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Helping you help your
customers
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Karl Newman, NW
Insurance Council president, prepares to
interview for an insurance story. A
proactive approach to media relations is a key
to educating citizens and building strong
relations with the
media. |
Road trip: NW Insurance Council
takes its
story to the media during regional
tour
An
effective media relations strategy requires more
than news releases, pitch calls and community
events. In many cases, it requires
personal visits with the media to develop strong
relationships that lead to calls and balanced
stories down the road.
Each summer, NW Insurance Council
takes this approach on the road, sending key
staff members across the Northwest to meet with
reporters, editors and news directors and
highlight issues affecting citizens.
This past July, NW Insurance Council’s message
focused on disaster preparedness for homeowners
and business owners.
From big city TV stations like KOMO
in greater Seattle (pop. 3.4 million) to
small-town newspapers like the Nugget Newspaper
in Sisters, Ore. (pop. 1,745), NW Insurance
Council representatives traveled more than 4,600
miles and visited 155 media outlets in 74
cities, promoting the Council as the “go-to”
insurance information resource for the
media.
“The
media tour is our marquee event of the year,”
said Darrin Sanger, NW Insurance Council
communications director.
Read More |
A volunteer
etches a VIN number on the window of
an SUV during the Portland Auto Theft Alert
event. |
Auto Theft Alert 2008 attracts
Portland drivers and media
Portland-area vehicles are now a bit
safer from theft after NW Insurance Council and
other agencies armed hundreds of citizens with
steering wheel locks, VIN-etched windows and
invaluable theft-prevention tips during Auto
Theft Alert 2008 at the Clackamas Town Center,
outside of Portland, Sept. 6.
NW
Insurance Council spearheaded this campaign as a
way to raise the organization’s profile with the
media and increase awareness of this costly
crime among citizens. According to recent
National Insurance Crime Bureau statistics, 38
vehicles are stolen every day across
Oregon. That’s 13,870 per
year.
More than 100 people attended the
event. Volunteers from member companies
etched VIN numbers on more than 100 vehicles
during a four-hour
period. VIN-etching is a proven
theft-recovery technique endorsed by law
enforcement. Each driver also received a
free steering-wheel lock.
"Auto Theft
Alert brought likeminded organizations together
for a universal cause,” said Casey Klaviter, NW
Insurance Council regional director. “The
group successfully helped reduce auto theft in
the area and the media coverage informed
thousands of people about how to protect
their vehicles from being
stolen."
Allstate’s Auto
Dismantling Team was on hand and disassembled a
vehicle in less than 10 minutes to demonstrate
how quickly chop shops can dismantle vehicles
after they’re stolen. Many of these
vehicles are stripped and shipped overseas or
their parts are resold on the open market.
Read
More |
Bryan
Stanwood, vice president of underwriting with
Enumclaw Insurance Group, brings a vision of
opportunity to the helm of the Education &
Issues
Committee. | New chair
Stanwood aims to take Education & Issues
Committe 'to the next level'
Bryan Stanwood, vice
president of underwriting at Enumclaw Insurance
Group (EIG), is the new chair of NW Insurance
Council’s Education & Issues Committee, and
is bringing a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to
the program.
“I
have a vision of getting as much information
into consumers’ hands as possible. If we can
educate agents and customers more, the image of
the insurance industry can change over time,”
Stanwood said. “We have a great story to tell,
and it often gets lost in the latest headline. I
think as the Chair, I can help focus on things
that can be done to shine a positive light on
the industry.”
The mission of the Education &
Issues Committee is to make positive impacts on
the industry’s reputation by making insurance
topics accessible and relevant to insurance
consumers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
NW Insurance Council is counting on Stanwood’s
leadership and management experience to support
that mission.
“We’re very pleased that Bryan has
agreed to serve as chair of the Education &
Issues Committee,” said Karl Newman, NW
Insurance Council president. “His leadership
skills will help us take our E&I initiatives
to the next level.” Read
More |
With a new
Arson Awards Fund in Idaho, NW Insurance Council
is truly putting the heat on arson across the
region with $20,000 in citizen-based award
funds. |
Idaho $5,000 Arson Awards Fund
set to launch
Arson
investigators in Idaho will soon have a new
weapon in their fight against arson, thanks to
the NW Insurance Council, Idaho State Fire
Marshal’s Office and the Department of
Insurance.
The council will
unveil a $5,000 Arson Awards Fund during the
2008 Idaho Wildfire Conference, Oct. 7-8, in
Boise. Thousands of firefighters,
investigators and fire officials have received a
promotional letter encouraging them to take
advantage of the program. NW Insurance
Council will publicly announce the awards fund
through a news release during the
conference.
“This is a great
opportunity,” said Casey Klaviter, NW Insurance
Council regional director. “Like many
states, Idaho has its share of arson
fires. Unfortunately, many go
unsolved. This arson awards fund will play
an important role in helping local authorities
put more arsonists behind
bars.”
The Fire Marshal’s Office will administer
the program, including distribution of arson
signs and managing the Arson Hotline
(877-75-ARSON) and award nominations.
Read
More |
NW Insurance
Council is working with Idaho's Department of
Insurance to promote the council's $5,000 Fraud
Awards Fund to put insurance criminals behind
bars. | NW
Insurance Council co-sponsors Idaho Fraud
Awarness Week, launches $5,000 Awards
Fund
NW Insurance Council, in
partnership with the Idaho Department of
Insurance, expanded the reach of its regional
$5,000 Insurance Fraud Awards Fund earlier this
month during the state’s first Fraud Awareness
Week campaign, held Aug.
18-22.
The
Idaho DOI invited NW Insurance Council to be a
key sponsor of the campaign that focused on
educating citizens about how to protect
themselves from various forms of
fraud. The campaign was a perfect
opportunity for NW Insurance Council to roll out
its awards fund in Idaho.
“Because fraud is a difficult crime
to fight, it’s crucial that we actively engage
law enforcement and offer tools they can use to
investigate insurance fraud,” said Casey
Klaviter, NW Insurance Council regional
director.
Fraud
Awareness Week featured an information booth at
the state fair, town-hall seminars, media
stories and a signed proclamation by Gov. C.L.
“Butch” Otter.
More than 4,300 people visited the
booth and attended various seminars throughout
the week. NW Insurance Council contributed
$1,000 toward marketing efforts and helped
manage the campaign’s media relations efforts,
including a news release on the economic impacts
of insurance fraud.
Prior to Fraud Awareness Week, NW
Insurance Council built an important alliance
with the DOI’s Fraud Bureau to help promote
fraud awareness and the council’s $5,000 Fraud
Awards Fund to citizens and investigators across
the state. The partnership also resulted
in Idaho’s new Fraud Hotline
(866-939-SCAM). | |
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