Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing the upcoming convention, workers' comp rate decrease in Wisconsin and the results from the Q2 IVANS Index.

InsurCon2021 Countdown is On

InsurCon is quickly approaching with only a short week and a half left until this must-see event. Join us on August 10-11 at the Kalahari Resorts in Wisconsin Dells. Our speakers include industry experts, marketing gurus and technology geniuses with our keynote speaker, Joe Theismann. This premier event will highlight ways for agents to build their business, increase their marketing effectiveness and improve their business skills. Register now at iiaw.com/insurcon.

5.44% Workers' Comp Rate Decrease Approved in Wisconsin

Effective October 1, 2021, there will be a 5.44 percent decrease in workers' compensation insurance rates. According to Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Mark Afable, the decrease could result in a savings of more than $90 million for Wisconsin businesses. This is now the sixth straight year of rate decreases in Wisconsin. 

According to Insurance Journal, "the five major industry groups for workers' compensation insurance in Wisconsin will benefit from a rate decrease. 

• Contracting will have a 5.35% decrease;

• Office and clerical will have a 4.21% decrease; 

• Goods and services will have a 6.39% decrease; 

• Manufacturing will have a 5.53% decrease; and

• The miscellaneous industry group will have a 4.12 percent decrease. " Read more here. 

Q2 IVANS Index Shows Ongoing Insurance Market Hardening

According to the Q2 2021 IVANS Index, P&C insurance-industry renewal rates are experiencing a sustained upward trend.

According to Property Casualty 360, "Second-quarter 2021 premium renewal results revealed rate changes for all major commercial lines of business increased except for the workers' compensation market, where premium renewal rates have remained negative so far in 2021. The IVANS Index provides a leading indicator of the strength of the insurance channel. Click here to read a few additional highlights from the reporting. 

For more news, check out the Action news section of our weekly e-newsletter, Big I Buzz. If you aren’t subscribed, click here to add your email to our emailing list. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!

Happy Wednesday! On this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing how the Olympics' ban on spectators will cost the global reinsurance sector, how to earn 6 FREE CE credits and why Wisconsin taxpayers should be on high alert to suspicious mail regarding tax collection. 

Olympics Ban on Spectators to Cost Reinsurers Far Less Than Cancellation: Fitch

An analysis from Fitch Ratings has found that Japan's decision to ban spectators from the Tokyo Olympics will cost the global reinsurance sector $300 to $400 million due to payouts for ticket and hospitality refunds. According to Insurance Journal, "these costs are only 10-15% of the amount reinsurers would have faced had the Olympics been cancelled, and its impact on earnings should be limited, leaving capital and ratings unaffected. The analysts believe reinsurers would bear most of the losses arising from this cover given that high-severity exposures are typically heavily reinsured." Read more here. 

How to Earn 6 FREE CE Credits

When you register for InsurCon2021, you'll not only get to network with everyone that you've missed throughout the last year, but you'll also receive 6 FREE CE Credits. In an effort to reduce the amount of time attendees will spend in smaller breakout rooms, we will be providing a voucher good for six FREE CE credits (a $144 value). Attendees can redeem their free CE credits in the comfort of their own home, on their schedule giving you even more time to network while at InsurCon. These vouchers must be used prior to November 30, 2021. 

If you haven't already registered for the convention, now is the time! The rooms under IIAW's room block for the night of Tuesday, August 10th and the night of Wednesday, August 11th at the Kalahari Resorts have now sold out. If you plan to stay overnight either nights (or both), nearby hotels (0.9 miles from the Kalahari) include the Ramada Inn and Holiday Inn. The IIAW does not have room blocks at these hotels. We do encourage everyone who plans to stay overnight to make their reservations as soon as possible because this is peak time in Wisconsin Dells and rooms will go fast. 

Fraudulent Mail Warning: Wisconsin Officials Alert Public

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) revealed on Monday, July 12th that the agencies have received reports from multiple counties of individuals receiving fraudulent letters related to tax collection. 

According to Fox6 Milwaukee, the public can identify these letters by looking for: 

"• A return address listing the "Benefits Suspension Unit," a Wisconsin county, and "Public Judgement Records."

• A fake government seal with an image of the U.S. in a circle, rather than a state, county or municipality seal. 

• A paid postage mark indicating the letter originates from Los Angeles, CA

• There is no information on remitting payment, only a number to call to "avoid enforcement.""

Scammers may have been able to target victims by searching court filings for individuals who have already had court cases filed against them to collect taxes, according to the release from DATCP and DOR. For more information, please click here. 

For more news, check out the Action news section of our weekly e-newsletter, Big I Buzz. If you aren’t subscribed, click  here to add your email to our emailing list. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!

Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing Fourth of July travel, upcoming webinars to add to your calendar and how offices are changing post-COVID. 

AAA Fourth of July Holiday Travel Forecast

AAA has released their Fourth of July Holiday Travel Forecast and we are seeing upward travel trends showing Americans are ready to get back to their vacations. Similar to Memorial Day weekend, there's an expected increase of travel for the Fourth of July. More than 47.7 million Americans will take to the roads and skies for the Fourth of July weekend (July 1-5), according to AAA. Not only will travel be up 40% compared to last year, but it's expected to be the second-highest Independence Day travel volume on record (behind 2019). 

Americans will be hitting the road, totaling more than 91% of holiday travel this upcoming weekend. Car travel will bll be the highest on record, despite the gas prices being at the highest compared to the last seven years.  AAA says that over 3.5 million Americans will travel in planes, up 2.2 million from last year. 

According to AAA, these are the top destinations for the Fourth of July weekend: 

1. Orlando, FL

2. Anaheim, CA

3. Denver, CO

4. Las Vegas, NV

5. Seattle, WA

6. Chicago, IL

7. New York, NY

8. Atlanta, GA

9. Boston, MA

10. Kahului, Maui, HI

If you're planning to head south towards Chicago for the weekend, prepare for a bit of traffic as Chicago is listed in the top 10 travel destinations for the weekend.  According to the AAA News Room, "INRIX, in collaboration with AAA, predicts drivers will experience the worst congestion heading into the holiday weekend as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers, along with the return trip on Monday mid-day."

Upcoming Webinars to Add to Your Schedule:

The IIAW, in partnership with Godfrey & Kahn, has produced the below webinars to help you navigate upcoming changes within the insurance industry and how these changes will affect you.

Cost for each of these webinars: $99/person

Webinar: Agency Privacy Officer - Duties & Legal Overview

Join attorneys Josh Johanningmeier and Sarah Sargent from Godfrey & Kahn S.C as they provide independent agents with a detailed overview of the duties and legal requirements for an agency privacy officer. Every agency must adhere to specific requirements found in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in addition to NAIC and state-specific requirements. As these laws continue to pass and grow in complexity, there are policies that every insurance agency must follow regardless of size or location.

This webinar is available on the following dates:

• 9AM-10AM on Thursday, July 1st
• 11:30AM-12:30PM on Friday, July 9th
• 2PM-3PM on Wednesday, July 14th
• 10AM-11AM on Thursday, July 15th

Webinar: New Disclosure Requirements for Brokers/Consultants

Attorneys Josh Johanningmeier and Todd Cleary of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. provide legal direction and guidance regarding new disclosures under Consolidated Appropriations Act. These new rules apply to compensation paid with respect to a covered plan to a covered service provider. Listen in to learn what the term "compensation" includes, how a "covered plan" is described and who is included in "covered service provider". Additional details such as advance disclosure requirements, required disclosures and requirements for plan fiduciaries will be important topics of discussion.

• 2PM-3PM on Thursday, July 1st
• 10AM-11AM on Friday, July 9th
• 12PM-1PM on Wednesday, July 14th
• 12PM-1PM on Thursday, July 15th

Offices After COVID: Wider Hallways, Fewer Desks

As more and more employees are returning to work, they're seeing a different office setup than when they first left. The move back into offices is being focused on socialization within their work spaces. 

Associated Press reported, "Surveys show the thing employees miss most about office work is socializing and collaborating with colleagues, said Lise Newman, workplace practice director at architecture firm SmithGroup. Companies are trying to encourage that rapport by building more social hubs for employees. Some mimic coffee houses, with wood floors, booth seating and pendant lamps. "Companies are trying to create the sense that this is a cool club that people want to come into," Newman said."

In addition to adding in social workspaces for employees, businesses are also creating more private spaces so those who need time to work on their own, have that sense of privacy they received while working from home. New York company, Valiant Technologies, has removed rows of desks and put more space between the remaining ones. They're encouraging a hybrid work environment, where employees have a desk to return to when they work in the office. Read more from the Associated Press story here. 

For more news, check out the Action news section of our weekly e-newsletter, Big I Buzz. If you aren’t subscribed, click here to add your email to our emailing list. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!

We are back with another week of Big I Buzz. In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing OSHA's new COVID-19 emergency temporary guidance for all workplaces, the future of passwords and the results from a new J.D. Power study on auto insurance customer satisfaction.

OSHA Issues COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for Health Care Workers and Guidance for All Workplaces

On June 10, 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard relating to COVID-19. According to Godfrey & Kahn, "Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA has exclusively relied on existing safety standards to regulate employer conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, all of OSHA's previous employer directives, to date, have taken the form of non-binding informal guidance and recommendations." President Biden issued an Executive order on January 21, 2021, directed towards OSHA to consider implementing "any emergency temporary standards on COVID-19 and that these standards should be released by March 15, 2021.

OSHA updated their existing COVID-19 guidance for all workplaces on June 10, 2021. The new guidance says: 

• Encourages employers to grant paid time off for employees to get vaccinated

• Suggests that employers provide unvaccinated and at-risk workers with face coverings or surgical mask at no cost

• States that workers should continue to wear face coverings while working indoors

• Recommends that employers, especially public-facing workplaces such as retail environments, "suggest" that unvaccinated customers, visitors or guests wear face coverings when entering the workplace. 

Read more about the new guidance here. 

Forgotten Your Passwords? They Soon May Be Lost Altogether - with Insurers' Help

 Scary enough, the most popular password used in 2020 was "123456". Passwords like this were easily cracked almost 24 million times throughout the past year. According to Insurance Journal, "This data perfectly encapsulates the flaws inherent in passwords, and why it is easy to predict that it won't be too long until passwords are phased out altogether." A 2017 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report found that 80 percent of cyber breaches were the direct result of stolen or hacked passwords. 

Biometric data which is used for unlocking our phones, paying for groceries, speaking to our bank and entering the country has caused a push for app developers to incorporate biometrics to enable users to bypass passwords altogether when accessing online accounts. According to Insurance Journal, "The phasing away from passwords to biometric data represents a shift away from "something you have" to "something you are", and this shift is welcome. Thanks to biology, our biometric data is nearly impossible to phish, guess or hack. While biometrics aren't infallible, attempts to hack biometrics are largely only attempted by some of the more sophisticated criminals, meaning the prevalence of this threat is minimal when compared to the threat facing our passwords."

Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Stalls Despite $18 Billion in Premium Relief, J.D. Power Finds

The auto insurance industry returned more than $18 billion in auto insurance premiums to customers in 2020 to address the sharp decline in miles driven during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this relief, the 2021 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Study found that customer satisfaction with auto insurers is flat, following four consecutive years of improvement. 

Here are the key findings of the study, according to Business Wire: 

•Overall satisfaction is stagnant: This is the first time since 2017 that auto insurance customer satisfaction has not improved year over year. 

• Insurers miss the mark in communication: There were significant declines in satisfaction with customer interaction. Satisfaction with the assisted online channel, is comprised of chat and e-mail functions, declines 12 points from a year ago, with decreases also seen in contact center, website and local agent.

•Customer awareness of COVID-19 relief efforts boosts brand perception: Overall brand impressions are significantly higher among customers who were aware of these relief efforts, which was also reflected in their intent to renew their policy. 

• Pandemic as catalyst to telematics growth: More than 1/3 of auto insurance customers say they are willing to try usage-based insurance which uses telematics technology to track customer driving patterns and includes discounts based on safe driving and fewer miles driven. 

• Ready to switch at hint of premium: Nearly half of auto insurance customers say they would switch if they could receive a saving of $200 or less. 

Read the more about the study here. 

For more news, check out the Action news section of our weekly e-newsletter, Big I Buzz. If you aren’t subscribed, click here to add your email to our emailing list. Don’t forget you can stay up-to-date on other industry news as its happening on our Online Community. You can join the Online Community (exclusive to IIAW members)  here  . We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!

Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing a few dates that you need to know, mitigating cyber risk and how to exceed post-pandemic customer service expectations. 

Dates You Need to Know

Don't forget to apply to the Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery Grant. The grant program will award $420 million to small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The application will close at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 7th. Grant amounts are expected to be $5,000 per eligible applicant. Grant money can be used for any business operating costs, including but not limited to wages and salaries, rent, mortgages, and inventory, and/or for health and safety improvements. You can learn more about the grant program and apply here. 

Join us at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 17th for our next upcoming Agency Leadership Webinar. The webinar, "2020 WI Property and Casualty Marketplace Summary" will cover a deep-dive into insurer industry data for the state of WI from an independent agent's point-of-view. Not only can this state marketplace data be useful in your agency for planning purposes, but this class also qualifies for 1 WI CE credit! This webinar is free for IIAW members! Register for the webinar here. 

Mitigating Cyber Risks - What Can Be Done? 

We've seen an increase in news stories covering ransomware attacks at places like the Colonial Pipeline and most recently, JBS meatpacking plant in Utah. These attacks leave victims having to choose between paying ransom demands or prolonging the disruption while racing to recover their data. Vishaal Hariprasad, Chief Executive Officer of Resilience, a provider of cyber insurance and security solutions to middle-market organizations told Insurance Business Mag that cyber criminals are getting bolder with their demands but they haven't innovated their tactics. Cyber criminals haven't had to, because so many organizations continue to leave vulnerabilities unaddressed. "People are very concerned about the impact of ransomware, but they're not shifting their behavior to defeat attacks. Nine times out of 10, attacks succeed because the victims didn't pay attention to the basics, such as unpatched vulnerabilities or leaving multi factor authentication off." Read more about mitigating cyber risks here. 

Five Ways to Exceed Post-Pandemic Customer Service Expectations

A recent survey by Infobip found that 89% of American consumers state that good customer service is more important now than ever due to the pandemic. Here are 5 ways to exceed customer service expectations according to Dawnyel Smink, CEO of Canyon Lands Insurance: 

1. Ensure you understand the customer ahead of the conversation. 

Review back-end data from your company and previous call logs with associated claims to understand what the client needs before a scheduled call. 

2. Provide options that may not always benefit the insurer. 

Keep the customer at the front of your mind when offering them advice. Keeping your customers' needs first may affect the ROI for the company short-term, but it ensures customer loyalty and increased revenue in the long run. 

3. Remain directly accessible even after the conversation/purchase. 

According to Property Casualty 360, "Consumers appreciate follow-ups and check-ins when they aren't directly tied to the bottom line, and they like knowing it's coming directly from a representative vs. an automated service. Check-in from time to time to ensure they've been properly cared for and that their policy is meeting their needs."

4. Understand each customer's preferred communications channel(s). 

Understanding how your customer likes to be communicated with can lead to relationship building!

5. Know that great customer service means being there for the customer, even if you're not. 

Promote carrier's tools or encourage adoption of digital self-service capabilities so that customers can take care of the simple things if and when they want to. Customers want access to information and service 24/7. 

Learn more about exceeding customer service expectations here. 

For more news, check out the Action news section of our weekly e-newsletter, Big I Buzz. If you aren’t subscribed, click here to add your email to our emailing list. Don’t forget you can stay up-to-date on other industry news as its happening on our Online Community. You can join the Online Community (exclusive to IIAW members) here. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week.