MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS by E. Al Diamond How do you know if your agency is doing well? Some agents subscribe to the 'checkbook philosophy.' Their answer is, 'If I can pay a...

“Moments of truth” occurs whenever CSRs and producers talk to a customer on the phone or in person. It’s important that each member of the agency be prepared for this contact. The impression left with the client or prospect will determine their future relationship with your agency. Because the ultimate goal of any business is to obtain and retain customers, it’s essential for you to create the proper image at the moment of truth. Some of the key factors in managing the moment of truth are:

MANAGING AGENCY WORKFLOW: GETTING THINGS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME by Grace Bauer Getting things right the first time depends largely on developing a program to review and audit procedures on a...

MANAGING COMPANY RELATIONS by Carol Hammes In recent reports, I have addressed the changing nature of the relationship between the American agency companies and the independent a...

MANAGING FOR PROPER SERVICE by Catherine Oak Follow these guidelines to boost retention rates and earnings. Due to the costs of producing and servicing an account, the av...

Jack Fries looks into the differences between agencies that sell and retain a lot of business and those that don't. This applies to not only the sales people, but to the CSRs, who have the responsibility of account development.

MANAGING PERSONAL LINES by Carol Hammes Continuing fierce competition in commercial lines is making the personal lines niche look much more attractive to those agencies searching for viable growth...

MANAGING PRODUCER EXPENSES by John Jaques To gain control of non-compensation producer expenses-primarily expenses for automobile and client promotion-think about slightly increasi...

MANAGING SMALL ACCOUNTS by Carol Hammes Most independent insurance agencies consistently receive between 15% and 25% of their total revenues from their 10 largest accounts. If you think that your ...

MANAGING SMALL COMMERCIAL ACCOUNTS by Cindy Brady, CIC In many agencies, 'small' Commercial accounts get over-serviced while larger accounts are under-serviced because both are treated the same. S...