Weekly Dispatch: Oct. 12, 2023

October 12, 2023

News

This Halloween: Encourage your clients to review their insurance coverage

Halloween is almost here, and with it, everything that makes the holiday so special. There’s the chilly fall air, and it seems as though there’s the grinning jack-o-lanterns posted at every door. Elaborate decorations and haunted houses are a fixture of Hallows’ Eve, as are the throngs of costumed trick-or-treaters. However, with all the treats, there can be some tricks that your insureds need to consider, and you can help them. Consider sending them This Halloween, don’t get scared: get coverage!, which offers your insureds tips for this holiday season, and can help you start a conversation with them about their insurance coverages.

User security and you: Staying safe on X

According to Statista, a data gathering platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, has some 556 million monthly active users. For those in the insurance industry, having a presence on a platform with more than half a billion active users is essential. However, X’s dramatic rebranding introduced questions about user security. What you need to consider is where your insureds are, and how they want you to communicate with them. Doing so on Twitter may be more difficult than it has been in the past.

Choose the right VoIP provider for your agency

Voice over Internet Protocol phone systems help independent agents run their businesses more efficiently compared to traditional phone landlines. VoIP comes with numerous features and benefits already built in, and VoIP comes with substantial cost savings. If you are considering a VoIP system for your agency, there are eight questions you can answer to find the right system for your agency’s needs.

Compliance

CID implements diligent-effort documentation requirements

On June 27, 2023, the Connecticut Legislature enacted Public Act 23-65, an Act Concerning the Renewal of Surplus Lines Insurance Policies, which provides that surplus-lines brokers are required to keep and make available to the commissioner, upon request, any and all documentation concerning their diligent effort to obtain from authorized insurers the coverage required by their insureds. Previously, surplus-lines brokers were required to file quarterly signed written statements (with the commissioner) setting forth the facts showing that they made a diligent effort prior to placing coverage in the surplus-lines market. Last week, the CID issued Bulletin SL-5 to advise surplus-lines brokers of the immediate implementation of the current law. For more information, PIA Northeast members can access Connecticut surplus-lines bill takes effect in the PIA QuickSource library.

Technical

Avoid E&O claims by educating your clients

It’s important to carry errors-and-omissions insurance for your agency, as that may cover you in cases where there’s a discrepancy between you and your clients. To avoid these claims altogether, there are several things that can be done. Maintaining detailed records of what type of coverage is provided between you and your client can help prevent these claims. You also can educate them about some of the unique industry terms through media, like newsletters and websites. PIA Northeast members have access to the PIA QuickSource library, which has several resources about protecting agents and agencies from E&O claims, including: Are you holding your customers accountable?; and 20 practical tips to avoid E&O claims.

NYSIF launches innovative claim mobile app

The New York State Insurance Fund has launched a new Claim Mobile App to improve communication with and help injured workers access real-time information about their workers’ compensation claims. Designed based on extensive data analysis of the most common inquiries, the new app enables NYSIF claimants to access their claim number and status, case manager contact information, benefit payment dates and amounts, and a schedule of upcoming events important to their claim. The app also provides claimants with one-touch access to their current prescription card, and the ability to email or call their case manager and to sign up to receive benefit payments by direct deposit.

Educating insurance agents

N.Y.: Classes that meet the New York State Department of Financial Services’ most recent CE requirements are available online and in private on-site sessions.

Conn./N.J./N.Y.: Do you need ethics CE credits?

PIA Northeast will host a webinar Ethics, Law, and Inclusion: How We Do What We Do on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., with instructor John Fear, CPIA, CISR. As part of the licensing requirements for insurance producers, the New York State Department of Financial Services has mandated continuing-education classes for ethics and professionalism, insurance law and inclusion, diversity and the elimination of bias for client interactions. This webinar, which satisfies the DFS’s requirements, has been approved for CE credits in Connecticut (3 LRE), New Jersey (3 GEN) and New York (3 BR, C1, C3, LA, LB, LSB, PA, PC. This course is approved for the NYS regulations for insurance law; ethics & professionalism; diversity, inclusion & the elimination of bias).

Events

N.Y.: Make connections at Capital RAP

Forge valuable business relationships at PIANY’s Capital RAP Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, at the Albany Capital Center. This daylong event is the ideal place to connect with industry companies and vendors who are eager to meet you. Participants will be able to browse the trade-show floor for the newest innovations, and products for your business. All attendees are qualified to win amazing door prizes and cash giveaways automatically. The event also will feature a keynote address by Gordon Malin, co-founder and COO of Elpha Secure, an education session, which has been approved for CE credits and a networking reception. Register today—and save 15%