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 Oklahoma UFAA Contacts:    

UFAA Chapter 15 serving Eastern Oklahoma   

President- Glenn Johnson 918/252-0561  

UFAA Chapter 12 serving Central-Western Oklahoma:   

President- Tony Reese 580/355-1335 - Lawton  

United Farmers Agents Assn. National Office 800-275-8668
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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.

 The new State Based System will be effective in Oklahoma in June, 2011 replacing the Sircon System used over the last few years for your personal info and license renewals that will change the renewal date to the last day of your birth month. 

Many changes have occurred with the OID along with new legislation that affects, agent/producers, adjusters and bail bondsmen.  

Commissioner Doak has placed a Power Point Presentation on the OID Website for your review of the changes. Many changes are effective soon so, you need to review the new requirements under these subjects:

Benefits of the new State Based System (SBS)

Change in License Renewal Date

Licensing Legislation changes 

Legislation for Bail Bondsmen

CE Modifications

Adjuster Licensing Changes  

Click here to access link to view Power Point Presentation on Legislative Update 2011  

Commissioner Doak creates new free Insurance Mentoring CE Course for licensees age 65+ and have been in the insurance industry for a minimum of 20 years.

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Summary of New Laws in Effect June 20, 2011

Below is a brief summary of the new law changes that may affect you as an Oklahoma licensed insurance professional.

New Reporting System for OK Insurance Licensees:

The Oklahoma Insurance Department has changed to a new database and reporting system for all insurance licensing functions.  The state no longer uses Sircon to process transactions.  All licensing reporting will be done through State Based Systems (SBS) and the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR).  OID says the new system will be available on June 20, 2011.

State Based System (SBS):  www.statebasedsystems.com

Date Change for License Renewals

License renewal dates will change to BIRTH month.  This process will have a two year implementation.  License renewal month will update to birth month upon completion of current renewal.

 Reduced License Reinstatement Period:

Licenses that lapse will have only twelve (12) months to reinstate instead of the previous allowance of twenty-four (24) months.

New CE Guidelines:  Very Important

CE requirements must be completed at least 12 days in advance of license expiration date in order to guarantee your ability to renew  without penalties. 

License renewal fees may not be transacted before all CE requirements are met and reported. See above advisory statement.

Continuing Education general hours can now be taken in any line of license, not restricted to only those lines in which licensed.  Producers may take any course approved for Producer - either L/H or P/C, excluding speciality requirements (LTCP, Annuities).  Adjuster may take any course approved for Adjuster - either Property or Casualty or WorkComp.

Professional Designations Approved for CE:

Approved professional designation programs of 24 hours (minimum total) may quality for CE credit if completed within a 24 month period.

New Adjuster Line of License Identification: 

Property (Motor Vehicle Physical Damage now included under this line)

Casualty

Workers' Compensation

Crime and Fidelity Bonds

Crop/Hail

Multi-peril Crop

Email Address Requirement:

OID now requires a valid email address for all licensees. This information must be updated within 30 days of a change or fines will be incurred. Update your record today!  Go to: Update Email Address

For Additional Law Changes and Details:

Oklahoma Insurance Department Legislative Update 2011 Notice.

Source: Stone Insurance Education 

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John "Okie" Doak featured speaker at the 2011 UFAA Convention in Las Vegas

Convention 2011

Oklahoma         

Insurance Commissioner John Doak Speaks to United Farmers Agents Convention 2011 

Okla. Insurance Commissioner arrived Tuesday June 7th at the Las Vegas Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino, the site of the 2011 UFAA National Convention. After the Commissioner checked into the hotel, he met with 4 Oklahoma Chapter Delegates over dinner at the hotel Seafood Buffet.

Comm. Doak was the UFAA Convention 2011 featured speaker on Wednesday morning. The commissioner reviewed his 155 days in office and commented on the drastic tornado destruction in the cities of  El Reno and Piedmont, Oklahoma that he personally viewed. "I am just as likely to stop by an agent's office to say hi as I am to respond to a disaster area when traveling in Oklahoma." Doak stated.

"I am not in the business of telling insurance companies how to operate," stated Doak, "I will, however, view the fairness among the group including the insuring public, agents and companies."  

 Don't' be surprised if I call you 

Don't be surprised, if I pick up the phone and call an insurance company, adjuster or an agent, Doak related as he explained two recent calls to adjusters. In direct interviews with disaster area policyholders, one adjuster was demanding the keys to a vehicle destroyed by a tornado along with the policyholder's home where the vehicle keys were hanging on a wall that no longer exists. During the conversation with the Commissioner, the adjuster saw the error of his demands. Another adjuster was depreciating the value of a washer and dryer blown to somewhere unknown by a tornado. The adjuster was demanding the serial numbers of the units.

Doak called and asked the adjuster the serial numbers of his own washer and dryer that do exist. The adjuster got the message. Many think I am an imposter when I call, the Commissioner related. I give them my office number and my secretary assures them the call came from the commissioner as she transfers the call to me.

In his first 155 days in office, one of our challenges was creating a policy and procedures manual for the department. We could not find any such document ever existed within the Oklahoma Insurance Dept. We also have created a department first responder group to deploy to disasters. These are not only dept. employees but, volunteers with insurance knowledge to assist the scores of disaster victims with insurance related questions and problems. The commissioner, as a past agent, has sat in many boring CE classes, he will revise the classes to be more interesting. For agents age 65+ with 20+ years experience, they will be able to instruct non insurance related citizens through schools, homeowners associations, civic clubs and others on the subjects of insurance and receive their CE credits for such public instruction.    

Fremont St. Downtown Vegas (L-R) Dewayne Phillips, VP C-15, Terry Wilson, Treas/Media, C-15, Comm. John Doak, Mike Gately, Past Pres. C-15, Don Willis, Delegate C-12, Bethany.

Comm Doak With Oklahoma Delegates. (L-R) Mike Ward, Terry Wilson, Mike Gately, Comm Doak, Don Willis, John Wiley, Dewayne Phillips

UFAA VP Mike Ward Thanks Comm. Doak for his attendance to the UFAA Convention 2011. Pictured in background is UFAA Pres. Tom Schrader.

Oklahoma Delegates suggest improvements  

Over dinner, Oklahoma Delegates discussed the 2011 Oklahoma Legislation and the new SBS license renewal system. Delegates encouraged the commissioner to make an administrative rule to prevent companies from charging back company paid appointment fees to the producers (T36 Sec. 1435.15 Paragraph D- Producer Acting as Agent) Appointment fees are clearly a corporate cost of doing business.  

It was also suggested that the agent discrimination law that prohibits companies or any person from discriminating against producers to be upgraded to a felony with 1 year imprisonment and or a $1,000 fine stacked for each violation. (T36 Sec. 1435.15 - Producer Acting as Agent  Paragraph E)  

On another subject, Doak agreed with the agents assessments of black box rating and credit scoring models and how they should be improved due to inherent errors and suspected abuses against agents and the insuring public.  

With more than one auto on a policy, accidents should not increase another driver's rates in the same household, if they were not involved. Encouraged the commissioner to review the reserves and financial well being of AAA related P&C companies due to their extreme low rates.  

The Agents Win One with the New OID Adminisatration  

2011 Customer Service Hall of Shame  

Major players in industries we love to hate -- banking, credit cards and cable -- dominate the list of 10 companies ranked worst in MSN Money's fifth annual survey.

By Karen Aho 

The history of Farmers Insurance Group, as described on its website, is of two men from modest beginnings who set out to "build a business of service."

 "We must keep that up forever," co-founder John C. Tyler tells agents in an audio clip. "Because if insurance isn't service, it isn't anything,"

Forward ahead eight decades and the company's modern story is peppered with complaints of poor service: dropped policies, unpaid claims, unresponsive adjusters. In one case, Washington regulators stepped in after Farmers failed to pay for auto injuries by claiming the other driver had succumbed to road rage.

In the 2011 MSN Money-Zogby poll, 29.1% of those familiar with Farmers' customer service called it "poor," earning Farmers a spot in our Customer Service Hall of Shame.

The Los Angeles company declined to answer questions, but did send a written statement in which it questioned its inclusion in the survey because the Farmers brand has exclusive agents in only 30 states. The Farmers Insurance Group sells insurance, including under different names, such as 21st Century Insurance, in every state.

Farmers "takes great pride" in its "industry-leading, face-to-face customer service," added Mark Toohey, a spokesman.

Farmers is the third-largest home and auto insurer in the country, providing 20 million policies across 50 states. Founded in 1928 to insure farm vehicles, it is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services (ZFSVF) in Switzerland.

Even average service, it seems, might cost customers more. In 2007, Farmers requested permission from the state of California to further raise its rates -- after being ordered to lower them -- because it had improved its rankings in a J.D. Power and Associates customer-satisfaction survey from "below average" to "slightly above average" over the preceding three years. The company's request was denied and, coincidentally, later that year its ranking in the same survey plummeted. Farmers posted operating profit in 2010 of $1.68 billion. The pay of CEO Robert Woudstra was not available.   

MSN Money asked Zogby International to conduct an online national survey in which 3,022 randomly chosen respondents rated customer service at 150 companies from 15 industries. The response choices were "excellent," "good," "fair," "poor," "I haven't had an interaction with this company's customer service" and "not sure." The poll was conducted in late April.

Three other insurance companies were ranked in the survey.

Insurers Stretch To Handle Tornado Damage In Mo. & Okla.

May 25, 2011 | By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com

State Farm spokesman John Wiscaver has been with the company for 23 years and calls the damage caused by a tornado in Joplin, Mo., "as bad as I have ever seen."

He adds, "The damage is significant. You look at the severity-buildings made of steel twisted and flattened to the ground."

State Farm has sent substantial resources and supplies to the area, as it expects thousands of home and automobile claims. The city of about 50,000 residents lost homes, a hospital, a school, police and fire departments, and large stores along a commercial strip, Wiscaver adds.

More than 120 people died, making the May 22 tornado the deadliest in more than 60 years. Catastrophe risk modeling firm EQECAT says insured losses for the Joplin tornado could be between $1 billion and $3 billion.

Paul Crosetti, Missouri executive director for Farmers Insurance, says the damage is "unbelievable."

"The amount of destruction...as far as you can see...it's heart-wrenching," he says from the company's mobile claims center in Joplin. "Tornadoes are just very violent in the way they cause damage."

"The emotional toll it must take to lose everything-I can only imagine," he adds. "We're here to try to make things a little easier."  "We're trying to keep up with the reports to stay ahead, but it is definitely a challenge," Crosetti says. "We're always trying to figure out how we will handle additional claims volumes if we need to. We're always asking the question."

While Farmers issues advances on living expenses with debit cards ("Some folks have no way to cash a check right now," Crosetti says), the company is sending other mobile claims vehicles to Oklahoma City, Okla., to deal with tornadoes that struck May 24.

Wiscaver says the tornadoes in Oklahoma struck more rural-type areas. "From a claims-numbers standpoint it won't be a significant event, but it is to the families that did lose their homes," Wiscaver says. "We'll be there to help them." Additional claims will be filed in Texas, where the storm system pounded the Dallas/Fort Worth area with hail the size of baseballs, reports the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT).

Allstate's Good Hands Scoop Up Esurance For $1B 

 National Underwriter P&C May 23/30, 2011 |  By Chad Hemenway

[Another Captive Company Buys Direct to Customer Insurance Company]