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OKLAHOMA
VOICE
March 2012
Published monthly by United Farmers Agents Association, aka UFAA, Chapter 15 Eastern Oklahoma. The chapter now meets the first Thursday of each month.
Next Chapter 15 Member Meeting will be THURSDAY, March 1st 11:30 AM |
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101 E Albany St. Broken Arrow
Chapter 15 Meetings have moved to the more elegant LONE STAR STEAKHOUSE (this is right off the B/A Expressway @ 161 E A just past entrances to BASS PRO). MAP Chapter 15 Meetings have changed from the first Wednesday to the FIRST THURSDAY of the month.
Non-members 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 UFAA's newly updated website |
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Oklahoma UFAA Contacts:
UFAA Chapter 15 serving Eastern Oklahoma
President- Glenn Johnson 918/252-0561 Tulsa
UFAA Chapter 12 serving Central-Western Oklahoma:
President- Jeff Roberts -580-224-0808 -Ardmore
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.
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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Greetings!
Join us March 1st at the Lone Star Steakhouse
for the UFAA Chapter 15 Monthly Meeting
Chapter 15 will hold the next monthly meeting on Thursday, March 1st 11:30 AM at the Lone Star Steakhouse 101 E. Albany St. Broken Arrow- located just past the driving entrance to Bass Pro Shop. Exit B/A Exp. @ 161st E A aka (Elm PL) Menu (scroll to bottom for lunch)
Please arrive for Lunch @11:30 - UFAA Meeting begins at Noon.
Join with our Special Guest Grant Garlington and staff from Robinson Glass for industry updates on auto and residential glass techniques. Robinson is our most senior Okla. Voice advertiser.
Please plan now to attend.
Attendees should prepare to order lunch upon timely arrival. The staff will be prepared to take your order upon your seating and cooked to order. We will no longer order as a group as in the past as this has been interruptive to our speakers and business meetings.
Did you miss the Feb 2nd Meeting? Bummer! We all got our lunch (great steaks) & appetizers all paid for by Noah Harrelson, the best Appliance Repair Guy in Tulsa. Be sure to request him for warranty & non warranty repairs 918 629 0934. He stated that our AHS Home Warranty Policy is as good as they come & all should have it because of repairing/replacing expensive touch pad electronics.
Dan Kirby State Representative & Vice Chair of Insurance Legislative Committee was our February Special Guest Speaker. He gave us some information on upcoming changes in Okla Health Care, especially how the new exchanges will work, & proposed new mandates for offering Earthquake Insurance. If you missed this, maybe we will see you at next months UFAA Chapter Meeting at the Lone Star Steakhouse in Broken Arrow.
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You are receiving this newsletter late as Farmers blocked your email at farmersagent.com
More than half of the Oklahoma Farmers Agency force have another email address to a
(NON Farmersagent.com) address. There are several free mail accounts available, such as Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail and many more. Agents use these email accounts for more personal business under your agreement with Farmers that states in part-
Agent eMail System
"The Farmers Systems and Materials are intended for use in connection with legitimate business purposes related to Farmers or your Farmers agency, and are not intended to be used for other purposes (including personal purposes). You should have no expectation of privacy in your use of the Farmers Systems or in any Materials, regardless of the purposes of your use of the Farmers Systems or the content of the Materials, including any communications, or any access permissions you set on the accounts you maintain on the Farmers Systems."You should change all you personal email to your alternate account.There is no privacy on emailing friends, family or doing your on line banking on farmersagent.com.
For those agents that now have alternate email accounts, you can join our UFAA Chapter 15 mailing list below and continue to receive the Oklahoma Voice. Simply, click the Join Our Mailing List link below. Type in your alternate email address and you will receive an instant email at that address.
Open the email and type in some information that we can verify that you are a Farmers Agent. Your done and will receive a confirming email to verify your info.
Join Our Mailing List!
If your alternate email address is already at the top of this email, you need not take any action. In the coming months, we will be dropping our farmersagent.com mailing list from the Oklahoma Voice and strictly use your alternate email account. Thanks in advance- editor |
Just one editor's observation and ranking from National Underwriter Jan 23.
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918-663-5848
Fire, Water, Storm Damage & Other Perils Full Service Mitigation and Reconstruction 10344-B East 58th St Tulsa, OK 74146
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Follow up: Farmers National Broadcast Jan. 19, 2012
Remember from our Feb. Issue? Image center has had its ups and downs with multiple issues. Now a better system? -according to the Farmers broadcast, that is.
our comment was... Ed's note- Image Center cannot access scores of months of images such as Okla. UM selection/rejection forms leading Claims to go back to agents to acquire forms. If not available, Farmers attempts to file a UM E&O claim against agents, when, in fact, it's a historic Image Center storage system glitch. The UFAA member E&O Plan video
How does your E&O carrier handle it? Click the video link above and learn how E&O should work?
Update for above Image Center Solutions
According to an insider who confirmed the image center was missing documents and the statement on the Farmers Broadcast of "Now a Better System" was more of a projection than an reality. Seems we are now discovering the image center problems are scheduled to be fixed by a target date of Feb 18, 2012 rather than already fixed per the Broadcast video. But, that is just a target date and could change depending on other priority issues that come up in the IT Dept., according to the source. In the meantime, adjusters may seek a UM form from you or file an E&O claim against you that you may have scanned and shredded per the companies.
Don't you think you should move your mouse pointer back up to the UFAA E&O plan video link to discover what a REAL E&O Policy is designed to cover? UFAA sponsored E&O actually covers Errors and Omissions by the agent and staff. And, are denying UM claims above with your permission as it's a corporate issue- not the agents'.
And, Remember this?
"Stable pricing- premium increases to continue, but will be measured and timely, no big price swings up or down." Better customer retention // Customer loyalty pricing through reasonable, competitive, and stable pricing // discounts directed at retaining policyholders instead of attracting new customers."
Jeff Daily, Farmers CEO
Jan 19, 2012
It didn't take long for those statements above to turn questionable
National Underwriter Feb. 3, 2012
Farmers Insurance Hikes Rates Nearly 10% in Texas Set for March 2012
Farmers Insurance will raise homeowner premiums by nearly 10 percent after Texas regulators declined to object to the increase. The Dallas Morning News reported that the rate hike, set for mid-March, will apply to about half of the Farmers Insurance policyholders across Texas. Nearly 350,000 affected customers have either a Texas Family Home Policy or a Next Generation Home Policy. The rate request was filed last October with the Texas Department of Insurance. Company officials have said the higher rates are needed due to increased claim costs. Farmers last raised home insurance rates in Texas in March 2011, an increase of nearly 4 percent. UPDATE! Oklahoma also increased fire rates 10% on Homes, 8% on Renters, 15% on LLP all effective April 16, 2012. Farmers has recently terminated some agents in California for operating their office out of their homes. Dear Okie Voice, Thanks for your publication. It opens my eyes to a much larger world than just what occurs in my office. I was an agent for 5 years when I was force to vacate my office on Valentines Day in 1979. Some one broke into our office building and tried to cover office burglaries by setting some trash and oil soaked rags on fire. The fire caused about $25k in damage but, the oil smoke damage was over $200k with a strong acrid smoke smell. The fire forced all businesses out for 4 months during renovations.
I moved my office to my home on a temporary basis to conduct business. It was a most stressful time with a terrible two year old at home. About 2 months after the move, the DM and DMM stopped by unannounced with threats and intimidation. I was to immediately moving out of my home to an office or I would be terminated.
My wife overhearing the threats, jumped right in both of their faces stating, "This is a very stressful time for us and your threats only make it worse. You should be here to help the agent, not criticize. Looking at the DM she said, You, did not even offer a place for us to operate in your large building with plenty of space. I am going to the school to pick up our daughter and will return in 15 minutes. Neither of you want to be here when I return," she demanded. She walked out and slammed the door.
I followed up stating, She is absolutely right! "You have done nothing to assist this agency in crisis. AND, you don't want to be here when she returns, so leave." They immediately left and the moving subject was forever dropped.
From that day forward, I have taken the attitude the DM works for the agents as he or she gets the bulk of their income from us. If the DM wants to meet, he knows my address. I did return to the same office complex following the fire renovations and joined UFAA in 1982 when the Northeastern Okla. Chapter 15 was formed. It's been a much less stressful business career since the fire, 33 years ago, as I now know my rights and rarely do I even see a DM. Okie Agent.
Dear Okie, Great move on the part of both you and your wife. Middle management has traditionally been bullies with threats and coercion toward the weak and meek that they can control. The only person a bully respects is another bully that will not be controlled and tells it like it is. They generally just leave you alone cause they know their scare tactics have no affect on you. Worthless DMs lead by force and fear while many professional DMs lead by recognition and reward. When does your DM contact you? Only when he wants something for his business. Or, does he only call you to offer help, thanks and lunch to assist your business? Think about it. Thanks for sharing this story, Okie -ed
Pulse of the agents Poll  |
Lawmakers Vote to Crack Down on Uninsured Drivers Law enforcement officers will have a new tool in the ongoing fight to eliminate uninsured vehicles from our streets and highways under House Bill 2525, which was approved by the House Public Safety Committee. For several years Oklahoma has had an online instant verification system to alert law enforcement officers whether or not vehicles are in compliance with Oklahoma insurance law. At this time, the hands of the trooper, sheriff, or police officer are tied because the knowledge that a vehicle does not appear to comply with the law is not considered a "probable cause for a stop." Therefore, the law enforcement officer has to allow the vehicle to proceed while knowing there is a very high probability that it is uninsured. Under House Bill 2525 the traffic stop will be considered justified. House Bill 2525 now proceeds to the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
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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 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. |
 Greetings!
Is it Time (or past time) to Bring the Farmers Bean Counters to the OID Conference Table?
-PO'd Okie Agent
Dear Okie Voice,
I am PO'd! Doesn't it ever stop? Farmers continues to run off their most profitable business- RENEWALS! Can someone answer these questions? ServicePoint has no idea or answer, other than "That's just the way it is." Well, I am tired of PIF loss out the back door to competition seems to ebb and tide, but has not stopped since Zurich came on the scene.Following Zurich's involvement with Farmers, Oklahoma Agents have seen the state H/H PIF continue to dwindle from 368,000+ households since Aug. 1999. Today it appears to be considerable less than the 262,000 and falling. At least that's what the Dashboard numbers are indicating on the customer matrix report. Those numbers, by the way, were frozen at 262,000 H/H in July of 2010. Why? Was it that the bean counters were too embarrassed to let the field force know of their catastrophic management failure at the top?
Such falling numbers cannot compare with the lack of new business coming into my office front door to offset such losses as the bleeding continues out of apparent control.
PIF, income, contract value and future Social Security benefits continues to erode in most agencies in this state. Where's the relief? Why aren't our Agency CEOs asking or, rather demanding answers and changes?
Some agents will have to come out from under their desks and start the initiative! So, let us begin today.
Back to my questions. Why are homes renewed at a higher dwelling coverage and premium than Farmers own Replacement Cost Program calls for? Anyone know? How many H/O changes have you made to reduce excessive coverage and overcharges to agree with the RCP? Does this initial H/O renewal billing have the smell of Policyholder Fraud?
Why does Farmers offer to renew an auto policy with billed premium for a specified period seem to change in mid-term when activity on a companion auto policy incurs a change? As I recall, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) refers to such activity as Bait & Switch!
Why can I only print or fax a security verification but, not able to email it to client? Are we still in the dark ages with Dashboard? I just bought a new computer with Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 9. Farmers new computer specs now support Windows 7 but only Internet Explorer 8 for the best experience. So, why is my new computer slower than snail mail on page views when I have the latest and greatest?
It's FARMERIZED!
Why can I process payments to multiple policies on a check or cash and only one policy with a credit card? < This is absolutely absurd and the fix was promised years ago..
Why is the new All Lines Billing system so confusing to all- that the company is giving intensive training to ALB Specialists that your clients can call on a 800# printed on their renewal?. Why are scores of ServicePoint CSAs obtaining their insurance licenses in several states to service your clients? Allegedly, after agent hours of operation, weekends and holidays. Really?
Or, is the 21st Century live & direct Customer Service Program being instituted in Farmers to initially handle vast and ever-growing number of orphan policies as agents are being driven out of the business? Could it be that later, Green Agents who have purchased several agencies (w/o ownership for two years or during the life of the purchase loan) become the surviving dual purpose agents who still sell Farmers direct to the public & take on the additional and required obligation as 21st C Agent Inspection Stations (AIS) for a few cents of front-end commission? AIS were used by 21st C in the past to inspect 21st C direct written business. But, did they dump the IAs in favor of you?
Now I know you have many more and varied questions of what's gone wrong. Or, perhaps, it's gone on so long that you don't give it a second thought. If you have been around for a decade or more, I would challenge you to a wake up call to do a 5 & 10 year look back. HELLO? It's this simple... Okie Agent.
Five and Ten year Look back at your GROSS COMMISSIONS From the main page on Dashboard click MY REPORTS ICE near the center left of the page. When that page loads on the upper tabs click MY REPORTS. On the AVAILABLE REPORTS click on the down arrow and select LANDING PAGE AGENTS. Under my Finances click Commission statement eFOLIO. Now, scroll down to the blue tabs at bottom of page and click Year to Date or YTD Commissions At the top of the Year to date Commissions report you will see three FOLIO DATE boxes with pull down menus that you can select 3 different dates across the top of the report.
From left to right select DEC 2011 on the left, DEC 2007 in the center and DEC 2002 on the right. Now click the GO button on the upper right side.
This will give you both a 5 year look back comparing 2002 gross commissions with 2007 and a 10 year look back comparing 2002 & 2007 gross commissions with 2011. Make sure you are looking at the GROSS COMMISSIONS. On the left side of the report is a blue box with labels for Farmers, MCA Bristol West, etc. Go down to SUB-TOTAL and review that line across the page. Pay particular attention to the TOTAL Columns at the top of the page as they intersect with the SUB TOTAL amounts. If you're like most agents, if not all, you can also see the drastic changes over five and ten years on both your new business and Service commission in each of the companies along with deductions and FFS income comparisons and the bottom line of what you actually put in the bank.
Dear Okie, Thanks. Excellent letter and the 5 & 10 year look back on gross commissions is a real wake up call and scary as hell. We do have a FREE solution called CutePDF Writer for emailing Dashboard documents and Security verifications to clients in our ads section below. Again, thanks for your time & sharing your knowledge. -ed. Pulse of the Agents POLL |
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Oklahoma Agents Bite the Dust in 2012
Looks like another rough year with farmersagent email addresses returned marked non-existent addresses from these issues of the Oklahoma Voice.
February issue- 6
March issue-
April issue
May issue
June issue
July issue
August issue
Sept. issue
Oct issue
Nov issue
Dec Issue
Jan issue
Total for 2012- 6
*These figures may not match actual as it's based on returned email only.
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Farmers kept busy with both catastrophes, public events and news releases
Foremost Launches Updated Auto Program in Illinois- another Farmers Branded State
Here is a listing from Yahoo News
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By Kim Komando
 | | By Kim Komando. |
Stop Faxing Around Seven i-phone apps to capture client documents while in the field or appointments
7 steps to a flu-free work station 2/11/12
Oklahoma Voice has reprint rights. Copyright 1995-2012 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.
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Training magazine Ranks 2012 Training Top 125 Organizations
Farmers Grabs #2 Spot
Now in its 12th year, the Training Top 125 is the only report that ranks companies unsurpassed in harnessing human capital.
Training also recognized the following Top 125 companies for receiving the highest scores in three application categories and overall qualitatively: For more of the story Top Training Programs/Scope Score
Miami Children's Hospital Top Evaluation/Business Metric Score
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Top Human Resources Score
American Infrastructure Top Qualitative Score
Farmers Insurance Group 2012 Training Top 125 Winners 1. Verizon
2. Farmers Insurance
3. Miami Children's Hospital
4. Mohawk Industries, Inc.
5. McDonald's USA, LLC
6. The Economical Insurance Group
7. ABF Freight System, Inc.
8. BB&T Corporation
9. Coldwell Banker Real Estate
10. McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. |
Zurich Net Income Up 10% for Year; Company to Propose Name Change
NU Online News Service, Feb. 16, 1:04 p.m.
Zurich Financial Services Group says its 2011 fourth-quarter net income fell 46 percent to $557 million, but the company's net income for the year climbed 10 percent to $3.8 billion.
Zurich's Chief Executive Officer Martin Senn also says the company has proposed changing its name from Zurich Financial Services Ltd. To Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. "in recognition of the fact that Zurich's strategic focus has been on insurance for several years...."
Senn says the proposed name change will be made to shareholders at the company's Annual General Meeting on March 29.
On the company's financial results, Senn says in a statement, "We delivered a good result in a year characterized by natural catastrophes...."
He adds that the catastrophes "continued during the fourth quarter with flooding in Thailand and aftershocks in New Zealand."
For Zurich's general insurance segment, operating profit decreased 15 percent for the year to $2.3 billion, while gross written premiums and policy fees increased by 5 percent to $34.6 billion. The combined ratio climbed by 0.9 points to 98.8.
Zurich says, "The sustained focus on profitability has continued to produce strong improvements in the underlying loss ratio, but these improvements were more than offset by the exceptional frequency and overall severity of catastrophe and significant weather-related loss events."
Zurich says management fees and other related revenues from Farmers Management Services were flat despite lower revenues from the runoff of the 21st Century agency auto book of business in the Farmers Exchanges.
Farmers business operating profit fell 12 percent for the year to $1.5 billion.
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Survey results from the Feb. Okla. Voice.
Confused over the words "the rest of the Enterprise" on #10? -to provide agents with competitive products in the guiding principles list. Just who do you believe that reference is directed to? 1. Of course, it's directed to the exclusive agent channel 9%
2. It could be Farmers business channels of IA's and 21st C 0%
3. It could be #2 above and combo of Zurich America units 27%
4. It's an on-going shutdown of exclusive agent channel 64%
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Click for our website
. Call Ron 918-282-9093
Ron Quinalty-rquinalty@tntsecurityservices.com
TNT Security: Our goal is providing homeowners and small business owners with a wide range of security options at an affordable price. 04/12 |
Bethel Collision Center in Broken ArrowBBB Rated A+
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Ads are now hot links to websites
Support Our
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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.
 Ads are hot links to our advertisers websites. Click any ad.
ads rotated for 03/12 issue.
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Were 7 questions an outright lie or just an oversight?
Farmers Agent eMail Satisfaction Survey Invitation -2/15/2012
As Farmers continues on their journey towards Farmers future 2020 we know it is important for you to have access to the right tools to run and grow your insurance operation - and eMail is just one of those. By responding to this short 7 question survey, you will assist us in developing new and enhanced email capabilities for you and your staff.
EMAIL NOT ACCESSIBLE FROM DASHBOARD DUE TO THREATENING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AGREEMENT THAT CAN BE MODIFIED W/O NOTICE AND THREATENING TERMINATION! SIMILAR TO PRE-SIGNING A MUTUAL CONTRACT CANCELLATION AND NOT KNOWING THE DATE IT WILL BE ACTIVATED..
BUSINESSES AND ASSOCIATIONS WHO I DO BUSINESS WITH CANNOT SEND ME UPDATES AND NEWSLETTERS AS YOU BLOCK THEIR EMAILS! THIS IS A BUSINESS INTERRUPTION FOR ME.
CANNOT DELETE OR ARCHIVE EMAIL
CANNOT WHITE LIST OR BLACK LIST AN EMAIL.
CONSTANT NOTIFICATION OF EMAIL BOX AT 95% CAPACITY OVER WHICH I HAVE NO CONTROL.
Your advertised 7 question survey needs 19 responses. Did you count them? So let's add truth in advertising to your statements too.
NOT MUCH
DUMP THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AGREEMENT
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IRS TAX SCAM
Circulating the Internet
TULSA, Okla. -
We were first tipped off to it by a co-worker at KRMG who received it, an e-mail that has a convincing-looking return address for the IRS, that is a scam.
It purports to lead you to a website that will let you claim a tax refund that has been placed on your credit card.
Rick Brinkley with the Tulsa Better Business Bureau says the first red flag is simply the fact that it comes as an e-mail.
"The IRS probably doesn't have your e-mail address, and they sure as heck are not going to be communicating to you about tax refunds via e-mail," Brinkley said.
He said anything that comes in e-mail form that claims to be from the IRS is almost always a scam. Clicking on the scam link could place a virus key-logger on your computer.
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 Tulsa Police Department Riverside Division 7515 Riverside DR Tulsa, Ok 74136 918-536-1100
Riverside News Express Edition February 22, 2012
Tulsa Title 37 - Section 1105. - Pedestrians soliciting rides, employment, business or contributions. "No person shall step or stand in the roadway or median used to channel traffic for the purpose of soliciting a ride, employment, business or contributions of any kind from the occupant of any vehicle.
Panhandlers- We see them regularly along the roadways, particularly at exits ramps from the expressways. These folks usually look down on their luck. They hold signs that say such things as "Will work for food" "Anything Helps" or "Homeless Vet". Here's the real truth. These individuals are making a lot of money playing on the sympathy of generous citizens.
Their take by the hour exceeds that of many hard working citizens. It's common for a beggar to collect $30 to $40 per hour. Many beggars have lengthy criminal records, and will resort to intimidation to obtain cash. What happens to the money? In some cases, professional beggars return to their nearby cars and drive home after a few hours. The intentionally homeless most often spend the money on liquor or illicit drugs. Tulsa is a generous city. There are many services available for those needing assistance. If you wish to help, please give your donations to one of our fine churches or service organizations. Organizations such as Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army and John 3:16 provide food and shelter to those in need. The roadside beggars will remain as long as people continue to give them money. Don't fall for it! It's a scam. |
 Greetings!
Allstate looks to make homeowners pay more for roof repairs Allstate Corp. is rolling out a new approach to homeowners insurance that will no longer cover the full cost of replacing damaged roofs if they're older than 10 years.
The new product, so far only available in Oklahoma, is dubbed House & Home. It's the next key step in restoring profitability to home insurance, CEO Thomas Wilson told analysts in a conference call Thursday. The Northbrook-based company plans to gradually apply it nationwide over the next three years. "People just don't get their roofs fixed and then a hailstorm comes and we replace a $20,000 roof when we're getting a thousand bucks from the customer and it's obviously not a good trade," Mr. Wilson said, according to a transcript. In Oklahoma, where the program was launched in October, Allstate will pay only the "actual cash value" of a roof that needs to be replaced if it's older than 10 years, according to company documents obtained by Crain's. Effectively, if homeowners need a new roof, they will have to cover the cost above the depreciated value of the roof. Homeowners with newer roofs can pay extra to buy coverage providing full replacement value at the insurer's cost, according to the documents. If they opt against the surcharge, Allstate will cover only their depreciated cost. "This new product gives us the opportunity to deal with roofs differently," Mr. Wilson said. "That's really the next game, and we'll need to successfully accomplish that to get to our 13% return on equity by 2014." In talking points, the company provided to Oklahoma agents product were advised to say, "Roofs, like cars and tires, depreciate in value with age. The same concept now applies to your roof. Here's more hot scoop on Allstate- Number of Exclusive Allstate Agents Falls in 2011 Article |
Savings of 15 to 50% Book now direct with Glenn for Spring & Summer, Better weeks won't last long! Contact Glenn at Glenn@gjohnsonagency.com 07/12 |
Greetings!
 UFAA Membership Benefits
- Our Quarterly magazine, The Voice, is published with you, the agents, in mind. We regularly address issues, report on current events, and provide the agency force with a chance to freely express their opinions
- Our past legal endeavors now allow you to have that PC on your desk
- Our nationwide activities opposing agent-owned ACA bank accounts led to the management company creating a company-owned ACA-saving you money
- Our efforts on the national level, in conjunction with the CEAA, effectively eliminated the 15.3% SECA tax on your contract value
- Constant questions from our membership nationwide led to our introduction of a UFAA sponsored E&O program
- Membership gives you access to our extensive legal library and our archive of Farmers historical documents
- UFAA offers a Pre-paid Legal program and an Affinity Marketing Program through Prepaid Legal Services, Inc
- We introduced the "Original" E&O Deductible Recovery Program to help you earn more money from outside business without the worry of a large deductible
- Our outside legal opinion of the HMA agreement was designed to assist you in making decisions about your future
- Our efforts on the national level defeated legislation designed to change the IRS definition of independent contractors - a change that would have adversely affected our livelihoods
- Pro-agent legislation has been introduced in many states - and passed in several - that benefits all exclusive agents
- UFAA Technology Services, a subsidiary of UFAA, will assist members with computer hardware and software questions and problems, recommend computer programs to assist members in operating their offices and recommend hardware configurations
- As a member of UFAA you can log onto the member's only section of our Internet Website, www.ufaa.com, for the most up to date information available to the Agency Force.
- Members have access to affordable website development and free email
- We have introduced a 401K and profit sharing program exclusively for our members, which includes a greatly reduced rate for payroll services.
- We are actively involved in both national and state legislative efforts that are favorable to our interests
- Members enjoy the benefit of our Agent Referral Program for clients needing coverage at a vacation home or for that college student out of state
- Legal referral and assistance is also available to our membership
- 25% of your membership dues returns back to your local chapter
- UFAA holds a National Convention every year for its membership to gather, meet and socialize with old acquaintances and make new friends along with offering compelling and informative discussions and presentations to attendees
- UFAA members also have access to discounted continuing education
As always, we are always working on offering more
and more benefits to our membership.
Join UFAA Today
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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 concerns, questions, or comments, do not hesitate to contact our offices.
Residential & Commercial Roof Repair & Replacement Factory Certified Contractor
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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 or too large to publish above.
-- The Articles below are on our Home Page link this month
Oklahoma Statutes Citationized Title 36. Insurance Chapter 1 - Insurance Code
Article Article 9A - Rates and Rating Organizations In General
 Section 941 - Factors Not to Affect Insurance Decisions - Exemptions - Suspension, Revocation of Certificate of Authority for Violations
A. No insurance carrier who issues motor vehicle insurance policies in this state shall assign driving record points, cancel, refuse to issue or renew, or charge a higher premium rate for any motor vehicle liability or collision insurance policy for the reason that the insured has been involved in a motor vehicle collision and was not at fault.
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Is Farmers in Violation of Section 941 Paragraph "A" underlined above?
Here's a FA2 situation- Three drivers in H/H with 3 vehicles- Mom, Dad & Son. All are insureds. Son has negligent accident. FA2 charges all insured vehicles in H/H a portion of the negligent accident surcharge. Mom and Dad are insureds but not at fault in the son's accident. Should mom and dad also be surcharged for the son's accident under this law? You be the Judge in the agents poll.
Pulse of the Agents
This law may be a great defense when battling with underwriters on this or similar accident issues. Print it for your records.
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Sec 941 continues..
B. No insurance carrier who issues motor vehicle insurance policies in this state shall cancel, refuse to issue or renew, or charge a higher premium for any motor vehicle liability or collision insurance policy for the reason that the insured had lower liability limits with a previous insurer without actuarial justification. This prohibition includes using prior limits for company or tier placement unless the insurer provides actuarial justification.
C. This section shall not apply to an insured who has been convicted of:
1. Homicide or assault arising out of the operation of any motor vehicle; or
2. A violation of Section 11-902 or 761 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes as being impaired by or under the influence of alcohol or intoxicating liquor or who was under the influence of any substance included in the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act.
Oklahoma Statutes Citationized
Title 36. Insurance
Chapter 1 - Insurance Code Article Article 9A - Rates and Rating Organizations In General
Section 940 - Policyholder Inquiry About Making Claim - Prohibited Actions by Insurers
Cite as: O.S. §, __ __
No insurer that issues any type of property or casualty insurance policy in this state shall increase premium rates, cancel a policy, or refuse to issue or renew a policy solely on the basis of a policyholder inquiring about making a claim, if the policyholder does not in fact submit a claim.
Oklahoma Statutes Citationized
Title 36. Insurance
Chapter 1 - Insurance Code
Article Article 9A - Rates and Rating Organizations In General
Section 943 - Basis for Cancellation of Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy, Increasing Premium Rates, or Refusing to Issue or Renew Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy.
A. No insurance carrier who issues motor vehicle policies in this state shall use traffic complaints, traffic citations or other legal forms of traffic charges as a basis for cancellation of a motor vehicle insurance policy, increasing premium rates for a motor vehicle insurance policy or refusing to issue or renew a motor vehicle insurance policy, where: 1. the insured was acquitted of the charge; 2. the insured was arrested and no charges were filed; or 3. the insured was arrested and the charges were dismissed. B. The Insurance Commissioner may suspend or revoke, after notice and hearing, the certificate of authority to transact insurance business in this state of any insurance carrier violating the provisions of this section or may censure the insurer or impose a fine.
Dear Okie Voice, I find the state laws you print very interesting and sometimes questionable based on what billings I see occurring in my agency. Just had a renewal on a single car H/H where wife had negligent accident charged to the renewal. WOW! What a shocker as the premium was hiked from $202 for liability only to $356 with the accident or a 76% up charge.
Dear Okie, Sounds excessive to me. As recently explained by a Sr. SP Customer Service Advocate and Underwriter, a single car H/H will take the entire accident up charge hit on the one car.
However, Multi H/H vehicles will share the accident up charge which appears to violate the 941 law above. The advocate could not tell me the percentage of increase applied to the black box rating system as the percentage may vary based on an individual case info within the black box. We have made an inquiry with the OID to confirm up charges agree with company filings with the OID and awaiting their response.
Quick reference Advertiser listing in this issue you can print or download for your office referral
===================== Okla Ins Dept: Change of address or name more than thirty (30) days after the change occurred shall be $50.
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