Remembering Dick and Myra Larkin - National Association of ...

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It hardly seems possible that DickLarkin is no longer with us. He was partof the NAPAA family from the beginning.To many of us, the name Dick Larkinis synonymous with NAPAA.I attended my first NNOAC/NAPAAmeeting in Chicago in November of1992, nearly two years after the associationwas founded. I was intrigued bythe communications the association wasmailing to the agency force and was curiousto learn more. They were well-written,relevant and focused on the criticalagent issues of the day. Dick was theeditor and driving force behind Direct-Writer magazine and authored many ofthe articles that appeared in its pages.I joined the association at the NNO-AC Convention the following year andhave attended every conference since.For the first few years as a member ofNNOAC, I would devour Dick’s articlesin DirectWriter magazine. He was sucha talent. His crowning achievement,however, was a 74 page exposé titled TheNOA Investigative Report, which waspublished in 1994. This stunning reportdemonstrated Dick’s thoroughness andtenacity to arrive at the truth. At thetime of his death, he was working on asecond such exposé, tentatively titled TheEA Investigative Report.Looking back, I learned a great dealfrom Dick, some posthumously. Besideshis writing skills and sharp intellect, hewas always calm, cool and collected. Inever saw him get angry. Nor did I everhear him raise his voice or complain. Henever showed fear or impatience andalways maintained an air of quiet confidence.But most of all, he cared.They say that you don’t fully realizewhat you have until it’s gone, which ishow I feel at this moment. I will misshim and hope that I continue to learnfrom his example.Jim FishNAPAA Executive DirectorGulfport, MSThe first time I met Dick Larkin wasat a conference. I had been a NAPAA directorfor a few years when he was electedto the board again after spending someyears away. I had heard of Dick and hispast accomplishments and activity withNAPAA, but had never met him.The first people to arrive at a conferenceare usually the board members. Wesee each other at the check-in counter,lobby, the hotel bar or in the hallways.That year was no different. On the wayback to my room I passed by a table fullof board members. We are always happyto see each other, so I start hugging,meeting, greeting and listening to travelstories, etc. As I’m standing there talkingand hugging, I notice a gentleman acrossthe table. At first I was thinking, “Who’sthat guy?” Then I remembered that itmust be the board member I’d never metbefore, Dick Larkin. I notice he is not reallysmiling or frowning but seems to betaking stock of me. Probably, somethingsimilar to what I was thinking…. “Whois this person?”We were introduced and we performedthe customary handshake and then engagedin some small talk. I noticed, justfor a minute, that when my name wasmentioned it seemed as if he didn’t expectme to be the one board member that hedidn’t know. At least that was my impression.Maybe I didn’t look or act like heexpected. Not sure. Not in a bad way, butI noticed a bit of surprise.For a few years we attended meetingsboth over the phone and in person.Each time I visited with Dick, much ofour discussion focused on NAPAA business,the insurance industry or a currentnews story. We were friends, but as withany group you always become closer tosome than others. I spoke to two or threeother board members more often, sharedjokes, etc. But when it came to asking aquestion or wanting an opinion, I wouldalways include all the board members.Dick always had good insight. On occasion,this would lead to a conversationbetween just the two of us. It was alwaysa pleasurable and courteous discussionbetween two colleagues. I never knewwhat he thought of me, but then I neverreally thought about it. He just seemedto be okay with me and appeared to reallylisten to what I had to say. I startedto understand him as a gentleman and a“gentle man” as well.Never was this more clear to me thanjust last year. I had decided not to runfor a board position for the 2008-2009term because I was pregnant. It was myfirst child, so I wanted to focus on it. Noone knew until last summer, when I announcedto the board that I was about4½ months pregnant. I received wellwishes and congratulations from everyone.A few months later, I invited themto visit my unborn child’s Website. Therewere a few sonogram pictures, an updateon the pregnancy, how it was going anda guestbook area where visitors couldleave comments. Again, there were manywonderful comments and congratulations.I wasn’t really sure Dick would bethe type to sign a guestbook, but then Iread the following, “Congratulations andBest Wishes. I hope she gets your integrityand feisty DNA. Keep us posted.– Dick Larkin.”As I said, I never really knew what hethought of me. Now I did. Truthfully, Iwas honored by his words. I have to admitit made me tear up a bit. I thought itwas such a nice thing to say. I looked at itmany times during the last months of mypregnancy and each time it made me tearup. I always planned to keep the Websiteas a paper tribute for my daughter. I neverthought it would be a tribute to him, aswell. His kind words will live on. Thankyou Dick, you are a true “Gentle Man.”Cheryl EnglishFormer NAPAA DirectorValrico, FL20 — Exclusivefocus Summer 2009
usiness tipsThe Internet Insurance Market:Friend and Foe?BY LORI REEDInternet ShoppersThe Internet has changed most of theways we operate our daily lives. Yes, westill may go to sporting or musical events,but now we can buy those tickets online,and if we miss the event, we can immediatelycheck out the results on some newsWebsite. However, the biggest impacthas been in how people gain informationabout almost anything: the weather,word spellings, symptoms of an illness,what friends are doing, degrees a collegeoffers and…shopping for insurance. Andthis Internet-gained information is beingused to influence all sorts of buyingdecisions. In fact, in a recent comScorereport, 65% of the people surveyed saidthey used the Internet to make buyingdecisions.And who would have thought 32 millionpeople would submit online quoterequests for auto insurance? Until thepast few years, most of the insuranceselling process was through referrals andpersonal meetings. But in recent years,except for last year, the number of peopleshopping online for insurance has beenincreasing at a 15% annual rate accordingto comScore. This means that when consumersrealize they need to reassess theirinsurance coverage, millions turn to theInternet first. And insurance agents don’twant to miss these millions of potentialcustomers.Too Many ChoicesWhen consumers go online, they typicallydon’t type in a specific insuranceagent’s name, they go to a search enginesuch as Google and type in the keyword“‘insurance.” According to Google, inApril the keyword “auto insurance” wasused as a search phrase 30 million times.“Auto insurance quote” and “auto insurancequotes” were shown to compriseanother 6 million or so searches. Thesestatistics fluctuate and aren’t 100% accurate,but suffice it to say, there are a hugenumber of potentially interested consumerschecking out insurance throughthe search engines.The problem is, if someone enters thesearch words “auto insurance” in Google,there are over 90 million matches or linksto Web pages. So in essence, there are 90million sources of information for thepeople researching insurance offerings.The Internet has become congested withinformation – so much so that it is increasinglydifficult for consumers to findwhat they are looking for. But it is evenworse for small businesses, includinginsurance agencies, to get noticed whenthere are so many distractions.A few years ago, people were moreinclined to go directly to a Website bytyping in the address, or URL, of theWeb page they wanted to visit. But thehabit of most users now is to just entersome of the words into a Google search.According to a Yahoo survey, 72% of therespondents don’t remember the URLsthey see advertised on TV; they use asearch engine instead. Unfortunately, thesearch engines make it much easier forthe insurance shopper to be distracted bythe competition. A full 79% of the autoinsurance shoppers questioned ended upbeing introduced to a new auto insuranceSummer 2009 Exclusivefocus — 21
Page 2 and 3: The Best Way to PredictYour Future
Page 4: ExclusivefocusSummer 2009An Officia
Page 8: Savannah ConferenceCongratulations
Page 12 and 13: letters to NAPAAFrom CanadaThings h
Page 14: usiness tipsHow to Keep Clientsin t
Page 17 and 18: often. Dick loved food. Wherever we
Page 22 and 23: and when they used a search engine.
Page 24 and 25: featureThe Road Ahead -Canada Here
Page 26 and 27: Read between the lines and you’ll
Page 28 and 29: much easier.Once you’ve gotten a
Page 30 and 31: pecially hard these past four or fi
Page 32 and 33: featureReinventing the Wheel...Will
Page 34 and 35: Hypothetical Examples of ALI result
Page 36 and 37: usiness tipsThe Magic of Newsletter
Page 38 and 39: convention recapSavannah - a Confer
Page 40 and 41: An animated Dirk Beamer emphasizesa
Page 42 and 43: Money Well SpentAs I sat in the Sav
Page 44: technology tipsHas your Agency Miss
Page 48 and 49: featureSnookered by AllstateHow uns
Page 50 and 51: agents now interact with customers
Page 52 and 53: technology tipsBanish your Fax Mach
Page 54 and 55: Too many agents put their faith and
Page 56 and 57: Why join NAPAA?and Section125 Plan
Page 58 and 59: the NAPAA market placeAgencies for
Page 64: I N T R U S I O N F I R E V I D E O

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