September 26, 2013 In this Issue ...

MAIA News: 1 • MAIA Director James O'Brien Herrick, Jr. Passes at Age 46

MAIA News: 1 - 2•MemberMilestones

FAIR Plan News: 2•FAIRPlantoRequireElectronicSubmissionofHO&DwellingApps.12/1 CAR/MAIP News 2 •CARGoverningCommitteeProposesFormandRule Changes

IndustryNews: 3 •MAIWWorcesterCountytoHoldMAIWInfo.Night

ProjectCAP News: 3 - 4 •3QuestionsBeforeJumpingontheSocialMediaBandwagon News Flash!•RMVtoSendLicense 4LicenseReminders

ThanksCompany 4 Partners

MAIA News:MAIADirectorJamesO‘BrienHerrick,Jr.Passes...

The MAIA Board and Staff were shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden death of MAIA Director Jim Herrick at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield on Thursday, September 12, 2013 at the age of 46.

At the time of his death, Jim was Vice President of Personal Lines at Berkshire Insurance Group in Pittsfield. Prior to joining Berkshire Insurance Group in 2009, he was employed by Hanover Insurance Group in Worcester, Berkshire Mutual Insurance Company in Pittsfield and the Toole Insurance Agency in Lee.

Jim had a passion for the outdoors and loved sports, especially basketball. He volunteered as a board member, coach, and referee for the Lenox Youth Basketball Association for many years.

Jim is survived by his wife, Elissa (Fraser) and their children Benjamin and Mollie of Richmond; his parents James and Valerie (Maillow) Herrick of Lenox; his brother Timothy J. Herrick and Kim Wheeler of Lee; and his sister Elaine M. Luers and husband Gregory of Dublin, Ohio; his father and mother-in-law James K. Fraser, Jr. and Joyce H. Fraser of Newtonville, N.Y.; his sister-in-law, Carrie Fraser Donaldson and husband Robert of Harvard; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Services for Jim were held on Tuesday, September 17, 2013 at St. Ann‘s Church in Lenox. Donations in Jim‘s memory may be made to the Lenox Youth Basketball Association in care of Roche Funeral Home • 120 Main Street • P.O. Box 152 • Lenox,MA 01240

MAIA News:MemberMilestones...

FieldEddy Announces Appointments - FieldEddy has recently announced the appointment of an Employee Benefits Account Executive and a Commercial Lines Account Manager.

JamesM.Morin has been appointed Account Executive, Employee Benefits. As an Account Executive on the Employee Benefits team, Mr. Morin is responsible for developing new business opportunities while helping to enhance and build stronger relationships with existing clients. He will assist employers with all aspects of their group insurance and employee benefits, including plan designs, funding alternatives and compliance issues.

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MAIA News ... continued from page 1

AmyL.Odiorne has been appointed Account Manager, Commercial Lines. In her new position, Ms. Odiorne will identify prospects, solicit referrals and coordinate team sales opportunities. She will also inform and educate clients about coverage options to ensure that their insurance needs are being met.

FAIR Plan News:FAIRPlantoRequireElectronicSubmissionofHomeownersandDwellingFireApplicationsEffective December1,2013...

The Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association (FAIR Plan), in an effort to provide the highest level of service possible, introduced its Electronic Application Submission system April 1, 2013. This system was developed to provide producers with a more efficient means of applying for coverage with the the FAIR Plan.

Effective December 1, 2013, all Homeowners and Dwelling Fire Applications will be required to be submitted via the Electronic Application Submission.

The FAIR PLAN believes this system will benefit producers greatly.

Highlights of this application submission process include:• A fully validated application and associated forms, ensuring completeness• Elimination of the Commissioner’s Arson Application on Dwelling Fire Applications• An application management tool to save, print and track application status• Streamlines processing by the FAIR Plan to enhance response times• Intuitive and similar to the industry standard for electronic

submission of applications

Currently, 60% of new business is being received in this format with a reject ratio of 10% compared to a reject ratio of 35% on faxed applications.

The Electronic Application is available through the producer portal under the Online Applications section. Training videos have been developed and added to your portal to assist in completing this application. From a system standpoint, the FAIR Plan web application requires use of Internet Explorer.

Should you have any questions regarding this enhancement, please contact the Consumer Service Department.

CAR/MAIP News:

CARGoverningCommitteeProposesNoticeofExpirationofPolicyAssignmentFormandChangestoRulesofOperationandPrivatePassengerAutoManual...

On September 18, 2013, the CAR Governing Committee submitted several proposed changes to Commissioner Joseph G. Murphy.

To address the confusion that may potentially occur when an Assigned Risk Company (ARC) non-renews an insured’s MAIP policy at the expiration of its three-year assignment period, the Division of Insurance developed a Notice of Expiration of Policy Assignment (Notice) and requested CAR to review and file this policy form. The Notice establishes uniformity among all ARCs and is to be used by an ARC in place of the standard non-renewal notice to notify a policyholder that the insured’s MAIP policy will be non-renewed by the ARC at the expiration of the policy’s three-year assignment period. If the policyholder is not able to obtain coverage on a voluntary basis from another insurance company, the Notice provides information relative to obtaining coverage through the Massachusetts Automobile Insurance Plan.

CAR‘s MAIP Steering Committee reviewed the Notice and made several non-substantive modifications to assure that the Notice‘s language specifically references the expiration of the MAIP policy and preserves the consumer/producer relationship. To address use of the Notice by ARCs, the Committee also reviewed impacted manuals and rules and recommended modifications to Rule 4 - Standard Procedures of the Private Passenger Automobile Manual and Rule 29 - Assignment of the Rules of Operation.

A proposed rule or rule change becomes effective upon the written approval of the Commissioner or upon the expiration of 30 days after filing, provided the Commissioner has not previously disapproved the rule in writing.

We will let you know the final disposition of these proposed changes.

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IndustryNews:MAIWWorcesterCountytoHold“MAIWInformationNight“...

Attention Worcester County ~ MAIW is in your area and wants YOU!

The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Women (MAIW) cordially invites you to attend its First MAIW Informational Night:

Monday ~ October 7th 2013The Hilton Garden Inn35 Major Taylor Blvd.

Worcester, MA

5:00 ~ 6:00 Cocktail Hour, Light Hors d‘oeuvres 6:00 ~ 7:00 Discussion 7:00 ~ 8:00 Networking

Speakers: Beatrice Grant, MAIW President Lisa Rancourt, MAIW Member

Seating is limited ~ Please RSVP by September 27, 2013 by e-mail to: Beatrice Grant ~ president@maiw.org or Adrianne Coe ~ membership@maiw.org or call: 508-263-2532

projectcap News:

3QuestionstoAskYourself BeforeJumpingonthe SocialMediaBandwagonWrittenbyLindseyFeiner

It’s on everyone’s mind, and if it isn’t it should be. Agents know if you want to be seen and heard in this digital world, you have to be active in the digital space reaching out to people and helping them find you. In this place and

time that means you can’t afford to ignore social media. The real question is, how many social media networks should you be on and how do you decide which ones are right for your agency?

How Many Social Networks Should I Be On?The worst thing you can do is spread yourself too thin with social media. If you are committed to being on a social media site, you should also be engaged with it regularly. It is far better to be on two or three social sites and use those few very strategically and well, rather than trying to juggle many different tools and failing at all of them.

Which Social Networks Should I Be On?As an agency you simply can’t be everywhere, and luckily you don’t need to be. To determine which social sites are right for you, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Who is my target audience?• The most important thing you need to know is who you want to attract and connect with.

2. What sites is that audience active on?• Identify what sites your target audience members are on, and which sites they aren’t frequenting. For

example, your target audience is probably in North America, so you don’t need to be on any sites that have the majority of their following in China or Europe.

3. Does that site fit the marketing goals of my business?• If your target audience is on a social media site, check to see if your competitors or contemporaries are

also active on those sites.• Ask yourself what your audience is using the site for, and if you can have success using that site, too. If

people are sharing images, can you supply images to share? If users use the site to get real time updates on community activity, can you supply real time updates in a time of crisis or natural disaster?

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projectcap... continued from page 3

Some sites you can consider beyond Facebook are Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest or YouTube. Each of these has its own merits as well as a unique purpose and audience. How to Manage Your AccountsOnce you ask yourself the three questions above, you should have your options narrowed down to a few select networks that you can focus on. You don’t have to be everywhere; it’s certainly fine to start small and expand as it makes sense to do so.

Project CAP Can HelpProject CAP is launching our new and improved social media program. This new program is designed to help you grow an audience on appropriate channels slowly and with purpose. Using a team of professional writers, content is created and posted a minimum of 3 to 5 times a week. There are optional program upgrades that include additional social media channels like Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, as well as email and blog posts.

We begin by setting up a one-on-one introductory meeting with your agency so we understand your business and are then able to create a social marketing strategy tailored to your agency. In addition to the content posted by the professional writers, we encourage you to post your own content and pictures that you know your audience wants to see, such as birthday announcements, news about the office or events specific to your community. Project CAP is ready to help take your agency’s social media efforts to the next level. Contactustoday to get started.

Don‘t forget to update your agency profile on BOTH the Trusted Choice® and projectcap websites. Clickhere for step-by-step instructions.

News Flash!RMVtoSendLicenseRenewalPostcards...

The RMV is expected to begin a license renewal reminder program this fall. Using advertising to fund the mailing and printing costs, drivers with expiring licenses will receive a “Happy Birthday“ postcard to remind them to renew their licenses. The Birthday postcards will be mailed by GlobeDirect -- the same company mailing the registration renewals. If the driver is ineligible to renew online, the postcard will include this message: “You are only eligible to renew your driver‘s license at an RMV Branch.“

The target start-date for the reminder program is November.

September 26, 2013

OFFICIAL NOTICE TO THE MEMBERS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE AGENTS OF THE

2013 ANNUAL MEETING

In accordance with Article XI, Section 1, of the bylaws, notice is hereby given to the members of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents, Inc., that the Annual Meeting of the association will be held on Friday, November 8, 2013 at 11:10 AM, at the Marriott Hotel. 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts. Only active members shall be entitled to vote.

AGENDA

I. Call to Order II. Approval of Minutes of 2012 Annual Meeting III. Report of the Chairman IV. Election of Officers and Directors for 2014 V. Old Business VI. New Business VII. Adjourn

September 26, 2013

Report of the Nominating Committee The Nominating Committee presents the following individuals to the membership for election as officers and directors for 2014 to become effective January 1, 2014. Officers Chairman-Elect Raymond Sirois, AAI Vice Chairman G. Lee Gaudette, III, CPCU Secretary-Treasurer Glen E. Davis, CIC, LIA State National Director Raymond D. Gallant By terms of the bylaws, Thomas F. Skelly, Jr., CIC, LIA, AAI, ARM will become Chairman and Richard A. Perras will become Immediate Past Chairman.

Directors Term expiring December 31, 2016 Beth Sylvia Caldwell, CIC Faith Canario, CIC Joan DeCoste Daniel T. Morse, CIC Dennis F. Murphy, III Steven P. Roy, CIC

Continuing Directors Benjamin Cavallo Thom DePaulo, CIC George F. Doherty, III, CIC, AAI Carl R. Goveia, CIC Edward J. Juliano Ely Kaplansky, CIC, CPIA, LIA John F. Koegel John R. Sweeney, CISR, CIC Stephen Tarpey, CPCU, CIC John Woods, Jr. CPCU

For the Committee: Raymond D. Gallant

Chairman Nominations in addition to those made by the Nominating Committee may be made in writing to MAIA Chairman, Richard A. Perras, at the above address, at least ten (10) days prior to the annual meeting by any twenty (20) or more members.