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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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Residential & Commercial Roof Repair & Replacement. www.redriverroofing.com info@redriverroofing.com 05/12
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 | | Correct email address to the Okla Voice. |
Greetings!
If you have received this newsletter at your farmersagent.com email address, please click on the Join Our Mail List below with your alternate (non farmers address). Be sure to enter your farmers email address on the sign up form instead of your agent number on the second screen. If you received this newsletter at your alternate address shown at the top of this email, you need not take any action. We do not distribute address to others and abide by the spam rules. |
Greetings!
Join us August 2nd at the Lone Star Steakhouse
for the UFAA Chapter 15 Monthly Meeting
There will not be a July 5th UFAA Chapter 15 Meeting as noted above.
Chapter 15 will hold the next monthly meeting on Thursday, August 2nd 11:30 AM at the Lone Star Steakhouse 101 E. Albany St. Broken Arrow- located just past the driving entrance to Bass Pro. Exit B/A Exp. @ 161st E A aka (Elm PL) 101 E Albany St, Broken Arrow, OK Menu (scroll to bottom for lunch)
2012 UFAA Convention report
Please arrive for Lunch @11:30 - UFAA Meeting begins at Noon.
Meeting attendees should prepare to order lunch upon timely arrival at 11:30 AM 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 caused our meeting to run overtime.
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 | | Click here to obtain an Oklahoma UFAA Membership App |
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Click logo above to view the UFAA Website
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If you wish to be excluded from future mailings please let us know by emailing us at ufaa15@gmail.com or by using the Unsubscribe feature at the located within this document. Disclaimer - The Oklahoma Voice is published twelve times per year for the United Farmers Agents Association, Chapter 15 Northeastern Oklahoma. The United Farmers Agents Association and the editor neither assumes any responsibility for the accuracy of the articles or advertisers, nor any liability arising from reliance upon them. The Oklahoma Voice expresses 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!
Fewer New Insurance Customers But More Are Changing Carriers
An increasing number of insurance customers are switching providers after shopping around to find a reduced rate or a better plan, a new survey suggests. According to J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study, while just 25 percent of auto insurance customers shopped for a new policy in the past year, 43 percent of those consumers switched providers. That marks the highest rate of customers switching carriers since the study was first conducted four years ago, a figure 3 percent higher than 2011. Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the research firm's insurance practice, noted agents are able to increase their auto insurance lead generation when providers compete for business. "Although fewer consumers are shopping for insurance, more current customers who do are willing to make a switch based on competitive quotes," said Bowler. "The increase in the proportion of shoppers actually switching suggests that fewer price-checkers are gathering quotes they are less likely to act upon, perhaps a direct result of the lower typical savings derived from switching, which has decreased from an average of $412 in 2010 to only $359 in the past 12 months. He added that the internet has revolutionized the insurance shopping process, as potential leads are able to find the quote and policy they're looking for from the comfort of home. Source: All web leads |
Are California Agents to become employees?
I had an interesting conversation with a couple of California Agents on first the new Super District in California. I will send a a more detailed email letter to the agency force and copy you all later.
Details:
1.) There is 01 District Manager for 05 districts.
2.) There are 18 Staff ABC (Agency Business Consultants) The ABC's are assigned a certain number of agents they are personally responsible for contacting every day, doing surprise office visits and ensuring the agents are producing at the level required.
3.) The offices will be homogenized all agents offices and required signage will be the same.
4.) All offices will have a minimum of 02 full time CSR's
5.) All offices will be open a set number of hours including Sat. [45 hours weekly in the agents guide]
6.) The telephone numbers will roll to a service center after hours. The agents were told they don't have to sign anything or give permission to have it done as FGI already had it in place all they have to do is throw a switch basically.
7.) 25% of the agents in the district will be terminated and the policies will be sold to the remaining agents or given as 500 numbers.
8.) All agents will DOUBLE their agencies in 02 years or be gone.
9.) There are other requirements but I am waiting on email verification.
Several issues that upset the agents is they never gave FGI permission to have control over their telephone numbers and yet somehow FGI managed to supposedly take control. They don't want to borrow money to homogenize or buy agencies when they are higher than the competitors on rates and know they will end up owing more money as policyholders leave due to agent change and rate disruption. Several of them stated they felt like they were in the Twlight Zone and this is not what they signed up for. The overall feeling is that they are now employees in every sense of the word and it will get worse as FGI demands more and more from them.
More to come later, but this is the word coming out of Calfornia from the agency force and departing DMs.
Tom Schrader, President UFAA
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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- 0 -a first in 30 months.
April issue 3
May issue 2
June issue 4
July issue
August issue
Sept. issue
Oct issue
Nov issue
Dec Issue
Jan issue
Total for 2012- 15
*These figures may not match actual as it's based on returned email only.
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By Kim Komando
Is prepaid the way to go?
If you own a smartphone, you know what it's like to be trapped in a two-year contract. You probably also know that breaking that contract results in a staggering cancellation fee. That's why some people prefer prepaid phone plans. According to one tech research firm, no-contract phones now account for nearly 25 percent of the U.S. market, up from 17 
percent just a few years ago. With no-contract carriers, you pay by the month and can drop the plan at any time. Depending on what's happening in your life, this can save you money and aggravation.
Sounds great! But how much can you save? And will you have to give up your beloved smartphone? Read on to learn the answers.
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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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
Advertisers
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.
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ads rotated for 07/12 issue.
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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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Pulse of the Agents Polls June 2012
So, just who do you blame for Farmers low rankings?
Agents- 0%
Servicepoint- 0%
Home Office Management- 55%
Regarding the recent AMP Annual Renewal deadline, I ...
Signed up for the first time- 0%
Renewed for another year- 28%
Dropped out of the program 22%
Avoided it for another year- 50%
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Regarding the June 2012 Agents Poll above concerning claims, 45% of agent respondents blamed HelpPoint for low Farmers rankings. Below is the 2012 JD Power Property Claims Satisfaction study. The latest Auto claims satisfaction study has just been published below by JD Power. Those having problems with Farmers Claims, please advise us the specifics of complaints you are receiving. Please email: Oklahoma Voice Editor link shown under Oklahoma contacts at the top of this newsletter. Thanks.
 In the JD Power Property Claims Satisfaction Study of 2009, Farmers ranked at 841 points.
=========================== J D Power 2012 U.S. Auto Satisfaction Rankings 
For U.S. Regions of:
California, West, Central, Southeast,
North Central, Northeast, & Mid Atlantic
How did Farmers & 21st Century rank among the industry?
Click on this link to access the J D Power 2012 U.S. Auto Satisfaction Ranking NOTE: It may take a few seconds to load. Then, scroll down a few pages to access the 2012 JD Power Graphic Rankings |
Greetings!
Top 10 Most Dangerous States to Drive In.
Is Oklahoma on the list?
Motor vehicle crashes kill more people between the ages of five and 34 than any other cause, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). These crashes cause billions in losses for insurance companies as well as in lost production for the states they occur in.
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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
- 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 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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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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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
Okla. Company Comparison Rate Charts- Auto: 02/12 Home: 05/12
Farmers Oklahoma Rate and form Filings- Foremost files rate hike on manufactured homes +$3,000,000
========================================================================== 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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Did you know? As a member of UFAA you get:
1 hour of tech support a month
1 Free @ufaa.com email address
1 Free web page with your domain name
Call us today Toll Free, Primary # 1-866-441-8018 Alex Conger - UFAA Tech | | Click here to access the Oklahoma Membership app. |
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.
Have you joined UFAA?
We just can't make it much easier. Just mouse the Join UFAA logo to obtain the a membership application. Fill it out and attached a check and mail or use the bank card option and fax it to 1-314-631-7963. United we stand. Divided we fall.
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