Agent News

Please take note the upcoming rate changes in various states.
The following core states have a pending rate change. New rates are not yet available in eLink; however, some renewing policies may be viewable in the renewal index. Please refrain from releasing quotes and renewals for these states until rates are updated.

State	Effective Date
Georgia	03/01/16
Mississippi	03/01/16
Nebraska	02/01/16
North Carolina	04/01/16
Tennessee	03/01/16
Virginia	04/01/16

Indiana

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, Accident Fund is adopting the Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau’s overall rate level increase of 2.5%. Rates will vary by class. New rates became available in our eLink system on Nov. 30.

Missouri

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, Accident Fund is adopting NCCI’s proposed loss costs in Missouri with an overall average decrease of 2.4%. In addition, we have made a slight adjustment to the Loss Cost Multiplier. The actual change will vary by class. New rates became available in our eLink system on Nov. 23.

Accommodation States

State	NCCI/Bureau Impact	Effective Date
Alaska	-2.6%	01/01/16
Colorado	-1.9%	01/01/16
Florida	-4.7%	01/01/16
Utah	-2.5%	12/01/15

Please be sure to discuss pricing options for all new business and renewals with your business development consultant

The Agency Hall of Fame is recognition for those agencies that write the most new business each month. The acknowledgment, given to top agencies in each state, allows us to show appreciation to our agent partners for their efforts.

Arkansas

• Meadors, Adams & Lee, Inc., Little Rock
• Rogers Insurance Agency, Inc., Rogers

Georgia

• Blanchard & Calhoun Insurance Agency, Inc., Augusta
• Risk Innovations, LLC, Atlanta

Illinois

• Lundstrom Insurance Agency, Inc, Elgin
• Nicoud Insurance Services, Springfield

Indiana

• Stewart Brimner Peters & Lear, Kendallville
• USI Insurance Services LLC – Muncie, Muncie

Iowa

• First Iowa Insurance Agency, Inc., Cedar Rapids
• TrueNorth Companies, L. C., Cedar Rapids

Kansas

• Copeland Insurance Agency Inc., Manhattan
• Insurance Center, Inc., El Dorado

Maryland

• B. J. Mattheiss Insurance, Inc., Baltimore
• Rosenkilde & Associates, Hunt Valley

Michigan

• Moss Insurance Agency Inc., Jenison
• Zervos Group Inc., Southfield

Minnesota

• C O Brown Agency, Rochester
• J. A. Price Agency, Inc., Eden Prairie

Mississippi

• Insurance & Risk Managers, Brookhaven
• Ross & Yerger Insurance, Inc., Jackson

Missouri

• Risk Innovations LLC, Lees Summit
• R-T Specialty LLC, Kansas City

Nebraska

• INSPRO, Inc., Lincoln
• UNICO Group, Inc., Lincoln

North Carolina

• Harold W. Wells & Son, Inc., Wilmington
• Senn Dunn Ins, a Marsh & McLennan Agcy LLC Co, Greensboro

South Carolina

• Keenan & Suggs, Inc., Columbia
• South Risk Management, LLC, Columbia

South Dakota

• The Insurance Connection, Sioux Falls

Tennessee

• Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc., Brentwood
• HMP Insurance, Germantown

Texas

• Bailey Insurance & Risk Management, Inc., Waco
• Rekerdres & Associates, Inc., Dallas

Virginia

• Integrated Insurance Solutions, Inc., Ashburn
• Westover – Bon Air Insurance LLC, Richmond

Wisconsin

• Diversified Insurance Solutions, Brookfield
• Insurance Marketing Group of Wisconsin, Inc (Image), Saint Germain

Legislative Update is a brief synopsis of relevant legislative activity currently taking place in Accident Fund core and accommodation states. For more details or further documentation on any of these legislative activities, contact your business development consultant.

Federal

Companies that share data with the U.S. government for cyber security purposes will receive more protection from consumer lawsuits under a measure included into a substantial federal spending bill unveiled in Congress this week. Supported by the industry and business community, this is Congress’ first major policy response to Cyber hacking attacks. We anticipate full passage prior to year end.

State

Michigan

Director of Michigan Workers’ Compensation Agency has confirmed he will pursue Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) Guidelines in 2016. The Michigan Workers’ Compensation Health Care Advisory Committee will meet in January at which time we anticipate EBM to receive considerable discussion. Without guideline language, much remains unclear. AFHI will continue to monitor this situation as it unfolds.

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin legislature has effectively concluded its 2015 business and will resume work in January of 2016. The Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council is expected to review and approve a finalized draft of the Agreed Bill on Dec. 22 before forwarding it to the Legislature for consideration early next year. AFHI also remains alert about the possibility of workers’ compensation opt-out legislation. To date, no legislation has been proposed, but we have confirmed Walmart is engaging elected officials to discuss the initiative.

Illinois

There has been little substantive progress in the standoff between Governor Bruce Rauner (R) and Democrat legislators over resolution of the state’s budget and related business reforms. Consideration of the state budget and the reforms will restart in 2016 when the legislature reconvenes.

Disclaimer of Liability

This document is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This information is subject to change. Every effort is made to provide accurate and complete information in Accident Fund Holding’s Legislative Update. However, Accident Fund Holdings makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Update and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this newsletter.

All content within the Legislative Update is the property of Accident Fund Holdings, Inc., unless otherwise stated. All rights are reserved. No part of the Update may be reproduced, transmitted or copied in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of Accident Fund Holdings.

Our Annual Agent Meetings are just around the corner – kicking off on Jan. 20. You won’t want to miss the chance to get the early word on what segments we want to grow in your region, where we see potential opportunities for success and what strategies we plan to employ to build on the success we’ve achieved in the last two years.

By attending our agent meetings, you can learn all this and more as we also recognize top performers from 2015 and announce our exciting new destination for the 2016 Incentive Trip Program. We want these meetings to serve as a celebration and recognition of how valuable our partnership is and that you see it as a way to share your views of the business with our executive team.

Here’s the schedule:

• Lansing, MI: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20
• Grand Rapids, MI: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22
• Marquette, MI: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26
• Little Rock, AR: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2
• Jackson, MS: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3
• Nashville, TN: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4
• Atlanta, GA: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5
• St. Louis, MO: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8
• Overland Park, KS: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9
• Coralville, IA: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10
• Bloomington, MN: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11
• Milwaukee, WI: 10: a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12
• Columbia, SC: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16
• Greensboro, NC: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17
• Richmond, VA: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18
• Baltimore, MD: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19
• Dallas, TX: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23
• Downers Grove, IL: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26
• Troy, MI: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 1
• Indianapolis, IN: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March 3
• Plymouth, MI: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, March 4

Click here to register for a meeting near you. Please note that lunch will be served at all meetings.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Our 3 for 3 incentive program was designed to reward agents who increase their new business on policies under $25,000 in premium.Because the program was so successful in 2015, we’re extending it to the first quarter of 2016. Agents who increase their small business policies by three versus the first quarter of 2015 will earn an additional 3% commission on all new small business policies ($25,000 and under) for the quarter. That could equate to an additional 37% of commission for Q1 of 2016 on your small business accounts.

Program Details

• Small business policies eligible for the program must be $25,000 and under.
• Incentive will run through the first quarter of 2016.
• All classes of business are eligible.
• Pay out and goals are based on individual agency offices.

Program Participation

• Agents who were appointed in Q1 of 2015 are eligible for the incentive.
• Agents appointed in 2016 will not be eligible for this incentive.
• AFXpress agents are not eligible for this incentive.
• All states are eligible except GA, IL and WI.

Contact your business development consultant to discuss how you can maximize the benefits of this exciting program. For more program details, visit our website.

We place a tremendous amount of value on the relationships we have with our agent partners. We realize your time is valuable. And in an environment where communicating through technology is ever-increasing, we understand the importance of keeping clutter out of your inboxes.

With this said, we’ve made the decision to send our e-newsletter, NewsLink, on a quarterly basis (rather than monthly). This has also come as a suggestion from council members, and as the voice of our agency base, we take their comments seriously.

We look forward to providing you the same great information as we have in the past – just on a less frequent basis. See you next quarter!

We are pleased to report that A.M. Best Company has reaffirmed an “A-” (Excellent) rating with a stable outlook for Accident Fund Holdings and its brands, including Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, CompWest Insurance, Third Coast Underwriters and United Heartland.

This news is a reflection of the effective execution of our 2015 strategies and strong underwriting results. The rating also illustrates our team’s focus on producing exceptional results for the Enterprise.

We are proud of our 2015 performance and appreciate the efforts of our agent partners, who have supported our key strategies and played a significant role in helping us achieve our ongoing success. We look forward to your continued partnership as we plan for greater achievements in 2016.