Profitability Bonuses

As many of you are aware, we at MVM must wait on Liability Claims Paid report from Grinnell before we finalize our numbers for 2009.

I have just learned that we will not receive those numbers from Grinnell until mid to late February. 

As soon as we get those numbers, we will forward your checks as soon as possible.

STEPPED UP INSPECTIONS FIND PROBLEMS…

We have recently stepped up our Inspection Program and as a result we have been finding some things we need to bring to your attention.

The three main offenses we find are:

1. Vacant/Unoccupied Properties
2. Bad Roofs
3. Excessive Debris or Trash on the premises

Regarding Vacant or Unoccupied properties, our rule is “Do not write them.” There are occasions where a rental property is purchased and some minor work is needed (painting/flooring/etc) before the property can be rented out. If the property is going to be occupied by a renter within 30 days, you may bind coverage on it IF you supply us with a copy of the rental agreement or lease showing the renters who will be occupying the property. That is about the extent of what we can allow under our underwriting rules.

We do not have a vacant policy at this time. Our policies have restrictions of coverage for properties that are vacant or unoccupied and binding coverage on them puts your client at risk for an uncovered claim and a potentially terrible and EXPENSIVE E&O claim for you.

Regarding the bad roofs we are finding, our rule is that if the roof is old (10+ years old in most cases) OR if the roof has missing or curled shingles, OR has a patch/repair job you can bind coverage on the property ONLY IF you have the applicant sign a roof exclusion.

These rules/restrictions also apply to bad siding.

Regarding Excessive Debris or Trash, our rule is simple. Do NOT bind coverage if the yard has debris or trash lying around. We do not want to be on this risk. This junky behaviour on the part of the applicant points toward a person who has NO pride of ownership and most surely does not maintain their property’s other features such as electrical, HVAC, plumbing, etc.

Let us know what you think!

We want to continually improve our products and services for you and your clients. Please let us know your ideas. We recently added a Binder option because an agent expressed the need for such. And, don’t forget, you can ‘print to PDF‘ instead of your printer in case you want to email it to your client.  Instructions to do this are in this blog a little further down.

We also recently added a verification (second) field on the eCheck Payment screen to help avoid typos and embarrasing calls to insureds/applicants.

If you see ways we can improve, please let us know. Our Online Service Center recently began its THIRD YEAR of service to our agents and it has been an education for us and hopefully a benefit to you.

Identity Restoration Coverage . . .

Study: Most Identity Theft Happens Offline

NOTE: All Meramec Valley Mutual customers that have liability protection in their policies (excluding GL-600 Premises Only) have $15,000 Identity Restoration coverage….

Don’t forget to let your client know about this important protection.

Media junkies obsessed with Internet-enabled identity theft might want to focus on a more humble culprit: paper.

Even as news reports relentlessly drive home the threats posed by phishing, spyware, viruses, and computer break-ins, a new government-sponsored study says you’re much more likely to have your identity stolen offline.

According to the new research — authored by James Van Dyke, principal analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research — fully 72 percent of the personal information used in identity fraud scams last year was stolen from offline sources. In only 12 percent of cases was fraud victims’ identity and financial information stolen online.

What’s more, according to the new findings, those who monitor their financial accounts and transactions online lose significantly less per fraud incident than those who rely on printed paper statements. Customers who used the Internet to check their bank and credit card accounts had an average loss of $551 per incident, the survey showed. Those who waited for paper statements to arrive averaged $4,543 in losses — more than eight times as high.

Friends, family members, and neighbors account for half of all known identity fraud, the survey showed. Furthermore, the cost inflicted by these familiar criminals left Internet scammers in the dust — an average of $15,607, versus $2,320 for their online counterparts.

Overall, identity theft cost Americans $52.6 billion last year, according to the study.

While these results don’t negate the very real danger of technology-based scams, they do make it clear that many criminals prefer simpler fraud schemes — from dumpster diving and mail theft to scanning a friend’s desk for sensitive documents or skimming data from a diner’s credit card.

The study was based on telephone interviews with 4,000 individuals, of whom 509 had been victims of identity fraud.

eCheck Account Number Verification

In order to cut down on errors in the eCheck process, we have added a verification box asking for the Account Number twice.

If you fill in the wrong Routing (Bank) Number, then the system generates an error. But, we found that if the Account Number was off, we may not learn of it for up to two weeks.

This verification box is only on the eCheck side and not on the Credit Card side.

This fix should go a long way toward correcting many of these little mistakes and reduce your headaches as well.

Rating Web Site Troubleshooting

DO THIS FIRST – Clearing the Cache

Many errors that occur when using the Internet and our web-based software can be solved by clearing the cache ( a computer memory with very short access time used for storage of frequently or recently used data ) and restarting the web browser. It is the FIRST thing to try when you have problems with the web site.

This can be done in two says. First, hold down the Control key while LEFT-clicking on the browser’s refresh/reload button (ctrl-refresh). This bypasses the cache for the current site only. It loads new information instead of the saved copy on your browser. However, ctrl-refresh does not delete cached files for all sites.

To clear the entire cache in Firefox

• On the menu bar, click on the Tools menu and select Clear Private Data.

• The Clear Private Data window will open, allowing the user to select which private data you want to clear (the only kind of private data necessary to delete is the cache, but the user can configure how his or her browser will handle all types of private data).

• Check mark the data you want to clear, then click on Clear Private Data Now.

To clear the entire cache in Internet Explorer 6.0

• On the Tools menu, click Internet Options. This will open to the General tab.

• On the General tab, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click the Delete Files button. This will delete all of the files that are currently stored in your cache.

• Click OK, then click OK again.

To clear the entire cache in Internet Explorer 7.0

• On the Tools menu, click Internet Options. This will open to the General tab.

• On the General tab, in the Browsing History section, click the Delete…button. This will bring up the Delete Browsing History Box.

• Select the Delete files…button to delete Temporary Internet Files.

• Select the Delete cookies…button to delete Cookies.
• Select the Delete history…button to delete your browsing history
• After you select delete a box will appear asking you to confirm you would like to delete the files. Select Yes for each one.

Anti-Virus or Internet Security Programs

In an effort to protect you from malicious websites, Internet Security Programs may unknowingly cause problems with the rating web site. Common issues that may arise include difficulties with installing and uninstalling, blocking or internet connections and complete blocking of specific sites. Norton Anti-Virus and McAfee products often cause major problems with websites that cannot be permanently resolved without uninstalling these programs. Because the instructions can vary on disabling these programs, it is best to consult the product manual or your I.T. support personnel to do so. If these programs are not the problem, be sure to re-enable these after testing.

Changing Screen Resolution

Often times your screen resolution will be the reason for being unable to correctly view the rating program in your web browser.  Your screen resolution must be at least 1024×768, which is the current web standard.

To change the resolution in Windows XP

• Right-click on an empty area of your computer’s desktop.

• Left-click on Properties from the menu that appears.

• The Display Properties dialogue box will appear. Click on the Settings Tab at the top right of the box.

• Adjust the slide bar to 1024×768 and click the Apply button.

To change the resolution in Windows Vista

• Click on the Start button and select Control Panel

• Click on Appearance and Personalization, then Personalization.

• Click on Display Settings.

• Under Resolution, adjust the slide bar to 1024×768, and click the Apply button.

When all else fails,

you can always call us or

our website programmers at 417.851.1289

Here’s what’s new . . .

NEW AMBest INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE REFERENCES PAGE If you go to the REFERENCES page of your agent page, you will notice there is a new AMBest piece available. As you may know, we are not allowed to have a rating under AMBest, but ’share’ one with our reinsurer. Grinnell’s rating is ‘A’ Excellent. Feel free to print this off anytime. NEW GOOGLE MAPS You’ll notice we are working on a new feature here. You will be able to bring up a general map using GoogleMaps technology. You do have to refresh each time you go to a new application/quote, but we think you’ll like the feature.

e2value Some of you have experienced a problem getting e2value to work the way you need it to. The problem could quite possibly be your pop-up blocker settings. If, when you enter the zip code, the e2value system will not ‘find’ the information, then change your pop-up blocker settings to accept pop-ups from e2value OR you can simply hold down on the CRTL (control) key when you click and that will allow a pop-up for just that incident.

ACCURACY WHEN MAKING PAYMENTS IS ESSENTIAL When you make an eCheck payment online on our website, our eCheck vendor checks the routing number of the transaction and as long as that is valid, puts the transaction in a queue and processes it at a later time. If at that later time, the actual account number is wrong, THEN the transaction will be denied. In the mean time, you will have received a notification that the payment was received. Because of this lag time, it is very important to check and recheck the numbers entered to make sure they are 100% accurate.

PHOTOS PHOTOS PHOTOS Please make every effort to have photos attached to the application at the time you send it in. Failure to attach photos is causing us many problems here which is slowing down our entire process.

PRINT TO PDF Would you like to create a PDF of the Summary/Quote or Application? It is very easy. Visit http://www.primopdf.com and download this FREE PDF creator. Select the Download-Free button on the left of the screen and just follow the instructions. Once you install this free small program, you will be able to click on Summary which causes the Print Option box to open up. Then, just select the option of PrimoPDF instead of your regular printer. The program will save the Summary/Application in PDF form and store it or email it wherever you tell it. The good thing about this is that this will work for anything in virtually any program you want to create a PDF; not just in our quoting system. If you need help doing this, please give me a call. I would be glad to help. Marty

TO REDUCE ANY CONFUSION… PLEASE READ It seems there is some confusion about how and where to do CHANGES or ENDORSEMENTS… Please do ALL changes and endorsements requests including cancellations through the Change Form (under the POLICY tab above) on this page. Please NEVER use the change form on the INSTANT ACCESS page. INSTANT ACCESS is only used to access your clients records and NOT for doing changes. I wish there were a way to eliminate this option there but we have no control over that program.

LIVE CHAT IS HERE! You will see a button for LIVE CHAT when in POLICY/QUOTE. When you open this window, you will have the option to chat with Sandi or Tina in Underwriting or Chris in Billing (if they are at their desk). Using this service will enable us to provide quicker service to you. If you want them to look at a particular file or application, you can cut and paste the referenceID or type in the policy number in CHAT and that will enable them to have the information they need to get your question answered.

Insurance Industry News

NAMIC Takes Swift Action to Urge Congress to Oppose 24-Hour Insurance Coverage

There is currently a proposal under possible consideration for inclusion in the Senate Finance Committee’s health care reform legislation that would mandate 24-hour insurance coverage through employers. This type of around-the-clock insurance coverage is for both work-related and non-work-related health care. Thus, 24-hour coverage has been proposed as a type of health care system reform that integrates the health coverage and benefits currently offered by public and private insurance programs, state workers’ compensation systems, and the medical component of automobile insurance.

When NAMIC learned that this proposal was being considered, we contacted the senators on the Finance Committee to explain the issue and urge them to oppose this provision should it come up for a vote.

NAMIC and the property/casualty mutual insurance industry oppose the concept of 24-hour insurance coverage. Mutual insurance companies across the country are successfully and comprehensively providing workers compensation and automobile insurance coverage to millions of Americans.

The creation of a 24-hour insurance coverage program could drastically reduce premium dollars for those companies providing this coverage by eliminating these lines of insurance – and could reduce the protections provided their policyholders. Combining general health coverage, workers compensation coverage, and automobile coverage into a single product would reduce the number of carriers capable of providing these lines of insurance to their policyholders.

NAMIC is very concerned about the effect 24-hour coverage would have on the current effective operation of workers compensation and automobile insurance coverage. Such a plan would result in increased costs for mutual insurers and consumers, regulatory confusion, and a lack of effective insurance coverage like is currently available.

We will continue to work closely with the Senate to ensure that 24-hour coverage does not remain a part of the health care debate as it continues.

FAQ – Frequently Asked (Underwriting) Questions

Q.  Please explain the differences between Personal Liability (GL-1), Personal Liability-Limited (GL-600), Country Home Liability and Farm Liability.

A. We have three different types of Liability policies.

1. Personal Liability is written on policies with less than 40 acres where no farming is done.  (Although you may endorse on some incidental farm liability types of coverages for ‘hobby’ farmers, owners of livestock/horses/cattle, etc.)
   
2. GL-600 is for Tenant Occupied policies, Seasonal policies and Rehab policies.
3. Country Home and Farm Liability share the same endorsements, but are rated by acreage. Basically speaking, Country Home is 40-80 acres and Farm Liability is +80 acres.

Q.  Wood Stoves and Furnaces/Solid Fuel Heating Devices. Which are available for each package?

A.

Rule 1.74 Wood Stoves and Furnaces / Solid Fuel Heating Devices
Rule 1.74.1 Approved Installations
For immediate binding privileges on any policy that accepts wood stoves, the unit must be UL approved and installed to manufacturer’s specifications or NFPA minimum guidelines.

Rule 1.74.2 Disallowed Installations
MVMIC does not accept any solid-fuel heating device operated
•    In a garage where vehicles are operated, or any outbuilding where there is storage of gasoline, or other flammable fuels.
•    In a Mobile or Modular Home.

Rule 1.74.3 Chimneys & Flues
Chimneys must be
• Tile-lined
• Properly tuck pointed if masonry
• Free of broken bricks
• Must not be tied in with any gas burning appliance.

Rule 1.74.4 Outdoor Installations
Outdoor wood furnaces must be installed no closer than a minimum of 15 feet from the residence unless the insured can provide documentation from the manufacturer stating otherwise.

Rule 1.74.5 Surcharges
A surcharge applies to any risk with solid-fuel heating stoves. Indoor and outdoor wood Furnaces are not surcharged.

Q. What are the Underwriting Rules about New Business regarding Claims and Financial History?

• A. No more than one (1) homeowner/property loss in the past three years. This loss cannot be a total Fire.
• A Total Fire loss cannot have happened in the last five (5) years.
• A Vandalism loss cannot have happened in the last 12 months.
• A Fire loss cannot have happened in the last 12 months
• A Theft loss cannot have happened in the last 12 months.
• No Liability claims allowed in the past five (5) years.
• For Safeguard-Tenant policies: For five (5) or more rentals please call Underwriting for individual consideration. Many factors come in to play on multiple policy risks.