Apr 11, 2014 | News
Harassment in the workplace includes any objectionable behaviour that demeans, belittles, humiliates or embarrasses an employee. It also includes intimidation and threats. Ontario, Manitoba, Québec and Saskatchewan have already introduced legislation against bullying and B.C. recently enacted Bill 14 [Workers Compensation Amendment Act] to address the effects of bullying at work.
Here are seven statistics related to workplace harassment/bullying from safetystats.com:
- Three tactics used in workplace bullying are: withholding information from a co-worker; excluding certain employees from meetings and threatening or intimidating co-workers.
- 10% of Canadian workers ages 18 through 24 reported being victims of sexual harassment in the workplace at some point within the previous year. (Canadian Labour Congress)
- 7% of male workers in the US reported being sexually harassed at work. (2008 telephone poll by Louis Harris and Associates)
- 96% percent of people have experienced incivility (disrespectful behaviour) in the workplace. (The Cost of Bad Behavior, Christine Pearson and Christine Porath)
- 94% of workers who are treated uncivilly say they have attempted to get even with their tormentors. (Christine Pearson and Christine Porath)
- Four examples of harassment in the workplace are: serious or repeated rude, degrading or offensive remarks; displaying or sending sexist, racist or other offensive pictures, posters or emails; sexual harassment, such as unwelcome social invitations with sexual overtones or flirting; and threats, intimidation or retaliation.
- About 60 % of workplace bullies are men, who tend to bully male and female employees equally. (New York Times)
Make your work place a better, safer place to be, and be compliant with existing bullying legislation, with the help of anti-bullying courses (for employees and employers) and office etiquette courses from ILScorp.
Apr 10, 2014 | News
On April 8, security researchers announced the discovery of the Heartbleed Bug, a security flaw in OpenSSL (a popular data encryption standard) that gives hackers who know about it the ability to extract massive amounts of data from many online services used by the public every day.
ILS takes your privacy and security of your personal information very seriously. We at ILScorp assure you that your personal information in our systems was not, and will not be, jeopardized by this security vulnerability. We do not use the OPENSSL certificates that this security flaw is affecting.
Some popular sites that may have been affected include: The CRA, which shut down its online tax filing capabilities for Canadians on Wednesday; Yahoo; Flickr; OkCupid, Eventbrite; Indiegogo; Imgu and many others.
The breakdown revealed this week affects the encryption technology that is supposed to protect online accounts for e-mails, instant messaging and a wide range of electronic commerce. Security researchers who uncovered the threat are particularly worried about the breach because it went undetected for more than two years.
What is the Heartbleed Bug?
The Heartbleed Bug is a serious vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software library. This weakness allows stealing the information protected, under normal conditions, by the SSL/TLS encryption used to secure the Internet. SSL/TLS provides communication security and privacy over the Internet for applications such as web, email, instant messaging (IM) and some virtual private networks (VPNs).
If you have any questions or would like to know more about the Heartbleed Bug, please visit http://heartbleed.com
Apr 9, 2014 | News
Two provinces are focusing on two very different but serious road safety issues with new campaigns. Beginning this month, Manitoba Public Insurance and six police agencies across the province are partnering in a dedicated enforcement project aimed at drivers who continue to use hand-held electronic devices. Meanwhile a new survey in BC says a majority of residents there are worried about the safety of aging drivers as the number of seniors grows in the province, but say they don’t know how talk about the issue with loved ones, a new poll suggests.
Th BC poll was released Tuesday by the BCAA, as it launched a senior drivers tool kit, an online resource to keep senior drivers safe on the road. The tool kit can be found at bcaa.com/seniordrivers and is meant as a conversation guide to help people discuss the issue. According to BCAA, the number of seniors in projected to grow by 30 per cent over the next couple of decades.
In Manitoba, the programs is adding enforcement to tackle a growing concern.
“This partnership is the continuation of a similar, highly-successful project staged last November, “said MaryAnn Kempe, vice-president, Community & Corporate Relations, Manitoba Public Insurance. “Our corporation will be providing funding which will allow for additional enforcement to help reduce a very dangerous driving behaviour. Last November’s enforcement campaign resulted in 1,800 Provincial Offence Notices being issued to motorists who were using an electronic device while driving.”
The enforcement campaign is a joint initiative between Manitoba Public Insurance and the RCMP, Winnipeg Police Service and Brandon Police Service, as well as police agencies in Winkler, Morden and Rivers.
“Reducing fatalities on our roadways is accomplished by the proactive combination of education, awareness and law enforcement,” said Kempe. “According to recent polling conducted by our corporation, drivers who use hand-held cell phones is consistently rated as the most serious safety problem in the province.
Almost nine in 10 Manitobans say that cell phone use while driving is a serious problem. About 25 road deaths each year in Manitoba are attributed to distracted driving, according to Manitoba Public Insurance claims data, beginning in 2005. The penalty for using a hand-held electronic device while driving is a $200 ticket in addition to two demerits
Back in BC, the survey conducted for the BCAA by Insights West, found 71 per cent of respondents, including senior drivers, said more education on road safety for aging drivers is needed.
Nearly half of those surveyed with a senior in their lives said they didn’t have enough information to know whether their aging loved one is able to drive safely, while 32 per cent said they feel anxious whenever their loved one gets behind the wheel.
Although most respondents reported being concerned about senior drivers, 63 per cent said they have not talked to an aging family member about their driving. The survey also suggests that many people are afraid to broach the subject, with 41 per cent reporting they don’t know how to have a conversation about driving and safety with a senior.
The survey also found that most seniors (94 per cent) have taken at least one step to adjust their driving habits to stay safe including, no longer driving at night, avoiding high traffic hours and getting regular eye and hearing exams, but only five per cent said they have talked to a doctor about it.
Sources: mySteinbach.ca, & article by Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun
Insurance agents in BC and Manitoba: Your Continuing Education Deadline is May 31, 2014. Get started on completing you CE hours today with ILScorp, and complete your hours on your schedule at your convenience, anywhere you have an internet connection.
CE with ILScorp: Fast, Easy, Done!
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Apr 8, 2014 | News
Spring brings the approach of several CE deadlines for insurance agents across Canada. Continuing Education deadlines are fast approaching for insurance agents in BC and Manitoba (May 31), and Alberta’s requirements must be met by June 30 this year. In Saskatchewan, your deadline varies based on your license renewal date.
Now is the time to get working on your mandatory CE hours and avoid the last minute rush. ILScorp is ready to help, with continuing education catalogues feature hundreds of hours of accredited courses that you can complete anywhere you have an internet connection.
The ILScorp general insurance catalogue offers more than 300 hours (160 courses) of accredited Continuing Education training, so you’ll find courses that are of interest and relevance to you and your business. More than 50 courses have recently been updated and re-accredited. Six-month subscriptions, which provide access to the entire general insurance catalogue are only $185. Discounts for groups of five or more are available.
ILScorp’s Life / A&S course catalogue includes more than 75 CE courses (185 hours). A new online Professional Liability course: Introduction to Errors and Omissions Exposures Insurance for Life / A&S Agents, which is also included in the subscription option. Individual Courses start at $85. Six month subscriptions to the entire Life/A&S CE course catalogue are $260.
Advantages of the ILS continuing education course subscriptions:
- Once you purchase your subscription, you can begin taking your courses immediately! If you are a new subscriber, you will receive an automated username and password by email.
- Access more than 180 accredited general insurance training courses in both text and streaming video formats, including personal lines, commercial lines, auto, farm, professional management and personal skills courses.
- Access more than 75 accredited life/A&S insurance training courses in both text and streaming video formats including errors & omissions insurance, money management planning process and insurance and estate planning.
- Have a digital record of your completed course work, which we keep on file for up to seven years.
- Save time by completing your general insurance continuing education requirements entirely online, no paperwork or commute.
- Courses can be accessed any time and you can log in and log out as many times as you wish during the course period.
- Quizzes and Final exams are offered in most of our courses to help you retain the information.
- Should you require any assistance at any time during your course work, we are here to support you 5 days a week, 0800 – 1700 PST.
Join the more than 22,000 Canadian insurance professionals who develop their skills with ILScorp each year! Visit ILScorp.com today to get started, or call 1-800-404-2211.
CE with ILS – Fast, Easy, Done!
Apr 7, 2014 | News
To succeed in business today, industry leaders say employees need to better communications skills in order to articulate their message to customers, co-workers and employers. To meet this growing need among professionals in all industries, ILScorp has launched a new online course: “Secrets for Exceptional Speaking.”
Using the trade-marked Hendrie Method, this online video course teaches an innovative approach to public speaking, presentations, and communication skills.
With this course, exclusive to ILScorp subscribers, students will:
- discover techniques to apply to different communication and interpersonal situations
- know how to bring your words to life with appropriate emotion
- sound conversational and connected in several different styles
- be able to communicate any information and connect with any listener
- enhance your reputation, improve your self-confidence and advance your career!
In an interview with Marty Hughes of HUB International, Mr. Hughes told ILS what advice he gave to a group of new insurance industry professionals:
“Get comfortable talking in front of large groups, and learn to be articulate. If you can speak well, and you are comfortable in front of groups, you are more than halfway there. It is amazing to me the people out there who are not articulate enough to present their thoughts and express them to people in a coherent fashion. Not everybody is going to be a great speaker; I get that. And not everybody is comfortable speaking in front of a large group—I know I wasn’t. But you make yourself get good at it.”
After completing the Secrets for Exceptional Speaking course, which includes practice exercises and worksheets, students will be confident speaking to large and small audiences on a variety of topics.
Whether it’s speaking at your brother’s wedding, presenting to the board of directors, addressing a lecture hall, or updating your coworkers at a weekly meeting, the Secrets course will help you share information confidently and communicate effectively.
This course will give you techniques that you can apply to different communication and interpersonal situations. By the end of the course, you will be able to communicate any information, know how to bring your words to life with appropriate emotion, and sound conversational and connected in several different styles.
“My performance as a speaker greatly improved. I felt I could be me, at last, and know that my talks will be effective, that my audience will be attentive and retain the key message. I have referred this course to many of my colleagues and they too have experienced extraordinary results. The Hendrie Method has my highest recommendation. Its simplicity and profound impact are astounding,” says John Westman, Former President, Bank One, Arizona & CFO, Bank One Corp.
This course is used by executives from Fortune 500 companies to train themselves and their employees, and is now available to you exclusively through ILScorp, online, to work through at your convenience.
Purchase the Secrets for Exceptional Speaking course from ILScorp today for only $309. This includes unlimited access for three months! Purchase online or call us at 1-800-404-2211 for more information.
Apr 4, 2014 | News
Did you know that ethics training courses are a mandatory part of insurance education in Saskatchewan, and are also recommended for insurance agents in other provinces? ILScorp offers a three-part ethics course, which is now included as part of our General Insurance, and Life and A&S subscription bundles.
These courses are approved by the Insurance Councils of Saskatchewan and allow insurance professionals to complete their mandatory ethics courses as well as their continuing education hours at the same time. The ILScorp ethics courses are also accredited for continuing education hours for insurance agents in BC, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. Ethics courses are also available for Quebec approved by the Chambre de la securite financiere (CSF).
Covering a variety of critical topics for today’s professionals, the ILS ethics training courses can be completed online, anywhere you have an internet connection. Complete your mandatory insurance training hours on your own schedule. A reminder for B.C. and Manitoba agents – your CE deadline is coming up on May 31!
The ILScorp General Insurance Continuing Education subscription provides access to more than 180 accredited courses (more than 400 CE hours) for six months, for $185. The Life and A&S subscription includes 75 courses (184 credit hours) for $260 for six months of access. The Life ethics three-part course is also available on its own for $185.
For more information on these and other online insurance training programs offered by ILScorp, visit our website or contact us today at 1-800-404-2211.
