Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing how the Wisconsin DMV is looking to adjust their road test, the latest updates in the CDC COVID-19 recommendations and why nearly 800 residents of French Island are planning to sue the city of La Crosse, WI. 

Wisconsin DMV Looking to Make Road Test Waiver Program Permanent

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation began to pilot a program that would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to skip the road test requirement in Wisconsin. With over 49,000 waivers being signed since the program started last year, the DMV believes that the waiver option has been beneficial and they're looking to have the program be made permanent. 

According to WEAU, "Instead of actually getting behind the wheel to get their license, parents of the teens can go online and choose to waive the road test for their child. Officials with the Department of Motor Vehicles said teenagers are required to hold a drivers permit for at least six months, required to complete the approved driver education courses with third-party schools or with their high school, and have to log at least 30 hours of driving with their parent or sponsor in a variety of conditions. Then, the teenagers can receive a probationary driver's license online, where distractions are limited in the car by requiring them to only have one person in the vehicle that's not related to them, and then there are limited hours that they can operate the vehicle." Read more here. 

CDC Says: Fully Vaccinated People No Longer Need to Wear a Mask or Physically Distance in Any Settings

On May 13, the CDC made changes to the public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people. The CDC released these recommendations: "

"Fully vaccinated people can: 

• Resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local businesses and workplace guidance

• Resume domestic travel and refrain from testing before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel

• Refrain from testing before leaving the United States for international travel (unless required by the destination) and refrain from self-quarantine after arriving back in the United States

• Refrain from testing following a known exposure, if asymptomatic, with some exceptions for specific settings

• Refrain from quarantine following a known exposure if asymptomatic

• Refrain from routine screening testing if feasible"

In light of the CDC's guidance saying that fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings, some businesses are lifting face mask requirements for customers who are vaccinated. This has raised questions about medical privacy, leaving many to wonder whether asking for proof of a COVID vaccine is a HIPAA violation. Multiple news outlets have reported that non-health-care businesses don't violate HIPAA if they ask for proof of a COVID-19 vaccine. HIPAA is applied within people in the medical-related fields, including insurance and medical providers. However, HIPAA doesn't protect personal health information in every situation. According to Kayte Spector-Bagdady, a medical ethics researcher at the University of Michigan, said, "HIPAA only governs certain kinds of entities - your clinician, hospital or others in the health care sphere. It does not apply to the average person or to a business outside health care. It doesn't give someone personal protection against ever having to disclose their health information." 

Nearly 800 Residents to Sue Wisconsin City Over PFAS Contamination

Following contamination of private drinking water wells from chemicals known as PFAS, nearly 800 residents of French Island plan to sue the city of La Crosse, Wisconsin. This could expose the city to up to more than $39 million in claims. 

According to Insurance Journal, "The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources last year launched an investigation that includes the city of La Crosse regarding contamination on the island stemming from the La Crosse Regional Airport. The DNR flagged two city wells for the presence of PFAS, which have since been taken out of service, Wisconsin Public Radio reported." Read more 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 an upcoming opportunity to earn a FREE Wisconsin CE credit, the struggle to make pandemics insurable and rising gas prices in Wisconsin.

How-To: Earn a FREE Wisconsin CE credit

Join the IIAW at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 17th for our upcoming Agency Leadership Webinar. This webinar will cover the 2020 WI Property and Casualty Marketplace Summary. Our featured speaker, Paul A. Buse, Principal at Real Insurance Solutions Consulting will give a deep-dive into the insurer industry data for the state of WI from an independent agent's point-of-view. In addition to receiving great information from Paul during the webinar, the class also qualifies for one WI CE Credit. All webinars within our Agency Leadership Webinar Series are free for IIAW members, meaning you'll receive a FREE CE credit for attending! Click here to register for the upcoming webinar.

Behind the Struggle to Make Pandemics Insurable

According to a Reuters report, COVID-19 caused more than $100 billion losses which is leading many insurers to move to strike pandemic coverage from all new business policies. "The Reuters report noted, that while a firm project's risks are contained over a finite amount of time, industries like airlines have much higher potential losses which could prove more difficult to insure. This has led many insurers sayin that extensive cover will only be possible if governments provide backstops." The process of developing a plan where commercial insurers would be backed by government reinsurance programs moves slowly. Learn more about the struggle to make pandemics insurable here. 

Gas Prices Rising in Wisconsin, But Not Because of Pipeline Cyberattack

Things are opening back up throughout Wisconsin and more people are traveling. However, with more movement across the state, gas prices are rising. According to GasBuddy.com, "The average price of a gallon of gas in Wisconsin now stands at $2.84, which is up more than 4 cents from last week and 11 cents since last month." Experts had expected a rise in gas prices this spring, as more people are planning to travel this year after being vaccinated. TMJ4 a Milwaukee news outlet stated, "Gas prices in Milwaukee area are on the rise, a trend analysts blame on the cyberattack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline late last week." Milwaukee gas prices are averaging $2.84 a gallon on Monday. Compared to other nearby cities: 

• Rockford, IL: $3.11/g up 1.9 cents per gallon from last week's $3.09/g

• Madison, WI: $2.77/g, up 3.6 cents per gallon from last week's $2.73/g

• Chicago, IL: $3.31/g, up 1.1 cents per gallon from last week's $3.29/g

Compared to the same time last year, Wisconsin gas prices are up 11.4 cents higher than last month and $1.17/g higher than this time last year. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis from Gas Buddy stated, "While average gas prices jumped last week as the nation continues to see COVID-19 recovery, all eyes are now on the Colonial Pipeline and the fact a cyberattack has completely shut all lines, leading to what could become a major challenge for fuel delivery. The situation is growing more intense each day that passes without the pipeline restarting, and motorists are advised to show extreme restraint or exacerbate and prolong the challenges. If the pipeline returns to service in the next day or two, the challenges will be minimal, but if full restart doesn't happen by then, we're likely to see a slight rise in gas prices, but more importantly, challenges for motorists needing fuel in Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia, Northern Florida and surrounding areas. I'm hopeful the situation will quickly improve as multiple levels of government are involved, this may become a nightmare should it continue just ahead of the start of the summer driving season."

The current national average gas prices sit at $2.95 a gallon, putting Wisconsin below the national average at this time. Read more 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.

Today marks the last Wednesday of April, and we are quickly speeding towards summer. In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing InsurCon2021, Tony Evers' bill regarding Workers' Compensation and what the new CDC guidelines mean for vaccinated and unvaccinated adults. 

Register Today for InsurCon2021

Join us August 10-11 at the Kalahari Resorts in Wisconsin Dells for InsurCon2021! We are looking forward to finally seeing everyone in-person, as well as welcome our keynote speaker, Joe Theismann. Along with Joe Theismann, we also are excited to share that Beth Ziesenis and Bill Pieroni will be featured speakers at InsurCon. If you want to learn more about the speakers and register for InsurCon and the Sunset Dinner Boat Cruise, visit iiaw.com/insurcon!

Gov. Evers Signs Bill to Help Public Safety Officers Struggling with PTSD

Gov. Tony Evers signed into law a bipartisan bill to allow first responders, including police and firefighters, to receive workers' compensation if they've been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Prior to the bill, public safety officers must prove that PTSD was caused by unusual stress compared with what their co-workers regularly experience on the job to claim workers' compensation, according to APG-WI. "The new bill requires a diagnosis from a licensed professional that does not need to be based on the officer suffering greater stress than co-workers." According to WKOW the bill does the following: 

"• Allows payment of worker's compensation benefits if a public safety officer, such as a law enforcement officer or firefighter, is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, and the mental injury is not accompanied by a physical injury if proven by a preponderance of the evidence and the mental injury is not a result of a good faith employment action by the employer; and 

• Limits the liability for treatment of such injuries and claims to no more than 32 weeks after the first injury is reported, and restricts compensation for such injuries and diagnoses to three times within an individual's lifetime regardless of change in employment status."

Learn more here. 

CDC Says Many Americans Can Now Go Outside Without a Mask

On Tuesday, the CDC announced its new guidelines for wearing masks outdoors. Americans who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks outdoors, unless they are in big crowds of strangers like a concert, festival, etc. Those who are unvaccinated can also go outside without masks in certain situations too. Originally, the CDC stated that all Americans must wear masks when outside if they are within 6 feet of another person. According to the Associated Press, "The CDC says that weather they are fully vaccinated or not, people do not have to wear masks when they walk, bike or run alone or with members of their households. They can also go maskless in small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people. 

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 today's Big I Buzz, we are discussing how highly digital agencies grow faster than their competition, new OSHA regulations and the Wisconsin Supreme Court's new ruling on capacity limits.

Study: Highly Digital Agencies Grow 60% Faster than the Competition

According to NU Property Casualty 360, "A recent survey of 600 U.S.-based independent agents from Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance sought to understand how independent agencies are evolving to meet new expectations. The results, published in the "Rise of the Digital Insurance Agency" report found that digitally-saavy agencies grow an average of 60% more than their less digital counterparts."

The study also found that 44% of high digital adopters experience annual revenue growth of more than 10% compared to just 29% of low digital adopters that also experienced revenue growth. 

The report noted that agents are finding value in digital marketing, which added that more than 80% of high digital adopters plan to increase their digital marketing efforts within the next year. 

If you're looking to also increase your digital marketing efforts, check out the IIAW's Digital Marketing Playbook to get some insight into how to get started with digital marketing!

OSHA Prepares to Issue Emergency Regulations to Protect Workers from COVID-19

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is preparing to issue new short-term regulations to protect workers from catching COVID-19 on the job, according to lawyers tracking the agency's efforts. The Biden administration appears poised to reinstate masking, as some states are removing their mask mandates. According to Insurance Journal, "Most private-sector employers in the U.S. must follow rules for workplace safety set either by OSHA or by state-run versions of the agency. OSHA and its state counterparts have received over 60,000 complaints about COVID-19 safety issues, according to the agency." During the Trump administration, OSHA did not release virus-specific safety regulations so instead, a handful of states established their own temporary standards. "Employers with jobs that are medium or higher risk must follow specific policies to ensure social distancing and clean air. They must also develop written plans for how they'll respond to an infections disease outbreak and provide training to employees on COVID-19. The question now is what the details of the federal version of this will look like. Vance and Conn anticipate a stringent face-covering requirement, particularily indoors." Read more here.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Says Governor Can't Limit Capacity

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has now ruled that Gov. Tony Evers' administration does not have the authority to issue capacity limits on bars, restaurants and other businesses without approval of the Legislature. The 4-3 decision was issued Wednesday in Tavern League of Wisconsin v. Andrea Palm and Wisconsin Department of Health Services. It upholds a ruling from the Court of Appeals in favor of the Tavern League. According to the Tavern League, DHS did not follow proper rulemaking procedures and obtained an injunction against the emergency order." Read the full decision 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.

By: Society Insurance 

 

Over the past 7 years at Society Insurance, we have published over 400 blogs on our website blog.societyinsurance.com. We’ve touched on a variety of topics that affect the businesses we work with from “Clearing Confusion with Snow Removal Contracts” to “Four Benefits of Encouraging Movement Throughout the Day to Improve Employee Well-Being” to “Safeguarding Your Outdoor Dining Area.”

However, having a company blog is not a secret weapon anymore. According to Zoominfo, 33% of B2B companies use blogs. Content is (still) king. Company blogs that publish timely, valuable and strategic content can support long-term growth for a business by establishing thought leadership, growing website traffic, increasing sales leads and keeping potential customers intrigued.

Below we delve into the four main benefits of having a company blog that will earn you respect, leads and, ultimately, customers.

1. Establish Thought Leadership

Ideally, you want your business to be viewed as an expert in its respective industry. Addressing all possible industry questions and specific tangents, which is made possible through blogging, will establish your credibility with your audience. Leave the comment section open so you can engage with your audience, further building a relationship. “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” author Stephen R. Covey sums up why thought leadership is so important: “When the trust is high, communication is easy, instant and effective.”

2. Grow Website Traffic

Blogging will also establish credibility via search engine optimization, defined as the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic. If your content is good enough, others might reshare it - like online magazines, other blogs, social media channels, etc. One of the most important ranking factors from Google involves backlinks. The more high-quality backlinks (i.e. links from reputable sites pointing back to yours), the more your site is viewed as credible. The result is a higher ranking when someone searches for “Wisconsin insurance agent,” for example. Additionally, these backlinks can also be seen as free advertising, bringing in referral traffic from other websites to yours.

 

3. Increase Leads, Sales and Engagement

According to Zoominfo, 47% of buyers view three to five pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. Once you’ve created your blog posts, post links where your audience hangs out to bring them to your blog. Embed opt-in freebies within your blog content. Opt-in freebies, or “lead generation” pieces, are downloadable content collateral that you can give your audience in exchange for providing their email – pushing them further down the sales funnel.

4. Develop Relationship with Potential, Future Customers

By offering a blog, you are offering users an additional chance to get to know your company and what you offer. For example, if a person isn’t ready to commit to a purchase, they may sign up to receive your blog in their inbox and continue to consume your white papers, delve into your thought leadership pieces and learn about your community involvement through your blog. Congratulations – you’ve now further developed a deeper sales funnel.

When done right, blog posts can generate significant traffic over the course of months and will continue to push even more traffic to the website years after the post is first published. The time and effort you invest in a company blog up front can result in thousands of visitors to your website and new sales in the future. A blog is an easy way to build trust with your audience, increase traffic to your website, and is a part of a long-term strategy to increase company growth.

If you agree that small details like this make a big difference, give us a call at 888.5.SOCIETY or visit societyinsurance.com.

 

Disclaimer: This information is provided as a convenience and is not professional advice. Links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute legal advice or an endorsement or approval by Society Insurance of any of the statements, or opinions, or content of the organization. Society Insurance bears no responsibility for the accuracy or content of linked or cited material.