St. Paul Travelers Fair Access to Insurance Course Offered to Agents and Brokers on IIABA Web Site
HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 8, 2005--St. Paul Travelers announced today that its course in insurance ethics - Fair Access to Insurance - will now be available to agents and brokers through the Big "I" Virtual University, provided by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, Inc. at http://www.independentagent.com.
The Fair Access course promotes and describes the industry's responsibility to furnish equal treatment to all clients and prospects. Using engaging examples, case studies and questions to support the learning experience, the course is geared to raising awareness and knowledge of fair access and equal treatment in business. Continuing Education credits for the course are provided in some states.
"We are pleased to share our course on Fair Access to Insurance with all agents and brokers. The material reflects our company's 'zero tolerance' policy for discrimination and our alertness to its negative ramifications," said Loren Shoemaker, Vice President, Agency Management for St. Paul Travelers. "Promoting a strategy of equity and consistency, we recognize the economic opportunities made real by significant growth in multicultural populations. This seminar will now help agents and brokers understand the issues surrounding allegations of discrimination - and lead them and their agencies toward new opportunities in previously untapped markets."
Originally developed in seminar form for its own employees, the course was then adapted for agents in a classroom environment. The dynamic, interactive online course now provides this knowledge when and where the agent chooses, freeing more time for agency business.
Goals of the seminar are:
- To help agents and brokers understand the issues surrounding allegations of discrimination within the insurance industry and the current public policy debate regarding insurer and agent market conduct
- To discuss the concept of ethnocentrism and how to counteract its effects
- To explain the various types of discrimination that may lead to a lack of fair access to insurance products
- To help agents and brokers understand the different groups of people who are likely to receive unfair treatment
- To show how to apply a risk management approach to fair access issues by recognizing the issues and preparing a sound business strategy to deal with them
- To explore the concept of opportunity management arising out of current groups of underserved insurance consumers.
Madelyn Flannagan, Vice President, Education and Research for the IIABA said, "We are pleased to launch the St. Paul Travelers Fair Access program on our site. As the only course of its kind available in the market today, this broad-based, comprehensive sensitivity awareness approach should appeal to agents and brokers of all ethnic and cultural persuasions."
St. Paul Travelers is a leading provider of commercial property casualty insurance. Under the Travelers brand, the company is also the second largest underwriter of auto and homeowners insurance through independent agents. For more information, visit www.stpaultravelers.com.
Founded in 1896, IIABA (the Big "I") is the nation's oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance--property, casualty, life, and health--as well as employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
St. Paul Travelers
Laura Bradshaw, 860-277-7461