IBAO applauds the recent announcement by the Ontario government on new changes coming into effect to protect Ontario’s young drivers, beginning August 1, 2010. The new law states that all young drivers under the age of 21, as well as new motorists, will be required to have a zero blood alcohol level when behind the wheel.

This new legislation was first introduced last year and particularly aims to protect young drivers, which statistics have shown, are most at risk for being involved in drinking and driving related incidents.

Encouraging safe driving has been and continues to be a central focus for IBAO and its members. Especially when you consider that the number one cause of death for people aged 16-24 in Ontario is still alcohol related automobile accidents. IBAO’s CEO Randy Carroll commented that the new legislation promises to diminish the number of fatalities in province significantly.

IBAO has been in proud partnership with the Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID) for more than a decade. Together, they are committed to teaching Ontario students about the dangers of driving while under the influence.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation highlighted some of the following consequences associated with the new legislation.
All drivers 21 years of age and younger must have a zero blood alcohol level when they get behind the wheel or face:
•    An immediate 24-hour licence suspension
•    30-day licence suspension
•    Up to $500 in fines
You are encouraged to visit the Ministry’s official website, Ontario Ministry of Transportation for more information.

Students especially are encouraged to visit OSAID’s new interactive website, www.OSAID.org for more information on this youth driven organization.

IBAO also recently created a video to highlight other changes to drinking and driving laws in Ontario that affect all drivers.
Watch it here:  Drinking and Driving Laws Are Tougher - Be Prepared

While no one is immune from cheque fraud, companies that maintain large cash balances and process a large volume of cheques, such as those in the insurance industry, are popular targets of fraudsters. Fraudsters seem to be well in tune with our industry and perpetrate fraud in a number of ways, including stealing blank cheques, or intercepting written cheques in transit and altering the amount or payee, or outright counterfeiting cheques.

In order to protect your brokerage, internal controls must form the first line of defense. Here are a few tips:

• Implement physical security by properly securing and restricting access to any computers used to issue cheques, especially ones with electronic signatures.
• Cheques, cheque order forms, and articles of incorporation should be treated as carefully as cash and kept locked up with restricted access.
• Ensure that cheques have serial numbers on the electronic codeline (commonly referred to as MICR).  Most banks’ detection equipment relies on the MICR as part of their fraud detection systems.
• Reconcile accounts on a daily basis (confirming both correct amounts and payees) and separating accounts payable from accounts receivable roles can help minimize opportunities for fraudulent activity.

A secondary line of defense revolves around various industry products such as modern cheque printers with security features like watermarks. Also, there are a number of banking products and services such as positive pay, electronic reconciliation, and electronic payments direct to the payee can help mitigate the risk of cheque fraud.

If you believe that some fraudulent activity is at work, contact your banker immediately.

For more information, on how to minimize your brokerage’s fraud risk, visit the fraud section of the BMO website, or read the article on cheque fraud in the June issue of The Ontario Broker.

IBAO is delighted to present our members with the IBAO Marketing Design Centre (MDC) NOW LIVE ONLINE and ready for you to logon to create and customize your very own brokerage branded marketing campaigns!

The Marketing Design Centre will help you create marketing or advertising campaigns specific to the products or services in your office, with the ability to customize documents with your own brokerage logo, as well as contact information.

Within the MDC, you will find all three of the Auto Reforms Consumer Communication Materials we presented during the IBAO Auto Reforms Roadshow this past Spring. All of these pieces have been set up with customizable fields for you to add in your own brokerage logo and contact information.

The auto reforms communication pieces are available to IBAO members at no cost and you will only need to cover printing expenses.

Click here to logon to IBAO Marketing Design Centre under the 'Members Only' section of the IBAO website. Here you will find a link to the MDC. Your username and password are the same login credentials you use to logon to the Members Only section of the IBAO website.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS TO EFFECTIVELY SELL THE AUTO CHANGES AND NEW POLICY OPTIONS

This two hour webinar will help you develop the communication and sales skills necessary to effectively discuss the auto reform changes with your clients.  We will provide coverage comparisons, real life examples and communication strategies.  (RIBO CE: 2 Technical Hours)

PROGRAM OUTCOMES:

• Gain a firm grasp of coverage changes under the new Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule
• Develop effective sales and communication strategies
• Build confidence in explaining changes and options to clients
• Receive a bank of real life examples to assist you to demonstrate the need for buy up options 
• RECOMMENDED for: Anyone dealing directly with auto policyholders

WEBINAR FACILITATOR: Jo Anne Mitchell, CIP

DATES & TIMES:
June 15:  2:00 - 4:15 pm
June 16:  9:30 - 11:45 am
June 22:  AM Session: 9:30 -11:45 am or PM Session: 2:00 - 4:15 pm
June 24:  AM Session: 9:30 -11:45 am or PM Session: 2:00 - 4:15 pm

FEE: $99.00 per person - Available to IBAO Members Only.

Space is limited!

Register online at www.ibao.org (Members Section - Online Event Registration)

Questions? Contact the IBAO School of Insurance at 416-488-7422 or toll-free (800-268-8845).

Ontario Brokers Urge Teens to Drive Safe and Sober during Graduation Season

As exciting and thrilling as Prom season can be, it can be very easy for some students to be peer pressured into certain activities that they wouldn’t normally participate in. This is why IBAO has partnered once again with Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID) to remind Ontario teens about the dangers of driving while under the influence this graduation season.

IBAO CEO Randy Carroll cautions, “with prom season just around the corner, teens will be attending numerous BBQ’s, pool parties and grad events. IBAO and OSAID are committed to reminding Ontario students about the importance of staying safe, while having fun during this celebratory season.”

Encouraging safe driving has always been and continues to be a central focus for IBAO and our members. We urge teens to apply these simple alternatives to avoid any preventable tragedy associated with driving while impaired:

• Arrange for a designated driver
• Take public transit
• Arrange for a car or limo service
• Call a cab

We know that brokers are committed to informing and protecting members of their communities. Alcohol-related deaths are the number one cause of death for people aged 16-24 in Ontario. By educating the young people of this province, we are providing them with all of the necessary knowledge to prevent such tragedy that in turn may save their own lives and the lives of their friends and loved ones.

For more helpful information, encourage students to visit OSAID’s new interactive website, www.OSAID.org.

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has released ‘Property and Casualty Bulletin A-04/10’ that sets out the transition guidelines for accident benefit claims under the upcoming auto reforms that come into effect on September 1 of this year.

The transition document lays out clearly how the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) will apply to auto accidents that occur after September 1, 2010, and for those accidents that occur prior to September 1, 2010.

During the IBAO Educational Auto Reforms Roadshow, we spent quite a bit of time covering off this section of the changes and now that FSCO has officially released this bulletin it is a Must Read by all licensed brokers.

In addition to the SABS Schedule, the bulletin also speaks to Coverages and Limits on Policies Already In Effect as of September 1, 2010.

The coverages and coverage limits that are available in accordance with the ‘Old SABS’ under any automobile insurance policy already in effect as of September 1, 2010 will remain unchanged until the policy expires or is terminated. The only exception is if the named insured and insurer agree otherwise in writing (New SABS s. 68). The OPCF 25A (Alteration) endorsement, amended to reflect the new coverage choices available under the New SABS, will be available for this purpose.

Again, this new bulletin is a must read for all licensed brokers, and remember if you have any questions related to Auto reforms please send them to autofaqs@ibao.on.ca.

Visit www.fsco.gov.on.ca/english/pubs/, for a full list of all the property and casualty – auto bulletins available on FSCO’s website.

For the past four years, a team of staff lead by Kelly MacDonald from The Standard Insurance brokers in Dryden, Ontario, have come together to run an Easter Food Drive for the local Dryden Food Bank.

During the month of March each year they team up with the local radio station, CKDR (92.7 FM), Subway restaurant and ‘The Centre’ in Dryden to make it happen. CKDR donates their airtime, and Kelly MacDonald launched the food drive by announcing an official challenge live on the radio to all local businesses or organizations to see who can bring in the most food by the end of March. The winners win a free lunch, courtesy of Subway restaurant, concert tickets, courtesy of ‘The Centre’ and an IPOD Nano, courtesy of The Standard Insurance brokers. There are three different winning categories.

This year, they had over 21 local businesses partake in the program this year, and raised almost 5000 food items plus over $100 in monetary donations.

Way to go!

Top (left to right)  Tom Ledoux Standard Insurance, Keith Grand, Manager of the Dryden Food bank
Middle (left to right) Kelly MacDonald Standard Insurance, Gord McCool Standard Insurance, Donna Sandelli Standard Insurance
Bottom (left to right) Lisa Legros Standard Insurance, Nichol Wesley Standard Insurance

IBAO’s CEO Randy Carroll was featured on CBC’s News investigative consumer show, Marketplace to discuss the continuing debate in regards to the use of credit scoring for measuring home insurance premiums earlier this month.

The show’s host, Wendy Mesley, spoke with several frustrated Canadian consumers who saw incredible increases in their home insurance once their insurance company began using credit scoring as a means to measure their risk.

Watch the show here:
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2010/rate_hike_outrage/main.html

The basic principal being applied here is that many insurance companies are now using consumer credit scores as a tool to measure financial health. They say that if you suffer from a lower score, you are statistically more likely to make a future claim.

What does this mean for those of us paying home insurance premiums? It signifies that regardless if you have never made a claim in the past or have never missed a payment to your insurance company, some insurance companies will still measure your rate on your overall credit score.

As you may have guessed, this process has unfortunately been leaving those who are most financially in need paying more than those who are more financially stable.

Now in regards to the insurance companies saying they have statistical facts to back up their choices, Randy Carroll added “It doesn’t mean it’s right and it doesn’t mean it is a tool we should be using. Insurance needs to be about affordability and availability; it doesn’t need to be about a social or lifestyle rating.”

Shockingly, Marketplace claims that 87% of Canadians have no idea that their credit scores are being used to measure their rates. A fact that IBAO agrees with, “some players in the industry have taken it upon themselves to take advantage of consumers consent that was given at the time of application, that could have been 15 years ago, could’ve been last year. It’s still wrong.”

To view the show in its entirety, visit: http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2010/rate_hike_outrage/main.html

Hyatt Regency Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
Wednesday, June 2 - Friday, June 4, 2010
Register Online Today!

YBC is pleased to announce its 6th Annual Conference to be held at the Hyatt Regency Toronto, from June 2 - 4, 2010. This conference is designed exclusively for Young Brokers and promises to be bigger and better than before with a larger trade show, hospitality night featuring entertainment by Ivana Santilli and 8 hours of education credits.

Young brokers participating in this exclusive event will appreciate valuable & relevant education offerings geared towards young brokers touching on issues surrounding Understanding Consumers Expectations and The Do's and Don'ts of Social Media.

This year, we will have three company CEO's to address young brokers. We have also asked companies to send their underwriters and claims adjusters, giving you an opportunity to connect with key industry contacts. Equally as important, participants will also have ample opportunity to build relationships with many young brokers from across Ontario.

Principals and managers are encouraged to invest in this worthwhile experience by sending their younger staff to this conference. Registration Deadline is Friday May 7th, 2010 - This conference is for members of the YBC only.

Links:

• YBC Conference Program and Registration Form
• Register online

Want to be a YBC Member? Download a YBC Membership Form. To be eligible, you must be under 40 and working for a member office. For more information about YBC, visit the YBC website at www.theyoungbrokers.com.

BE SURE TO REGISTER EARLY AS SPOTS WILL FILL UP FAST!