June is finally here. I’ve enjoyed my year as President of our association. With lots of help from the other members we’ve had a really good year. Keri’s been so good in doing her job and quickly stepping up anytime I wasn’t available. Looking forward to passing the gavel onto her and to see what she has in store for us this next year.
Something to ponder – Anytime you put something
in a “safe place”, it will never be seen again.
JUNE
21st First Day of Summer
28th NAIW “Connections” Mailed
JULY
4th
Independence Day
NAIW National Closed
5th-7th IIAM Agent’s License Review, Jackson MS
13-16th CIC Life and Health Shreveport, LA
15th Membership Dues Not Received Notice mailed to local presidents
21st Insurance Women of Southwest MS Monthly Meeting, Guest Speaker Erik Case
22nd NAIW “Inroads” Emailed
28th PIA Convention Begins, Fairhope, AL
NAIW NEW Address: NAIW(International),
6528 E. 101st St., PMB#750, Tulsa, OK 74133
Send all standard mail to this address.
Send check or payments to NAIW (International),
Department 2214, Tulsa, OK 74182
The NAIW Education Foundation has a new name! It is now known as the Insurance Scholarship Foundation of America. Their new website is www.inssfa.org. The Foundation awarded 12 Professional scholarships during the NAIW 2005 National Convention in Reno. Congratulations to the following scholarship recipients:
Viola Lashley, Great American Insurance, Chicago,
IL
Mariana Beytelman, Guardian Life, New York, NY
Nadia Reynolds, Allstate Insurance Company, Hudson,
OH
Linda Britton, Gregory Newell Insurance, Matawan,
MI
Shane Chavez, Great West Life Annuity, Greenwood
Village, CO
Marlene Crippin, South Haven Insurance Services,
South Haven, MI
Linsey Mabry, Bogan, Dunlap & Wood Insurance,
Odessa, TX
Tonya McNeal, The McNeal Group Insurance, Southfield,
MI
Barry Shelley, American Express Financial Advisors,
West Chester, OH
Ann Tharp, Collins Insurance Agency, New Albany,
MS
Nena West, Brown & Brown, Inc., Tampa, FL
The next deadline to apply for a scholarship is
September 1, 2005.
A recent study of claims data on more than two million motorcycles insured over the past three years by The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, the country’s largest motorcycle insurer, uncovers the makes and models of bikes most and least likely to be stolen or crashed.
Motorcycles Most Likely to Be Stolen
1. Suzuki GSX-R Series
2. Yamaha YZF Series
3. Honda CBR Series
4. Suzuki Hayabusa
5. Kawasaki Ninja Series
Motorcycles Least Likely to Be Stolen
1. Suzuki Savage
2. BMW R1200C
3. Honda Rebel Series
4. Honda Shadow Series
5. Yamaha V-Star
Motorcycles Most Likely to Be Crashed
1. Suzuki GSX-R Series
2. Kawasaki Ninja Series
3. Suzuki TLR
4. Yamaha YZF Series
5. Honda CBR Series
Motorcycles Least Likely to Be Crashed
1. Yamaha Virago Series
2. Honda Rebel Series
3. Suzuki Savage
4. Harley-Davidson FXR
5. BMW R1200C
If you choose a motorcycle that’s involved in
more crashes or is stolen more often you’ll most likely pay more for insurance.
Insurance Professional of the Year
Cathy Wolford, MSPA,MAAA,CPC,CPIW,FLMI,DAE, Region IV
Claims Professional of the Year
Ann Barkley-Westmeyer, AIC,SCLA,CPIW,DAE, Region IV
Rookie of the Year
Patrice Winovich, Region III
Communicate With Confidence
Valerie Wynn, CPIW,AIC,CPCU, Region III
AAMGA
Jan Stambaugh, AIM, CPCU, CPIW, Region IX
Pinnacle Award
Category A – Insurance Professionals of Atlanta, Region III
Category B – Boise Insurance Professionals, Region IX
Category C – Greater Seattle Insurance Professionals, Region IX
Category D – Insurance Women of Buffalo, Region I
Arlene G. DeSemone
Jeannine Westlock, HIA,CPIW,MHP,PAHM,MPA,DAE, Region I
Olza M. “Tony Nicely” Award
Harry Lenwood Brooks, V
A special congratulations goes out to Bea
Jones who won a CISR Update Scholarship
from the National Alliance.
Mary Stogner went to Kentucky Lake for a little R&R with all her children and grandchildren. She had a wonderful time. She also attended the ACSR Module #4 class and took her class. She took and passed the exam. She is on her way to earning a new designation.
Virginia Zeigler attended the ACSR class with Mary. She also received news that she did pass CPCU 530! Congratulations!
We were extremely happy that Deborah Ledford was able to join us at the annual Fish Fry. She has been in Houma with her sick father. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Ruth Phillips is scheduled to attend her first CIC class in August.
Keri Morrell attended the NAIW National Convention.
After the convention she spent some vacation time in California.
" Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.”
Hellen Keller (1880-1968)
As the season's first tropical storm now brews in the Pacific and is
about to cross-over into the southern Gulf of Mexico toward Cuba, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted there will be 12 to
15 tropical storms this season, with seven to nine becoming hurricanes.
NOAA predicts hurricane activity will be 70 percent above normal.
According to National Hurricane spokesman Frank Lepore, early projections
show the atmosphere is now more conducive for hurricanes.
"A hurricane is a collection of vertical thunderstorms," Lepore said. "The reduced vertical wind sheer in the deep tropics makes the Atlantic more conducive for hurricanes. The Gulf (of Mexico) is equally conducive."
Dr. William Gray, a leading meteorologist with Colorado State University's Tropical Meteorology Project predicted to attendees at the recent Governor's Hurricane Preparedness Conference in Tampa a 73 percent likelihood for a hurricane to hit the Florida's Gulf coast.
In comparison, Florida's eastern coast has a higher probability of hurricane
landfalls with an 82 percent probability. Gray also summarizes the possibility
for the more dangerous storms in the Gulf and in Florida's eastern coast.
In the report, he said there's a greater chance for more dangerous hurricanes
to occur on the east coast rather than in the Gulf.
Gray believes that the Category 3 to 5 storms will most likely occur
on the east coast.
"It doesn't matter how many hurricanes are projected," Lepore said. "I would say that it doesn't matter what the numbers are. We could have many (hurricanes) that won't create much damage or we could have one that could ruin your year. The objective is to be prepared."
Leaders lead. But they do so much more than that. They also give. They give their time and talents. They should also give support and encouragement. Below is a list of gifts that leaders should be giving freely.
Acknowledgement. Acknowledge the people you are working with when you see them. When you are at a meeting, greet the fellow members. Let them know that you know their name and who they are.
Recognize important dates. Birthdays matter. Everyone loves a birthday card. If you can’t keep track of all those dates, there are several computer programs that will automatically send you a reminder email when it is time to send out a card.
Listen to people. Listen to the members of your association. Even when you can’t change the problem they are facing, listening to them will show that you care.
Learn more about others. Members of our association are more than just NAIW members. They are mothers, grandmothers, and friends. Take the time to get to know them outside of the association.
Surprise them. Unexpected rewards are great for building morale.
Care. When all else fails truly care about your fellow members.
Leave your door open. An open door policy makes it easier for members to come to you with questions and concerns.
A good leader can lead without question.
A great leader can not only lead but can care about the members.
Remind yourself of past successes. Confidence builds on past success. Since you have had success before, you can have it again. We strengthen our confidence in any activity when we review or remind ourselves of past successes. If you are trying to build confidence in a new area, past success can still help us strengthen our confidence
Read and listen to positive materials. Fill your mind with positive and affirming words, ideas and stories. Read things that enhances your skills or knowledge in the area in which you want to build your confidence.
See your future success. Olympic athletes, corporate executives, and successful people in all sorts of endeavors visualize future success. Confidence will grow when we see ourselves succeeding.
Reframe failure. Thomas Edison spent a long time trying to create an incandescent light bulb – to create light from electricity. He is attributed with saying, “I have not failed, I have discovered twelve hundred materials that don’t work.” 1,200! Perhaps you feel you can reframe your failures as learning experiences – as a chance to find out what doesn’t work.
Take confident action. You wanted confidence to help you try and succeed in new ways, right? So get out there and get at it! You have to put your confidence to the test. You have to practice. And, while you are taking action, make it confident action! Remember that if you act confident, you will be more confident. Review the other steps you have been taking to build your confidence. If you are driving towards your new action step, remind yourself of past successes, again. Visualize the successful outcome, again. Build your confidence at every step of the way, but remember it all must lead to action.
A proposed online system allowing insurers to report fraud uniformly to all states was a key topic for the anti-fraud taskforce at the NAIC’s summer meeting. The system would let insurers send required fraud reports through the NAIC database, using one universal form. It would include suspected scams in all lines of insurance plus fraud involving agents, adjusters and insurers. But several insurers contend the effort would duplicate databases insurers already use to report suspected fraud. Ensuring basic immunity from lawsuits and from discovery of the data by plaintiff lawyers were other concerns. The NAIC will beta test the system in Arkansas, Iowa and Texas in July. The password-protected system is expected to be rolled out later this year. All parties agreed to try to reach a consensus in time for the rollout.
The anti-fraud task force also will develop two model forms for states that require insurers to file annual fraud reports. The reports help states both quantify how much fraud insurers detect, and estimate how much money fraud fighting saves. One report will cover property-casualty insurers, and the other will cover life, health and disability insurers.
Private investigators want to protect their access to Social Security numbers as Capitol Hill moves to limit commercial sale of the data in an effort to stem ongoing waves of identity theft. Several bills would work to prevent identity thieves from gaining access to people’s financial data, but investigators say the measures would curtail their ability to perform valuable jobs such as chasing down insurance fraud. They say they want an exception to any legislated restrictions. Large data brokers such as ChoicePoint support identity-theft bills, and are working to shape the legislation. Most bills would require organizations to notify customers if personal information is breached.