Two for Tuesday: September 30, 2014

In This Issue:

Serving Agents Non-standard Homeowners

Dwelling On The Vacant

Special Feature: Free E&O Webinar

Additional Items:

New Webinars

Parting Shot

Last Week's Most Clicked

Sale of the Week

Attention, Agents of America: Your Non-standard Homeowners Market is Served!

Big "I" Markets is pleased to announce that our non-standard homeowners market is back and bigger & better than ever! Our agents asked and we listened… and now we're serving up an amazing market with a focus on superior customer service while also opening up states and risk characteristics previously discontinued.

We understand that NSHO can be difficult to deal with, but having a great go-to market is an important piece of the puzzle for agents. That's why as your association we've worked hard to serve up a fantastic solution on a silver platter. And as with all our markets on BIM, there are no minimums, no fees, and you own your own expirations.

This market is now available in all states except for Hawaii, and is accepting PC 9/10, builder’s risk, renters & condominium risks once againavailable in all states except for Hawaii.

Nonstandard Homeowner or Rental Dwelling
Having difficulty finding coverage for your homeowner or rental home? Big "I" Markets can help. We have an A Rated Excess & Surplus Lines carrier offering homeowners insurance for risks other carriers decline or are unable to write.

TARGET MARKET & ELIGIBILITY

While there is no maximum Coverage A limit, there is a minimum limit that varies by state, and exposure. Visit www.bigimarkets.com to open a chart for minimum guidelines and definitions.

What you should send us:

Older, updated well-maintained homes (Older Home Questionnaire Required)
Coastal, Non Coastal or Brush Exposures
Log Homes
Trampolines, Unacceptable Animals, Unfenced Pools
Homes titled in an LLC or corporate name (Corporate Questionnaire Required)
Risks cancelled due to nonpayment of premium
Risks with prior losses or being non-renewed
Protection class 9/10
Builders Risk

Ineligible risks include knob and tube wiring, homes in poor condition/poor maintenance; mobile homes; risks with open claims; more than 2 family unit; business or day care on premise.

COVERAGE HIGHLIGHTS & AVAILABILITY

Industry-accepted ISO HO3 policy forms modified to tailor coverage for unique exposures
Many standard ISO endorsements and customized endorsements available
Flexible deductible options
Minimum Premium $1,000
25% Minimum Earned Premium applies
NEW: Lex CyberSafetySM endorsement (provides liability coverage for damages arising from cyberbullying claims)

Coverage Availability
The Non-standard Homeowner or Rental Dwelling product is now available to members in all states except Hawaii.

Learn more at www.bigimarkets.com.

Top

________________________________________

Special Feature:

2014 BIM Product Guide is Here

Each year we publish a paper guide for Big "I" Markets, which is delivered to Big "I" member agencies the old-fashioned way, through the mail.

We're pleased to offer Two for Tuesday readers a preview of this guide, which gives an overview of most markets available on BIM.

Our cover this year has the phrase, "I have a market for that!" And that's just how we hope you feel after reading through the wide array of markets available to you as a Big "I" Markets agent. Take a moment to flip through and perhaps discover a gem you hadn't noticed before.

Product availability does vary by state so be sure to log into www.bigimarkets.com for the most up-to-date product listing for your agency.

Top

________________________________________

Dwelling On the Vacant

Having difficulty finding coverage for your vacant dwelling? Big "I" Markets can help. We have an A Rated Excess & Surplus Lines carrier offering dwelling fire insurance for risks other carriers decline or are unable to write. This product is also part of the re-expansion of the Non-Standard Homeowner program and has been opened up in the states and risk characteristics previously discontinued, including PC 9/10.

While there is no maximum Coverage A limit, there is a minimum limit that varies by state, and exposure. Visit www.bigimarkets.com to open a chart for minimum guidelines and definitions.

What you should send us:

Older, updated well-maintained homes (Older Home Questionnaire Required)
Coastal, Non Coastal or Brush Exposures
Log Homes
Trampolines, Unacceptable Animals, Unfenced Pools
Homes titled in an LLC or corporate name (Corporate Questionnaire Required)
Risks cancelled due to nonpayment of premium
Risks with prior losses or being non-renewed
Protection class 9/10

Ineligible risks include knob and tube wiring, homes in poor condition/poor maintenance; mobile homes; risks with open claims. Risks with more than 2 family units, business or day care on premise may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Submit a quote request with a complete detailed explanation for consideration.

COVERAGE HIGHLIGHTS & AVAILABILITY

ISO DP3 special form including extended coverage
Flexible 3, 6 and 12 month terms (25% Minimum Earned)
Wind and earthquake coverage options may be available.
Flexible deductible options
Numerous coverage options include vandalism & Malicious Mischief; on-premises theft, personal liability and medical payments

Coverage Availability

The Vacant Dwelling Homeowner product is now available in all states except Hawaii.

Top

_______________________________________

New Webinars

Lenders Gone Wild
October 17
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Registration Link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/405079977

You've heard of "Girls Gone Wild" and "Spring Break Gone Wild." Perhaps the requests and demands made by lenders today relating to insurance issues are fodder for a new borderline obscene series titled, "Lenders Gone Wild." The cast of characters would include guaranteed replacement cost, agreed value, ordinance and law, severability of insurance, replacement cost estimators, lender specific forms, declarations pages, certificates of insurance, Fannie Mae, and many more.

Join David Thompson, CPCU, the Florida Big I's "high sheriff" of lender issues and his trusty sidekick Deputy Bill Wilson, CPCU, as they navigate the landscape to explain why these requests and demands are being made, what you should do, and what you should not do. We will examine the source of many of these demands, Fannie Mae guidelines, problems with some of the demands (including the fact that many ask an insurance to commit an illegal act), and suggestions for dealing with these requests and demands.

This webinar is brought to you by Big "I" Virtual University. Click through for information on tuition and CE.

+++++

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

+++++

"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:

+++++

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.

Top

________________________________________

Student of the Industry Parting Shot

Worst Five Year Loss Ratios by Line

This week we tie together the loss payments and the loss adjusting expenses and graph the highest total Loss Ratios. Wow. Since the five years include the aftermath of the 2008 Financial Crises Mortgage Guarantee tops the list. If insurers had a way to get off those risks in 2009 they surely would have. Claim trigger and cancellation wordings are important details in those policies. The Products LOB looks like a good line until you realize how expensive it is to referee the claim. Oh, if anyone can give me a logical explanation why ALAE on Multi-peril Crop is so low (1.5% of premiums in 2013), I’ll learn something from this week’s Student of Insurance from you! Email me at Paul.Buse@iiaba.net.

As a quick reminder, the “Losses” shown as diagonally stripped bar sections are actual loss payments for property loss or indemnity/liability and the “Expenses” shown as solid are the costs of investigation, attorneys and other loss investigation expenses incurred in getting to a claim payment amount (aka “ALAE”). As a point of reference on a line that was not in the “best” or “worst” the last two weeks, personal lines automobile insurance has a loss ratio of 78% with 2013 direct written premiums of a whopping $180 billion. That’s just over 1/3 of the total P&C insurance industry’s total premiums annually.