Industry News

WASHINGTON – The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA National) today announced a partnership with ONE Brand that provides PIA members with a portal that contains marketing materials to use with direct mail and digital advertising services. The PIA DMV: PIA’s Direct Marketing Vault is provided to independent agents as part of the PIA Branding Program (www.piabrandingprogram).

Through the PIA DMV, PIA members can market their businesses using customizable PIA-branded postcard templates that can be mailed utilizing the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) Every Door Direct Mail program or Targeted Direct Mail. Customers have the option to create and distribute a digital suite of ads based on the postcards with their orders.

The Every Door Direct Mail program (EDDM), created by the United States Postal Service, provides a cost-effective way for businesses to saturate a localized area and get their marketing messages directly into the hands of consumers and, optionally, local businesses. Agents can use a digital mapping tool to select postal routes and filter down chosen routes based on preferred demographics such as location, income, age, type of household, and more. Marketing messages are then delivered to “every door” on the postal route.

PIA members who would like to use a more targeted approach can send personalized, Targeted Direct Mail instead. Customers can provide their own mailing list, purchase a mailing list from ONE Brand, or select a combination of the two. Purchased lists are targeted to ideal audiences based on preferences such as geography, age, gender, income level, and more.

“Finding new clients in an increasingly competitive environment can be challenging for independent agents,” said PIA National President Keith Savino, CPIA, of Mahwah, New Jersey. “PIA’s Direct Marketing Vault allows agents to locate their desired customers and create highly targeted postcard marketing campaigns with the option of serving digital advertisements to all postcard recipients. The one-two punch of print and digital advertising served to the same audience promises to elevate PIA members’ marketing acumen to a whole new level.”

PIA members who send direct mail using EDDM or Targeted Direct Mail can maximize their impact by adding-on targeted digital advertising to their order. The direct mail piece is turned into a suite of digital ads. Digital ads are delivered via geofencing software to mailed recipients’ computers and smart devices.

“Creating marketing materials for your business can be time consuming and expensive,” said PIA National Director of Marketing and Affiliate Relations Dana Anaman. “We wanted to reduce some of the heavy lift for PIA members and create eye-catching, PIA branded postcard templates that can easily be modified to highlight the services of your agency. The postcards come in different sizes, which allows you to use EDDM or Targeted Direct Mail.”

The postcard templates are free and can only be accessed in the PIA DMV: PIA’s Direct Marketing Vault.

“We have found that coupling digital ads with Every Door Direct Mailings and Targeted Direct Mailings allows our customers to deliver integrated multi-touch campaigns to the consumer,” says Myke Hanna, Director of Strategic Partnerships at ONE Brand. “Our advanced geo-fencing software enables us to deliver ads to the right person at the right time.”

In addition to the new direct marketing and digital advertising services now available to PIA members, PIA makes many other marketing materials available through the PIA Branding Program. These include the annual PIA Agency Marketing Guide, social media support, numerous consumer-oriented 1-pagers answering common insurance questions and an extensive serie

Cyber101 is an educational resource created by PIA and The PIA Partnership to help educate PIA members and their clients about the seven most common cyber risks faced by small and mid-sized businesses, as well as the business practices and insurance coverages that can reduce those risks.

Cyber 101 focuses on seven key areas of risk: fraudulent funds transfer, extortion/ransomware, social engineering, business interruption, data breach/privacy, network security, and website media liability. Agents can learn more about each risk with additional resources such as interactive claims examples that demonstrate loss risks to clients, 1-page PDFs explaining the risk, and 30-minute webinars. PIA agents can also personalize and provide their clients with general cyber educational resources.

Visit Cyber 101 today to gain the knowledge you need about the seven most common cyber risks faced by businesses.

For additional information about The PIA Partnership, please visit www.ThePIAPartnership.com.

Thank you to the current PIA Partnership companies: Central Insurance Company, Encompass Insurance, Erie Insurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance, MetLife Auto & Home, National General Insurance, Progressive Insurance, Selective Insurance Group, State Auto Insurance Companies, and The Hanover Insurance Group.

A popular new mobility option, the electric scooter, is raising questions about insurance coverage. A recent Associated Press article said riders are exposing themselves to liability and are most likely not insured for the damages they may cause. A rider’s personal health insurance — if they have it — could help defray the cost of their own medical bills in case of an accident.

But it’s another matter entirely when a scooter rider hits and injures a pedestrian, damages someone’s property, or causes a car accident. The rider may be held responsible, and most insurance policies currently will not cover those expenses.

“Under the standard insurance policy, there’s most likely a pretty significant gap in coverage,” said Lucian McMahon, senior research specialist for the Insurance Information Institute. “Even if the odds are low, it doesn’t mean that something bad might not happen, and owing people money or compensation for injuries that you caused them can get very, very expensive, perhaps even ruinously so.”

READ: Spotlight on: e-scooters and insurance

Experts say automobile insurance generally doesn’t cover vehicles with less than four wheels. And homeowner’s or renter’s insurance may cover an accident that occurs on a traditional bicycle, but it may not cover motorized bike or scooter trips. Scooter riders are advised to contact an insurance agent to ask how they can get coverage.

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 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.

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

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.

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

The Texas Professional Insurance Agents issued a statewide press release thanking Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) for introducing S. 1586, the “Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act.”

“The introduction of this legislation in the Senate is a positive development in our ongoing defense of the state insurance regulatory system,” said Jimmy Beathard, PIA National Director for the Texas PIA.

During April’s PIA National congressional fly-in, the PIA Federal Legislative Summit, members of the Texas PIA met with Senator Cruz’s congressional staff and urged them to introduce legislation to repeal the FIO.  

“We are fortunate to be represented in the Senate by a senator who listens to his constituents,” said David Gorman, President of the Texas PIA. “During our meeting, we laid out the very real threat the FIO presents to the state insurance regulatory system, and the introduction of this bill is evidence that engaging with your elected representatives matters.” The Texas PIA is an affiliate of PIA National.

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? Watch a pre-recorded webinar.

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

On April 4, PIA National President Keith A. Savino addressed a meeting of PIA’s national Board of Directors, with a message: PIA is not a business; PIA is a community.

“We are members of the insurance community, and the insurance community is what created PIA. As members of that community, we are all connected. Often we can get lost as time goes on, and start thinking of ourselves as a business—instead of reminding ourselves that we’re actually a community.

“As a community, we need to keep reminding ourselves that if we are going to build the next generation of an association, then we need to focus on community first. If we lose our way and we forget what we were founded on, then we will no longer be a part of the community, we’ll actually be on the outside as a business trying to sell something to insurance agents and brokers.

“As we work together in building the next generation of our insurance community, always think about what the core mission is. It’s not a building, it’s not the number of employees, it’s not what percentage is earned on what product, it is what are we doing for the members of the insurance community who founded PIA. Because PIA didn’t found the community—the community founded PIA. We are that community. There’s no ‘they.’ There’s only ‘we.’

“PIA has never been stronger than it is right now. Never. This is a very strong organization. And I want you to feel that passion as you speak with somebody on the street and remind them that you, as a member of the community, are looking out for them as a member of the community.” .

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? Watch a pre-recorded webinar.

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

WASHINGTON — The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA National) is pleased by legislation to repeal the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), H.R. 1862, which has been reintroduced in the U.S. House by Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV).

“The FIO has never been necessary,” said PIA National Vice President of Government Relations Jon Gentile. “Advocates of federal insurance regulation succeeded in getting the FIO established as part of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank)—but PIA National has never given up on repealing it.”

“Many of the FIO’s duties are examples of federal overreach in the context of our system of state insurance regulation,” Gentile said. “The FIO has consistently sought new ways to expand its mandate beyond the intent of Congress, which put specific limits on its authority.” PIA National was the first national insurance association to call for the repeal of the FIO.

Over the nearly ten years of its existence, the FIO has called for federal regulation of mortgage insurance; for its inclusion in supervisory colleges with state regulators; and for uniform national standards for state guaranty associations. In addition, it now seeks to administer the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers (NARAB). Each of these actions is an overreach.

Although PIA has supported other efforts to rein in the FIO, such as the Federal Insurance Office Reform Act of 2018 (H.R. 3861) in the 115^th Congress, consumers and those concerned about maintaining the successful state insurance regulatory system would be better served by its repeal.

PIA National worked closely with Rep. Mooney on developing his bill. PIA National will continue this effort by vigorously advocating for Rep. Mooney’s legislation at the upcoming PIA Federal Legislative Summit and throughout the 116^th Congress.

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.