Florida
FAIA schedules annual convention
The Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA) will hold its annual convention June 19-21, 1997, at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Speakers will include:
Bill Nelson, Treasurer of the state of Florida--who will speak and install the incoming officers and directors.
Joe Theismann--a two-time Pro Bowl player and the most productive quarterback in the history of the Washington Redskins. Theismann's depth of understanding dealing with stress management and his understanding of teamwork and dedication to a job have made him one of the nation's foremost motivational lecturers.
Timothy J. Cunningham--will tell you what it takes to make your agency sale-ready and how to get the highest price for it. He'll also present inside information on what large agencies look for when evaluating a potential purchase and what you need to do to enhance the value of your own agency.
Dr. Therman Evans--uses wit, humor, medical facts and common sense to convey his message about dealing with stress.
Ronald A. Smith, CPCU, IIAA president--will highlight the accomplishments and achievements of the Big "I" and stress the importance of agent involvement to the future success of the Independent Agency System.
Bob Ross and Ed Connor--flood experts from the Federal Insurance Administration, Ross and Conner will educate participants on flood facts.
David Thompson, FAIA instructor--will look at what affects the service that agents provide, how to measure it, what customers want, and specific things you can do to retain customers.
Shirley Lukens, AAI, IIAA's vice president of Agency Management--will detail what Best Practices agencies are doing to achieve efficient and effective systems and processes.
Vernell Hogan, CIC, AAI, agency management consultant with IIAA--will speak on recruiting and retaining top producers.
Richard Leibfried, president of RJL Insurance Services, Inc.--will explore both the "errors" and "omissions" of sales techniques/stragegy he has observed, and will give specific recommendations he has developed for obtaining new business and keeping it.
Cost of registration is $240 ($200 for spouses). Extra tickets for the Thursday night party or the Saturday night banquet can be purchased separately.
For more information, contact the FAIA at: (904) 893-4155.
Maryland
Competitive rating preserved with defeat of Senate bills
The American Insurance Association reported that four bills that sought to repeal Maryland's insurance competitive rating law have been defeated, along with another measure that would have allowed people filing lawsuits to collect damages even if they contributed to their own injuries.
"We are delighted that the competitive rating system will remain intact because the more competitive insurers can be with one another, the more robust the market will be," said R. Taylor Cosby, AIA, Mid-Atlantic region vice president.
The Senate Finance Committee rejected three bills that would have abolished competitive rating for both homeowners and private passenger auto insurance. The bills would have required state approval for any rate changes, including rate decreases. Under the current competitive rating system, insurers may determine rates for auto and homeowners insurance without prior approval from the Maryland Insurance Administration.
Another bill that would have had a chilling effect on competition for Maryland businesses was recently defeated by the Judiciary Committee. HB 846 would have repealed the state's current contributory negligence doctrine and replaced it with a comparative fault doctrine, which would allow people filing lawsuits to collect damages even if they contributed to their own injuries.
"This would have increased the number of lawsuits in this state substantially, to say nothing of the costs associated with those suits which eventually get passed along to Maryland citizens," said Cosby.
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