Who Makes the Best Trade Show Booth Staff?

Most if not all of us have attended industry trade shows.  Recently Jimcor Agencies sent about 15 people to the PIA NJ/NY Joint Convention in Atlantic City, NJ.  This particular show is three days long, and draws approximately 2,000 industry professionals from around the Northeast US.
In walking around the convention center and looking at all the booths I did notice something that made the Jimcor booth different.
It wasn't the balloons celebrating our 25th Anniversary.  It wasn't the great location right near the entrance.
It was the positive attitude of the Jimcor employees.  Yes, we all wish the market was getting harder.  But if we walk around portraying a negative attitude, who would want to do business with us?
In a meeting prior to the trade show we discussed attire for the booth and the events, who would be attending which classes, who would man the booth when, etc.  We went over every detail.
But actually seeing the smiles on the Jimcor staff's faces, hearing them talk positively to everyone they saw no matter if they were a company, vendor or agent - it was great.
So what can you do in your office to make sure that only the positive attitudes are what people see?
Look at your culture.  What is your office like?  Do people regularly smile and laugh?  Sure, every now and then people have a bad day, but is there one person whose negativity threatens your entire office?
There is always that one person who is a great worker, but their attitude could use some adjusting.
Whatever you decide to do with that employee, DO NOT put them out there in front of your clients.  Think of how you would read someone who had that negative puss on their face, as opposed to the person (who may not be as knowledgeable) who is smiling and extending a hand listening to your concerns.
When looking around your office to see who should be attending an event, look for the people that invite opportunity.  These will not always be your best producers (and that is something else that you should be looking at).  These people will be the ones who even if something is happening in their personal lives, they are able to put it aside and concentrate on the positive of the moment - they put the client first.  These are the people that say "Good Morning" with a smile everyday, even when it is raining.
Consider what your staff would look like at the booth of a huge trade show.  How would your office be perceived?  What would people walk away thinking about your company?
Make sure whomever you have out there marketing for you knows the importance of a smile and eye to eye contact.
For a great article click here to learn more about "Who Makes the Best Trade Show Booth Staff" from AlexisExhibits.com.
To find out where Jimcor will be exhibiting next, email us at info@jimcor.com!

Faulty Workmanship as "Occurrence"

Jimcor Agencies was fortunate to have Bernie Heinze, Esq., Executive Director of AAMGA (American Assoc. of Managing General Agents) in our offices to teach a class last week.  One of the industry issues that was discussed during the class was Bernie's prediction the "faulty workmanship" inclusion into the CGL coverage grant would be a trend on which our industry needs to stay abreast.  In following up a few days after the class, Bernie sent around the opinion of the Western District of PA Federal Court and some background... as well as supporting documents and comments thanks to Randy J. Maniloff, White and Williams LLP, Philadelphia, PA.

"It is no secret that, since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Kvaerner, policyholders in Pennsylvania that have sought coverage for defective workmanship (whether construction defect or otherwise) have not fared well. The Western District of Pennsylvania recently ended the policyholder drought. But, a close look at the decision shows that the worm has hardly turned for policyholders confronting the faulty workmanship/“occurrence” issue.

In National Fire Ins. Co. of Hartford v. Robinson Fans, the court addressed coverage for an insured, Robinson Fans, that designed, manufactured and sold three industrial fans to Archer-Daniel-Midlands Co. ADM filed suit against Robinson Fans alleging that the equipment “failed catastrophically” on account of design defects. Robinson Fans at 1. The insurer undertook Robinson’s defense under a reservation of rights. At issue before the court in the subsequent coverage action was summary judgment on whether the failure of a defective product was an “occurrence.” Id. at 2.

The court readily acknowledged that, under Kvaerner, “the definition of ‘accident’ required to establish an ‘occurrence’ under the policies cannot be satisfied by claims based upon faulty workmanship. Such claims simply do not present the degree of fortuity contemplated by the ordinary definition of ‘accident’ or its common judicial construction in this context. To hold otherwise would be to convert a policy for insurance into a performance bond. We are unwilling to do so, especially since such protections are already readily available for the protection of contractors.” Id. at 5 (quoting Kvaerner). All of this is strikingly similar to the Lexicon case we discussed in AK and the Crossman opinions we discussed during the classes from Arkansas and South Carolina, respectively

The Robinson Fans court also concluded that, based on other decisions it examined, Pennsylvania law does not recognize the applicability of a CGL policy to a breach of contract claim. Id. With that as a backdrop, the court then distinguished Kvaerner, and other cases that have followed Kvaerner, from the defective fans before it. The decision’s money paragraph is as follows:
[T]here is a discernible distinction between a product that actively malfunctions, which could give rise to an “accident,” and flawed product related work done in performance of a contract, which cannot. Cases suggest a material difference between a claim that stems from a “breach[] [of] duty imposed by mutual consensus” -- or an alleged failure to live up to bargained-for standards -- and one that stems from breaches of standards of care imposed by law as a matter of social policy, independent of the parties’ bargain. See CPB Int’l, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86506, at *19. The former constitutes uncovered “contractual claims of poor workmanship,” even if couched as negligence; the latter, however, may be a covered “active malfunction.” Cf. Erie Ins. Exchange v. Abbott Furnace Co., 972 A. 2d 1232, 1238 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2009) (emphasis in original). In other words, negligent or defective design, in a case in which the product is designed pursuant to and in accordance with a contract, is necessarily part and parcel of the contract performance. In contrast, if a product was negligently or defectively designed, and then supplied pursuant to a subsequent contract, the design work might be measured against tort standards of care rather than agreed-upon terms.

Id. at 6-7 (emphasis added).

The Robinson Fans court then cited several decisions that it believed supported this distinction The take-away from the court’s rule is this:
If the failure of the insured’s work or product was caused by the insured’s faulty design, and its obligation of proper design was one that the insured undertook in its contract, then the insured breached its contract and any damage was not caused by a occurrence.

On the other hand, if the failure of the insured’s work or product was caused by the insured’s faulty design, and such design predated the contract, i.e., was not an obligation undertaken specifically on account of the contractual relationship, then the insured did not breach its contract, but, rather, breached a duty imposed by social policy. In this case, any damage was caused by a occurrence.

Turning the facts at issue, the Robinson Fans court held as follows:
Here, the underlying complaint states a claim entitled, “negligence in design.” In so doing, it avers that the insured “agreed to provide” equipment that conformed with ADM’s performance specifications; “designed” the equipment, at some unspecified point in the case chronology; and “selected materials for and manufactured the equipment.” Further, the complaint states that the “negligence” and “design defects” caused “catastrophic failure” of the equipment. The complaint lacks any factual allegation that the insured undertook to design the equipment pursuant to mutual consensus or agreement, or instead, for example, supplied a fan designed long before Robinson and ADM contracted. Therefore, there is no basis for decisively concluding either that the complaint alleges failure to exercise care in duties imposed by contract, or those imposed extra-contractually by law. One possibility is equally as likely as the other.
Id. at 10.

While Robinson Fans was a win for the policyholder, it does not turn Pennsylvania law on its head.

First, it was a duty to defend decision. The court made clear that its decision was tied to a broad duty to defend standard and that when it comes to any potential indemnity obligation, the result may be much different. The court stated: “I cannot rule out the possibility that something other than faulty workmanship is blamed for the equipment failure. Therefore, because I must liberally construe the underlying complaint in favor of the insured, I conclude that it possibly pleads a triggering “occurrence,” rather than faulty workmanship.” Id.

Second, even if the failure of the fans constitutes an occurrence, for indemnity purposes, because it is determined that the design work predated the contract, i.e., the contract was not for the design, it seems likely that coverage would still be precluded by the “your product” exclusion (or “your work” exclusion in other contexts).

Third, faulty workmanship cases are more likely to involve construction defects alleged against contractors, which are not as likely to have design components, but, rather, allege failure to perform work as promised, i.e., the breach of contract claim that Robinson Fans held is not an occurrence (although now look out for “artful pleading” to trigger a duty to defend).

Fourth, in reaching its decision, the court relied on two New Jersey decisions and two Pennsylvania decisions that pre-dated Kvaerner.

A curious aspect of the Robinson Fans opinion is footnote 6: “Moreover, while the faulty workmanship alone is not covered, faulty workmanship that causes an accident may lead to coverage. L-J, Inc. v. Bitumous Fire and Marine Insurance Co., 567 S.E. 2d 489, 492-493 (S.C. 2002).” This statement suggests that the Robinson Fans court never received the Gambone memo. Further, South Carolina law has come a long way since L-J, especially after the recent Crossman decision. South Carolina is probably the last state that should be cited these days when attempting to make any pronouncement of coverage for faulty workmanship."
Thank you Bernie for your in depth analysis of this issue during our CE Class.  Thank you Randy for your insight and comments.

If you have any questions please contact Jimcor Agencies, Randy J. Maniloff or AAMGA for more information.
http://www.jimcor.com/
http://www.aamga.org/
maniloffr@whiteandwilliams.com

Diversity Discussion with Elmer Rivera (Pt III)

Welcome back as we finish up our conversation with Elmer Rivera, Branch Manager for Jimcor Agencies' Long Island, NY office and President of LABA (Latin Agents and Brokers Assoc.).  Elmer has already answered questions about Diversity with regards to employment in our industry, geographic differences, leadership and more.
Here we will look at what the industry can do to further embrace diversity as well as an inside look at the new trade association, LABA.

Q: What else does the industry need to do to further embrace different cultures in our country?
A: "Bring It To The People" ...We need to educate not only our sales force, but also our office support, customer service reps., claims reps., and accounting reps. The fastest growing consumer group, people from diverse cultures present a great virtually untapped opportunity for insurance companies and agents to sell their products and services. By providing face-to-face communication, with clear product descriptions, and implementing patience & understanding, you can begin to build trust with the culturally diverse consumer.

Q: What is the purpose of your group LABA (Latin Agents and Brokers Assoc) and how are you different from other associations in the area / country?
A: Our purpose is to provide support in the advancement of the Agent and Broker serving the Hispanic American insurance consumer in the North East by assisting in providing the best possible product offerings to this ever growing consumer segment. We are also focusing on promoting education and mentoring to the future young Hispanic American insurance professional.
We differ from other associations in the Northeast by bringing together those already servicing, or interested in targeting Hispanic insurance consumers. We also differ by being the first association that looks to focus on educating not only the agent and broker, but the Hispanic insurance consumer as well. By educating the consumer, we believe we can help the agent & broker facilitate sales and servicing to the Hispanic insurance consumer.

Q: Do you have any additional comments?
A: The bottom line is that today the diverse cultures are what make America truly the land of opportunity, and the insurance industry needs to further prepare itself to take advantage of the opportunities that will come from this fast growing consumer group.


Thank you Elmer for taking the time to answer our questions.

If you would like more information on Jimcor visit our website at http://www.jimcor.com/.
For information on LABA visit http://www.latinagentsandbrokers.com/
You can also email Elmer Rivera at erivera@jimcor.com

In closing, ask yourself how diverse your agency, company or office is.  Look around your community and find ways to learn about the different cultures all around you.  After all, everyone needs insurance!

Diversity Discussion with Elmer Rivera (Part II)

We are back talking to Jimcor's Long Island branch manager, Elmer Rivera, President of LABA (Latin Agents and Brokers Assoc).

We asked Elmer Rivera the question, "How has (or hasn't) the insurance industry embraced diversity" and then looked at different areas. Here are his candid answers!

Q: How has (or hasn't) the insurance industry embraced diversity with regards to Employment? A: The insurance industry has done a good job of embracing diversity in the workplace. When I first started my insurance career in the mid 80's there were few minorities entering the industry. Those that did were primarly African American and Asian. By the mid 90's I noticed a change. More Guianese, Hindi, and specifically Hispanics were entering the insurance industry. While much more is needed to show how we are an industry that embraces cultural differences and diversity, we are moving in the right direction. I would attribute this to the efforts of currect trade associations that have brought public awareness to following a career in insurance.

Q: How has (or hasn't) the insurance industry embraced diversity with regards to Leadership within the industry?
A: As public awareness grows, cluturally diverse people look to grow their own careers in the industry. Today people form various cultures are holding more leadership roles than they did 10 years ago. As staffing becomes more culturally diverse need to continue the same trend at the leadership level to stay in sync with the changing workforce as well as the marketplace.

We will complete this conversation with Elmer Rivera next time as we look at what else the industry needs to do to further embrace different cultures, marketing and Elmer will talk about LABA.

If you would like to reach Elmer River please email him at erivera@jimcor.com.

Diversity

We sat down with Elmer Rivera, Jimcor's Long Island Branch Manager and President of LABA (Latin Agents and Brokers Assoc) and asked him a few questions on Diversity. We will break the discussion up into a series of blogs. Here is the first of that series.

Q: How do you define Diversity?
A: Diversity can have many different meanings. When you speak of a people I would define diversity as "Cultural Diversity". This means understanding that every culture has made a contribution to American history and each culture may have very different sub-cultures. In my view, we as Americans have a duty to show tolerance and understanding of the many cultures that make our country so great. While we are all Americans, keeping our cultural identities alive should be valued and not be ignored or put aside.

Q: Do you think diversity is different geographically? (i.e. in the northeast as opposed to other parts of the country?)
A: Yes. In America there may be one group of people, but many sub-groups within. This is evident in the Asian and Hispanic communities. While this holds true in the Northwest as well, when you discuss the topic of primary Hispanic communities, Mexican is the dominant Hispanic culture by the largest margin. In the Northeast there are many different Hispanic cultures. While Dominicans are the current largest segment, other Hispanic cultures (Puerto Rican, Mexican and various Central and Southern American cultures) are only less by a much smaller margin.

In the next blog we will be asking Elmer Rivera questions about his views on diversity within the insurance industry.

Wanna be in a relationship?

Relationships are vital to any industry. How important is the 'relationship' today in insurance? With social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and yes, blogging, is the relationship really important? Do we follow companies or people? Or is it a little of both?

At Jimcor we believe it is both. Relationships are first about people. You develop a relationship with the person you feel most comfortable with and that is who you will continue to do business with over time. You want to know that if you call five years from know that person will be there to help you - you want that stability.

However, that same person must also have the tools available to them (the markets for example) to provide you with the service you need to write the account. Without those tools the best relationship cannot succeed no matter how much you like the person.

So to the agent it is about both the person and the company.

At Jimcor we strive to be the best when it comes to customer service. We want to be the first and the last call our agents make and we want them to know they can contact us with questions regarding coverage, markets, etc.

Each year we continue to improve our customer service standards - whether that means quicker quotes or more online programs - either way we give the clients what they want, when they want it and make sure we are there when they need us.

Exceptional customer service can be achieved very simply if your business consistently does the following things:
Be accessible. Answer your phone before the third ring. Have a means for the customer to reach someone immediately without having to leave a voicemail message. People want to talk to a live person.
Listen to complaints or mistakes and fix them. Thank your customer for making you aware of any issues they are having and get them fixed. Chances are there are 24 others with a similar problem.
Provide options. Give your customer choices on how they can do business with you. Make it as easy as possible for them to place their business with you.
Be honest. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Reliability is the key to a great relationship.
Be helpful and courteous. Go the extra mile, offer more and ask if there is anything else you can do for your customer.

These tips, though simple, might take time. Post them in your office. Talk to your staff. Think of ways to make implementation fun.

USLI, one of our over 50 companies, was kind enough to let us copy these customer service points from their newsletter. Companies, vendors, and associations in our industry have tools available that can help make your agency stronger and improve your service standards. Reach out to your business partners to find out what free tools are available to you ... we did!

Relationships and customer service. Business may be conducted online and people may tweet and blog, but it seems the more things change the more they stay the same... our industry is still all about the people at the end of the day.

At Jimcor we pride ourselves on great people, great companies and great clients.

EPA Compliance & Insurance Coverage

On April 22, 2010 the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) rule commonly referred to as the Lead-Safe Program, which requires workers to be trained to use lead-safe work practices and requires renovation firms to be EPA-certified, took effect.

How will this impact your clients?

The title of this blog is also a link to a handbook that can help answer your questions and your clients' questions. Forward this to your clients so that you know you have provided the information they need to operate efficiently and effectively.

You can also click here to access the handbook -
Small Entity Compliance Guide to Renovate Right
EPA's Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program

As stated in the handbook, those that must follow the rule can include but are not limited to:

• Residential rental property owners/managers
• General contractors
• Special trade contractors including but not limited to:
  Painters
  Plumbers
  Carpenters
  Electricians
• Contractors who perform activities that disturb painted surfaces in homes and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 (including certain repairs and maintenance, and painting preparation activities)

Jimcor is available to assist you with placement of these classes of business and more. We also have specialists on hand to write your hard to place business such as pre-1978 homes and businesses that may be impacted by this new EPA rule. Contact your Jimcor Environmental Specialist today and ask about our Lead Safe Contractors Pollution Liability program!