2023 Annual Convention Sessions

Mitigating E&O claims is more than just good documentation. Join us to hear claim stories, gain ideas for new agency practices (real examples!) and how learn how to stay out of trouble when navigating social media. Explore the fun side of E&O risk management with actual takeaways to deploy within your agency.

There is no question that change is happening at record pace, what are you doing to evolve and change with it as an organization? We will explore how other industries as well as some agencies have evolved given the rapid change we face in all aspects of our lives. Customers, carriers and our staff all have different expectations, and our organization need to continue to evolve to meet and exceed those expectations. Data, technology and relationships are the key to the agencies of today and tomorrow!

It’s not normally the damaged building that closes the business forever, it’s the fact that there’s no money coming in when the business can’t operate in their building. This session is designed to speak to the details of business income and extra expense coverage, including ways that an insured might use to select a limit of insurance for this coverage that’s critical for business survival.

This seminar provides a fast-paced look at the personal lines insurance issues that have been created in the gig economy and its new players; Uber, Touro, Hertz, Avis, Airbnb and VRBO. The insurance ramifications are discussed. Next, there will be an examination of the particulars with regard to both the personal auto policy form and homeowners form. Rick addresses the issues connected to the gig economy from the perspective of an employer in a more traditional business model. Simply put, can gig workers be held to be employees, despite the efforts of employers to treat them as temporary workers and therefore independent contractors? This section examines some case law and also some employment law developments that may influence the question not only from the perspective of the commercial liability policy, but more particularly the workers compensation laws. Lastly, a hypothetical question is discussed about whether a restaurant, or an app such as Door Dash, can or should be held liable when a driver has an accident while delivering food The restaurant's needs, driver needs and underlying liability issues are discussed.

This session will explore how agriculture is changing to meet the food resource needs of the growing world population. The agriculture industry is using vertical farming and alternative energy strategies to respond by increasing production per acre, implementing urban renewal, taking an urban-centric approach to protect natural resources, and limiting climate impact. Coverage grants and exclusions for farmowners, commercial package, and specialty lines products will be reviewed in this session to show how today's insurance products are meeting the coverage needs for 21st century agriculture.

Parametric insurance has exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly for use cases involving weather-related risks like flooding, drought, high-wind events, and more. Learn the basics of how parametric solutions differ from traditional cover, discover the pros and cons of parametric offerings, and identify opportunity areas to incorporate parametric products into an overall risk management program for agribusiness clients.

A normal farming operation consists of such things as cultivation of soil, production of crops, raising of livestock, and other incidental operations like operating a roadside stand on the premises. One of the unique aspects of farm liability is that the farm premises can consist of a combination of residential and commercial exposures. This course looks at the various liability loss exposures present and answers the question,  “In what situations can a farmer or rancher be held legally responsible for incidents that happen on the farm premises or from products raised on the farm and later sold?”

Insurance is an industry of constant change. There are new exposures that become insurable or uninsurable every year. In this session, we will discuss several topics that are continuing to change by the week. We will take a look at some history, but mostly where we are today, and where it appears these exposures and risks are headed in the foreseeable future.

The mock trial seminar is an interactive seminar in which the participants as “jurors” are given the instructions, exhibits and hear live “testimony” prior to determining the case.

Insurance is changing rapidly and this brings the opportunity to be efficient and effective with all our agency’s core functions. In this training we will start with identifying key efficiencies that agency’s can pick up so they can maximize their team’s time. Next, we review our recommended sales process that will help agents qualify and close more opportunities. We end the session with how to get your team to proactively work renewals for a 5 Star Customer Experience and top tier retention!

A normal farming operation consists of such things as cultivation of soil, production of crops, raising of livestock, and other incidental operations like operating a roadside stand on the premises. One of the unique aspects of farm liability is that the farm premises can consist of a combination of residential and commercial exposures. This course looks at the various liability loss exposures present and answers the question,  “In what situations can a farmer or rancher be held legally responsible for incidents that happen on the farm premises or from products raised on the farm and later sold?”

Property underwriting is about discovering the elements of a property. One of the most important elements is how its built. The key to construction underwriting is knowing how well the building will withstand the elements, including wind and fire. This session will detail several of the ways that the elements of building construction can affect the building’s underwriting.

This class is designed to be an introduction to the insurance issues related to national changes in marijuana possession and use laws. The course has a particular emphasis on examining the commercial risks, but also addresses the personal lines or / homeowner’s insurance issues. Also, while the first part of the course is an examination of the ways in which law and risks are changing, part of the second portion of the course is an interactive, case-study examination of the coverage issues that already exist and have been decided in other states. The chief objective of the course is to have students gain a wide-ranging sensitivity for the issues they might encounter if asked to insure a dispensary (or a home-grower, too). A secondary objective is to bring people up-to-date on state and federal treatment of marijuana and allied products. Another secondary objective is to have insurance personnel become sensitive to the coverage issues which may arise connected to marijuana, especially in the situations in which the risk has not been thoroughly previewed and underwritten before the loss.

No need to recreate the wheel! In the 700 agencies we have worked with, Agency Performance Partners has been able to nail down 10 successful agencies consistently. The key to success is consistency in practicing these 10 objectives: 1. Routine work and development of agency culture 2. Development of a forever recruiting strategy 3. Consistent agency meetings on site and off site 4. Identification of agency leadership within all team members 5. Detailed performance feedback 6. Goal setting with incentive plans and clear goal tracking 7. Relentless pursuit of maximizing agency technology 8. Constant training and development of people 9. Investments in marketing and branding 10. Clear identification of agency target markets

Seminar participants are given actual cases (typically involving coverage determinations) and are asked to decide the case in a group setting. Each jury is then asked to report to the group as a whole, and the actual case result is then discussed.

For many in the insurance industry, education is a numbers game. How many CE hours do I have? How many CE hours do I need? How can I keep my license without investing too much time or money into it? Yet, if you want to build a successful team that grows and changes with insurance, the business landscape, and economic troubles, you need a professional development plan. This session is designed to be interaction and the outcome should be a process that can be applied to any size team to create a short-term and long-term professional development plan.

This session will explore the current economic conditions and how they affect the insurance industry. With the highest inflation rates in 40 years, do we see a slowdown? Are we in a recession? Will near-record farm commodity prices and input costs continue? Learn how to respond to these economic forces to stabilize your book of farm and ranch business. For insurers, find out how to remain or become profitable during these tough times. For agents, identify and resolve possible errors and omissions exposure due to coverage gaps and underinsurance.

A correct building valuation is vital to protect your policyholder or client. Obtaining and developing proper building values for a correct insurance to value is crucial to providing the appropriate structure replacement cost for the policyholder/client. Inadequate valuation of the replacement cost will be an issue when a covered loss occurs. Underinsured buildings lead to coinsurance issues as well as angry customers. This session will also cover errors found on apps, what constitutes total building square footage, and the resources available to obtain accurate information. With the continued rising costs of construction materials and labor, getting the valuation right is more important than ever.