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OKLAHOMA
Next Chapter 15 Meeting will be Thur. May 1st 11:30 AM. SHANGHAI AVENUE SUPER BUFFET 803 N. Aspen. Next to Arvest Bank @ S/E corner of S. 145 East Ave. (Aspen) & 71st St. (Kenosha) Broken Arrow. OK.
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Non-UFAA Members Welcome.
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The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
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Reminder-
We need all Okla. Voice Readers
to vote in Pulse of the Agent Polls in this issue.
Poll voting activity has dropped over the months. We need your poll vote to increase poll accuracy showing the real pulse of the agents on specific issues.
Thanks in advance - ed
It just takes 7 seconds to click on one multi-choice answer before the ACCURATE poll results
are displayed. To return to the Okla Voice, just "X" out of the poll window.
Chapter 15 Monthly Meeting 
Agenda From the President:
May 1st Chapter 15 Meeting Guest Speakers: Lunch sponsor Shane Pratt- Service Master
Topics:
04/29 Okla. Legislative Conference & Roy Smith's Speech as President of Exclusive Agent Distribution
Donations for Legal Fund matching
Update on UFAA National News.
Agency purchases with new & questionable 2014 AAA Addendum resumes?
NON-MEMBERS ARE WELCOME
If you plan to join us for lunch, Please Arrive for Lunch Promptly @11:30
UFAA Meeting begins at Noon.
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If you wish to be excluded from future mailings please let us know by emailing us at ufaa15editor@ufaa.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. |
NAIC Top Twenty-Five P&C and Life Groups & Companies by Written Premium reported in 2014 for year 2013
See title of each page for product such as- all lines, auto, home, comm'l, life, annuities, etc.
Top 25 P&C Groups Top 25 Life Insurance cos
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The April, 2014 Addendum
Sale of Service and Commission Rights
Addendum To Agent Appointment Agreement
Is this the new Inequities Agreement when buying from other than a family member? See this new addendum here
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Increase sales with this article
Oklahoma: Shake, Rattle and Roll
With all the shaking going on, Oklahoma has set a record for the number of earthquakes in 2013. But, so far in April, 2014, Oklahoma has surpassed the record number of quakes for all of last year!
Oklahoma is ripe for
the sale of coverage for
Is your agency pushing the sale of earthquake
coverage? If not, it just takes one client to suffer
damage and file a suit against you & your E&O.
If you have the corporate E&O policy will you be covered?
Your coverage under the Farmers Group E&O coverage EXCLUDES your failure to provide an available Farmers coverage when the insured met Farmers underwriting guidelines and would have covered the loss. << Read that exclusion again & understand it or you could pay the claim.
You need to get on the Earthquake Sales Program quickly. As you may recall, in 2011 when the 5.0 quake hit Oklahoma, the companies placed a moratorium on adding EQ coverage for 60 days due to aftershocks. The moratorium rule states 4.0 or greater quake within 100 miles of quake epicenter. As you can see below, the quakes are becoming stronger just during the months of March and April. So, act now! Review the underwriting rules and coverage deductibles. Then, simply add EQ coverage by endorsement #6267 to the Next Gen. You will discover the EQ rates are shockingly reasonable in Okla for an EZ sale. We have no confirmation of a quake moratorium in Oklahoma, yet! Oklahoma Recent Quake Activity per Tulsa World News:
Thursday, April 10, 2014 4.1 quake shakes Oklahoma early today
A total of 48 Oklahoma earthquakes have been reported in the last seven days by USGS, including two 4.2 magnitudes on Sunday and Monday, both near Langston.
Monday, April 07, 2014 4.0 earthquake recorded today in Oklahoma During the past seven days, the USGS recorded 40 earthquakes in Oklahoma. During the past 30 days, Oklahoma had 133 earthquakes of at least 2.5 magnitude.
Sunday, April 06, 2014 4.0 magnitude earthquake reported Sunday morning in Oklahoma. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a significant Oklahoma earthquake shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday.
During the past seven days, Oklahoma recorded 42 earthquakes, including a 4.1 magnitude Sunday near Crescent in Logan County.
During the past 7 days, 39 earthquakes were reported in Oklahoma by the USGS, including a 4.3 magnitude Sunday near Crescent.
Friday, March 28, 2014 Friday quakes reported in Oklahoma, Kansas
During the past seven days, the USGS recorded 23 earthquakes in Oklahoma and five earthquakes in Kansas. The largest during that timeframe was a 4.0 magnitude March 21 near Langston.
Farmers Earthquake Insurance Selling Like "Hotcakes in Okla.
In the first nine years of Brian Dudgeon's career as an insurance agent, he sold perhaps one or two policies for earthquake coverage. In the last few weeks, he and his partner at a Farmers Insurance office in Stillwater, Ok., have sold 50 to 60. People are adding it to their policies," he said. "We're averaging 10-15 a week, and that's people coming to me; I'm not approaching them about it. They're selling like hotcakes." - NPR news
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Farmers Insurance Expects $75M in
Claims from Midwest Storms
A system of severe weather moving through multiple Midwest states in early April brought tornadoes, hail, severe winds and flooding in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Texas. Farmers Insurance estimates that its expected claims volume from these states will total approximately $75 million. More than 100 Farmers Insurance catastrophe claims representatives have been deployed to help customers who suffered damage from these storms, the company said. Source: Farmers Insurance
Females Charged 2x on H/O Rate Hikes Over Males
Dear Oklahoma Voice,
I am observing a rate adjustment that is puzzling. In reviewing my upcoming home renewals, I noticed all my renewals with females as first named insured has twice the rate increase as males that are first named insureds. I am only looking at the Next Generation home insurance renewals.
I have 6 policies with males as first named insured and the Rate I increase on these range from 9% to 18%. In contrast, I have 4 policies with females as first named insured and the rate increases range from 35% to 43%. Why would females have twice the rate increase? Maybe a fluke/coincidence or maybe not??? I'm just sayin'. Okie Agent.
Dear Okie Agent, Thanks for the heads up. Lets put this out to the agents in a "Pulse of the Agents Pole" and see if the trend you are seeing is rampant across the state in other agencies. You did not state any claims history or dropped discounts, etc, etc. It could be caused by any one or more of dozens computations done within the black box rating system at the out-sourced IT Dept. in Bangladesh. (:-)
Last month. the Okla. Voice had an article stating Oklahoma average H/O rate increase by ALL companies averaged together would increase by 12.1% in 2013- the highest of any other state.
With Zurich reporting expected Okla. CAT losses to be about 138 million in the 2013 tornadoes in Moore, Shawnee and El Reno; the Okla. Ins Dept. allows companies to recoup CAT losses by surcharging policy premiums annually over a 10 year period. (Use to be 20yrs.) However, that should be spread across the book of business, not just females taking the hardest hit! Farmers CEO Dailey did say in the Dec 5, 2013 Investors Meeting held in Zurich that with recent CATS, Oklahoma would see larger than normal fire rate increases in the future. You might Contact SP with a written service request and send us a copy of their reply and correction, if any. We will poll the agents to determine if others are having the same experience. Thanks again. -ed
Pulse of the Agents POLL 
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Oklahoma without a Tornado in Eight Months!
Oklahoma hasn't had a tornado or a tornado warning for more than eight months, though it is doubtful Oklahoma will be able to match its longest streak ever without a twister.
Things have been unusually quiet through the first three months of 2014 - mainly due to a drought that began late last summer and intensified through the winter. Oklahoma typically has five tornadoes from January through March. This year, there have been none. After a fury of powerful twisters raked the Oklahoma City suburbs of Moore and El Reno during a two-week period last May, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds more, the last tornado touchdown in the state was reported Aug. 7, a brief funnel near the Panhandle town of Turpin.
The current streak of 248 days without a tornado or tornado warning ties the state's second-longest period. The longest streak without a tornado in the state lasted 292 days and stretched from May 17, 2003, to March 3, 2004, according to the National Weather Service in Norman. IJ 04.14.2014
Update 04.24.2014 National Weather service announced in the U.S. to date, only 63 tornadoes have occurred while the usual number averages 200+. In 2014, Okla has set a record with the slowest start of the severe weather season in 100 years. Tornado Alley season runs from March 15 to June 15 and we are into our 40th day of the season or 44%. Mid-May is our peak violent weather period. So, hang on... [] -ed
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Increase sales with this article.
Majority of Young Renters Not Protected From Loss: A new survey commissioned by Nationwide revealed that despite the fact that millennials are renting in unprecedented numbers, the majority of young adult renters (56 percent) do not have renters insurance, leaving their homes and belongings at risk. Additionally, 75 percent of those without renters insurance don't realize they can get monthly coverage for as little as the cost of a pair of movie tickets. Click here for the rest of the article by Nationwide Insurance and go after this under served market. Pulse of the Agents POLL |
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Pulse of the Agent Poll Results from April Issue
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Pulse of the Agent Poll Results from April Issue
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| [April 07, 2014] Brian Cohen was senior vice president of sales and distribution and was chief marketing officer at Farmers Insurance Group. |
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End of Line for Auto/Home Packaged Policies, Brian S. Cohen Writes in Best's Review
(Marketwire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/07/14 -- Big insurers are ramping up advertising promoting the multi-policy discount for auto and homeowners insurance, but it's probably the twilight of this staple of insurance company marketing, Brian S. Cohen, president and CEO of Strategic Growth Advisors LLC, writes in the April edition of Best's Review.
"The packaged policy is coming to an end, and that will have a radical impact on customer acquisition and retention for insurance companies, brokers, and agents," he writes. "People using smartphones and the Web are causing massive changes in consumer behavior. Welcome to the future -- today." Before the Internet, consumers relied on recommendations from someone they trusted and traditional advertising. Big insurance companies battled to be top-of-mind through brand marketing and putting agent offices on every corner of Main Street, he writes. It became more difficult for consumers to compare prices among insurers; consumers had to "trust" their agent or insurance company to provide them the best price, Cohen writes. "But today's advertising is dominated by a talking gecko and a woman named Flo, both pushing cheap prices," he writes. "The Digital Age destroys product loyalty by commoditizing choice through access to pricing information. "The difficulty in comparing price and features from one company to the next has allowed companies to differentiate themselves. It's becoming much less difficult, and that's why the packaged policy will likely soon be a thing of the past. Packaged policies have been successful because the combination of two or more products into one price offering further blurs exactly how much the consumer is actually paying." The demise of package discounts will have a profound impact on both insurance companies and agents and brokers, Cohen writes. Cohen is also an operating partner at Altamont Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Palo Alto, Calif. He was recently president and CEO of Pacific Specialty Insurance Company and was senior vice president of sales and distribution and was chief marketing officer at Farmers Insurance Group. He can be reached at bcohen@cohenadvisory.com.
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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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The $20M Question: Is an Insurance Company's 'Unique
Arrangement' a Tax Credit AND Rebate Loophole?
Farmers Insurance Co. Inc. has grown to 1,400 employees in Oklahoma City, an expansion helped by a unique arrangement of tax credits and job creation rebates, an investigation by The Oklahoman found.
One of the state's largest insurance companies may have used a loophole in the law to take about $20 million in job creation tax credits from two separate economic development programs, according to an analysis by The Oklahoman. Farmers Insurance Co. Inc., based  in Los Angeles, received $9.6 million in Quality Jobs rebate payments from 2002 to 2011, according to state tax records, reported Paul Monies, the paper's database editor. The company also claimed at least $8.8 million in home office tax credits against its insurance premium tax over the last 10 years, Monies wrote, citing data from the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Read more at the link above the logo image.. StateImpact/NPR 09.13.2011 |
DIE? IBM's S/360 and its legacy at age 50
Several really seasoned Farmers Agents will recall this huge beast of a computer created by IBM in the 60's called the 5280 and an upgraded model was introduced to the agency force in 1979 before many newer agents with Farmers today were born.
It weighed about 100# with 64k memory and two 8" Frisbee size floppy discs. After a new generation upgrade, agents made fish holding tanks and boat anchors out of these archaic units.
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Oklahoma Continuing Education
Source: OID website 04.21.2013
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. Are you age 65 and been an agent for 20+ years? you may qualify for the free Okla. CE Mentoring Course worth 24 hrs credit hours and takes 10 minutes to complete. See CE Mentor pop up PDF HERE No documentation required. Just sign off on the OID form and return it. |
 Worst Internet security failure in history: Heartbleed
Security researchers have discovered a serious bug, nicknamed Heartbleed, that affects nearly two-thirds of all websites. The bug lets hackers easily steal encryption keys, visitor usernames and passwords, financial data and plenty of other information they shouldn't have.
The bug is found in a Web standard called OpenSSL, which is what many websites use to encrypt your communication. If you see "https" in the address bar of a site you're on, there's a good chance OpenSSL is involved. The address for dashboard begins with "https" where you enter checks, cash and credit card payments on the company ACA screen. Agents need to inquire on dashboard feedback if that screen is safe to use!
So, what can you do about the Heartbleed breach? The unfortunate answer is, "not too much." You can't avoid every site that has the problem, and even if you did the bug has been around since 2011. So, the horse is probably already out of the barn, so to speak. More in this issue.
3 million customers of a major retailer hit by ANOTHER data breach
Major craft store chain Michaels just confirmed the scope of a recent attack on their payment systems. It's staggering: over 3 million customer debit and credit card numbers have been stolen from its point-of-sale system over eight months, almost triple the length of time that the store originally reported. A total of 2.6 million cards used at Michaels stores were affected. 400,000 additional cards were also hit at its subsidiary Aaron Brothers.
Oklahoma Voice has reprint rights. Copyright 1995-2014 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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From the Oklahoma Insurance Department
The following "Final Orders" are from the OID public information legal section of the OID website. These violations and penalties are shown here to ONLY warn, inform and educate you on Okla. Insurance Laws. No cases this month. -ed
OID Notices to Producers: Rate and Form Filings 2014Click link heading above. Then, scroll to botom of page and click [month] 2014. Then, scroll the entire document for rate & form filings for all companies in alpha order.
Foremost Insurance Company Grand Rapids, Michigan The company is filing revisions to the rates and rules for use in the Homeowners Program. The overall effect is +19.4%/+$334,025 Effective 02.01.2014 Look What's On the OID Website under the Licensing & Education TabUpdated on the OID website monthly
As we [the OID] work to help you comply, we will vigorously enforce 59 O.S. § 1310 (A) (21) which relates to failure to notify of change of address. ADDRESS CHANGE: Okla Ins Dept: Change of address or name more than 30 days after the change occurred shall be no less than a $100 fine. The Oklahoma Insurance Department encourages all licensees to update their mailing personal and business addresses and email addresses as often as possible. This feature is available free of charge by visiting the SBS website When is a Vehicle Considered a Total Loss in Okla compared to other states? Claims Journal 12/5/2013
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Check out the UFAA Chapter 15 Home Page with more Farmers, industry news, member benefit information, newsletter archives, including breaking news too late or too large to publish above.
The Articles below are on our Home Page link this month. Some may have a link for direct access.
UPDATED: Okla. Company Comparison Rate Charts- Auto: 03/14 Home: 03/14
Top and Bottom Insurers for Customer Experience This article came to the Oklahoma Voice at the 11th hour just before we went to press to email the April Issue. Click this link> for the article to see where Farmers Ranked more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/11/20/4637116/farmers-insurance-signs-10-year.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/09/30/3528526/eeoc-claims-discrimination-by.html#storylink=cpy
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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.
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