Industry News

WASHINGTON – An association representing Nationwide Insurance agents who are transitioning to independent agent status has entered into an agreement with the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA National). Under the agreement, NIICA’s [the Nationwide Insurance Independent Contractors Association’s] hundreds of members across the nation will become members of PIA.

On April 16, 2018, Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide announced its decision to shift entirely to an independent agency distribution model by July 1, 2020. At the time of its initial announcement, Nationwide already had relationships with more than 10,000 independent agents across the United States.

“We extend the warmest welcome to all the Nationwide agents who will be joining the ranks of independent agents, and also joining PIA,” said PIA National President Dennis D. Kuhnke. “This is yet another illustration that the independent agent distribution system is by far the insurance distribution system of choice and that PIA is the best choice for independent agents.”

“NIICA has throughout its 33-year history always honored the dignity and value of agents,” said NIICA President Thom Polvogt. “Since our beginning, we have been pro-agent, pro-client, pro-company, and pro-active. Now that our agents are transitioning fully into the independent agency system, we are proud to become part of PIA—an association that shares our values.”

“PIA welcomes all of the Nationwide agents who will be joining PIA,” said PIA chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Becker. “We encourage all of the agents who will be joining our association as a result of this agreement to take full advantage of all the many business-building programs offered by PIA that help add to an agency’s bottom line. In addition, PIA advocates for you in Congress and throughout the insurance industry.”

Founded in 1931, PIA is a national trade association that represents member insurance agents and their employees who sell and service all kinds of insurance, but specialize in coverage of automobiles, homes and businesses. PIA members are Local Agents Serving Main Street America ^SM. PIA’s web address is www.pianet.com.

Many small business owners may not think they need cyber liability coverage, but small businesses are extremely vulnerable to security threats. And that’s why PIA members can sell PIA cyber insurance to their clients!

PIA and ABAIS Insurance Services have worked with Great American E&S Insurance Company (rated A+ by A.M. Best) to create a cyber insurance program that responds to the most common threats facing small and mid-sized businesses.

The PIA enhanced cyber insurance policy covers both first- and third-party loss for the most common cyber risks such as social engineering, funds transfer fraud, ransomware, network interruption, data breach, network security, and media liability. In addition to the seven coverage parts, PIA members’ clients are provided with special PIA enhancements and reduced rates compared to ABAIS’s standard program for social engineering coverage.

PIA members who sell the PIA cyber insurance receive 12.5% in sales commission.

Agents are able to purchase the same PIA cyber insurance for their agency for a significantly reduced rate through their local PIA affiliate producers.

Getting started is easy. Protect your clients today.

Pearl River, NY, December 11, 2019 – The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) and ACORD, the global standards-setting body for the insurance industry, today announced a joint program to provide qualifying PIA member agencies with a complimentary license to use ACORD Forms.

PIA was founded in 1931 to educate and inform agents, promote cooperation among agents and carriers, and advocate for the independent agent community. Today it represents agents in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

ACORD, a not-for-profit industry organization, has been providing forms to the insurance industry since 1972. ACORD currently maintains a library of over 850 forms in a variety of formats, widely used throughout the global industry. Under this new agreement, PIA National will fund ACORD Form end user licenses for the majority of its member agencies who receive ACORD Forms through their agency management systems, allowing them to claim these licenses free of charge.

“PIA National is pleased to partner with ACORD to ensure that the majority of PIA member agencies can continue to access and use ACORD forms free of charge,” said PIA National CEO Mike Becker.

All agents and brokers using ACORD Forms through an agency management system, or other software provided by third-party vendors, are required to obtain licenses directly from ACORD. Users who are not already members or subscribers of a qualifying ACORD program are able to purchase a stand-alone End User License from ACORD. Under this agreement, PIA members with annual group gross P&C revenue of under $50 million will be eligible for a license from ACORD, with no additional payment necessary.

Agencies with annual group gross revenue under $1 million can also obtain ACORD Forms directly from ACORD by subscribing to the Advantage Plus program. PIA members eligible for this program will be able to subscribe at a discounted rate.

For more information on ACORD Forms, see www.acord.org/forms.

About PIA National

Founded in 1931, PIA is a national trade association that represents member insurance agents and their employees who sell and service all kinds of insurance, but specialize in coverage of automobiles, homes and businesses. PIA members are Local Agents Serving Main Street America ^SM. PIA’s web address is www.pianet.com.

PIA members can sell the same great PIA cyber insurance coverage that many have already purchased for their own agency.

PIA’s cyber insurance is the first cyber insurance program tailor-made for small and medium-sized businesses. The PIA enhanced cyber insurance policy covers both first- and third-party loss for the most common cyber risks such as:

• Social engineering
• Funds transfer fraud
• Ransomware
• Network interruption
• Data breach
• Network security
• Media liability

In addition to the seven coverage parts, PIA members’ clients are provided with special PIA enhancements and reduced rates compared to ABAIS’s standard program for social engineering coverage.

PIA members who sell the PIA cyber insurance receive 12.5% in sales commission.

Getting started is easy. Start protecting your clients today.

Need more information? Watch a prerecorded webinar or visit the PIA National website.

Haven’t purchased cyber insurance for your agency yet? Contact your local PIA affiliate.

WASHINGTON – The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA National) commends the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee for acting today to pass legislation to reauthorize the current iteration of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), for seven (7) years. The bill passed the committee unanimously by voice vote.

“PIA made it a key priority this year to have the TRIA program reauthorized well before its scheduled expiration of December 2020,” said Jon Gentile, PIA National Vice President of Government Relations. “We are pleased our advocacy has paid off with the Senate Banking Committee acting in a timely manner, the same week a companion measure passed the U.S. House. This bill makes minimal changes to the program and provides a long-term reauthorization.”

“This bill should go to the Senate floor as soon as possible so TRIA reauthorization can be finalized before the end of 2019,” Gentile said. “Bipartisan agreement on legislation is rare in Congress these days, and this opportunity to get TRIA over the finish line should not be squandered. PIA National calls on the Senate to pass this bill before the end of the year.”

Founded in 1931, PIA is a national trade association that represents member insurance agents and their employees who sell and service all kinds of insurance, but specialize in coverage of automobiles, homes and businesses. PIA members are Local Agents Serving Main Street America ^SM. PIA’s web address is www.pianet.com.

Facing widespread losses from terrorism after the 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress created the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) to ensure the availability of terrorism-related insurance coverage while providing the private insurance industry with certainty regarding the outer limits of the financial risks it is undertaking.

While yet another extension of the terrorism insurance program is being debated in Congress, there are new calls for a similar program for cyber risk. Some suggest that now Congress should consider a similar mechanism to address cyberattacks, especially given that cyber activity has increased as a part of the global economy and demand for insurance coverage has risen.

READ: A federal backstop for insuring against cyberattacks?

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a final rule for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Here are the main points to know:

• raising the “standard salary level” from the currently enforced level of $455 to $684 per week (equivalent to $35,568 per year for a full-year worker) (this is the amount that was in the proposed rule on which PIA commented earlier this year);
• raising the total annual compensation level for “highly compensated employees (HCE)” from the currently-enforced level of $100,000 to $107,432 per year;
• allowing employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) that are paid at least annually to satisfy up to 10 percent of the standard salary level, in recognition of evolving pay practices (this also reflects the proposed rule that was issued earlier this year); and
• revising the special salary levels for workers in U.S. territories and in the motion picture industry.

The DOL says the new rule will make 1.3 million American workers newly eligible for overtime pay under the FLSA.

PIA members can sell the same great PIA cyber insurance coverage that many have already purchased for their own agency.

PIA’s cyber insurance is the first cyber insurance program tailor-made for small and medium-sized businesses. The PIA enhanced cyber insurance policy covers both first- and third-party loss for the most common cyber risks such as social engineering, funds transfer fraud, ransomware, network interruption, data breach, network security, and media liability. In addition to the seven coverage parts, PIA members’ clients are provided with special PIA enhancements and reduced rates compared to ABAIS’s standard program for social engineering coverage.

PIA members who sell the PIA cyber insurance receive 12.5% in sales commission.

Getting started is easy. Start protecting your clients today.

Need more information? Attend a webinar on October 2 at 2 PM ET.

Haven’t purchased cyber insurance for your agency yet? Contact your local PIA affiliate.

There has been a widespread easing of rates for both individual and small-group Affordable Care Act (ACA) markets, according to state rate filings. A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation credits the easing of prices to innovations such as reinsurance programs, which it said have “proven popular across the ideological spectrum.

In Washington state, for example, 13 health insurers filed an average proposed rate increase of 0.96% for the 2020 individual market, a record low. Montana’s three insurers providing coverage on the individual market proposed average rate decreases of at least 6.7 percent for 2020. Proposed rates in Delaware, which has only one carrier statewide — Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware — would go down nearly 6 percent, according to the state Insurance Department. Even in states where individual rates are rising, growth is slowed. There are exceptions. In Louisiana, for example, individual rates are proposed to increase 11.7 percent.

The moderation of rates follows spikes in 2017 and 2018. Health policy experts predict that for 2020, average unsubsidized ACA individual market premiums will only be going up an average of less than one percent nationally.

Many small business owners may not think they need cyber liability coverage, but small businesses are extremely vulnerable to security threats. That’s why PIA is excited that PIA members are now able to sell PIA cyber insurance to their clients!

PIA and ABAIS Insurance Services have worked with Great American E&S Insurance Company (rated A+ by A.M. Best) to create a cyber insurance program that responds to the most common threats facing small and mid-sized businesses.

The PIA enhanced cyber insurance policy covers both first- and third-party loss for the most common cyber risks such as social engineering, funds transfer fraud, ransomware, network interruption, data breach, network security, and media liability. In addition to the seven coverage parts, PIA members’ clients are provided with special PIA enhancements and reduced rates compared to ABAIS’s standard program for social engineering coverage.

PIA members who sell the PIA cyber insurance receive 12.5% in sales commission.

Agents are able to purchase the same PIA cyber insurance for their agency for a significantly reduced rate through their local PIA affiliate producers.

Getting started is easy. Protect your clients today.