The tragedy of this earthquake is impossible for most to fathom simply because we have never experienced such devastation. The loss of life and the bodily injury to survivors as well as the psychological damage will be with this nation for generations.

I started thinking about the property losses and insurance after seeing pictures and video of the devastation of buildings and homes of people who had very little compared to most of us. The scenes looked like areas of Europe and Japan after World War II.

Most people in Haiti do not have property insurance – personal or commercial. About 90% of all insurance for property is in the capital city Port-au-Prince. However, the amount of coverage in relation to the replacement cost is referred to as “scant”. The crisis, however, has triggered an $8 million payout to Haiti from The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, an insurance pool made up of Caribbean nations to help buffer the cost of a crisis.

Haiti and the world will be rebuilding the cities and towns of this island for many years.

I was happy to learn that some insurers, quietly, are already pledging funds to help the people of Haiti. Insurance companies tend to get a bad “rap” so often.

CE Winner!

Thanks to our winner of 3 hours free CE for the most unique tip for prospecting! The answer given was: “Dress sharply, be well groomed, look the prospect or gate keeper in the eye and smile! It will knock down all sorts of walls.” Great advice! We appreciate the wonderful tip.

As stated in our last issue of “Biscuits”, we will not release the name of the winner. We thank all of you who participated!

Register now for the February 19-20, 2010 CE Seminar Class!

Start your New Year right! Complete 12 hours of CE this month—attend our 12 hour CE seminar class January 29-30^th at The Agent’s Choice Insurance School Conference Room, 3410 Healy Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.

Cost will be: $109.95

Schedule:

Date	Time	Course Number	Course Name	Hours
Friday, February 19, 2010	6:30 p.m.-9:20 p.m.	C71459	*Employee Benefits Part I	3 hrs.
Saturday, February 20, 2010	8:00 a.m.-2:50 p.m.	C70563	*Evolution of Long-term Care Insurance	6 hrs.
Saturday, February 20, 2010	3:00 p.m.-5:50 p.m.	C71458	*Employee Benefits Part 2	3 hrs.

*All courses are designated as “General CE”.

**Disclaimer: Classes are subject to cancellation due to lack of registration.

Early registrations and payments may be made by telephone at # (336) 774-9400 or # (800) 941-4440 or by clicking the “Register Now” link below.

Online Flood & Ethics Courses

Beginning 1/1/08, 3 hours of Ethics is required every 2 years by all Agents, Brokers, and Adjusters. Property and Casualty Agents are required to take 3 hours of Flood every 4 years. The license effective date determines when each of these is due. Both courses are available online at: www.agentschoiceonline.com under “Continuing Education”.

The NC DOI Needs Your Correct Birthday

To quickly update your birthday with the NC DOI, just send an e-mail to: asdce@ncdoi.gov.

New Mandatory Rules from NC DOI

· Effective January 1, 2010, all licensees are required to provide an e-mail address to the NCDOI. Those who do not comply with this rule may be charged a $50 administrative fee. In addition, anyone who changes his or her e-mail address must notify the NC DOI within 10 days or face another $50 administrative fee.

Free e-mail addresses may be obtained by signing up through Google, AOL, or Yahoo. You can sign up using your local library’s computer if you don’t own a computer. Some people may have relatives or friends who would allow e-mail to be sent from the NC DOI to them through their e-mail. The key thing to remember is: You must have an e-mail address and know what it is!

· Effective January 1, 2010, all licensees are required to provide the NC DOI with a current mailing address. Failure to provide the correct address may result in a $50.00 administrative fee.

· Effective January 1, 2010, any future changes in the licensees mailing addresses or e-mail address may result in an administrative fee of $50.00 if notice of change is not given within 10 days of the change.

To meet these requirements:

· Go to the website at: NCDOI.Com

· Click on Agents Services Home

· Scroll down the page to the heading titled, “Additional Online Services for Licenses”

· Look for the third bulleted item if you wish to make only an e-mail update and click on link

· If you need to update your e-mail and mailing address, click on the link in the fourth bullet

You will need your NPN to complete the updates!

If you do not know your NPN, go to our website, www.agentschoiceonline.com, and click on “Links”. Select one of the following:

· If you have not set up a Prometric account, click on “Instructions on how to create a Prometric account to view CE credits”.

· If you have already set up an account, but cannot remember your NPN, you will click on “Check your CE credits”.

Please keep in mind that effective December 30, 2009, the NC DOI will no longer use Social Security numbers to identify a licensee, but will use the NPN (National Producer Number). The Agent’s Choice will NOT be able to process CE credits without your NPN after December 30, 2009.

When Is My CE Due?

· If you were born in an even numbered year, you will need 24 hours of CE at the end of your birth month in 2010.

· If you were born in an odd numbered year, you will need 24 hours of CE by the end of your birth month in 2011.

After your prorated biennium, you must complete 24 hours every two years. There can be no repeating of courses during those two years.

· If you discover you’re not in compliance, call Prometric at: # (886) 241-3121.

· Extensions for CE must be applied for 30 days before the end, and no later than the last day of your compliance period. Anyone failing to complete CE will have up to 120 days to complete it. Those whose licenses have been cancelled cannot work during the 120 day period until they have been reinstated. They then must re-take Pre-Licensing Courses to obtain their licenses.

How to Check Your Credits with Prometric

One of the easiest ways to check your online credits with Prometric is to go to our website: www.agentschoiceonline.com, and Click on “Links” on the bar at the upper part of our homepage. When the next page comes up, click on “Check Your CE Credits”, and it will take you to Prometric where you can easily set up an account to go in anytime to check your credits—both your current and previous biennium.

The first box that comes up is your current biennium. If there is a course listed here, you may not repeat it during your current biennium.

The second box was added (due to popular request!), and it lists courses in your previous biennium. These courses may be repeated, as you will now be in a different biennium.

Great Price for “24 Bundled Hours CE”!

Check out our special CE price for The Agent’s Choice Insurance School. The price for “24 Bundled Hours of CE” is just $79.95! To get there, pull up our website at: www.agentschoiceonline.com, and click on Continuing Education.

For individuals wanting to purchase fewer than 24 hours at a time, our regular price is $5.25 per credit hour which includes the state fee of $1.65 per credit hour. Minimum purchase is 3 hours for $15.75.

Our online CE is quick and easy. Complete your CE requirements now! Just log onto our website at www.agentschoiceonline.com.

Are all Adjuster Courses Equal?

The Agent’s Choice Insurance School Adjuster courses teach everything needed to pass the state exam, including a special section pertinent to Adjusters which makes up 15 percent of the state exam. That makes our material unique. We cover every topic listed in the North Carolina Candidates Guide Outline and provide text material, online practice tests, a qualified instructor, and technical help. For anyone wishing to settle insurance claims, this is the course to take! Choose from the Online Course, Book, or the Online Course with the printed material. Online courses are $100. Books that compliment this course are $30 (plus shipping) when purchased with the online course. Books purchased separately with no online practice tests are $69.95.

How is The Agent’s Choice Different from Other Providers?

We are a North Carolina based school and all our courses are written to comply with and help students pass the N.C. State Exam. Our courses only contain material students need to know. The instructor who wrote the course material will answer students’ questions through e-mail--a fully-licensed instructor of over 30 years experience whom students may contact and he will respond to their questions. Our friendly staff is ready and available to serve you!

The Agent’s Choice offers a 10 percent discount to all Prelicensing Students who sign up and pay for more than one course at a time—on the entire package! Check it out today at www.agentschoiceonline.com.

Virginia Online CE

The Agent’s Choice Insurance School is pleased to announce that we are offering our online Continuing Education to the state of Virginia. No course should be repeated within a Biennium. The following CE courses are now available:

Course ID	Course Title	Course Type	Course Hours
202777	Ethics and Law	Law & G	4/Law & 2/General
21139	Understanding Employee Security	L& H	6
202779	Understanding Financial Security	L& H	8
202778	Understanding College Funding	L& H	8

Additional States

The Agent’s Choice is now offering Prelicensing Self-Study in 22 additional states and Washington, D.C. as a vendor, and will soon be offering its own online CE in Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia and, of course, North Carolina. Stay tuned!

Happy Valentine’s Day from The Agent’s Choice Insurance School!

The Agent’s Choice School wishes to take a moment to thank our faithful readers and those who do business with our school. Each of you is very important to us, and we appreciate you and your agency. We pledge to continue to offer you the best service available, because you are our business!

Today’s Joke

The amazing golf ball

A golfer, playing a round by himself, is about to tee off, and a salesman runs up to him, and yells, "Wait! Before you tee off, I have something really amazing to show you!"

The golfer, annoyed, says, "What is it?"

"It's a special golf ball," says the salesman. "You can never lose it!"

"Whattaya mean," scoffs the golfer, "you can never lose it? What if you hit it into the water?"

"No problem," says the salesman. "It floats, and it detects where the shore is, and spins towards it."

"Well, what if you hit it into the woods?"

"Easy," says the salesman. "It emits a beeping sound, and you can find it with your eyes closed."

"Okay," says the golfer, impressed. "But what if your round goes late and it gets dark?"

"No problem, sir, this golf ball glows in the dark! I'm telling you, you can never lose this golf ball!"

The golfer buys it at once. "Just one question," he says to the salesman. "Where did you get it?"

"I found it."

The Agent’s Choice Insurance School

3410 Healy Drive, Room 107

Winston-Salem, NC 27103

Telephone: # (336) 774-9400

E-mail: gldelk@agentschoiceonline.com

CE Gift Certificates are Now Available!

Do you have a friend or a special agent in your office to whom you would like to show your appreciation? Just contact our office. Gift Certificates for CE are now available upon request! Just call our office at # (336) 774-9400 or # (800) 941-4440.

Let Us Hear Your Voice!

What would you like to see in “Biscuits”? Contact us with your suggestions at: gldelk@agentschoiceonline.com. Your input is valuable to us!

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gldelk@agentschoiceonline.com