Two for Tuesday Header
In This Issue:
Financials Impact Bonding
Real Estate Professionals Liability
Special Feature: Insurer Stability Webinar
 
Additional Items:
New Webinars
Parting Shot
Last Week's Most Clicked
Sale of the Week
 
 
How the "Quality" of a Company's Year End Financial Statements Can Impact Bonding
One of the items often discussed by Goldleaf Surety underwriters is the "quality" of a company's year-end financial statements and how these can affect the rates and terms upon which the company can obtain surety support.

The following chart helps identify the various levels of financial statements that can be submitted with a bond application and at what points a company should consider engaging a certified public account (CPA) to prepare its annual financial statements.

Click table to see larger version
 
When working with agents and their insureds, Goldleaf regularly emphasizes this issue of "quality" because better quality financial presentations generally yield substantially better rates and higher limits. Depending on the size and frequency of a company's need for surety bonds, the cost of hiring a good CPA-prepared statement can be completely offset by the savings on just one or two bonds.

Statements prepared from a company's annual tax information generally present the weakest picture of that company's financial position. Companies need to engage CPAs to prepare "accrual basis" financial statements, rather than simple "tax basis" or "cash basis" statements, in cases where the company wants the strongest level of surety support.

Goldleaf Surety has developed the above chart as a guide only. It represents standards used in the surety industry generally, but it is not intended to represent strict standards or "rules" that must be followed in every case or by every company.

Goldleaf Surety specializes in helping your insureds work around these standards in a variety of industries where they do not apply and for special circumstances where companies need surety support but do not have the qualifying level of financial statements. Goldleaf's in-house financial and legal expertise often enables us to respond in situations that numerous surety companies decline. We have an exceptionally strong underwriting group, with broad business experience and excellent analytical skills. In many cases, our staff is able to find the merits of an account or a particular project, where other underwriters have failed. Simply stated, we concentrate on the possibilities rather than just the problems, and we are exceptionally good at helping companies obtain the surety bonds they need to grow.

For more information on bonds - or for help with your clients bond needs - log in to www.bigimarkets.com or email us at bigimarkets@iiaba.net and an underwriter will contact you.  
 
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Special Feature:
Insurer Stability and Solvency Webinar from Virtual University
The Big "I" Virtual University Webinar Series Presents:

Monitoring Insurer Stability and Solvency
November 18, 2014
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Click here for full description and registration details.

What is the difference between an insurer's A.M. Best rating and stability from an agent's perspective? What rating even applies when there is more than one? What difference does a rating or lack of a rating matter? At times, the difference may honestly be tiny in the real world. But insurance is not designed for the good times. Insurance by its nature is designed for bad times and to make policyholders whole, with limitations, when they suffer a disaster.

In this webinar, the Big I's Bill Wilson and agency management consultant Chris Burand will discuss issues involving the stability and solvency of insurance carriers. Bill will focus on a simple checklist he created years ago to enable agencies to monitor insurer financial and market issues, while Chris will demonstrate a remarkable spreadsheet approach the he uses with amazing results. Don't wait until you and your customers suffer the potentially catastrophic impact of an insurer insolvency…mark your calendar today to attend this informative webinar.  
 
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Real Estate Professionals Liability
Just like independent insurance agents, real estate agents need errors and omissions insurance. And as a BIM agent, you have access to Travelers 1st ChoiceSM for Real Estate Professionals to protect them.

Check out these product features:
  • Bodily Injury and Property Damage resulting from a covered professional service(s).
  • Disciplinary proceeding defense expenses reimbursement up to $25,000.
  • Increased liability limits available for those who qualify.
  • Defense expenses related to covered claims in additional to the limits of coverage.
  • Deductible applies to defense expenses, unless endorsed or not allowed by state.
  • Option to provide prior acts coverage without a retroactive date limitation, for those who qualify.
  • Many extended reporting period options, including an unlimited time period endorsement option.
  • No exclusion for fair-housing discrimination committed in real estate professional services as a real estate agent or broker.
  • No exclusion for losses resulting from a real estate agent or broker failing to advise a buyer or seller that pollution, fungi and bacteria exists on a property.
  • No sub-limits for certain types of claims.
  • Coverage for employees and independent contractors of the insured automatically included as protected persons for claims resulting from professional services they perform for the named insured.
Coverage is available in all states with the exception of CA, HI, and LA and is written on admitted paper. Log in to Big "I" Markets at www.bigimarkets.com and click on Real Estate Agents and Property Manager E&O to learn more or to request a quote. To help you persuade prospects, download this flyer with eye-opening claims scenarios.

Need Realtor® prospects or contact information for a Realtor you know? Try the "Find a Realtor" feature. Call five a day and you'll be homing in on sales in no time!  
 
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New Webinars
The Big "I" Virtual University Webinar Series Presents:

Monitoring Insurer Stability and Solvency
November 18, 2014
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Click here for full description and registration details.

What is the difference between an insurer's A.M. Best rating and stability from an agent's perspective? What rating even applies when there is more than one? What difference does a rating or lack of a rating matter? At times, the difference may honestly be tiny in the real world. But insurance is not designed for the good times. Insurance by its nature is designed for bad times and to make policyholders whole, with limitations, when they suffer a disaster.

In this webinar, the Big I's Bill Wilson and agency management consultant Chris Burand will discuss issues involving the stability and solvency of insurance carriers. Bill will focus on a simple checklist he created years ago to enable agencies to monitor insurer financial and market issues, while Chris will demonstrate a remarkable spreadsheet approach the he uses with amazing results. Don't wait until you and your customers suffer the potentially catastrophic impact of an insurer insolvency…mark your calendar today to attend this informative webinar.
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Remember that you can view the following webinars 24/7 by checking out the BIM Webinar Library. To do that log onto Big "I" Markets and click on "Publications".
  • Personal Liability Trends - Fireman's Fund
  • TravPay
  • Commercial Lessor's Risk
  • Affluent Homeowners
  • Travelers Select Products (series)
  • Travel Insurance
  • Community Banks
  • XS Flood
  • Real Estate E&O
  • RLI Personal Umbrella
  • Affluent Homeowner
  • "Oh, by the way...Flood Sale"
  • Habitational
  • Non-standard Homeowner
  • Student Housing
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"OH BY THE WAY...FLOOD SALE" WEBINAR
Interested in learning flood marketing techniques? Participate in the "Oh, By the Way...Flood Sale" webinar presented by Big "I" Flood Program Manager, Jeff St. John. Topics in the fast-paced 1 hour presentation include: Reasons to Sell Flood Insurance • Reasons Consumers Should Buy • Limited Product Knowledge • Misconceptions by Agents & Consumers • Talking Points & Myth Busters • The Flood Risk • Flood Resources – Facts & Statistics.
 
Webinar dates:
The webinar for Wednesday, December 3rd has been cancelled.
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BIM WEBSITE TRAINING WEBINAR
For all you folks who recently registered for Big "I" Markets, remember you can participate in a webinar from the comfort of your office to help you learn how to navigate around the system. Every Thursday at 2:00 p.m. EST we'll show you how to navigate the Big "I" Markets platform, including how to submit a quote! Register for the webinar by sending an email with your name and company name to bigimarkets@iiaba.net. Include "Website Navigation Webinar" in the subject line or body of your email. A recording of this webinar can be found under "Publications" after logging into Big "I" Markets.

There will be no Training Webinar on Thursday, November 27th.
 
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Student of the Industry Parting Shot
P&C Insurers Use of Reinsurance Up
Reinsurance is the insurance that insurance companies purchase for their own protection to spread their risk. At the most basic view, an insurer's use of reinsurance shows up as the difference between its Direct Premium Written (DPW) and Net Premium Written (NPW). Below is a chart of the Total All Lines premiums of domestic property & casualty insurers as tabulated by A.M. Best in their "Cumulative By Line Underwriting Experience" compilations. Can anyone guess which line of business has the greatest percentage use of Reinsurance? If you can, email me at Paul.Buse@iiaba.net and we will send you a Two for Tuesday t-shirt.
 

Click Graph for larger version
Source: A.M. Best Aggregates & Averages

Why does it matter? Recent comments by Bill Berkley, chairman of W.R. Berkley Corp. and parent of widely used insurers by members fo the Big "I" gave me pause to consider the overall reliance of USA P&C insurers on Reinsurance. Mr. Berkley may have a point as you can see that the total and percentage of premiums sent to reinsurers is up over the past 20 years. Moreover, we know that the reinsurance placed by domestic insurers for other domestic insurers has remained relatively stable at about $14 billion annually. If Mr. Berkley's questions over the "Moral Commitment" of alternative capital of the global reinsurance market are on target, the industry is more exposed today than it was in 1995 we know that much.
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Here are the top three items that got BIM agents clicking from our last edition... see what you missed!
  1. Zombie Doll Wrapping
  2. Winterizing Your Facility - Tip Sheet for your clients 
  3. 5 Ways to Avoid a Data Breach
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Big "I" Markets Sale of the Week
Congrats to our agent in Colorado on an International Advantage sale of $10,350 in premium!  
 
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
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TFT is authored by Michael Welch
Big "I" Markets Service Coordinator