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ROCKFORD MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY

www.rockfordmutual.com

THE COURIER

December, 2010

During the Holiday Season more than ever, our thoughts turn gratefully

to those who have made our progress possible. And in this spirit we

say, simply but sincerely - thank you and best wishes for the holiday

season and a happy new year.

President/CEO

Rockford Mutual Holiday Schedule Friday, December 24, 2010 Christmas Eve Closed Friday, December 31, 2010 New Years Eve Closed

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From the Marketing Department-

Rick, Shane, Doug, DJ, Randy & Diana

MERRY CHRISTMAS &

HAPPY NEW YEAR

from

Rockford Insurance Agency

Nicole Hamilton & Susan Leoni

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Important Commercial Reminders

Even during this very challenging insurance marketplace, our agency force has again outperformed the in-dustry and helped Rockford Mutual Insurance to grow. As we focus on the need to grow our business “profitably,” now is a good time to re-enforce two key “front line” underwriting principles: · Vacant Buildings – Vacant buildings are becoming more and more common in our society. Not only do un-occupied properties lead to higher risk of theft and vandalism, they are also more prone to frozen pipe/water damage losses in the winter. It’s important to remember that in order to qualify for coverage in any of our commercial programs, occupancy for apartment or condominium buildings must be 50% or better at mini-mum. This information should be asked to all prospective insureds on new business submissions as a part of the underwriting process. If the occupancy rate is less than 50%, coverage should not be bound and any ex-ceptions will require approval from your underwriter. For all accounts with coverage already in force, you should notify us as soon as you become aware of properties that do not meet this guideline. Your commer-cial underwriter will work with you to determine appropriate action. · General Contractors – Our appetite for contracting operations have been closely aligned with the classes of business that fit into our CONPAC program. This program offers a diversity of business operations that allow you to insure small artisan contractors with Rockford Mutual Insurance Company. It is important to re-member that General Contracting operations do not fit within any of our programs. When conducting front-line underwriting on these operations, pay close attention to the amount of business that the applicant is sub-contracting out to other entities. If the total amount of their receipts exceeds 25% from work that is subcon-tracted to others, they are considered a “General Contractor” and do not qualify for coverage. We have en-hanced our automated system to make this question more visible and have added a separate question to our self-audit forms to clarify insured’s operations. It is through your support that we will mutually create a long-term, profitable book of business. It’s as im-portant that you protect your own agency’s loss ratio as well as the results for Rockford Mutual Insurance Company. We appreciate your commitment to RMIC and are happy to answer any questions that you may have. Contributed by: Joe Flynn, CPCU, AU, CRM

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What does a WORKER’S COMPENSTION Policy have to

do with the CHICAGO BULLS?

Rockford Mutual Insurance Company is giving you an opportunity to join us for an evening of fun

in a 40 person private suite at a Chicago Bull’s game.

How can you qualify? For every 5 Worker’s Compensation policies effective during the period of

November 1st, 2010 to January 31st, 2011, (these policies must meet our guidelines and be accompa-

nied by a new or existing package policy) your agency will have their name entered into a drawing

for one individual in your office to attend the Chicago Bulls game with us on Friday March 11th,

2011.

We will draw the lucky winners from all qualifying Agencies. We will then verify that an individual

from that agency can attend. If any winning agency cannot attend, we will draw the next qualifier

and so on until we have all individual attendees.

Once there, you will enjoy a catered evening with food and drink while you cheer on the Chicago

Bulls. So let us get fired up to write some business and help us kick-off our Worker’s Compensation

program. Our Marketing and Underwriting staff is ready to help you with any of your needs.

MALCOLM ROWLAND RECEIVES CPCU DESIGNATION Malcolm Rowland, CPCU and VP of Reinsurance, has been awarded the professional insurance designation Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) by the American Institute for CPCU. The Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) Society is an international community of credentialed property and casualty insurance professionals who promote excellence through ethical behavior and continuing education. This designation is conferred upon persons who com-plete rigorous courses and national examinations and meet the ethical and experience require-ments of the Society. Courses completed included the topics of: Insurance Operations; Risk Management; Business Law; Finance; Accounting; Workers Compensation; Liability; Bodily Injury; and Commercial Property and Liability Risk Management. This designation is added to his previous educational accomplishments of: a BS in Business (and minor in Construction Engineering) from Iowa State University; and the Associate in Claims De-gree from the Insurance Institute of America. We congratulate Malcolm on attaining this prestigious designation.

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You heard it correctly, Rockford Mutual Insurance Company is now writing Workers Compensation coverage in

Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Missouri is available as of 1/1/11.

As we announced in early October, RMIC has released our Workers Com-

pensation program and are underwriting new accounts that fit our appetite and meet our underwriting guidelines.

Visit our website and look for the Workers Compensation section under the “Commercial Lines” heading. Here you will find:

· Our Appetite Guide · Agency Manual Pages

· Tutorial for on-line entry of a submission

We’ve written several policies already….we are well on our way and appreciate your business!

Want to learn more….?

Please join us for a webinar on Thursday, January 6th at 10:00 am. We will

review underwriting guidelines; commission level; submission requirements and walk through on-line entry of a workers compensation account. Webinar login in-formation will follow shortly.

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Acord Applications – The Right Forms for the Right Risks…

“Ease of Doing Business” has been the well focused mantra of insurance industry for several years. These efforts have created much efficiency for both insurance agencies as well as insurance compa-nies. Long gone are the days when there was a separate commercial application for every carrier in your office. In many instances, completing a hard copy application is greatly reduced due to automa-tion efforts. Simply completing an on-line submission creates a hard copy application that you can print and have signed by the insured. However; there are situations that require completion of a hard-copy application and the Acord forms fulfill those needs. This is most common for Commercial Package policies, or mono-line Property or General Liability accounts. Rockford Mutual Insurance Company offers a wide variety of Acord forms on our website, many of which have “fillable” capabilities.

The screen shot above lists just a sampling of the Acord applications we have available for down-load. Visit our website for full details. Be sure to use the Acord application that best fits your coverage need. For instance, if you have Crime coverage to go along with the Property and Liability, complete and attach the Crime applica-tion with your submission. This helps to reduce ambiguities and affirm that the coverage you need/want will be underwritten. Efficiency and accuracy helps to solidify the service that we all strive to provide for our customers.

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AT RMIC, WE ARE HAVING BABIES. . . .

Alexander James Mayzer Born 9/23/2010

8 lbs. 14 oz. 21.5” Son of Jim Mayzer,

Director of Research & Development

Scarlett Rose Sessions Born 10/07/2010 6 lbs. 15 oz. 20”

Daughter of Adrianne Sessions, Senior Claims Representative

Rylie Jade Kauffman Born 12/04/2010 6 lbs. 13 oz. 19”

Daughter of Christy Kauffman Recovery Specialist

Elyjah James Derr Born 12/17/2010 7 lbs. 8 oz. 20”

Grandson of Diane Derr Senior PL Underwriter

“Babies are God’s way of saying the world must go on.”

Doris Smith

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EMPLOYEE ANNIVERSARIES………...

Bill Kliethermes, President & CEO of RMIC, celebrated his 20th anniversary on December 1, 2010. Bill and his wife Catherine, have three children, Craig Kliethermes, Darla Hull, and Marla Witthar. They have 8 grandchildren—Kyle Kliethermes, 13, Connor Kliethermes, 11, London & Kaitlyn Witthar, 7, Ashlyn Witthar, 6, Creed Hull, 6, Kate Hull, 5, and Tru Hull, 2. Bill graduated from college with a degree in business management and has taken courses toward a Master’s Degree. Before coming to RMIC, Bill was employed by the Division of Insurance, State of Missouri from 1965-1973 and American National Property & Casualty from 1973-1990. In his spare time, Bill likes to fish, play golf, and spend time with his family.

Congratulations, Bill!

Bill Kliethermes

Bill Kliethermes, Roger Kaage, Jeannie Hill, Barbara Warner, Ken Chase

Jeannie Hill, Senior Claims Representative, celebrated her 15th anniversary with RMIC on December 4, 2010. Jeannie attended Stillman Valley High School and Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL. Jeannie and her husband, Tom, have three sons, Zakk, 16, Nicholas, 11, and Jake, 9. In her time away from RMIC, Jeannie likes to shop, read, and spend time with family and friends.

Happy Anniversary, Jeannie!

From Underwriting Services Linda, Brandi, Christine, Bonnie, Allen, Dannette

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Holiday Greetings Suzanne Ulbrich, Receptionist

JOYOUS NOEL FROM

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

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EMPLOYEE NEWS . . . . .

Bill Kliethermes, Fred, Schneiderman, Angie Mader,

Joe Flynn, Rick Terrones

Angie Mader, Underwriter II, recently passed AFIS part 3: Agribusiness Specialized Risks and Insur-ance exam for Agribusiness and Farm insurance Specialist Designation. We commend Angie for her commitment to professionalism. The AFIS designation is North America’s premier Agribusiness and Farm Insurance designation pro-gram and was developed for insurance brokers/agents, CSR’s, and company underwriters so they can be recognized for their knowledge of special-ized farm and agribusiness risks. Angie also celebrated her 10th anniversary at RMIC on October 17, 2010. Nicely done, Angie!

Dyan Lofgren, Lead Commercial Lines Underwriter, recently passed Part 1: Farm Property and Liability exam for Agribusiness and Farm Insurance Specialist (AFIS) Designation. We thank Dyan for her commitment to pro-fessionalism. The AFIS designation is North America’s premier Agribusiness and Farm Insurance designation program and was developed for insurance brokers/agents, CSR’s, and company underwriters so they can be recognized for their knowledge of specialized farm and agribusiness risks. Good job, Dyan.

In the United States and Canada his name is Santa Claus

He flies through the sky in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer.

In England his name is Father Christmas.

He looks much like Santa Claus, but he has a longer coat and a longer beard.

In Wales , Santa is called Sion Corn, which translates as “Chimney John” relating to the story that

Santa comes down the chimney of each house to bring gifts to the children within.

France and Canada, he’s known as Pere Noel.

In Brazil and Peru, he’s called Papai Noel.

In Germany, children get presents from Christkind.

In Costa Rica, Columbia, and parts of Mexico, the gift bringer is El Nino Jesus, “the infant Jesus.”

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Jim, Marci & Luke

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Gary KasaKaitas, Emmett Wessel, Dan Yesbeck, Varun Malhotra Jim Sadler, Stefanie Vantreese, Rick Cobb, Kelly Kennedy

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