CHARACTERISTICS OF STRONG AGENCY/CARRIER RELATIONSHIPS by John Jaques The compilation of agency/carrier relationship characteristics presented in this article is based on observatio...

CHEMICAL SPILLS by Scott Lawson Many companies establish spill-response plans to comply with the HAZWOPER standard (CFR 1910.120), yet fail to develop a program that addresses their specific hazards...

CHOOSING THE RIGHT MARKET FOR YOUR AGENCIES by Janet Lewis After the work that goes into finding and qualifying prospects, getting in the door, and gathering the proper data to quot...

CLAIM PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES by Mary Beth Bolen Of all the things a customer service representative (CSR) does for clients, you and the agency are most directly affected by the clients' receptio...

Agents who’ve experienced a hard market know that claims are often scrutinized much more closely than they are in a soft market. Unfortunately, circumstances sometimes lead to the denial of claims that are covered regardless of market conditions. This document by the Virtual University faculty provides an example of what you might see more of in the months to come.

CLUSTER TIPS by Chris Burand Cluster contracts among individual agencies or groups of agencies (not necessarily the major cluster-type agency organizations) are almost alw...

COLLECTIONS The purpose of a collection system is to collect money owed to the agency without alienating the insured. In this section, we will answer the following questions: Who s...

Most agencies plan, measure and record the sale of new business, but very few take the time to really control the loss of business to the agency. It is the opinion of our firm that no agency really profits if business keeps coming in the front door and going out the back.

Dear (Customer Name): You've purchased Life insurance for key employees because you know it could mean financial disaster for your company if you were to lose someone...

Dear (Customer Name), ARE YOU FED UP? By insurance, that is. If so, I understand. Quite frankly, so is the rest of the world. That's why... NOW,...