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So far Patty has created 30 blog entries.

How can Unum make group renewals easier?

Jennifer Powell from Unum gave a seminar here at MIBS, August 16, 2017 and provided so much great information.  The agents attending agreed.  For those of you who were unable to attend, below are the highlights from the seminar.  Please take a few minutes to look over this blog and do not disregard.  This is a fantastic opportunity for you to offer Unum products to your groups and have Jennifer Powell assist you.  Remember how many of your groups renew Dec. 1st and Jan. 1st, your busiest time of the year? During this time, it is very understandable that you would not want to discuss adding ancillaries to your groups, however, Jennifer Powell can assist you. Start now and create a list of renewals that have the potential to enroll 10 employees Plan to ask for Unum quotes from your MIBS Customer Service Rep When MIBS sends those Unum quotes out to you, Jennifer will be copied and can assist you with the presentation and enrollment. What a win, win situation.  Your groups get needed ancillary coverage, they think you are great and you receive commission. Now on to [...]

2018-10-30T14:03:33-05:00Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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Get to Know Encompass

Interview with Amanda Brinkman from Encompass I recently had the good fortune of meeting our Encompass representative, Amanda Brinkman, who agreed to allow me to interview her about her carrier. Encompass is a property and casualty carrier specializing in personal lines coverages, especially high end homes.  Your MIBS customer service representatives are already very familiar with the differentiating qualities between our carriers.  However, as producers in the field meeting prospective clients, it is important for you to be able to understand some of these differences so that you can see opportunities and successfully convert them into new business. Let's start with some good news! Is it true that your personal lines renewals are going out currently with little to no increases? Yes, Condo, Renters and Auto will receive no overall rate change and the home rate will increase by 2.1%.    What sets Encompass apart from other carriers? Encompass was ranked 4th on the 2017 JD Power Ranking Survey for Property Claims Satisfaction. Encompass' claims of financial strength are backed by A.M. Best with an A+ (superior rating) A.M. [...]

2018-10-30T14:02:48-05:00Marketing & Sales Ideas, Patty's Perspective, Property & Casualty|
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Don’t Lose Your Commissions

2018 Certification Reminder It’s that time of year again when you need to complete your annual certifications.  There are two certifications for Health agents: 2018 FFM (Federally Facilitated Marketplace) registration and/or certification must be done by: Independent agent If commissions are paid to an agency, writing sub-agents and principal of agency 2018 Medicare PDP/Medicare Advantage certification must be done by: Independent agent If commissions are paid to an agency, writing sub-agents and principal of agency   In order to place new business effective 1/1/2018 and/or receive renewal commissions in 2018, agents must complete the appropriate certification before the end of the year.  2018 FFM (Federally Facilitated Marketplace) Certification Before starting any certification curriculum, check to make sure your computer is compatible with the MLMS website.   I advise using the MLMS Check Your System configuration link which quickly shows if you need to do anything.  Log into the CMS portal, enter the MLMS Training website and click on MLMS Check your System link at the top of the page under How to Get Started.  This will check your computer to see if there is any action you need to [...]

2018-10-29T21:20:08-05:00Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Patty's Perspective|
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Hear Yes More Often

Karen Milazzo (P&C Manager),   Perry Camodeca (Vice President MIBS) and Kelly Pottle (PHLY Marketing Rep.) Philadelphia Insurance Companies New Carrier, New Market, New Opportunity We couldn’t believe how many times Kelly Pottle said “yes” at our Philadelphia Insurance Companies’ event July 20th here at MIBS.  There was an occasional “no”, but once you see their appetite list, you will understand how it could really expand your business opportunities. “Do you accept daycares or schools?”    Yes “How about a craft brewery?”                 Yes “Will you consider Fuel dealers?”            Yes “What about home healthcare?”            Yes The PHLY event was presented by Kelly Pottle, a marketing representative from Philadelphia Insurance Companies who described herself as a PHLY baby.  Since her father is a long time employee of PHLY, Kelly attended their events as a young child, interned there during her college years and ended up working there after college. Benefits from working with PHLY: Dedicated local team 120+ niche products Financial stability: A++ A.M. Best rating Able to quote off of competitor’s applications Award winning Customer Service Department Quick response Access to user friendly website at www.phly.com [...]

2018-10-29T21:17:01-05:00Patty's Perspective, Property & Casualty|
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Why Didn’t You Ask for That in the Beginning? Writing a Group Part 2

Manage Expectations   Insurance agents who manage their client’s expectations successfully, tend to make the sale and also retain those clients for a longer period.  I have seen the case where an agent has not taken the time to explain the whole process with a group and when an issue occurred resulting in a higher premium, the agent lost the group to another agent.  Taking a little extra time to explain the process and answer questions, cements the relationship with your client and provides a measure of comfort by removing some of the unknown that may concern a business.  In the event that an issue arises during underwriting, the client at least has an awareness that this is not abnormal and may be more comfortable providing any additional information or accepting the underwriting result. The Group Enrollment Process Now, the employer wants to proceed with applying and enrolling for a group plan.   This is the time to explain the process of collecting the initial paperwork which will be reviewed for completeness and missing information.  Your MIBS customer service representative may request additional information or explanations during their initial [...]

2018-10-29T21:13:49-05:00Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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Why Didn’t You Ask for That in the Beginning? Writing a Group Part 1

Part 1   Placing a Group Health Policy is like renovating an old bathroom.   The initial quote to replace the vanity, toilet and bath tub is well below the budget allocated.  The contractor comes in and removes the items but discovers that the pipes behind the wall are leaking and all of the dry wall needs to be replaced.  Now that the wall is open, you have to repair the leak and replace the drywall which brings the cost up to the maximum for your budget.  The truck delivers the new vanity, toilet and tub but the vanity is the wrong size.  You have to decide if you want to send the vanity back and wait for the correct one or try to make the delivered vanity fit by moving the toilet and pipes.  Looking into your bathroom with its exposed pipes, unpainted walls and damaged floor tiles, you have to make some decision or go without a bathroom.  Yikes!  If you only knew beforehand what was going to happen. Understanding the process of quoting and enrolling a group and learning some simple underwriting rules can help the [...]

2018-10-29T21:12:50-05:00Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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Exacta, Trifecta, What the Heck?

Questions on Gambling?   Contact your MIBS customer service representative.   Recently, the owners of MIBS hosted a summer outing for all of the staff of MIBS at Arlington Race Track.  Perry Camodeca Sr. showed the staff how to place bets and even provided his personal selections for all of the races that day.  We are all now experts on gambling (not really). Prior to race time, we were all fortunate to visit the stables and feed the horses.  In the sun, you could get pretty warm so when we stepped into the stable, I was really amazed at how cool it was. Perry Camodeca Sr. explained the difference between hay and straw; horses ate hay but straw was used for the floor of the stables.  Outside of each stable was a fragrant dumpster that held the used straw mixed with manure.  These dumpsters were picked up by a vendor who sold this straw/manure mixture to mushroom farms.  From the number of dumpsters on site, Arlington Race Track provides a whole lot of mushroom growing medium. [...]

2018-10-29T21:12:16-05:00MIBS Updates, Patty's Perspective|
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New P&C Carrier, Philadelphia Insurance Companies

Philadelphia Insurance Co. is headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, PA, and is a member of the Tokyo Marine Group, Japan’s oldest and leading Property/Casualty insurer and one of the 10 largest insurance groups in the world. 1 Rated “A++” (Superior) by the A.M. Best Company Since 2012, the Better Business Bureau rated “A+” (Highest) rating based on the low number of complaints PHLY’s customer service team has earned 9 Stevie Awards since 2012 for Customer Service Has a 94.5% overall customer service satisfaction Winner of 2017 Ace Award for Judges’ Choice Award for Business Impact which recognizes companies that exhibit exceptional results from their customer experience program Founded by James J. Maguire, Sr. originally as the Maguire Insurance Agency, it began operating as the Philadelphia Ins. Co. in 1987 and two years later started offering insurance to non-profit social service agencies and health and fitness clubs – two niches which remain at the core of its business today. Philadelphia Insurance Co. offers appetites that are new to MIBS expanding your ability to write new commercial business. Below is a sample of [...]

2018-10-29T21:11:30-05:00Patty's Perspective, Property & Casualty|
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Your health insurance premium isn’t the only premium increasing!

Across the industry, personal lines auto insurers are increasing their premiums.  Consumers are feeling the pain of these increased premiums, even if they have a claims free history.  Why? Both Safeco and Travelers provided the following reasons: In 2015, the U.S. set a new car sales record of nearly 17.5 million vehicles in 2015 and these newer vehicles with their advanced technology are more expensive to repair. 1 There was a 3.5% increase in total miles driven in 2015 resulting in a larger number of car accidents. 2015 brought the largest single-year increase in driving related deaths since 1966. Per Travelers, we are on track for a two year increase of 18%. 3 Because of medical inflation and increasing claim complexity, injury costs are rising by 5 to 6 percent. 4 Distracted driving is increasing. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, fewer people are talking while driving, but more are texting and surfing the web. 5 The average 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bond has yielded 2.6% since 2008, but is now a paltry 1.7% as of May 2016. Insurance companies reinvest their profits in bond markets so [...]

2018-10-29T21:10:51-05:00Patty's Perspective, Property & Casualty|
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Problems are a Beautiful Thing

As an insurance agent, not a day goes by that I don’t think, “Insurance is nothing but a giant pain in the ….”  And there are so many problems, starting with plans that have increasingly high deductibles, limited networks, enrollment problems, premium payment issues, and claims issues. Guess what?  These problems are why agents are vital to the insurance industry.  If it was easy, our services would not be required. Also, finding a client’s problem, issue or pain, can result in sales.  Let’s become the resource that your client wants to use to fix their insurance pain. How do you find the pain?    Who is the decision maker? When prospecting for a new group, one of the first things you want to do is find out who the decision maker is and then establish something you may share in common.  Communicate in a way that the decision maker will want to talk with you. Ask about the children’s pictures on the desk. Commiserate on the Chicago Bears quarterback situation when you see the Bears Schedule posted on the board. Reminisce on your favorite muscle car story with [...]

2018-10-29T21:09:57-05:00Marketing & Sales Ideas, Patty's Perspective|
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