February 29, 2012
We're pleased to provide you with these brief updates and reminders to
help you understand our companywide plans General news
Commercial lines
Flood insurance
Life insurance
General news Four flyers that show you 'How to connect with Harleysville' Quick. What's the phone number to call for commercial lines policy support, help with agency automation or billing assistance? What fax number should you use for personal lines processing and underwriting purposes? What's the email address for the customer service unit at Harleysville's flood program administrator, NFS-StoneRiver? Or, what's our life company's mailing address for sending all premium payments? The answer to these questions involving customer service, policy processing and more can be found on four, separate two-page documents—one for each of our major business lines. We suggest you download or print one or more of these informative flyers, and keep them handy for the next time you need to reach us.
Hotline caller helps nab insured seeking windfall from staged car crash When the 1997 Cadillac of a Harleysville insured in Pennsylvania was having electronic problems last year, the dealer where the car was purchased wanted $4,000 to make repairs. What the car's owner did next could end up costing him a whole lot more. Together with his brother-in-law, our insured staged a collision that damaged the Cadillac's front fender and headlight—and just happened to harm the vehicle's electronic components, as well, resulting in a "total loss." When the owner's girlfriend told some fellow workers about the hoax, a listener's call to the Harleysville Fraud Hotline (1.800.917.0055) prompted our special investigation unit (SIU) to take a closer look into the alleged collision. The insured soon dropped his claim, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office brought charges of insurance fraud and theft by deception. To learn more about this case and others, see our SIU fourth quarter 2011 fraud files. The SIU works closely with claims specialists, underwriters, premium auditors and agents to save Harleysville from paying those who attempt to commit fraud. For more details, contact Joe Adams, SIU manager, in our home office at 1.800.532.6344, ext. 5297. NICB adds iPhone/iPad app to consumers' options for reporting fraud The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) announced recently a new feature to enhance its fraud hotline capability: An Apple app! This app, developed by CitizenObserver, gives the general public the ability to submit anonymous insurance fraud and crime tips to NICB. To appeal to Apple's younger audience, the app cleverly reads "I see fraud." Key features include:
iPhone and iPad users can download the app here or by searching for "NICB" in the Apple App Store. NICB also gives consumers the ability to report insurance fraud via email, phone and cell phone text message, and if the tip involves a Harleysville policyholder, the bureau will contact us. Also, as the news item above indicates, consumers may report insurance fraud directly to Harleysville at 1.800.917.0055. Put the IIABA's 'Power of FIVE' to work for your agency Since 1993, the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America's (IIABA) Best Practices research and agency management tools have been shared within the industry, and are a powerful source of information when benchmarking the various levels of success of any independent insurance agency in the U.S. Agents, brokers and companies have counted on the valuable information to guide in developing their business plans. Starting March 1, the IIABA is offering the "Power of FIVE," a series of training webinars delivered on five Thursdays in March—each conveying five easy steps to help implement all the important and informative ideas that have come out of two decades of Best Practices research. By breaking down the action item into manageable chunks, an agency will have a better chance of getting started. And once those steps are in play, you'll see such great results and excitement from your staff that it will be easy to continue working the plan, and translate the "data" into meaningful "actions" for your agency. Harleysville is a company partner in the Best Practices program, and we highly recommend you take advantage of the Power of FIVE webinar sessions listed below. Click on each title for the date, time and a short description.
The cost for each session is $79, and the IIABA suggests presenting the webinars conference-style in your agency for all appropriate staff. For questions, please email BestPractices@iiaba.net. Commercial lines PropertyProSM helps agents compete for New York's larger-scale accounts In a Feb. 10 e-bulletin to agents licensed in New York, we introduced our PropertyProSM Insurance Plan to help those agents compete more aggressively for higher-end, mid-market commercial accounts (other than manufacturing risks) that are domiciled in the Empire State. PropertyPro is designed expressly to meet the more complex needs of food distributors, larger chains of retail stores and supermarkets, school districts and numerous other risks generating total insured values of $15 million or more ($5 million or more for contractors). Below are links to the e-bulletin and our new PropertyPro consumer brochure, which features a quick-reference coverage chart that clearly illustrates the broad protection available in a single policy. PropertyPro is manually rated, and our inland marine team stands ready to quote and issue this business for you. For sales assistance, contact your Harleysville inland marine territory manager today. Automatic setup of direct bill with a 9-pay payment plan option makes life easier for CL agents As announced in a Feb. 27 agent portal alert, we've enhanced the policy issuance process for commercial lines accounts written through our accessHarleysville//CL® rating system by enabling you to set up billing more quickly! As a result, now you can establish direct bill with a 9-pay payment plan at the end of the policy issuance process—automatically. Requested by many agents, this enhancement applies to all direct bill accounts regardless of premium, and to the following lines of business, which can be bound through accessHarleysville//CL:
See our portal alert for more details, and call the Harleysville customer contact center with any questions at 1.888.547.8547 (option 2). Human services news: 'Hit list,' Driver's Alert updates, NRMC affiliation Harleysville and our agency partners wrote more than $10 million of human services business in 2011, our third year of serving this specialty market, and we've set our sights on a total of $50 million within five years. See below for a "hit list" of human services accounts we've put on the books recently, and for the marketing materials we've just updated to include information on our partnership with Driver's AlertTM. Harleysville human services customers have free access to Driver's Alert's "How's my driving?" program, as well as preferred pricing for its employee training library and GPS tracking units.
Harleysville now is an affiliate of The Nonprofit Risk Management Center (NRMC), established in 1990 to provide assistance and resources to community-serving nonprofit organizations. The Center's mission is to help nonprofits cope with uncertainty by offering a wide range of services (from technical assistance to software to training and consulting help) on a vast array of risk management topics (from employment practices and insurance purchasing to internal controls and preventing child abuse). If your agency is interested in exploring an affiliate relationship with NRMC, visit NRMC's affiliate site. For more information about Harleysville's human services business, contact any of the staff members listed on our "hit list" and our product highlights sheet (see above). To view our full selection of human services marketing materials, go to our agent portal—accessHarleysville®—and click on Marketing & Sales Support > Commercial Lines Products > OthersFirst Protection Package. In Pa., subcontractor's absence of workers comp coverage will trigger premium charge to reflect Harleysville's exposure In keeping with last year's Pennsylvania House Bill 440—which expanded the availability of workers compensation insurance to small businesses—Harleysville offers this coverage to that state's sole proprietors, partners in partnerships and members of limited liability companies. The passage of this law also created potential exposure for our insureds to uninsured subcontractors who fall into one of these business categories. Therefore, note that when auditing policies effective on or after Aug. 29, 2011—the date the new law took effect—we will be looking for evidence of insurance from such subcontractors. Finding none, our auditors will include premium charges to reflect our exposure. Also, keep in mind that policies covering business entities with no employees are outside of Harleysville's workers comp appetite. If you have questions about Harleysville's workers comp coverage, contact your commercial lines territory manager, business development specialist or commercial lines underwriter. Harleysville reverses decision to adopt Pa. defense cost endorsements in response to agent feedback Due to overwhelming feedback from our agents doing business in Pennsylvania, we are discontinuing the use of ISO's BP 06 07 and IL 01 20 rules and forms, which hold that a commercial lines customer defended under a reservation of rights letter would have to pay the carrier back for defense costs after it's determined that the claim is not covered. At Harleysville, these endorsements have been mandatory on all our StarAdvantage® BOP, commercial auto, general liability, commercial umbrella, commercial property, commercial package policy, and Harleysville CustomPak® products issued to Pennsylvania-based customers since December 2011, but we are joining the growing number of carriers that have reversed their decision to adopt them. Until we reprogram accessHarleysville//CL® in the coming months, the endorsements will continue to issue with policies generated through the system, but our commercial lines staff has been instructed to remove them upon being asked to do so by any agent or insured, so please feel free to make that request for your new or renewing Harleysville accounts. We will notify you once this system work is completed, but, until then, please contact your commercial lines representative to have the forms removed or with any other questions regarding these endorsements. Flood insurance New eCheck offers another convenient option for paying flood premiums Harleysville's flood program administrator, NFS-StoneRiver, recently announced an exciting enhancement to the FloodPro website. It's an eCheck flood policy payment option, and it gives you the ability to process payment for flood insurance new policy premiums, renewals and endorsements on behalf of your clients online, using their individual checking account and routing numbers. That means you no longer will need to mail the premium or endorsement check, thus saving you time, paper and the money you would spend on postage. For more details, including information on user responsibilities for eCheck authorization and disclosure, read the Jan. 30, 2012, letter from NFS-StoneRiver Vice President of Client Services Craig Hallbauer, and contact Craig directly with any questions via email or at 1.888.888.2169, ext. 1214. As always, you have the ability to pay premiums by mailing a paper check or using a credit card, as well. NFIP posts flood manual changes online, announces dates for annual conference The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has announced that flood insurance manual revisions to become effective on May 1, 2012, have been posted for your reference on the NFIP website. Contact your Harleysville flood representative with any questions once you've reviewed the upcoming changes. In addition, the NFIP's 29th annual National Flood Conference (NFC) will be held May 6-9, 2012, at the Hilton Austin Hotel in Austin, Tex. Click here to register for the conference online. If you act by April 1, 2012, you can take advantage of early bird registration for $395, compared to $470 for those signing up between April 2 and April 22, and $545 for on-site registration. For more information about this year's conference, including room reservations, speakers, workshops, and conference schedule, visit the NFC homepage. Who's on FEMA's 'Worst Guest List' for 2012? Atlantic hurricanes! Want a great tool for reminding your clients of the importance of flood insurance? Give them a copy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's "Worst Guest List: 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Names." Featured in the February issue of Agent Flood News Flash—the e-newsletter of Harleysville's flood program administrator, NFS-StoneRiver—FEMA's new flyer lists the names of every potential named storm from Alberto to William for the upcoming hurricane season. To view or download the flyer, click on the News Flash link below. Also in the February News Flash, you'll find an article explaining why it's critical that you reach out to your clients who've been victims of wildfires—or are threatened by wildfires—because areas inflicted by wildfires are at an increased risk for flooding. To view the entire issue, click on the link below, and contact your Harleysville flood representative with any questions. back to topLife insurance Use life sales to P&C accounts to boost your agency's 2012 profit-sharing payout Cross-selling Harleysville's life and group benefits to your Harleysville P&C customers simply makes good business sense. Not only will new coverages on the same accounts increase commissions, help you retain clients longer and add agency revenue, all it takes is $5,000 in weighted life premium to add to your profit-sharing payout from Harleysville. For more information, including a sample agency bonus calculation and a list of our life and group products appropriate for your small commercial accounts and personal lines customers, log on to our agent portal—accessHarleysville®—go to the Life section on the home page, then click on Agency Information > Quick Picks > Profit-Sharing Incentive with Life. If you have questions or need assistance, contact our life marketing staff at 1.800.222.1981, ext. 6415 or 6416. Improve your outlook for 2013 by earning Club Member Rewards in 2012 Harleysville Life's Club Member Rewards Program for 2012 offers you the ability to earn access to a variety of sales support and marketing support tools throughout 2013 to enhance your life prospecting efforts and save your clients money on premiums. With five tiers of achievement—starting with the Leaders Club at $25,000 of weighted premium and topping off with the Diamond Club at $150,000 of weighted premium—you have plenty of opportunities to excel. Plus, production for club membership counts toward our 2013 sales incentive trip to Dromoland Castle in County Clare, Ireland, April 17-23, 2013. For more details on the Club Member Rewards Program, including criteria for each of the five clubs into which you can secure entry through your 2012 performance, see our Agency Rewards for Life flyer. Questions? Contact our life marketing staff at 1.800.222.1981, ext. 6415 or 6416.Questions or comments about this issue? Have a question or comment about something you've just read in In the Know? Click on the reply button now, and tell us what's on your mind.In the Know is sent to all registered users of Harleysville's agent portal—accessHarleysville®. If others in your agency currently do not receive In the Know and would like to do so, they should see your agency's portal administrator for assistance. Know someone who unsubscribed from our Constant Contact emails and would like to start receiving them again? First, make sure they're registered on our agent portal under the correct email address. If that's the case, simply forward this issue of In the Know to your colleagues and direct them to click on the link below and follow the instructions. Re-subscribe to Harleysville's Constant Contact email address list
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