Greater Detroit Newslettergreaterdetroit.cpcusociety.org/sites/chp_gdetr... · Our volunteer...

Greater Detroit Newsletter

Message from the Incoming President I am thrilled to serve as the 2015 President for the Greater Detroit CPCU Chapter! We have a strong, knowledgeable board of officers and chair persons and together we will strive to do our best for you!

Our Chapter had a successful 2014 with Vicki Rodi, CPCU at the helm. Thank you, Vicki for your leadership and dedication! It is an honor to take the baton from you! We had another great turnout for our annual All Industry Day on November 6, 2014 held at the Westin in Southfield. Our speaker

Kurt Fuller, CPCU, and CEO of Grand River Insurance Associates, enlightened us with his experience in the insurance industry and starting up an insurance agency. Congratulations to Citizens for receiving the 2014 Company of the Year award. Their support of the CPCU designation and of the time our Education Chair Paul Anderson puts into the Chapter education plan has certainly contributed to the success of our education goals. Congratulations to our Webmaster Karen Schafer for receiving the 2014 President’s Award. Karen did an outstanding job of implementing our new website, putting PayPal on the website for our members and putting timely communications out for our Chapter events. Lastly, we welcomed the 2014 New Designees to the Greater Detroit chapter and congratulated them on achieving their CPCU designations! 2015 has gotten off to a fast start! This year the Chapter Circle of Excellence Program will focus on three areas: Providing Relevant Knowledge, Empowering Professionals to Succeed, and Engaging Future Generations of Leaders. We are well on the way to planning this year’s slate of events. We are going to explore partnering with a CPCU Society interest group to offer focused knowledge in a specialized area. This will be a new undertaking for the Chapter that will require working closely with the Society to accomplish this goal. We would like to expand our volunteer base in 2015. In addition to our current Chapter board volunteers, we are seeking persons who are interested in working on Chapter events and initiatives. You would be surprised at how little is required, and how much can be accomplished! We sincerely hope you will consider providing your knowledge, ideas and whatever time you can give to the success of your CPCU chapter. Wishing you a great New Year and we hope to see you soon! Terry Hackney, CPCU

Terry Hackney, CPCU

President – 2015- 2016

Greater Detroit Newsletter February 2015

2 http://greaterdetroit.cpcusociety.org/

Letter from the Outgoing President

As the 2014 Chapter President, it is my honor to report on how our board did this past year. As many of you have noticed, we made many changes to our on-line presence. Our web-site has new functionality, we now accept credit card payments and we are steadily improving our LinkedIn presence. We also made improvements to our banking arrangements and bookkeeping to utilize technology. Our chapter events could not happen without the dedication of

many insurance professionals willing to share their expertise with us. A big thank you to: • Jeremy Pecora and Janet Vermeulen who presented to our chapter and to the local RIMS

chapter on Healthcare Reform;

• David Walker who presented our March ethics class;

• Terri Miller and Holli Lajoice who presented information on Michigan’s residual markets

and assigned claim plan;

• Elise Farnham who provided a continuing education course on Additional Insured

coverage;

• Dr. Steven N. Weisbart who presented to our chapter and to the Metro Detroit Insurance

Association on Mega Catastrophes and the Michigan markets;

• Kurt Fuller who spoke to us on building an insurance company from scratch.

I am also touched to see how many of our members take time out of their busy schedules to participate in our charity projects. We partnered with Forgotten Harvest and Gleaners this year to provide two half days of service to our community. None of the above is possible without an active board volunteering their time to make sure we can host great events like the above. Thanks to Terry Hackney, our 2014 Vice President, and her efforts on All Industry Day. Thanks to Stephanie Thomas for handling all the financials and reporting for our board. Thanks to Larry Postl for his service as Secretary and attention to detail. Thanks to Scott Vollrath for his service as the Program Chair and all the excellent events he planned for our chapter. Thanks also to Paul Anderson, Education Chair; Karen Schafer, Webmaster; Rich Bean, New Designee Chair; and Charlie Stevens, our Chapter Governor. I have thoroughly enjoyed my service as Chapter President. We are lucky to have such a great group of insurance professionals so willing to provide active service on our board. I am very much looking forward to continuing my service under Terry Hackney’s 2015 Leadership! Vicki L. Rodi, CPCU

Vicki Rodi, CPCU

President – 2014- 2015



What is a Fire Mark? Insurance fire marks were used in the eighteenth and nineteenth century in the days before municipal fire services. Fire insurance marks were metal plaques marked with the emblem of an insurance company. They were hung on their insured’s buildings and guided the insurance companies’ fire brigades to buildings they insured. During the 2014 All Industry Day celebration, we conducted a raffle for an insurance fire mark. The fire mark was generously donated by Linda Gomez. The raffle raised $182 that was donated to the CPCU-Loman Education Foundation Internship Financial Aid Program. The foundation provides student scholarships to assist students in their pursuit of insurance internships. Thanks to all who participated in the raffle!

Kurt Fuller, CEO of Grand River Insurance Speaks at Annual I-Day

We enjoyed hearing the experiences of

Kurt Fuller, CPCU who was our keynote

speaker at the Greater Detroit CPCU I-Day

on November 5, 2014. His experience and

insight truly was a demonstration of his

leadership and commitment within the

insurance industry. While Kurt has been on the corporate

side of the insurance business in Michigan, he also shared

his passion and experiences on the entrepreneurial side;

hence the title of his presentation: “Starting an Insurance

Agency from Scratch”. Some of the highlights of Kurt’s talk

were: There are difficult choices to be made along with hard

work, commitment and passion when starting a business. From that, success is the goal and

it is appreciated and sometimes a surprise when it comes. Kurt also underscored the ups

and downs of starting your own business. He emphasized that success doesn’t happen

overnight or even in 12 months. Kurt has found it is absolutely necessary to surround

yourself with outstanding people, who are great at what they do, because no one person can

do everything. Lastly, he shared a pearl of wisdom with our CPCU chapter and that was the

importance of identifying what will motivate the younger insurance professionals to become

involved in the CPCU Society and then hone those interests to get their participation in our

great work. Great knowledge, Kurt and we thank you.

__

2015

Chapter Officers President:

Terry Hackney, CPCU Vice President:

Scott Vollrath, CPCU Secretary:

Larry Postl, CPCU Program Chair and

Immediate Past President: Vicki Rodi, CPCU Treasurer: Terri Miller, CPCU

2015

Committee Chairs Chapter Governor:

Charlie Stevens, CPCU, AIC Education Chair:

Paul Anderson, CPCU, ARM New Designee Chair:

Rich Bean, CPCU Newsletter and

Webmaster: Karen Schafer, CPCU, ARM



__ __

People on the Move

Aon Detroit is pleased

to announce that

Sandy Gulick has

been appointed as the

Brokering Leader for

their Commercial

Brokerage Practice.

Sandy’s energy, enthusiasm and proven

track record for driving results for clients

made her the perfect fit for this role. Her

industry knowledge, market foresight and

passion to grow Aon’s organization’s talent

will help her lead their office and clients in

to the future.

A graduate of Michigan State University,

Sandy has been with Aon for over twenty

years in a variety of roles. In addition to

her broking responsibilities, she has served

in leadership roles for Aon’s education

committee, as well as community service

outreach and recruiting needs.

Additionally, Sandy is a past president of

the Greater Detroit CPCU Society, and of

the Executive Women International.

Please join us in congratulating Sandy on

her new role.

Please send us your accomplishments so

we can post them in

our newsletter!

CPCU 540- Instructor needed We are seeking an instructor for CPCU

540, Finance and Accounting for Insurance

Professionals. If you are interested in

teaching, please contact our Education

Chair, Paul Anderson, by email or at 248-

233-5128.

Gleaners Charity Event

Our volunteer efforts were again put to good use, spending a morning last December at Gleaners in Detroit, stuffing envelopes and folding/stapling bags for the National Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger campaign. Through our efforts, 835 Stamp Out Hunger bags were managed! Look for yours to be delivered by your Letter Carrier late April/early May. Our support makes it possible for Gleaners

to distribute more than 45 million pounds of food to our hungry neighbors in

southeastern Michigan, including the 40% of our recipients who are children.



January Joint Meeting with RIMS A SUCCESS The Greater Detroit Chapter along with the RIMS organization hosted Attorney John Sier of Kitch Drutchas Wagner Valitutti & Sherbrook and John C. Hurley, Managing Director, Marsh USA to speak on Construction Defect Liability and Coverage Gaps on January 21, 2015 at Schoolcraft College VisTaTech Center. John Sier provided a detailed overview of CGL coverage, when it is triggered, exclusions, exceptions and differences in various jurisdictions. Attorney Sier made a complicated topic easier to understand with an underscoring of the inherent complexities. John Hurley further demonstrated the liabilities and coverage gaps through a role play which

showed various players in a common construction job scenario which fostered greater understanding of the coverage liabilities and gap pitfalls. An excellent presentation gentleman, and we appreciated this knowledge for our membership!

March Continuing Education Event

Ethics and Insurance Regulation – Producer Do’s and Don’ts

In need of Continuing Education Credits? We are glad to partner with the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services to deliver a 3 hour ethics course that will

meet the requirements for Michigan CE credits. Fee ($40 for members; $55 for non-members) includes CE Filing with the State, coffee in the morning, and lunch at the

conclusion.

DATE/TIME:

Wednesday, March 11, 2015 8:30 am Registration

9:00 – Noon Ethics and Insurance Regulation - Producer Do's and Don'ts 12:00pm Lunch (Included in Price)

REGISTER early as space is limited! RSVP Deadline: March 6

Save the Date! Volunteers are needed on June 11 to re-pack fresh nutritious food destined for the table of

those in need. Forgotten Harvest helps those in need by delivering 42 million pounds of fresh food annually.

Following our volunteer work we will reconvene for networking at Emagine Theatre in Royal

Oak. Registration details to follow.

John Hurley and John Sier



Meet our 2014 New Designees!

Jeff Barraco, CPCU works with Liberty Mutual in Farmington Hills, MI. He has been with Liberty since 1990. Jeff began a career in claims and later moved into the area of claims training. Currently, he works with the Underwriting/ Systems Training and Implementation Team where he helps coordinate the release of new rollouts for Underwriting, Risk Control and Premium Audit. Jeff also reviews procedures to fit with the new systems. In his free time, Jeff likes to spend it with family and likes college sports.

Sarah Grosnick, CPCU works for Amica Mutual Insurance Company as the Sales and Client Services Manager of the office. She has been with Amica for 8 years and worked in the Westborough, MA office, Seattle, WA office and Danbury, CT office before relocating to Ann Arbor, MI. Sarah is originally from Melbourne, FL and graduated from Florida State University in 2007. She is married and has two dogs. Sarah also enjoys running and just signed up to compete in the Ironman Steelhead 70.3 this August.

Marc Hassen, CPCU works for the Auto Club Group as a Claims Shared Services Director. His area supports the call centers and a number of support functions, such as quality auditing, fraud investigations, processing, reporting, and miscellaneous claims functions such as subrogation and theft claims. In addition to the CPCU designation, Marc holds an Associate in Claims as well as many certifications as Auditor and Fraud Examiner. Marc enjoys family and boating at Harsens Island.

David Kadish, CPCU started his career as a Michigan licensed property and casualty agent in 1987 and then became licensed as a life and health agent soon after. In 1991 he and his brother started Associated Risk Management (ARM) which provides commercial insurance, sales, service and risk management consulting, to mostly higher education institutions. As of 1996, they started Kadish Financial Group (KFG) which specializes in non-profits and selling various lines of insurance. His interests include music, sports and spending time with his family.

Susan Schaefer, CPCU is currently employed by the Accident Fund Insurance Company of America as a Sr. Business Development Consultant. She has held previous positions in marketing, underwriting, program development and market research with other national and regional carriers. Susan received her bachelor’s degree from the College of Business, Michigan State University and also holds the CIC designation. Sarah is married and has 2 daughters. She enjoys travel, reading, the outdoors, skiing and boating.



All Industry Day – November 2014

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