Florida Big ‘I’ to Unveil Its New, Improved Web site Upgrade on Monday

The Florida Association of Insurance Agents in Tallahassee will unveil a new and improved version of its Web site on Monday at www.faia.com.

“Although our site reconstruction has been carefully planned and thoroughly reviewed, such transitions are normally accompanied by unanticipated problems that cause service disruptions or delays,” Jennifer Pitts, FAIA webmaster explained. “In anticipation of this we are asking our members to plan accordingly. “If anyone needs to register for classes online, they should do so prior to Friday, Nov. 4th to ensure they are registered on time.”

Pitts said that anyone using the site for research should be aware that the look and feel of www.faia.com will be totally different. She advised them to be prepared for the new framework of the site and that a little more navigation might be necessary at first.

“The new site will be easier to use and much more intuitive, however, this may initially pose the biggest challenge for users,” Pitts explained. “Everything is divided into departments or areas. The FAIA Member Services site, www.faiams.com, has not changed at all.

“There is a lot less clutter on the home page, and we minimized the multiple ways you can access the same information on our site to keep it streamlined,” Pitts said. “It is our goal to make use of www.faia.com easier, but we want to prepare everyone for the transitional issues that may lie ahead as both we and our members become better oriented with this new resource.”

Bookmarks saved on the previous site linking to an area on the Web site will no longer work since the site has a totally new engine driving it. Visitors to the site need to go to the site, find the area they are looking for and re-save that bookmark or favorite. This is also true for any links from prior emails or publications.

“This is just the first step for a better FAIA Web site,” Pitts said. “New easier registrations for events and searching capabilities are extremely helpful. We have incorporated a calendar view on our site that can show a 30,000-foot view of upcoming events. Events and classed can be searched for by specific date, city or even by name of a class.”

Pitts said that in the very near future, visitors will notice that the Florida Insurance Research Library will be accessible online for those who subscribe to this service. This feature will allow users to always have the latest version of a dynamically changing set of research tools.

Another upcoming feature of our site will include communities for feedback and member participation. Technical insurance questions, legislative issues, and even automation issues will all become subjects that can be addressed in these communities. There will be a section for the media to turn to for late breaking news or press releases and searching www.faia.com will be easier as well with a new cataloging system.

Topics Florida Agencies Training Development