The Indiana President’s Advisory Council for SECURA Insurance met Oct. 27 via Zoom.
Agent Representatives
Pete Harrington, Shepherd Insurance LLC; Ron Cheatham, First Insurance Group; Adam Rothschild, Rothschild Agency Inc.; Doug Walker, WalkerHughes Insurance; Taylor Schoen, Hoosier Associates Inc.; Tim Bender, Epic Insurance Midwest
SECURA Representatives
Dave Gross, President & CEO; Larry Wright, Vice President and Chief Claims Officer; Marty Arnold, SVP and Chief Underwriting Officer; Tim Heyroth, Vice President and Chief Sales Officer; Garth Wicinsky, SVP & Chief Administrative Officer; Amy DeHart, Vice President and Chief Actuarial Officer; Tripp Humston, Regional Sales Director
We kicked off our meeting with showing the updated brand video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMeS5GfOyoE&feature=emb_logo
Watch the video below for an overview and SECURA updates.
Click the links below to navigate to the comment/response section for each topic.
Personal Lines | Commercial Lines | Farm-Ag Lines | Risk Management | Claims | Miscellaneous
Personal Lines
(Agent comments with SECURA responses)
1. Comment: You were late to game with the Auto refund – slow/but not alone.
Response: The personal auto dividend representing 15% of April and May premium was mailed to a little more than 3,500 Indiana policyholders in early June. Agencies will be notified later this year regarding any outstanding checks not cashed.
2. Comment: Lori is very responsive.
Response: Lori absolutely loves working with our fine agents in Indiana. We appreciate this feedback.
3. Comment: Home inspection – insured sends pics (send them $).
Response: We continue to review alternative options in home inspecting including virtual, satellite, imagery, and the example listed of insured’s sending pictures and being reimbursed. Various apps are in use. No decisions have been made to pilot the use of alternative inspection solutions.
4. Comment: Kudos to your Service Center.
Response: SECURA Personal Lines service center (Customer Care) is now 10 years old. Your feedback over the years helped make it a best practice service center operation.
Commercial Lines
(Agent comments with SECURA responses)
1. Comment: Jamie is great. Willingness to discuss and quick no’s are very much appreciated.
Response: Thank you. We challenge ourselves to maintain an opportunistic mindset. We know that you don’t expect us to do everything, but what you do expect is a fair review. Our focus is to listen to the story and try to find a way to versus a way out. We’re happy to see that this is what you’re experiencing firsthand from Jamie. We also understand that your time is valuable and we want to make sure that we’re asking you to spend it where it makes the most sense.
2. Comment: BizLink is on the right track and it will help you win (especially small). Agents need to get accustomed to software/behaviors.
Response: We are currently working on BizLink Release 3 which includes the addition of retail, office, and service BOP classes to the existing Target Contractor classes. We are also working on some user experience enhancements based on direct feedback from our agency partners and also straight through processing for some Specialty Lines classes. In addition, the team will continue to address feedback concerns and suggestions and implement changes/updates accordingly.
3. Comment: What are your Service Center plans?
Response: We’ve approved the concept of a Commercial Lines Service Center and are in the early planning stages. We plan on rolling out in a crawl, walk, run method starting with about four staff members and a very small group of agencies. The addition of Specialty Lines in that model is under consideration.
Our main objective is to have flexible, thorough, knowledgeable staff members who can provide our insureds excellent customer service and maintain open communication with our agents. Our rollout would start with commercial classes, account size $10,000 and under. We’re aiming to provide full service including endorsements, certificate of insurance, renewals, upselling/cross-selling and all other insured inquiries. We do not have an estimated live date established at this time, but are working on resource allocation and project mobilization in early 2021.
4. Comment: Do you offer pay as you go for Work Comp?
Response: No, we do not currently offer pay as you go; however, it is on our list for potential future development and we continue to monitor what the market is doing.
5. Comment: Additional insured form. It would be great if it was easier to get blanket 10-01 for 2010 and 2037 (Chicagoland area construction market required) just got rid of 4047 endorsement. Is this available on individual basis?
Response: We handle requests for older editions of additional insured forms on a case-by-case basis and in almost all cases are able to find a solution that fits the needs of our policyholders and agents. Blanket wording is an option. Please call your underwriter to discuss what we can do on accounts that may need these forms.
Farm-Ag Lines
(Agent comments with SECURA responses)
1. Comment: We would like to see you offer a group discount (like Personal Lines).
Response: The Farm division has association and program discounts. For example, in the state of Indiana we offer a discount for members of the Indiana Dairy Producers. We appreciate the feedback and will take it into consideration. We would certainly be interested in any thoughts or feedback you may have. Please feel free to share your feedback with your sales manager.
2. Comment: Ag – replacement cost on equipment (combine example).
Response: We have Replacement Cost and Actual Cash Value options for scheduled equipment for Agribusiness accounts. Contact your underwriter if you have questions or wish to discuss.
3. Comment: Overspray – only adjacent fields (across the road example).
Response: Generally, a neighboring field directly across the road from the insured’s land would be considered adjacent. However, each claim can be unique depending on the individual facts and circumstances. For additional information, please feel free to reach out your SECURA claim representative or your Farm underwriter.
Risk Management
(Agent comments with SECURA responses)
1. Comment: Risk Management does a great job.
2. Comment: Good communication.
Response: Thank you for the nice words. Our Indiana team works hard to help you write and retain the best accounts!
Claims
(Agent comments with SECURA responses)
1. Comment: Can insureds get updates/track in AgentLink? (insured versus agent what is available?)
Response: As you already know, agents do have access to our claims notes in AgentLink.
We do offer online access to our work comp claims notes through our BizLink program for select customers. We typically restrict this option to only our larger insureds who either have an human resources professional or a safety manager in charge of their workers’ compensation program. Due to the sensitivity of notes we want to make sure all privacy rights are observed and the notes are in the hands of the right people at our insureds.
We do not currently have the capability for our non-WC insureds to view our claims notes. Our Personal Lines policyholders have limited capability to view the claim description, the date of loss and any payments that were made via the MySECURA app.
2. Comment: Direct deposit (car payment/repair)?
Response: We do not currently have the capabilities to do B2B (Business to Business) electronic payments. This is part of our electronic payments technology roadmap vision and we have had discussions with PNC Bank and a few vendors. We will continue to advocate for this functionality and will add your voice to our business case in hopes it will help positively influence future investments and corporate priorities towards this project.
3. Comment: No complaints. No news is good news.
Response: It is great to hear that you are not currently experiencing any claims issues.
Miscellaneous
(Agent comments with SECURA responses)
1. Comment: How are you handling hiring and training with remote working?
Response: We hold claims and underwriting classes. Some classes are mandatory in-person while using caution. Is there risk the longer this continues? We work to connect more people to new hires (i.e., mentorship). There is definite concern and we think about things like: Will it be easier to hire talent as a benefit? Going forward (if competitor doesn’t have office.), vacation carry forward (incentive to keep), voluntary to come into the office ( do associates feel “pressure”?) We need constant communication.
2. Comment: SECURA’s communication strategy has been great during pandemic.
Response: Thank you for this feedback. We focus our communication to make sure you get the information you need while not sending too many messages. You can confirm whether you or others from your agency are set up to receive SECURA emails in AgentLink under My Agency > Agency Information > Email Addresses.
3. Comment: It’s great that associates answer the phone!
4. Comment: You need a policyholder app versus a website.
Response: In 2021, we’ll be working on a refresh of mySECURA, our policyholder website for Personal Lines policyholders. We are still finalizing the roadmap of functionality that will be updated or added as part of this project, and some of those items include researching options for a policyholder app, expanding the use to other lines of business, and improving the ease and user experience of the site.
5. Comment: Training available online is very good (can do when convenient for them).
Response: I’m glad you enjoy our online training. If you have any topic suggestions, we always welcome the feedback. Please share any potential topic ideas with Angela Kain at akain@secura.net.
6. Comment: In-person training is a great opportunity for agency and the company.
Response: We miss providing face-to-face training for our agents and will resume training when we can based on state-specific guidelines and COVID-19 rates. We will continue to add webinars until we can start traveling again. Going forward, our goal is to have a nice mix of in-person and virtual training.
7. Comment: What are your 2021 rate plans?
Response: More in 2021 than 2020 (1 vs 3-4, but this varies by state, line of business, and risk) Property, farm, and commercial auto.
8. Comment: What are your state expansion plans?
Response: This is something we are planning for and will be working on. Unfortunately, it is still in the early stages and probably still a few years out.