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... :44:59 PM by CompleteMarkets Editor , Sally Praskey This content has not been rated yet. COMMUNICATING WITH THE MEDIA by Sally Praskey Reporters are like alligators; you don't have to love them, but you DO have to feed them. Steven Poole, director of corporate communications, Gerber Products  The media have been called many things, perhaps the most colorful of which was the description coined by entrepreneur-and media magnate-Conrad Black, who likened reporters to a swarming, grunting mass of jackals. But, like them or hate them ... has dealt with the media in a crisis situation, Steven Poole, director of corporate communications for Gerber Products Company, agreed that the key to an effective media-relations program was maintaining regular contact with journalists, so they will know you and your company. Speaking at the same meeting, Poole described how he was faced with the unenviable task of counteracting rumors that pieces of glass had been found in a specific brand of Gerber's baby food. Although the rumors were eventually proved to be unfounded, the crisis very nearly destroyed the company, ' ... Poole. Like Nash, Poole stressed the importance of being honest and forthright in all communications with the media. He outlined four rules to follow in a crisis situation: identify the problem, fix it, communicate it, and apologize. Of course, in Gerber's case, crisis management was rendered even more difficult by the fact that the corporation could not identify the problem because it didn't exist. Interview Tips The ability to communicate with the media is important, not just for large corporations, but for small brokerages too. When ...

... liked acknowledgment-so every month, I'd send him a letter telling him what a great job he did and how much I appreciated his efforts. Those notes of appreciation paid off when Avis made a run at him with an absolutely fantastic monetary offer. For this person, corporate appreciation meant more than the money, and he turned Avis down. This experience confirmed once and for all my belief that if I take care of my employees, they'll not only get the job done, but be less likely to leave. Although business spends ... a telephone. Yet most employers are still resistant to providing individual access. What if they play around on it? ' they ask. So what! ' I reply. Any time they spend on the Internet is time that they're learning, and I've yet to meet an employee that works every minute of every day. Establish individual E-mail accounts. This costs virtually nothing and is a tremendous morale booster. I recently found a major association in our industry that still utilized a central E-mail address for everyone. The employees had no ... classes. Formal learning sessions are proving to be highly efficient and cost-effective for training and earning CE credits. Put your employees in your contact-management system. As you already do with your clients (I hope), use your database to help you remember birthdays, special events, anniversaries, and other appropriate moments of contact. Have employee pages on your Web site. Make each employee responsible for content about themselves, their families, their hobbies, and their interests. This gives your clients a chance to know your employees better. ...

... ) routine that defines their being. However, as with every emotional event in our lives, a business transition is easiest to accomplish when you make it part of an ongoing process and plan. FINANCIAL PLANNING An agency perpetuation plan allows you to plan the finances and corporate structure of the business for the easiest perpetuation with the best tax implications for both the buyer and the seller. Working with your consultant, accountant, and/or tax attorney, you can realign the form of company you operate to make the financial burden on ... the book of business of the retiring agent. This made for a transparent movement of business over time because the retiring agent's accounts would eventually experience retention loss while the new agency's business was all theirs. You can implement a wide variety of financial and organizational activities to meet the buyer's and seller's needs. MANAGEMENT SUCCESSION PLANNING Do you remember all the mistakes and missteps you made while you were learning how to manage your agency? Do you want the next generation of owners to go through that experience, too? To avoid this situation ... agency's strategic and tactical plans, it will lose its emotional edge. The greatest problem that people have with succession and perpetuation is that they don't want to think about breaking the business (and personal) routine that defines their being. However, as with every emotional event in our lives, a business transition is easiest to accomplish when you make it part of an ongoing process and plan. FINANCIAL PLANNING An agency perpetuation plan allows you to plan the finances and corporate structure of the business for the easiest perpetuation with the best tax ...

... satisfying the customer. Although most companies recognize the value of developing long-term customer relationships, by and large the emphasis has been primarily one of personal effort (often voluntary, unattached to incentive, lacking training or support) on the part of the employee. A cohesive corporate policy and a strong commitment have been missing. Education is the key to not only understanding the how' of the details but also the why. Our service behavior will change when our fundamental belief system changes. We must believe in customer satisfaction. We need to ... exists only when it's being delivered. Service, it seems, is in the mind of the customer. Obviously, the best way to begin is to find out what the customer thinks and feels about your existing service and use that as a benchmark for improvement. Meet with other CSRs to determine what they think is important to customers and what they need to know to do their jobs better. From this brainstorming session, design a survey to distribute to customers. Customer feedback is useful not only for making improvements, but also ... providing performance feedback. When designing the survey, it's crucial to include at least one open-ended question, to eliminate the possibility that the only items included on the survey are those certain to elicit a positive response. It's important to invite customer communication at every possible turn. Telephone surveys, mail surveys, statement stuffers, suggestion boxes, focus groups, and interactive video are all effective ways to get feedback. Provide a space on forms sent to customers to list compliments and complaints. Make sure to devise a method of learning why ...

... of the processing system are standardized throughout the entire office. The agency should have standard written procedures for entering, retrieving, testing, and auditing the accuracy of the data electronically stored in the system. There must be a consistent formalized back-up procedure. Alpine Risk Management Corporation, LLC (POB 20128, Oakland, CA 94620, (510) 653-5117) has information on this subject, together with an excellent E&O procedures manual. You can e-mail them at alpinerisk @ lanset.com . In addition, our agency management ... and state laws generally require more proof to verify the accuracy of electronic information than that required for paper documentation. This includes a standard procedure for verifying the accuracy of the information and possibly audit procedures. In general, automated data is considered admissible as evidence when it meets these criteria: Electronic files must be the sole, or at least primary, source of information. The recorded information must have been input in the ordinary course of business, for business purposes, at or near the time of the event recorded. The agency ... have relied on the accuracy of the records. The information must be input by a competent person who had a business duty to input the information accurately. The person inputting the information must have had personal knowledge of the event recorded, or obtained information from someone who had such knowledge. The systems and procedures for recording and retrieving the recorded information were reliable, including: The input procedures used to record the information and the methods for verifying the accuracy of the data are subject to a standard procedure of verification and audit. The ...

... assist the Executive Security Committee as warranted. Banking arrangements should be established in the event extortion payments are anticipated or would be approved. This provision is generally rather simple to establish and provides for cash availability on a 24 hour basis seven days per week to an established corporate client. It must be pointed out that should kidnap and ransom insurance coverage exist, it is an indemnification contract providing for reimbursement, not for the initial ransom demand payment. Exhibit 14.1, provides an overview of a feasible management solution for handling highly sensitive crisis ... Plan On-going Objectives Maintenance of an effective Crisis Management Plan requires active committees with an committed membership focused on pre-crisis preparation. In addition, there should be a major commitment to continuous identification and measurement of loss exposures and an aggressive training program. The Crisis Management Committee should meet monthly for one hour for the purpose of addressing the various responsibilities of formulating and implementing as well as operating the Crisis Management Plan. In order to substantiate operations and to maintain an adequate defense posture, detailed minutes of each meeting should be kept. Minutes of ... operations and restoration of activities. Examples of the Crisis Management Committee focus on drills and review session activities include: Crisis Management Committee Training Activities Activate news media management strategy and issue warranted press releases Operate the computer center through alternate hotsite Retrieve vital records including accounts receivable in event of hypothetical accounting office fire Committee Think Tank' sessions for hypothetical crisis situations including but not limited to evacuation, fire, explosion, earthquake, major utility failure, violence in workplace Committee brainstorm' post-crisis situations with respect to continuing and restoration operations The Emergency Response ...

... maps out a plan for the continuation of a business in the event that a major stockholder passes away or becomes disabled. The agreement most often involves Life insurance. Two basic types of these agreements include stock-redemption plans and cross-purchase plans. In a stock-redemption plan, the corporation agrees to purchase stock in the event of a shareholder's death. The agreement is funded by Life insurance on the shareholder. The corporation becomes the owner and the beneficiary of the policy, which is considered a corporate asset. In a cross-purchase plan, shareholders ( ... with our Business Life insurance program. We can advise you on the types of Life and Disability insurance it takes to successfully plan for a continued, healthy future of your business. The experts in our Life department will analyze your business and provide the best policies to meet your needs in the most economical manner. Salary continuation plans in the event you're disabled..buy-sell agreements that ensure a smooth buyout of a deceased shareholder's stock..Key-Person insurance on the lives of those executives whose replacement would be costly and difficult..and much more. We have the expertise to ... i.e., pure protection, cash-value build-up, and so on) . Some business plans also call for Disability Income protection, and of course for Group insurance. Buy-Sell Agreement: A legal agreement that maps out a plan for the continuation of a business in the event that a major stockholder passes away or becomes disabled. The agreement most often involves Life insurance. Two basic types of these agreements include stock-redemption plans and cross-purchase plans. In a stock-redemption plan, the corporation agrees to purchase stock in the event of a shareholder's death ...

... of a certain evaluation date. An IBNR analysis is usually prepared to meet regulatory or financial reporting criteria and is often required by external auditors as part of the audit process. The analysis is most frequently prepared for a self-insured trust, a captive insurance company, a corporation that uses a loss sensitive cash-flow plan, or as part of the due diligence process for mergers/acquisitions or divestitures. The uses of an IBNR analysis include: Actuarial reserve certification Satisfaction of self-insurance requirements Negotiation of security requirements and letters of credit Acquisition due diligence ... the impact of IBNR. IBNR is an acronym for incurred but not reported losses. IBNR includes development on known claims, as well as a provision for claims that have occurred but haven't been reported as of a certain evaluation date. An IBNR analysis is usually prepared to meet regulatory or financial reporting criteria and is often required by external auditors as part of the audit process. The analysis is most frequently prepared for a self-insured trust, a captive insurance company, a corporation that uses a loss sensitive cash-flow plan, or as part of ... 059 318,948 Total $2 ,375,849 $1 ,196,263 $1 ,179,586 $580,655 $598,931 Estimated ultimate incurred losses are defined as the amount needed to provide for the cost of claims relating to events that occurred during each period. This includes the estimated required reserves, which is the amount that will be required for future payments on (1 ) claims that have been reported and (2 ) claims that have occurred, but haven't been reported as of the ...

... Gary E. Jacobson, J.D. All Rights Reserved Revised 10/11/94 [AGENCY NAME] / [EMPLOYEE NAME] EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT THIS EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT ( 'Contract') is by and between: [AGENCY NAME], a [STATE NAME] corporation ( '[ Agency] ') ; and [EMPLOYEE NAME], ( '[ Employee] ') . RECITALS A. Agency and [Employee] are involved in a merger of two independent insurance agencies consummated concurrently herewith (the merger'), ... a quarterly adjustment for new business, if any, and a final bonus calculation within sixty (60) days following the end of each fiscal year, based upon year-end reports. 3.1.2 This Producer Compensation arrangement is subject to revision by the Board at its regular annual meeting; provided, however, that [Employee] ' compensation formula for that producer function remains equivalent to that applied to the other Founders. 3.2 Management Compensation. In addition to his Producer Compensation, the Agency agrees to pay [Employee] an additional amount for ... (a ) [Employee] shall receive the sum of forty-one thousand dollars ($ 41,000) per year throughout the entire 10-year initial term of this Contract, with payment in equal bi-weekly increments following March 1, 1994; and (b ) In the event [Employee] 's employment as President hereunder is terminated for any reason, including without limitation his resignation, death, disability, or termination of his status as a stockholder or employee of the Agency, the Agency will continue to benefit from that inertia created ...

... that the majority of crisis, risk and insurance management strategies, methodologies, tactical systems and/or consulting practices herein identified have been copyrighted by Richard H. Soper or Richard H. Soper, Inc., dba: SOPER & ASSOCIATES, a State of California corporation or SOPER & ASSOCIATES, LTD., a State of Washington corporation or in articles or texts authored by Richard H. Soper and appearing in: Risk Management, Risk & Benefits Management, Risk Management Reports and/or published in copyrighted text by: Risk ... composite of excerpts from the Crisis Management Handbook, currently under development by SOPER & ASSOCIATES, LTD. as well as from syllabi used in conjunction with the following presentations: Society of Risk Management Consultants, 1994 Fall Conference Santa Fe, New Mexico, October, 1994 Meeting Topic: Crisis Management Consulting Golden Gate Chapter, San Francisco, RIMS Meeting, November, 1990 Meeting Topic: Crisis Management Plan Los Angeles Chapter, RIMS Meeting, October 1989 Meeting Topic: Crisis Management Plan West Coast Regional RIMS Conference Otter Crest, Oregon, ... Vulnerability Flow Analysis 5.3 Insurance and Risk Funding Adequacy 5.4 Facility Location Considerations 6.0 CRISES EXPOSURE AWARENESS 6.1 Crises Exposure Awareness Overview 6.2 Legal Compliance Considerations 6.3 Litigation Crisis Exposure 6.4 Environmental Crisis Exposure 6.5 Earthquake Crisis Exposure 6.6 Volcanic Crisis Exposure 6.7 Crisis Awareness Focus Exhibit 6.1 Significant Crisis Events DIVISION III CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENT 7.0 PLAN ORGANIZATION AND TIMING 7.1 Key Crisis Management Plan Elements 7.2 Crisis Exposure Assessment 7.3 Crisis Management Plan Components Exhibit 7.1 Crisis Management Plan Organization 7.4 Crisis Management Plan Timing Exhibit 7.2 Crisis Management Sequential Timing 7.5 Prior to Crisis Timing 7.6 ...