The global economy may be going to “hell in handbasket” (what a great old-lady phrase, as my teenage daughter would say), but for us ordinary folks, life goes on. We still have to pay bills, do our jobs, satisfy our clients and keep our businesses running as profitably as we can.

That lesson hit home last week at the annual PIIAI meeting for Illinois agents in Springfield. It was a beautiful fall day, so I made the three-hour drive to check out the scenery.

Although national politics was on display–a panel moderated by Bob Rusbuldt featured media savants Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson posturing about the upcoming presidential election–it was the “smaller” issues that dominated the day.

Like every other entrepreneurial business today, Illinois agents are focused on survival. Their numbers are steadily shrinking through M&As and simple attrition. When they can take time away from regular business to attend an event like this, they want to get something out of it that they can bring back to their offices and put into immediate use. So although the undercurrent of national politics, the AIG fiasco and the big federal bailout was there, breakout sessions focused on workaday stuff: med mal insurance, how to hire good people, service fees and premium fund trust accounts (we cover a couple of these on our Web site — check it out at http://www.agentandbroker.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=Articles&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=3&Tier4=Web+Exclusive).

However, several issues of national scope are on the radar. PIIAI government relation guy Phil Lackman ticked off the most onerous. Topping the list is controversy surrounding certificates of insurance — a big national concern and a major problem within the producer community.

According to Phil, problems arising from misuse involving the issuance of certificates of insurance — such as client requests to add or change coverage on the certificate — accounted for the largest portion of E&O claims for Illinois agents: 7 percent last year, and as high as 12 percent in other years. Our own beloved Chris Amrhein has written extensively about the problem of relying on certificates of insurance instead of examining the actual policy language. And there’s lots of information on Big I’s educational site at http://www.iiaba.net/eprise/main/VU/NonMember/Certificates.htm

Although some states have passed legislation addressing the issue, most have not been successful, Lackman said. In Illinois, PIIAI got the DOI involved in clarifying that certificates of insurance are evidence of coverage, not coverage itself — and that policyholders can’t add coverage or endorsements through certificates.

I’d be interested in hearing if any of you have run into any “certified lunacy” horror stories involving your clients and certificates of insurance. Feel free to share here!

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