All resident agents/producers, CSRs and adjusters are required to complete continuing education biennial. The requirements are as follows:

Resident Producers (Excluding Title producers) are required to have 24 hours of continuing education, including three hours ethics and two hours of legislative updates.

• Producers that sell, solicit, or negotiate Medicare Advantage or Part D Products or Plans are required to take a 4 hour Medicare Renewal course each renewal period.
• Producers that sell, solicit or negotiate Long Term Care insurance must take a 4 hour Long Term Care Partnership course each renewal period after the initial 8 hour Long Term Care Partnership course was taken.
• Producers that sell, solicit, or negotiate Annuity products are required to take a one time 4 hour course on Annuity products.

CSRs are required to have 13 hours of continuing education, including three hours of ethics and two hours of legislative updates.

Resident Adjusters are required to have 24 hours of continuing education including three hours of ethics and two hours of legislative updates.

No documentation required. Just sign off on the OID form.  

Update on the UFAA vs. Farmers Lawsuit

As you surely already know, in December of 2012 UFAA filed a Declaratory Relief Action again st Farmers. (referred to as the AGM DRA) The suit challenges FGI's improper violations of the contract with agents, its pattern of sharing agents' data with 21st Century Insurance, and its unconscionable practice of terminating lifetime agency owners on ninety days' notice or less. In an email sent to the Agency Force the first week of December we stated that there was a deposition scheduled in December. That deposition was rescheduled for January and has once again been postponed by Farmers.

As this essential lawsuit moves through the court system UFAA, its members and supporters must stand strong and continue to fight the good fight. Will you stand up and help protect your livelihood and your future by supporting this important effort?

If you would like to donate to the UFAA AGM DRA Fund, or UFAA's General Legal Fund, you may do so by filling out the attached form.

UFAA wishes to thank all agents for any support they have given to the only organization created to support Farmers Agents. We are an association of "Agents Helping AgentsŪ".

Contributions can be made by check or credit card by simply completing the attached form and faxing or emailing to UFAA National Office. If you do not see the attachment a donation from can be found on the UFAA website, www.ufaa.com. The form can also be found on page 7 of the 2013 Fall Voice and page 6 of the 2013-2014 Winter Voice.  Click the DRA DONATE button at this link to contribute. 

2014 UFAA National Convention

Northbrook-based Allstate says in a regulatory filing that rates for customers will climb between 2.5 and 3.5 percent later this month.

Esurance rates are rising about 3.2 percent in late January, while Geico expects to boost prices by 2 to 3 percent in March.

American Family Mutual Insurance Co. expects to boost rates about 2 percent in February.

Progressive will lower rates by 1 percent, although the decrease comes after the insurer hiked rates by 11 percent almost two years ago.

Bloomington-based State Farm Insurance says rates will hold steady. It raised rates 3 to 4 percent in September.

State Farm is Illinois' largest insurer, followed by Allstate.