Rochester Community Holiday Support

From Dave Barnes, RVP in the Haylor, Freyer & Coon Rochester, NY branch office....

As I did last year, I will be volunteering at Monroe Community Hospital on Saturday to help with their annual Christmas party for the residents. Monroe Community Hospital is a county-owned health care facility providing long term care to individuals with chronic and complex health conditions. They have residents there ranging in age from 4 months to over 100 years old. One of the local radio personalities, along with the owner of Pace Windows and Doors, one of our customers, have been putting on a holiday show for them for a number of years now and last year I was asked to join them. It was a very rewarding experience and this year my wife and children will all be joining me. We help bring the residents down to the show and we walk around and hand out gifts that are all donated for this event. The picture is of the generous donations brought in by the staff in the HF&C Rochester Branch. We also received some donations from one of the businesses across the hall. The residents of the hospital will be very appreciative of everyone's generosity.

Binghamton Office Christmas Giving

Here is a picture of the Christmas gifts Haylor, Freyer & Coon agency employees donated, along with gift cards totaling $85.00 for a single mother and her infant daughter from Mom's House here in Johnson City-Binghamton area. Mom's House "provides safe, secure, and totally free child-care to low-income single parents wishing to continue their education." Requirements include full-time student status, community service and fund-raising. Many of these single parents are also employed and very motivated to provide a better future for themselves and their children. We were under a time constraint and had to put this together in less than a week. The results were outstanding! The spirit of giving is alive and well in the Binghamton-Johnson City Branch!

Oswego Dancing with the Stars!

Tammy Kostoroski, a Customer Service Representative in our Oswego Office, and her husband Keith will be representing Haylor, Freyer & Coon in the 4th Annual Dancing with the Stars in Oswego, NY. The Event is hosted by the Oswego Habitat for Humanity and will be held on February 5th & 6th of 2010. This year the organization is hoping to raise $75,000, which will be used to build another house in the local area. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 315-751-4663. Good Luck Tammy & Keith!!!

HF&C is Strongly Committed to Continuing Education for our Support Team Members!

As a Member of the Professional Insurance Agents of New York State Inc. we are commitmented to continuing education, professional development and superior customer service by support our Staff members as they earn their CIC and CISR designations.

“CIC and CISR are recognized throughout the industry and signify the professional achievement and extensive expertise needed to succeed in an ever-changing, demanding profession,” said Diane Fowler, executive director of PIANY. “Member interest in obtaining these designations is testament to the dedication of our membership to providing the best service possible to their clients.” Both designations, established by the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research, are recognized nationwide as important credentials that show significant professional expertise and personal dedication.

The following HF&C Team Members were conferred with the CIC or CISR designation:

Newly conferred PIANY Certified Insurance Counselors
Marie Noble, CIC, CPCU, Haylor Freyer & Coon Inc., Syracuse, N.Y.
Laurie Pelkey, CIC, Haylor, Freyer & Coon Inc., Syracuse, N.Y.

Newly conferred PIANY Certified Insurance Service Representatives
Cynthia Baker, CISR, Haylor, Freyer & Coon Inc., Syracuse, N.Y.
Catherine Houde, CISR, Haylor, Freyer & Coon Inc., Syracuse, N.Y.
Margaret Kimball, CISR, Haylor, Freyer & Coon Inc., Syracuse, N.Y.
Linda Provo, CISR, Haylor, Freyer & Coon Inc., Syracuse, N.Y.
Sharon Reed, CISR, Haylor, Freyer & Coon Inc., Syracuse, N.Y.
Michele Robinson, CISR, Haylor, Freyer & Coon Inc., Ithaca, N.Y.
Diane Stahl, CISR, Haylor, Freyer & Coon Inc., Binghamton, N.Y.

Two New Members of our Sales Force!

HF&C is excited to announce the addition of two new Sales Producers to our Commercial Lines staff. Both of these individuals have had successful insurance careers and are highly respected within the industry. They joined Haylor, Freyer & Coon on November 9th.

Sheila Gilroy joined our Syracuse General Unit. Her background includes the production and brokering of Public School Student Accident and Collegiate Student Health insurance. Sheila’s experience and expertise will blend well with H.F.&C.’s current Collegiate and Public School business sectors.

Jim Schaefer is joining our Utica office team. He has spent the majority of his insurance career as a Sales Producer for Liberty Mutual. Jim’s background and focus included manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and social services. In addition to focusing on middle market business, we anticipate he will be working closely with H. F. & C.’s Large Account unit.

Consumers Cite Agents as Most Credible Insurance Resource

by Katie Butler, IA magazine editor & chief

Despite the fact that the media is filled with members of Congress, President Barack Obama and pundits talking about insurance every day, consumers are more likely to trust what they hear from their local insurance agent. More than 64 percent of respondents in a recent study said they trusted their insurance agent for credible information about insurance industry issues – the highest ranking in the survey.

The study, recently conducted by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, looked at the attitudes of registered voters and opinion elite (30+, college degree, household income of more than $50,000 and significant consumers of news) on the financial crisis and insurance-related topics.

Agents topped the field of sources that consumers trust most for insurance information, followed by insurance companies (61 percent), local newspapers (52 percent) and President Barack Obama (51 percent). Members of Congress and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner ranked at the bottom of the list at 39 percent and 37 percent respectively.

Although the survey found property-casualty companies are less likely than others to receive blame for the financial crisis, significant numbers do believe home/auto and commercial carriers played a major role. For example, 87 percent of national survey participants thought mortgage lending companies played a "major role" in the crisis, while 46 percent thought commercial insurance companies played a major role. Interestingly, respondents said home and auto carriers, at 29 percent, ranked below consumers themselves (38 percent) as a source of blame.

Many focus group respondents lumped banks, mortgage lenders, insurance companies and other bad actors (such as Bernie Madoff) together in their views on the economic crisis.
To prevent a future economic crisis, 61 percent said "determining which sectors of the marketplace caused the financial crisis and fixing the gaps in federal oversight" was the solution, rather than imposing comprehensive regulation on the entire sector. Study participants stressed the importance of enforcing regulations already in place. While the focus groups were largely unaware of how p-c companies were regulated, 57 percent thought p-c companies should be regulated at the state level.

The preceding article appeared originally in the Nov. 5, 2009 issue of IIABA’s Insurance News & Views.

Rochester Office

In October of 2009, Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc. was listed in the Rochester Business Journal as the 12th oldest business in the Rochester area. Haylor purchased The Monroe Group in December 2005, whose ties go back to 1849 and the Gilbert t. Amsden Agency. Just more proof that Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc. is committed to being around for the long haul.

Binghamton Office Recognized by Chamber

On October 19, 2009, Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc. was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce as the Business of the week. President C. Bruce Wichmann gladly accepted the honor along with the staff of our Binghamton Office.

Newly Vested Employees!

As we recently closed another successful fiscal year, we also have added twelve individuals that have become fully vested! The ESOP Committee and Board of Directors would like to recognize and congratulate these twelve people who were recenly awarded their fleece vests at our first annual Employee Owners Meeting. Just in time for the Chilly Fall Weather!

Mae Carter - Contact CSR, Syracuse Personal Lines
Mark Crisafulli - Producer, Transportation
Candi Davis - Contact CSR, Utica Personal Lines
Lori Forsythe - Assistant Underwriter/Broker Program Coordinator, Manufactured Housing
Kris Hartnett - Human Resources Assistant
Angela Hughes - Corporate Controller
Lisa Losito - Producer, Syracuse Personal Lines
Rick Robson - Quality Control Auditor and Personal Lines Trainer
Tina Ruggiero - Producer, Transportation
Tony Spina - Claims Consultant
Barb Suydam - Senior Account Manager in Morrisville Commercial Lines
Scott Wichmann - Producer, DFA

Let The Buyer Beware

The Internet is proving itself to be an explosive and revolutionary player in the Age Of Information. Many different types of business are taking advantage of this medium, with its connection to savvy, technologically astute consumers, as a way to promote insurance products. As we all peer over our glasses at the 21st century, it bears repeating - "Let the buyer beware."

What Is The Danger?
Actually, perhaps no more than any business transacted via any other medium such as in person, via phone, catalog, wholesale club, etc. BUT, the need for being a careful consumer is critical to whatever medium is being used. The other problem is that seeing information published gives the information a higher level of credibility than it may be due; this Includes the information you're currently reading. Our advice is to be certain of the information you get before acting on that information. Although it's true that ten sources of information can give you ten different answers, it's preferable to seek and sort out different grains of truth than to have blind faith in a single source.

Why Is There Danger?
There are numerous reasons. The internet holds many wonders, but it also provides many opportunities for acquiring information that may be useless and even harmful. Any prudent individual should remember the following:

1. It is often impossible to verify who has posted the information and whether the source has any expertise in the subject matter.
2. Material that appears on the net may be presented as facts when they're actually opinions.
3. The information may be accurate for one purpose or set of circumstances, but it doesn't tell you how the information applies to other situations; at the very least, it should contain some kind of disclaimer.
4. No credible party may have taken responsibility for keeping the information accurate and current.
5. The person or organization that posted the information may possibly have a criminal intent often internet publishers forget that the medium is global and they may be using information that is for a specific group or geographic location.

So Is This Information Any Good?
That depends upon what you do next. When seeking information to meet your insurance needs it's important to discuss your concerns with a knowledgeable source. A professional insurance agent is a good source for getting the answers you need to fit your unique coverage situation.

Team Haylor Supports Community - Again!

The 2009 Corporate Challenge was held on Tuesday, June 23rd, and once again Syracuse HF&C employees laced up their sneakers, donned their "Team Haylor" shirts and were well represented at this year's event. We had 20 employees compete against over 6000 people in this year's race. Some ran, some walked and some just stayed behind to enjoy the food & drinks.

In the end, there might have been a few who realized they are just getting too old for this!

The weather actually cooperated this year and we enjoyed temps in the 70's . We all crossed the finish line at one time or another. The first man to finish the race from our group was Rich MacDonald and the first woman was Kim Buck - way to go & congratulations to both of them!!! The other Haylor participants were: Patti Brush, Mae Carter, Holly Curtis, Kristine French, Kathy Graham, Angela Hughes, Penny Kent, Maggie Kimball, Megan Motter, Tina Raschella, Karen Shutts, Lisa Streeter, Diane Viviano, Brett Findlay, Jim Freyer, Tom Freyer, Matt Patulski and Anthony Spina.

We enjoyed a before and after race celebration at "My Girls" restaurant and a big thank you to everyone who helped organize the event. All proceeds from this years race will benefit the "Hillside Work Scholarship Connection" - helping Syracuse children become better students through job training & community engagement. The donations will help "launch a youth workforce development & green jobs initiative".

Introducing our Group Benefits Department!!!

HF&C initially started the group employee benefits department with the James Howard Wayne Association back in the early 1980's, as a way to offer small business owners and their employees access to benefit packages similar to large corporations.

With the ever-changing marketplace, HF&C has adapted our group department to focus on all sizes of businesses by offering a range of products such as Group Medical, Dental, Life. In addition or group planes, we also offer individual life insurance products, long term care and disability plans.

The current staffing consists of 4 benefits producers (Dennis Cleary, Joe Sheen, Jeff Biesiada and Becky Perkins) along with Mike Grinnell, VP, leading the department. Sueann Mikitiuk handles our large group account management needs and Donna Neal handles the large group customer service needs. Kirsten Tudman was just brought on to manage the "small group" business block and both Kathy Gardner and Angela Stoutenger handle all of our small business customer service needs.

The Group Benefits department handles roughly 800 area employers, in all different types of industries. Most of our clients are in the CNY area, however, in the last few years we have been "branching out" to other states as we have established relationships with various national associations.

With the quickly changing market place and the burdens that new federal and state legislation are placing on employers that offer employee benefits, we're seeing more opportunities than ever before to help business owners navigate the difficult terrain and find ways to provide cost effective employee benefits to their employees.