Stay Up-to-Date with DFS | My Safe Florida Home Inspection Program | Attention Customer Representatives
Auto Liability Quiz—Answers | Calendar | The FIRL | YAC Chronicles| ISO's New Edition of CGL Approved
Best Practices Update Now Available! | Keeping it Legal: Identifying Unauthorized Insurers |
Perpetuation Points to Ponder | Get YOUR Answers at the VU Library | Tech Tip | Convention 2008

Stay Up-to-Date with DFS
By Jeff Odom

I know that when some of you have to deal with the Department of Financial Services (DFS), sweat breaks out on all parts of your body. To keep you from having to break out the Old Spice (sorry ladies, I'm not sure what you wear, but I'm sure it smells as good as Old Spice), here are some tips that the DFS has asked me to pass on to you.

1) Please use "MyProfile" on the Department's website at www.myfloridacfo.com/agents to:

• Update demographic information
• Check CE status, requirements, and locate courses being offered
• Check the status of a license application
• Apply for a new license
• Check status of license(s)
• Check status of appointments(s)
• Request a duplicate ID
• Request a letter of certification/clearance
• Read important information that the DFS sends licensees' MyProfile account

2) Keep e-mail addresses and physical addresses up-to-date with the DFS. In addition to MyProfile, the DFS will be communicating via e-mail more and more with licensees and applicants. Unless we have their most up-to-date e-mail addresses, licensees may not keep abreast of important information and changes.

A side note on the demographic information, the DFS can fine you $250 for not having a current address on file. You have 60 days to contact the DFS if your address changes and MyProfile is an easy way to make sure your information stays current.

3) Do not send course certificates of completion to the DFS unless requested to do so. Providers are required to notify the DFS.

I know firsthand that it is a waste of time to mail in your certificates after you complete a course. The only time that your certificates will be given attention is when the DFS asks you personally to mail them in and, believe me, the only time the DFS asks for your certificates is when you are not in compliance.

4) Go to the DFS's website and MyProfile (see above) before calling the DFS. Most, if not all, information can be found there. If information cannot be found on the website, call them at 850-413-3137.

If you take time to learn the DFS' website and make sure your information is current, you can spend less time worrying about your license and more time worrying about _______________________________. (Feel free to fill in the blank.)

TALLAHASSEE— The Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) today launched a statewide public awareness campaign highlighting MySafeFloridaHome.com—a Web site where Floridians can apply online for a free wind inspection and learn how to strengthen their homes against hurricanes and windstorm damage.

Click Here to continue.

If you hold the Customer Representative (4-40) license it's important to verify that you are properly appointed. While agents are appointed by insurance companies, customer representatives are appointed by agents or agencies.

Without a valid appointment on file through the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), a customer representative can't legally "transact insurance" with customers. That means no discussing coverage, taking applications, or binding coverage. Additionally, without an active appointment the DFS will suspend the license once a period of four years has elapsed. Finally, those with the customer representative license who lack the one-year "all lines" experience may qualify to sit for the 2-20 General Lines Agent exam if they have been licensed and appointed as a customer representative for a period of at least one year and have completed a 40-hour course. Failing to have the appointment jeopardizes the ability to sit for the 2-20 exam.

Appointments can be verified on the DFS website, www.fldfs.com, by selecting the link titled "Check out your insurance agent." Appointments must be made online and renewed every two years; there is a $60.00 fee per appointment. From the DFS main page, simply search for "eAppoint" where the website will be displayed and the appointment can be made.

Check your appointment status today; it may avoid problems tomorrow.

Last month, I posed this question: "Which state requires minimum auto limits of liability of 25/50/10, but 50/100/10 in the event of death claims?" I offered a $25 Sonny's gift card to the first person to provide the correct answer by citing a government website as the authority.

The first person to send me the correct answer (following the rules exactly as laid out) was Ed Delfin with The Villages Insurance. Congratulations to Ed, who will be enjoying a meal at his nearby Sonny's soon. Ed was the first to e-mail me, doing so a mere two minutes after the bulletin went out.

The method I used to find this information was as follows:

• Using Yahoo (I have always found Yahoo easy to use), I searched first for "auto liability limits by state" where I was told there were 9.46 million hits.
• Glancing at the list, the first website listed was for the Insurance Information Institute (www.iii.org), which I know to be a reputable organization. Clicking their link from Yahoo took me right to the page where each state was listed. I was able to see the New York limits there. (For those who cited the www.iii.org website, the "official rules" required you to cite a government website. The III isn't a governmental organization. A technicality, but the rules nonetheless!)
• Wanting to verify that information, I returned to Yahoo and searched for "New York Department of Insurance."
• At their site (http://www.ins.state.ny.us/), I navigated to the "consumer" link, then "auto," and then to their "Consumer Guide to Auto Insurance" where I found the information. The exact page may be seen by clicking here.

The Internet is a very powerful tool and can be used to obtain massive amounts of information. Remember, though, just because it's on the Internet doesn't make it true!

Florida was among many other states that recently approved the Insurance Service Office's (IS0) December 1, 2007, filing, ushering in revisions to several coverage forms . Among the more widely used forms subject to the new 12/07 edition includes both commercial general liability (occurrence and claims-made) coverage forms. This filing contains only minor changes, all of which are characterized by ISO as clarifying their original intent or incorporating already existing language into the forms. In this article, we'll look at the three form changes now found in the new 12/07 edition.

First, a revision to the supplementary payments section has added language to clarify the intent of how this provision responds to plaintiff's attorneys' fees and expenses when levied against the insured by the court. In some jurisdictions, decisions have been reached that resulted in interpreting the obligation of the defendant's liability insurer to pay the plaintiff's attorneys' fees and expenses as part of those costs that are taxed against the insured as a result of a "suit." It's not the intent of the CGL to pay these plaintiff's attorneys' fees and expenses in addition to the awarded damages but rather as a part of the awarded damages. Consequently, the new form has added language to the supplementary payments provision to make this clearer. Below is the revised form language.

All court costs taxed against the insured in the "suit." However, these payments do not include attorneys' fees or attorneys' expenses taxed against the insured.

While it may be widely agreed this revision makes no substantive change to the form, it does have an impact in those jurisdictions (e.g. Idaho and Washington) that ruled plaintiff's attorneys' fees and expenses as supplementary payments.

Second, Personal and Advertising Injury liability (Coverage B) is defined to include:

f. The use of another's advertising idea in your "advertisement."

It is not the intent of the CGL to provide coverage for the infringement of a copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret and ISO reinforces this intent with an exclusion.

i. Infringement of Copyright, Patent, Trademark or Trade Secret
"Personal and advertising injury" arising out of the infringement of copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights. Under this exclusion, such other intellectual property rights do not include the use of another's advertising idea in your "advertisement." However, this exclusion does not apply to infringement, in your "advertisement," of copyright, trade dress, or slogan.

To clarify the coverage intent, the exclusion was amended (see underlined above) to specify the use of another's advertising idea in your "advertisement" is not "other intellectual property rights" as described in the exclusion.

Finally, the mandatory endorsement Exclusion-Violation Of Statutes That Govern E-Mails, Fax, Phone Calls, Or Other Methods Of Sending Material Or Information (CG 00 67) has now been folded into the new CGL coverage form as a new exclusion.
____________________________________________________________________
Other coverage forms affected include the OCP, liquor liability, railroad protective, products/completed operations, pollution liability, electronic data liability and product withdrawal.

Did you know that for nearly two decades IIABA has been studying the very Best Practices used by independent agencies in the areas of customer and employee retention and bottom line profit? If you have not seen the Best Practices material, we encourage you to take a look today. It's the benchmark you need to stay on track to be the best.

Click here to see the whole story. Order the 2007 BP update today!

Keeping it Legal: Identifying Unauthorized Insurers
By Steve Hirst, CPCU

Florida Statute 626.901 prohibits agents from directly or indirectly aiding or representing an unauthorized insurer. By doing so, an agent puts at risk their license, could become liable for any uncovered loss sustained, or could face other disciplinary sanctions. Additionally, an agent's Errors and Omissions Policy might not respond to any claim resulting from the use of an unauthorized insurer. But, just what is an authorized carrier? Even more importantly, how does an agent know if an insurer is properly authorized?

An unauthorized insurer is defined as an insuring entity that is not an eligible surplus lines insurer and does not have a Certificate of Authority (license) to transact insurance business in Florida. Even more succinctly, the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) describes an unauthorized insurer as an entity that is not authorized or licensed to transact insurance in Florida, from Florida, or with residents of Florida. Health care, property damage, workers' compensation, and watercraft damage and liability have all been the target of unauthorized entities operating within Florida in the past.

In order to find out if an insurer is authorized, the DFS has established a tool at http://www.myfloridacfo.com/. Armed with the complete and correct name of the insurer, you can use the company search feature to determine both if the insurer is authorized and for what lines of business.

The DFS has published a memorandum, which describes how to use their resources to protect you and your clients. In it, the DFS explains that authorizations shown as "active" or "permit" indicate that the insurer has only begun the authorization process. These insurers are not yet authorized to write policies. Insurers not listed should be considered as being unauthorized. Common misconceptions concerning ERISA and MEWA plans, and offshore insurers are also discussed and explained.

The DFS Memorandum ends with this simple piece of advice: "Our website lists authorized insurers involved in insurance business in Florida. If they are not listed on the website, agents should assume they are not authorized."

• What are the basic questions to ask about perpetuation?
• Why can't there just be one simple answer for everyone?
• Can't I just ask for 1.5 times commission as the value of my agency?
• Debunking the myth of the "easy answer."

Boilerplate Answers

If you don't know your User ID or Password, for the Virtual University, you can get them from IIABA. Just send an email with your name and your agency name and address to logon@iiaba.net. They will be happy to provide you with the necessary login information.

No great university is complete without a great library, and the Big "I" Virtual University is no different. Students deserve the opportunity to get the information they need, when they need it, on their own terms.

That's why Big "I" has poured resources into creating the VU Research Library, the most comprehensive source of information the industry has ever seen.

The Research Library is broken down into three main sections: Insurance Information, Business Information, and Technology Information.

Insurance Information
Here you'll find all of the major ISO policy forms and endorsements, along with those from other vendors (all for educational purposes only). There's also an extensive body of expert-written articles and advice, including coverage analyses and sales tips.

Business Information
Everything you need to know to operate your business in the most successful, effective way possible can be found here. Organized under three main headings—Agency Management, Business Skills and Professional Skills—this section has articles on running your business, making the most out of your sales and marketing efforts, and keeping your customer service efforts in tip-top shape.

Technology Information
Technology is complex and it changes fast. It's also one of the most important tools to master in order to run a successful business. Use this section to keep up with the latest information on Agency Management Systems, General Automation Issues, the Internet, and other tech-related matters.

VU is constantly updating and adding to the Research Library with the goal of making it the best it can possibly be. All Big "I" members are invited and encouraged to take advantage of this industry-leading educational resource that is available at NO cost.

Visit the Big "I" VU at www.iiaba.net/VU. To access the 4,000+ pages of content, you'll need your free member password which you can obtain simply by sending an email to logon@iiaba.net which includes your name, agency, and contact information.

How to get ClearType and Fonts from Vista in XP
By Brian Leibow

The Web is full of critics of Windows latest operating system, Vista, and I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan of it myself. There is, however, one Vista area that is an improvement over XP and that has to do with the appearance of text. Vista has nicer standard fonts and in conjunction with a feature called ClearType the fonts appear much smoother and with less jagged edges. This effect is most dramatic on LCD screens. Luckily, unbeknownst to most, Microsoft has made available the ability to enable both of these features on XP. First, get the Vista fonts by installing Microsoft's Office Compatibility Pack from the link below. Then, right click on your desktop, choose Properties and choose Advanced where you should be able to change your font to one of the new Vista Fonts, such as Candara. To enable ClearType you need to go to the website listed below. Make sure to enable the installation of the ActiveX controller so that you can "Turn on ClearType" at the bottom of the page. Then simply follow the directions to tune ClearType for the best appearance.

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
ClearType