated semi-truck. UFAA Members were invited to eat BBQ a large trailer mounted BBQ'er with a large gold Farmers logo. A retired central Missouri DM had prepared great grilled Bratwurst and excellent sliced smoked Pork Tenderloin for sandwiches.  

Chapter 15 donated numerous cases of water, fruit and Granola Bars to restock the HelpPoint supply trailer stationed at the Joplin disaster location. The other van still had several cases of water that were brought back to Tulsa, as the weather service was predicting severe storms in Oklahoma Tuesday evening. As our members had to staff their offices on Wednesday, the chapter volunteered to donate the balance of supplies to the Tulsa Claims Center for use in the El Reno and Piedmont, Oklahoma areas ravaged by tornados Tuesday night. When delivered to Tulsa Claims on Wednesday morning, we were advised no Tulsa adjusters were yet assigned to the Western Oklahoma storm sites. However, according to claims, there were some Oklahoma State Office employees planning to drive to the ravaged areas that day.

When Claims advised the Oklahoma State Office of the UFAA water supply donation, according to Kim Lawrence, the state office refused to accept nearly a 1,000 17oz. cased bottles of water for the benefit of the  

EL Reno/Piedmont Storm Victims and HelpPoint Mobile Claims Center bus No. 5 moved from Minneapolis to Piedmont on Wednesday.  

Pictured left is Micheal Guerra, a senior director of the Tulsa American Red Cross.(ARC) and Terry Wilson, Chapter 15 Treasurer/Media.  

Wilson donated the balance of the chapter disaster supplies to the capable hands of ARC who were extremely thankful for the donation as they had a truck scheduled for El Reno & Piedmont that day.     

Editors note: Before leaving for Joplin, UFAA Chapter 15 members made calls to Joplin, Mo., Grove & Miami Okla. Farmers Agents to check on their damage status offering assistance to their offices. Agents Lippitt in Grove and King in Miami reported no damage but sporatic, if any, internet service. Joplin Agents Ony, Teeter and Smith who office in the same building reported no internet with damages limited to an outdoor office sign.           Yes, UFAA maintained our commitment of- 

"Agents Helping Agents"tm

For more pics & comments on the Joplin deviation, be sure to click  on www.ufaa.com 

Tom Schrader,   UFAA President

THE AGENCY PURGE-

Suspended Temporarily

Several weeks ago FGI management met behind closed doors and decided to temporarily suspend the Purge program.  The key word to remember is temporarily suspended.  UFAA will continue to impress upon FGI how destructive and caustic these types of ill-conceived programs are to the entire Agency Force. Let us not be complacent; let us continue to use our voice to send a message to FGI that these types of programs have no place in the relationship between agent and company.

Remember that the AAA (Agent Appointment Agreement) states that the agent will determine the time, place and manner in which to conduct business and nothing will be construed to imply an employee employer relationship.  There is also no reference to production requirements in the AAA (pre 2009). The assumed legal reason for this is that, if an agent is an Independent Contractor he/she cannot be assigned production requirements according to the IRS code.

Please visit the UFAA (United Farmers Agents Association) website, ufaa.com and join the only organization that was created by Farmers Agents for the advancement of Farmers Agents and the collective security of the Agency Force. Or call UFAA at 1-800-275-8668 and the UFAA staff will make the process for you simple and quick. Join now and lend us your voice, it is needed!

Now, on to some more sobering News...

  THE AGENCY GROWTH MODEL

  UFAA has been over whelmed by emails and telephone calls from the Agency Force over their concerns on the "Agency Growth Model" and how this will impact the future of their agencies with Farmers.  It appears that District Meetings are being scheduled across the country in the coming weeks to introduce the formal program to the Agency Force.

The Agency Growth Model is a color coded matrix that will grade and color rank every single agent, DM, DMM's, State Executives, etc., as to their performance in quoting, converting quotes, auto, home, commercial and life production.  The final score or ranking one receives will supposedly determine whether one has a future with Farmers.  There are also additional programs called BRIL and EDGE which basically is an optional probationary program, should FGI decide to give one another opportunity to hit their numbers, if not then supposedly the Opt-In program kicks in, which means a 90 day notice with no chance for reconsideration.

Now while we can all agree that if an agent is to be successful then he/she must have a contact program to solicit business and grow his agency, it is another matter altogether to impose a thinly veiled quota system upon the agency force.  This Agency Growth Model is a huge concern for the Agency Force and let us examine why.

The pre 2009 AAA (Agents Appointment Agreement) states that the agent determines the time, place and manner in which to conduct business and there is nothing in the AAA that shall imply that there is an employee/employer relationship.  The reason for this is that the agent is an Independent Contractor according to the AAA and production quotas would imply an employee/employer relationship according to the IRS.  FGI can use all the flowery rhetoric that one wants, but if agents are required to quote a specific number of auto, home, commercial and life quotes per day, are graded on their conversion of quoting to selling and are based on final production then agents are not Independent Contractors they are employees according to the IRS definition.  One exception, all of those agents that signed the 2009 AAA and after have producti! on requirements in their contract.

So here we are again after so many conversations with FGI regarding that agents are Independent Contractors and do not have production quotas.  FGI once again is hoping that the agency force doesn't notice that quotas are being placed upon them and they accept the program without any backlash.  The problem is that once you open that door (contractual law) and you do not challenge it, you lose future rights to legally challenge it and they can increase the quoting and production numbers to whatever level they deem necessary.

Please visit the UFAA (United Farmers Agents Association) website, ufaa.com and join the only organization that was created by Farmers Agents for the advancement of Farmers Agents and the collective security of the Agency Force. Remember this affects each and every agent and if you are non-competitive in your area, you may find yourself in the crosshairs through no fault of your own.  You can also call the UFAA National Office at 1-800-275-8668 and the UFAA staff will make the process for you simple and quick. Join now and lend us your voice, it is needed!

Tom Schrader, President

United Farmers Agents Association

2011 Oklahoma Legislation In Progress  (As of April 29th)

Affirmative Action to the 2012 Ballot

On Wednesday night, the Oklahoma House of Representatives approved Senate Joint Resolution 15, a proposed constitutional amendment that will be decided by a vote of the people. The proposed amendment would effectively end affirmative action programs in state government, universities and colleges.  This emotionally debated issue - put off until final hours of a long difficult week - played out after 8 p.m. The Chamber was noticeably empty during debate as many members had left for the week or listened from their offices.  

Governor Signs Gun Rights Law

This week, Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation that strengthens Oklahomans' Second Amendment rights.House Bill 1439 expands the right to use deadly force to business employees who have reason to fear death or great bodily harm. Previously, state law allowed individuals to use deadly force only in their homes; HB 1449 expands that right to include their place of business.

Rail Expansion Bill Signed into Law

Gov. Mary Fallin has signed into law HB1686, the Eastern Flyer Passenger Rail Initiative.

This measure originated as an interim study and has evolved through the process to emerge as a vehicle to advance mutual understanding of Transportation P3 (Public-Private Partnership) with the goal of extending passenger rail to Tulsa.  The Heartland Flyer presently carries passengers from Ft. Worth to Oklahoma City, and according to studies done by the Texas Transportation Institute, small towns along the route are benefiting to the profit level of $18 million in lodging, meals, shopping and entertainment, annually.

Good News for Hospitals!!!

HB1381 - The Supplemental Hospital Offset Payment Program Act cleared the Senate this past week. This would allow participating hospitals to levy a 2.5 percent fee on "net patient revenue," according to the state hospital association. That revenue would trigger federal dollars that could be used to serve uninsured Oklahomans, primarily Medicaid recipients.

House Approves New Restrictions on Telemarketers

The Oklahoma House of Representatives voted this week to impose new restrictions on telemarketers.Senate Bill 398 amends the Telemarketer Restriction Act so that cell phone numbers and text messages are off-limits to telemarketers if a citizen is on the statewide registry for those not wishing to be contacted by telemarketers.  SB 398 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a 97-0 vote. The measure will now return to the state Senate for further consideration.

House Passes Bill to Prevent Political Violence

SB285 would make it a felony to willfully and knowingly enter a restricted area where state officials are being provided protection by the Department of Public Safety has passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives.The bill would also make it a felony to enter a restricted area to engage in violence or disorderly conduct and specifically mentions the Governor's Mansion.

Birther Bill  

SB91, passed late Wednesday evening, is legislation which requires future U.S. Presidential candidates to provide a copy of their photo I.D. and their birth certificate to the Oklahoma State Election Board as evidence of their eligibility to run for office.

-HB 2024 by Rep. Daniel Sullivan modifies language applicable to actions in which the present value of the award of future damages equals or exceeds $100,000.

-HB 1027 by Rep. Larry Glenn modifies language under the Compulsory Insurance Law, allowing dismissal with payment of court costs if security verification is presented to the court on the first scheduled appearance.

-SB 304 by Sen. David Holt designates the southbound bridge on U.S. 722/U.S. 281 crossing the Red River as "PresidentGeorgeW.BushBridge."

Allstate Seeks to 'Box In' Geico, Progressive With Esurance

Allstate Corp. (ALL) Chief Executive Officer Thomas Wilson, who agreed today to buy online auto- insurance seller Esurance from White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd., said he's seeking to limit rivals' growth with the deal.

"What I'm basically doing is trying to box in Geico and Progressive," Wilson said in an interview today. "We'll compete aggressively with Geico and Progressive for those customers who are self-directed and want a branded experience. They're great companies. They know how to compete in that segment. We believe we can compete with them there."

Wilson, 53, is choosing to expand car policy sales by acquiring a company that sells through the Internet rather than build the business in-house. Allstate has lost auto clients for most of the past three years as younger drivers shunned using agents to shop for coverage. Buying the online-insurance seller saves Allstate time and money on advertising, Wilson said.

Zurich Financial Services AG expanded online sales in the U.S. with the 2009 purchase of 21st Century from American International Group Inc., which was selling operations to repay a government bailout. Travelers Cos., the insurer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is involved in what it calls a "long- term" process of building a business to sell auto policies through direct channels such as the Internet.

"Acquiring Esurance gives us a couple of things which we could build ourselves, but would take longer and would come with more risk," Wilson said. Northbrook, Illinois-based Allstate's underwriting experience will help Esurance lower claims costs and sell coverage to new customers, Wilson said.

Dallas Police Fill Vehicle Impound lot within nine days

Oklahoma has a similar law for uninsured motorists. -ed   

 Michigan Secretary of State awards Farmers Insurance for a Decade of Motorcycle Safety Awareness

- Fri May 13, 9:00 am ET

THIRTEEN THINGS YOUR BURGLAR WON'T TELL YOU:

Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina , Oregon , California , and Kentucky; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs http://www.crimedoctor.com/ and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book, "Burglars on the Job"

A new law now focuses on making businesses safer.

> Protection for you and your home or Office