 Today is National Shop for Travel Day-the second Tuesday in January has been earmarked by the travel industry to remind people to start planning their next vacation now.
With all the new tools and resources to help shop for that perfect trip, how we choose to travel, our accommodations, and where we relax and have fun have become mobile and virtual. Whether a weekend getaway or a dream vacation, one can shop, compare, plan, and book all in just a few clicks. Travelers can find just the place and lodging they've dreamed of and even tour it before they go, view ratings and firsthand accounts from other travelers. They can catch a glimpse of what the trip will be like long before it begins.
Planning the perfect vacation should end with making sure its protected with Travel Insurance. The typical plan will cover emergency medical expenses and baggage loss and delay, and recover at least some of the cost of the trip if the vacation had to be canceled or cut short. As a Big "I" Markets agent you can offer your clients travel insurance through our partner carrier Travel Insured International. By investing in a plan with Cancel for Any Reason Coverage, clients may cancel their plans and get up to 75% of their total trip cost for any reason they choose, including a travel alert. They just to have purchased within 21 days of deposit (other eligibility conditions must also be met) and cancel 48 or more hours prior to scheduled departure in order to be eligible.
The TII travel blog covers a myriad of travel related subjects, including travel agent myths, sleeping on flights, using a cellphone abroad, navigating hurricane season, and picking the right hotel, just to name a few.
Travel Insurance can cover accident and sickness medical expense, emergency medical evacuation/repatriation, trip delays, cancellation, interruption, missed connections due to severe weather or many other reasons outside the traveler's control.
Obtaining coverage is easy:
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Review the product guide with your client®. Use the Quick Quote Feature on the Travel Insured International Site to calculate premium and add optional coverage if desired.
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Contact the Carrier's Help Desk with any coverage or underwriting questions.
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When you are ready for coverage to be issued, you MUST click on Request a Quote to access the applications and enter client information. Then scan and attach the completed application as a "New Message" or email to kyle.yoder@iiaba.net. A credit card number is required to issue coverage.
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Travel Insurance is currently available to members in all states.
Travel Insurance International help desk can be reached at (800) 243-3174.
Rates, waiting periods, and coverages can vary in FL, IA, KS, NY & WA.
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Move Your Marketing Ahead Using Selective's New Platform
 Big "I" Flood's carrier partner Selective knows that growing your business is vital and they are here to support your growth.
Agents who use Selective's Online Marketing Portal have seen an increase of up to 92% in new business with Selective. With the new Distributed Marketing Platform, you can enjoy features such as:
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Enhanced navigation with brand-new marketing collateral
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Digital marketing resources that include fully responsive email campaigns
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Real-time reporting on activity and emails
This complimentary tool is all part of the value that Selective provides to its valued agency partners. Visit www.selectivefloodmarketing.com, and the new Distributed Marketing Platform login screen will appear. You will need to complete a registration process to create a new account that should be approved within 24 business hours upon request. Learn more about the Big "I" Flood program at www.iiaba.net/Flood.
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Bundle Eagle And Save
 You cannot turn on the television today without seeing an insurance commercial advertising "mega savings" when you bundle the homeowners with the automobile.
Eagle Express MetLife and Eagle Express Travelers can give your agency the same ability to bundle in most states*. Eagle Express offers the bundle discount for the following:
Primary Homeowners and Personal Automobile
Primary Condominium and Personal Automobile
Primary Homeowners Renters and Personal Automobile
Add additional lines such as a personal umbrella, personal watercraft, a vacation home or even a dwelling fire or rental location and each lines receives a premium credit.
For more information please email your request (include the residency state) to Jodie Bacote.
*Bundles not available in most coastal locations, Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Michigan, downstate New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Rhode Island.
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BIM Website Training Webinar
Big "I" Markets
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Workers Compensation: 5 Mistakes Every Agent Makes
Virtual University
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Date: Thursday, January 18
Time: 2:00 - 2:30 p.m. EDT
Cost: Free
Summary:
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. EDT we'll show you how to navigate the Big "I" Markets platform, including how to submit a quote! A recording of this webinar can be found under "Publications" after logging into Big "I" Markets.
Registration:
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Date: Wednesday, January 10
Time: 1:00 - 2:30pm EDT
Cost: $49
Summary:
Workers' compensation, as a coverage, is simple. A worker gets hurt and, theoretically, the work comp policy pays; that's the simple part. The more complicated areas of workers' compensation involve the state laws and legal doctrines applicable to workers' comp. During the Jan. 10 "Workers Compensation: 5 Mistakes Every Agent Makes" webinar, VU Executive Director Chris Boggs will address five areas of confusion: For whom is the insured actually responsible under workers' comp laws? Who counts as an employee? What happens when employees travel out-of-state to work? When should insured's experience mod be combined? What are some of the key premium audit problems? Agents must be able to answer these questions when they arise, but there is much confusion and misinformation surrounding these topics. Attending this session will help agents to better manage their client's usual and unusual workers' compensation exposures.
All Big "I" Virtual University webinars include a 'seat' to attend live, a link to the on-demand recording, and a written transcript. Consider presenting conference style for the entire agency to benefit from the information shared.
Registration:
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STUDENT OF THE INDUSTRY PARTING SHOT
It's the Premiums, Stupid!
Remember James Carville's famous note that became the centerpiece of the Bill Clinton 1982 presidential campaign? "It's the economy, stupid!" Well, for the P&C insurance industry (and especially in this time of low interest rates) insurers know all too well, "As go the premiums so go profits." Below is a chart on one line of business that shows this clearly. This line of business is Other Liability-Claims Made and results for the past decade and half (15 years) are below for premiums and losses. You can see that as premiums are higher, loss ratios are lower. The correlation is inverse but it is significant 74%.<
Click for larger version
Source: Industry Data from ALIRT Insurance Research, Windsor, CT
Extra Credit: With the help of industry tracker ALIRT Insurance Research, we track every insurer that has any direct written premium in the NAIC's product line of 17.2. That is, 17.2 is Other Liability-Claims Made and 17.1 is Other Liability-Occurrence. For every premium dollar of "occurrence-based" business there is $.50 in "Claims Made." There about twice as many writing insurers active in 17.1 (Occurrence) than 17.2 (Claims Made). ALIRT provides us this data as a part of watching all the insurer financials with whom we are appointed with or use on Big "I" Markets. The coverage "Sub-types" under 17.1 and 17.2 are (alphabetically): Commercial General Liability, Completed Operations, Comprehensive Personal Liability, Contractual Liability, Cyber Liability, Directors & Officers Liability, Elevators and Escalators Liability, Employee Benefit Liability, Employers Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Environmental Pollution Liability, Excess Stop Loss (Not Workers' Compensation), Fire Legal Liability, Kidnap & Ransom Liability, Liquor Liability, Nuclear Energy Liability, Personal Injury Liability, Premises and Operations (OL&T and M&C), Professional Errors and Omissions Liability, Provider Excess Stop Loss (Medical), Umbrella and Excess (Commercial), Umbrella and Excess (Personal), and Veterinarians. It does not include medical malpractice insurance (LOB 11) nor does it include Products Liability (LOB 18).
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BIG "I" MARKETS SALE OF THE WEEK
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