The Insurance Alliance announced the winners of their annual Carrier of the Year awards at Connections 2009.

The 2009 Personal Lines Carrier of the Year went to Donegal Insurance. Donegal was ranked first in the categories of Best Overall Personal Lines Carrier, Underwriting Responsiveness, Competitiveness, Ease of Doing Business, Quality Products, Automation Capabilities and Billing and Customer Service. Three-year growth, favorable loss ratio and hard work in addressing the needs of personal lines customers all were cited as factors in the voting. The award was presented by Alliance Board Chairman Don Wert, and accepted by Rick Kelley, Senior VP, Sales and Business Development for Donegal.

The Cincinnati Insurance Companies earned the 2009 Commercial Lines Carrier of the Year award by placing first in the categories of Best Overall Commercial Lines Carrier, Underwriting Expertise, Responsiveness, Competitiveness, Ease of Doing Business, and Quality Products. Premium and new business growth over the past three years were also cited, along with risk management expertise and professionalism. The award was accepted by Bill Clevidence, Assistant Vice President for Sales and Marketing.

See all the photos of Connections 2009 on our Flickr page.

At The Alliance’s Connections event in early November, the winners of the 2009 Accellerations sales contest were announced and prizes awarded. Daryl Frantz, Pennsylvania Territory Manager for Selective Insurance (right) and Greg Harrington, Branch Manager for Ohio Casualty, the two Platinum sponsors of Accellerations, helped present the awards.

Brian Buskirk of Zinn Insurance took home the Next Generation Producer of the Year award.

Commercial Lines Producer of the Year honors were awarded to Ryan Amey of Sterner Insurance.

New to Accellerations this year was a drawing for the $4,000 grand prize. Each of the producers who earned the monthly top producer award were entered in the contest, and Ryan, as the top overall producer, earned three chances. When the drawing was complete and the smoke cleared, John Eltringham of Hampson Mowrer Kreitz was left holding the check.

The Alliance Personal Lines Agency of the Year award for 2009 was shared by co-winners Hutchison Insurance and Miers Insurance.

American Insurance Administrators took home The Alliance Commercial Lines Agency of the Year designation for 2009.

See all the photos of Connections 2009 on our Flickr page.

The Insurance Alliance held Connections 2009 at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey recently, featuring several activities and opportunities for interaction throughout the event.

The day opened with an audience participation led by Alliance President and CEO Jane Koppenheffer. Each table, after a period of discussion, had the opportunity to vote on questions about the insurance industry, the economy and The Alliance, with results displayed for all to see.

An Exhibit Hall session followed, where carrier attendees staffed their company booths, and Alliance staff could interact in an informal atmosphere to discus business, products, programs and more.

Lunch featured Rick Russell, the President and CEO of Insurance Agents and Brokers, and the event wrapped up with the presentation of awards to the winners of Accellerations, The Alliance’s sales contest, including Personal and Commercial Lines Producer of the Year, as well as the annual Connections awards and Personal and Commercial Carrier of the Year Awards.

See all the photos of Connections 2009 on our Flickr page.

On August 10, Jim Pace of Christian-Baker Company was a guest expert on the Radio Smart Talk program on WITF-FM (89.5 FM).

Along with Carolyn Morris, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Services of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, Jim fielded questions from host Craig Cohen as well as live listener calls about auto insurance, annuities, the Assigned Risk program, flood, health, insurance company interactions and more.

The recorded program is available for online listening at the WITF web site.

In recognition of the HPA agency status that The Insurance Alliance has earned with CNA, Michael Smith (CNA Field Operations East Vice President) and Kim Stith (Field Sales Specialist) recently presented a check to Jane Koppenheffer (President of The Insurance Alliance) and Steve Bregman (Vice President of Sales/Strategic Initiatives at The Securus Group, Inc.) to support an innovative telemarketing initiative.

The Securus Group has announced that Lisa A. Goeke, API, CPIA has joined SECURUS as Personal Lines Relationship Coordinator in the Personal Insurance Division.

A graduate of Ephrata High School, Ephrata, PA, Lisa began her insurance career in early 1996 and brings her vast experience in the areas of underwriting, commercial insurance and claims along with extensive knowledge in personal lines. She will work directly with the clients as she manages those relationships in service and administration. Lisa holds the professional designations of API (Associate in Personal Insurance) and CPIA (Certified Professional Insurance Associate).

A resident of Lititz, Lisa held positions in personal lines underwriting, commercial lines and claims for companies including Westfield Insurance Group, Lititz Mutual and Engle-Hambright & Davies, all located in Lancaster County, PA.

Bob O’Hara of Christian-Baker was profiled in a June 19th article on pennlive.com.

What prompted the attention? Bob is 88 years old and still going strong, both in insurance and in a variety of community and personal activities.

Travelers recently sponsored a seminar for Alliance producers focused on pursuing large accounts.

“Whale Hunting: Land Big Sales and Transform Your Business” is part of the Whale Hunters series, and was presented by Emil LaCivita. The session included lecture materials as well as workshop-style exercises, often involving real agency accounts.

Topics covered during the day-long seminar included The Whale Hunters Process, Wealth Management, Target Filters, The Buyer’s Table, Whale Fears, Two Card Questions, Progressive Discovery/Disclosure and more.

The seminar was conducted as part of The Alliance’s 2009 Accellerations Sales Contest initiative.

The Securus Group is pleased to announce that Ruth M. Tetlow, CISR, CPIW, has been named as “Citizen of the Year” and also received the “Insurance Professional of the Year” honor awarded by the IPLC – Insurance Professionals of Lancaster County.

The IPLC, which meets May through September, was founded in 1974 and offers opportunities for education, community involvement, and networking. An internal survey is used to determine the recipient considering their level of community involvement along with all professional achievements. Ms. Tetlow serves on the Board of the Clay Manor Homeowners Association and has served on the Lititz Youth Soccer Board.

A member of the IPLC since 1994, Ruth has also been the recipient of the Educational Achievement of the Year award presented to the person in the organization who has pursued advanced levels of education in the insurance industry. She is Secretary to the Board.

Ruth joined Securus in 2006 as the Relationship Coordinator in the Personal Insurance department where she manages client relationships in service and administration.

On May 4, The Insurance Alliance held a sales training seminar as part of the annual Accellerations Sales Contest at the Central Pennsylvania Business College.

Alliance production staff and Board members met with representatives of participating carriers Cincinnati, Eastern Alliance, Ohio Casualty and Penn National in dedicated 50-minute sessions.

At the lunch session, Matt Maurer of American Insurance Administrators received the March prize for highest monthly new business, joining January winner Tim Goldsmith of Hampson Mower Kreitz and February winner Ryan Amey of Sterner Insurance. More photos of the event are available on our Flickr site.

Accellerations 2009 runs through September, with the winners set to be announced at the annual Alliance event, Connections, in October.