We have experienced a great start to 2011 and hope your year is moving forward as well as ours.  With all the changes this year in course content, addition of webinars and the constant delivery of classroom sessions, we have been running.

Demands of time that we all face seem to be never ending.  It is during times like this that priorities have to surface.  One priority for myself and Nancy is maintaining important relationships with those we care for.  This is why we are heading out for a dinner with a great friend tomorrow, having other friends come for a visit and a concert later in June and have even planned time with a friend who is coming to Vancouver for Grey Cup.

In this fast and furious world we live in, we have to take the time to pause and smell the flowers.  Every morning, when I am home, our little doggie Rave shows how much fun smelling the flowers can be.

It is amazing what automation will allow.  If you are interested in participating contact ILS at 1-800-591-6029 or visit their website @ ilscorp.com 

Hope everyone has a great Thursday.

But I am back and looking forward to getting back in the swing of things.  I have a busy schedule right through to the end of the second quarter.  This schedule even includes a trip to Winnipeg!  It’s been a while since I have been to Manitoba and I am looking forward to that trip.

We will again be leading a group of commercial brokers at the annual AXA Commercial Producer’s School in April.  This week of learning selling skills is one of the highlights of my year.  The fact that it is held at the beautiful Crown Isle Golf Resort doesn’t hurt either.

Back in Vancouver we have our CAIB II Preparation Course schedule for the week before  the May CAIB examination date.  Just a friendly reminder, cut off for the National May CAIB exam  date is this Friday, April 1^st.

Hope you forgive my lax blogging of late, but I will try harder!

I hope to be able to blog now and again while on the road to let you know what’s happening.  In the meantime, you can also “friend” me on Facebook where I post daily.

Hope you are all ready for spring, I know I am!

Over the next few days I will be blogging about multiple choice exams.  How to prepare, how to challenge and even how to prepare multiple choice exams will be reviewed.

Today is Friday, so have a great weekend everyone!

In Named Perils policies this means Insureds carry the burden of proof to show an insured peril was the proximate cause of loss.

As I am sure you can appreciate, for Insureds to “bring themselves into the insuring agreement” in an all risk policy is a relatively easy process.  With all risk policies Insureds are covered against all risks of direct physical loss or damage.  All Insureds must show is that they sustained a direct loss from a risk.  Now, when Insurers wish to deny coverage, they carry the burden to prove one of the many exclusions apply.

I know this is a subtle benefit that may be difficult to explain to clients,  but sometimes makes all the difference.

Co-insurance is designed to encourage Insureds to insure to value.  The most effective way to encourage people to do something is to punish them if they do not comply.  Co-insurance clauses do this by reducing claim payments by the same ratio that Insureds are underinsured.

Then formula is simple.  Take the amount of insurance from the policy and divide it by the product of the value of the property multiplied by the co-insurance percentage.  Once this ratio is determined, multiply it by the amount of the loss.  Here is an example:

Amount of Insurance = 4,000

Value of Property = 10,000

Co-insurance % = 80%

Amount of the loss = 1,000

4,000 divide by 8,000 (10,000 x 80%)= ½

½ x 1,000 = 500

Take a moment today and remember.  Recapture that feeling of joy and patriotism.

The timing of the Easter weekend is always a challenge when scheduling week long courses in March and April. Other Statutory holidays, month ends, national examination dates also add to the challenge.  But, like I said, these are good problems to have.  We got it all worked out and I have to say that there is a great deal of satisfaction when I see my calendar all ready filling up two years into the future!

Have a great weekend everyone.

In one way they are similar, you must begin exam preparations with understanding.  This was mentioned in yesterday’s blog post as well.  Once understanding has been achieved, learning how to use this knowledge is next.

My experience has been that many students have a hard time writing down what they want to say.  A leading reason is that they are not planning their answer.  Another reason is that many students simply write too fast.  Often I find when I read a student’s answer back to them, word for word, they say “That’s not what I meant to say.”

So, my advice to prepare for application based exams is quite simple.  First understand the material.  Then plan your answer with a mental outline of what you want to say.  Then, take your time and read over your answer before you move on to the next question.