Vale Training Solutions Teams Up With the Insurance Journal Academy

Three Vale Training Solution instructors, with varying backgrounds, have one thing in common: They are bringing their expertise in insurance to students of Insurance Journal‘s Academy of Insurance.

According to Mary Anne Medina, insurance industry professionals must be well-rounded in their skill sets. “We’re taking usual property and catastrophe people and training them to do other jobs now, which are a big need in the industry. When there are no catastrophes going on, there’s a need for them to develop skills to do other things.”

Medina began her career in claims and claims management, then turned her attention to training others. She currently teaches casualty courses at Vale, and assists in the development of customized courses at the request of insurance companies. She is teaching two webinar courses with the Academy of Insurance this year. The first, “Is a Strong Agent/Adjuster Relationship Vital?” will be held on April 25. On October 11, Medina will lead students through “The Real Meaning of the Property Damage Exclusion in the CGL.”

Trent Massey has plenty of insurance industry experience to bring to the table as an instructor. Prior to Vale, he worked in the fraud investigation unit of State Farm, serving also as a field adjuster and catastrophe worker. In addition, Massey ran his own fire and water reconstruction business, and worked as an independent adjuster. He is now a full-time property instructor with Vale Training Solutions and has designed several innovative courses. His most popular course is the four-part green risk series.

“I created the green risk professional program at Vale, which is the very first of its kind. It is a green education class designed specifically for the insurance industry and restoration industry,” Massey said.

“Green Risk for Buildings and Materials” is a four-part series covering what a green building is, green insurance endorsements, and re-building issues. This four-part series (each part is 90 minutes) begins on June 6 and runs on four consecutive Wednesdays ending June 27.

Massey, along with fellow Vale instructor Amy O’Rorke and other instructors, teach a three-part series on insuring restaurants. Part one, to be held on May 9, introduces students to restaurant construction and equipment insurance issues. Part two is an overview of restaurant insurance coverages and will be held on August 22.

“We’re trying to help the target audience understand, just in general, what’s involved with insuring a restaurant … taking them through the construction equipment background of restaurants so an insurance agent will be more familiar with terminology when they have a meeting with the restaurant owner, as well as insurance coverage issues, and then go over some claims issues with restaurants,” Massey said.

O’Rorke will end the series on November 7 with a review of restaurant claims. Part three focuses on common claims experienced by most restaurants, such as slips and falls, food poisoning and cooking fires.

“I think the most important thing is simply to be prepared,” O’Rorke said. “Have the proper coverage in place that can address some of the more common claims; make sure the agent has enough background and understanding to convey to the restaurant owner in order for the restaurant owner to know what to do and how to react when a claim does occur; and ensure that the agent has a comfort level in giving direction and guidance to that business owner until the insurance company is notified and involved,” she said.

O’Rorke has spoken at the national claims conference of the Property Loss and Research Bureau (PLRB). In addition to her teaching duties, she is a national general adjuster with Cunningham, Lindsey, Vale’s parent company.

For updates on these webinar courses, visit www.ijacademy.com.

For more information on Vale Training Solutions, visit www.valenational.com.