Agent News
Q3 2016
Last month, we announced the retirement of current President Mike Britt, and the promotion of Al Gileczek as our new president, effective Jan. 1, 2017.
Mike Britt
Al Gileczek
After beginning his career in the industry with Aetna and Hanover/Citizens insurance companies, Mike joined Accident Fund in 2006 as vice president and then assumed the president’s role in 2009. During his tenure, Mike and the Accident Fund team established the brand as a national workers’ compensation powerhouse and expanded its reach to include 20 core states.
“During the past seven years, the remarkable performance of Accident Fund is a direct result of Mike’s consistent, capable leadership,” said Lisa Corless, president of parent company AF Group. “He is truly appreciated by our employees, respected by his peers and revered among our agents and customers. We are grateful for his lasting impact on our organization and we wish him all the best in his retirement.”
Upon Mike’s retirement, Al Gileczek will serve as the new president of Accident Fund. As most of you know, Al has been at Mike’s side for many years, a relationship that predates their time at Accident Fund. For the past nine years, he has been instrumental in assembling our exceptional Business Development team and is well regarded for his business acumen across our organization. Additionally, Al has been appointed the president of CompWest Insurance, effective immediately, which will provide greater collaboration and alignment between these AF Group brands.
“We are excited to welcome Al into this new leadership role, which will ensure continuity of Accident Fund operations with no disruption to partnerships with our valued agents,” said Corless. “Al’s significant experience in the industry, strong affinity with our agents and customers and his proven leadership throughout his career make him an excellent choice to lead Accident Fund to future success.”
Thank you for your continued partnership with Accident Fund. To learn more about these leadership changes, please visit our website. If you have any questions regarding this transition, please contact your business development consultant.
AF Group – through our brands, Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, United Heartland, CompWest and Third Coast Underwriters – is committed to providing the best experience possible for our customers. To assist us in this endeavor, we are conducting a customer experience survey in early October aimed at three key groups – you, our agents, policyholders and injured workers (non-litigated claims only). The responses we receive will help us identify areas to focus on and prioritize as we develop services, products, systems and processes across all our brands in the future.
To build excitement and increase participation, respondents will have the chance to win a $500 gift card! The survey will be available from Monday, Oct. 3 to Friday, Dec. 2, 2016. A link to the survey will be sent on Monday, Oct. 3, to agents via an Agent Alert and via email to those policyholders that we have email addresses for. Postcards containing survey information will be sent to policyholders and injured workers shortly after its launch. Most people will complete the survey in five to 10 minutes.
We especially encourage you to promote this survey with our policyholders so we can ensure we’re meeting their needs and providing the best experience possible. You are our best avenue of communication for many of these individuals and they trust your judgment.
We appreciate your partnership and your assistance with this important initiative. If your questions are not answered below, please reach out to your business development consultant or underwriter for more information.
Customer Experience Survey FAQs
What is this survey for?
This survey is designed to measure how our customers view their interactions with AF Group and our four insurance brands so our organization can develop strategies and direct future resources in response to their feedback.
How do you access the survey?
The survey will be available via web links that will be promoted via emails, postcards and on our customer phone lines. As part of the survey process, respondents will be asked to identify as an agent, policyholder or injured worker and then identify their brand affiliation.
When will the survey be available?
Monday, Oct. 3 to Friday, Dec. 2, 2016.
Is the survey anonymous?
Respondents can remain anonymous, but to be entered in the drawing for a chance to win a $500 gift card, a name and email address must be provided.
What if I’m an agent that writes with multiple AF Group brands?
In the survey, after you identify yourself as an agent, you will be asked: “Please select the brand you primarily do business with. You will be given a chance to review other brands later in the survey.” This will allow you to provide your customer experience feedback for all the brands you work with.
What if my customers or I have technical issues with the survey?
Send all technical questions to [email protected]. You can also contact your business development consultant or underwriter.
How will policyholders and injured workers (non-litigated claims only) be informed of the survey?
For policyholders and injured workers that we do have email addresses for, we will communicate to them electronically. We will also be sending postcards in the mail to policyholders and injured workers promoting the survey close to the survey start date. Customers calling into our brand phone lines will also hear a brief message at the beginning of each call directing them to the survey link. We hope to count on you as well to spread the word to your policyholders about our customer experience survey!
Will this customer experience survey replace the annual agent and customer satisfaction surveys?
While we have conducted different surveys to collect agent and policyholder feedback in the past, it is our intention to use this single survey to collect feedback from these key stakeholders in the future. The frequency of the survey’s distribution is still undetermined.
Starting this quarter, we’ll be including information and tips on cyber security in an effort to keep your business safe – and ours! In this edition, we want to share a few scams to be aware of.
First, whether on a personal device or a work-provided one, it’s important to be mindful of the kinds of apps you’re downloading. One recent example is the Pokémon Go app, which is wildly popular. Researchers have discovered that many “online tutorials” for the app are linked to malicious software. There is malicious software that specifically targets Android devices while some will target iOS devices. Learn more here.
Next, there are several social media scams to be aware of, including fake accounts, comments, discounts, surveys and more. Read about the top five social media-related scams here.
Lastly, and perhaps most disturbing, many online scammers are preying on the public’s empathy for tragedies like the Orlando club shooting and Louisiana flooding by running fake charity scams. Click here for a few tips to keep in mind when helping out.
When in doubt, Google the latest cyber scams before clicking on an unfamiliar link.
We hope these tips will help keep your agency digitally safe. For more useful information, click here for the Department of Homeland Security’s “Stop.Think.Connect.” Toolkit.
Citing a need to conduct additional outreach as well as provide educational materials and guidance for employers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has postponed the enforcement date of the anti-retaliation provisions of its new injury and illness tracking rule. Enforcement will begin on Nov. 1, 2016, instead of the originally scheduled date, Aug. 10, 2016.
From the OSHA press release announcing the delay: “Under the rule, employers are required to inform workers of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses without fear of retaliation; implement procedures for reporting injuries and illnesses that are reasonable and do not deter workers from reporting; and incorporate the existing statutory prohibition on retaliating against workers for reporting injuries and illnesses.”
Please encourage your policyholders to familiarize themselves with this new rule, and to learn what types of businesses the standard impacts and when the submission deadlines go into effect, by reading our updated article on this topic.
In 2016, Accident Fund added four new Group Dividend Programs, which include more than 33 new chambers, one national group called Zenjuries*, and the addition of five states to the existing Auto Services group.
To reflect these changes, we’ve updated our Group Program marketing materials. Click here for the upgraded groups overview (insert link to map), which can also be ordered through our online order form. For instructions on how to order marketing materials, click here.
We’ve created a reference guide for all groups and eligibility as well as instructions on how to view dividend histories for reference.
As a reminder, Group Dividend Programs offer the same commission rate, plus no commission reduction for paid dividends**. For more information contact your group and association specialist or business development consultant.
Group and Association Specialists:
Mike Dake Laura Hall
517-708-5127 517-708-5821
outside of MI MI only
*Agents with policyholders participating in the Zenjuries group, please note their new toll-free number: 888-405-8893. Please be sure to update your records.
**Dividends paid impact profit sharing.
