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| March 2021 | ||||||
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Top 3 Articles
Welcome
From the Desk of the President & CEO
 We’re told by our cyber insurance carrier that they’ve seen an increase in agents being subject to ransomware attacks. I wanted to explore this question further and decided to contact Ron Berg with the Agents Council on Technology. My question was: Have y’all seen any articles on ransomware with examples that we can publish? How does this work when your database is pretty much with an AMS?Maybe the carrier is saying there’s an increase in ransomware generally.
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IIAV Member Resources
 April 13-16, FREE for members.
Join Big "I" from the comfort of your computer or mobile device and get up to speed on the many legislative, regulatory and legal challenges to your profession happening now. Hear from legislators, carriers and industry leaders and walk away with a plan to help you lead the way and protect your industry. The Big “I” has your back, especially in uncertain times. While you are helping your clients, the Big “I” team is working around the clock to protect your industry — and now we need your voice, are you ready to act? Register today!
 By: Paige McCallister
Affinity HR Group
We have all read stories of someone’s unacceptable or illegal actions going viral and the public using social media to identify that person and where they work and live. While we normally think of social media as a personal pastime, social media can be a valuable resource for business purposes. And, employee behavior on social media can also have a significant negative impact on your business’s reputation and livelihood.
(Photo Source: Canva.com/AffinityHRGroup.com)
  
Current research from Gallup reports an increase in employee engagement in the U.S. following a series of fluctuations in 2020. Key contributors to the increase include increased feedback and internal communication to keep employees aware of plans, progress and timelines. New questions to consider: Do you have a good pulse on the current level of employee engagement in your agency? What actions can you take to increase internal communication to help keep your key team members engaged? What opportunities are there to position managers to help drive the effort? What opportunities for providing recognition and feedback can you focus on in Q2? Next steps: Create communication and feedback plan to strengthen your team engagement in the second quarter. A more engaged team results in a more valuable agency. David J. Dillon, Principal
State & National News
 As Florida legislators meet and determine how best to handle the pandemic’s continuous impacts, new data from the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) demonstrates the need to prioritize liability protection.
Florida was a prime target for trial lawyers in 2020. From March through December last year, Florida accounted for approximately 20% of ad spots and spending on legal services TV ads mentioning COVID-19 or coronavirus.
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 The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) is grateful for the reintroduction of the “Main Street Tax Certainty Act” in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Jason Smith (R-Missouri) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana). The legislation would make permanent a 20% deduction on qualified business income for some owners and shareholders of pass-through businesses.
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 The House and the Senate each had their own version of Tax Conformity bills this year. The main issue at hand was the cap amount for deductions of business expenses for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans. Both bills, as passed the body of origin, allowed for a business that received a PPP loan to exclude the forgiven loan amount from their income, however each instilled a cap for maximum deduction to cover one’s business expenses related to their PPP Loans.
 Last year, the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) Bureau of Insurance (Bureau) helped thousands of consumers recover approximately $14.3 million in refunds, benefits, restitution and other payments related to their insurance coverage. These efforts are only one of the many ways in which the Bureau assists Virginians who have insurance questions or concerns — whether those consumers are shopping for insurance, trying to understand what their insurance policy covers, have questions about premiums, or question why their insurance company did not renew a policy or why it denied a claim.
IIAV News
 We're not pessimistic. We just have delayed optimism!
While we can’t think of anything better right now then a couple of days in the sun in Virginia Beach, we just don’t believe it’s prudent at this time to expect that we will be able to safely hold our Convention as planned in June.
Therefore, the IIAV Board of Directors has unanimously voted to move our convention to October again.
(Photo Source: Rebecca Arnold/Canva.com)
Press Releases
 Harford Mutual Insurance Group announced a multi-year, $25,000 commitment to support the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) Mutual Insurance Foundation Scholarship Program. The program provides financial assistance to undergraduate students pursuing a wide variety of career opportunities related to the growing insurance industry. Beginning in 2020, Harford Mutual pledged to donate $5,000 per year for five years.
(Photo Source: HarfordMutual.com)
Education
View course listings and descriptions at www.myagencycampus.com. Who's Making News
 Young Chol Kim, CIC, CLCS, SBCS
Area Assistant Vice President, Gallagher
Potomac Falls, Va. Most Power Broker testimonials are enthusiastic, but circumspect.
Clients speaking about Young Chol Kim, however, came in with glowing reviews of his ability to get hospitality businesses much-needed insurance payments in the wake of COVID-19.
(Photo Source: ajg.com)
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Last month we focused attention on employee engagement as a critical impact on many business metrics, including client satisfaction, productivity and profitability. While challenging in the current mix of employee work situations, keeping the team engaged has a big impact on agency value. Potential buyers still look at a business as a function of cash flows and risk.
