IS BANK-INSURANCE WORKING? by James Campbell Believe it or not, the current era of bank-insurance is seven years old. In March of 1996 the Supreme Court decision in Barnett Bank of ...

The international insurance market offers a variety of benefits to independent agents and brokers. It provides a perfect tool for solidifying your Commercial Lines accounts and insulating them from inroads being made by alphabet house brokers. International insurance operations also offer an entree to new product lines and markets that will expand your facilities abroad. For example, U.S. agents can introduce their expertise in such lines as Auto, Medical, Surety, and Workers' Compensation to third-world countries that are privatizing these coverages. Canadian brokers can expand their expertise in out-of-country private Medical insurance and, potentially, Workers' Compensation.

Just as the Personal Lines lead form opens the door of opportunity for the Life producer, the Commercial Lines lead form generates potential business.

This letter and questionnaire generated quite a response and helped one agency that sent it learn a lot about their image. The response rate to the letter was 13.23% --...

Today, the Long-Term Care insurance (LTCI) industry is maturing from its infancy and growing into a more stable product. In this document, Gary Katelman examines the changes that are occurring in Long-Term Care insurance.

This is not the time to be passive about company relationships. If you want to stay in business, you must develop and maintain strong company contacts. As you continue to court new markets, also devote time to enhance relations with your current carriers. Remember, decisive interaction with company personnel is a powerful tool in agency-company relations.

The difference between closing a sale and losing it rests with the presentation. Whether you’re selling a product or an idea, the ability to present effectively is the difference between acceptance and rejection.

Yet, most Americans would rather die than give a speech. Whatever the facts, the idea of standing in front of an audience ranks far below going to the dentist for most people.

IT DOESN'T QUITE FIT, BUT IT WILL DO. Dear (Customer Name): Could you market sheet metal parts that were 'pretty close' to specifications...

Motivating support staff to help generate sales expands the network of potential customers. Here are some tips for putting together and operating an effective lead-generation campaign.

Reward them for leads as quickly as possible. If the payoff is quick, non-sales employees will be more motivated to provide leads.

In the next few years, you'll probably be devoting more time and resources to Life and Health insurance products - that is, if you're at all like the estimated 2,000 independent agents who participated in the "Future One Agency Universe Study."

The study shows that independent agents are increasingly aware of the need to be full-service insurance providers. Agents who have traditionally focused on Property/Casualty insurance see the need to expand more aggressively into Life and other types of insurance products. In fact, slightly more than half the agencies surveyed said that over the next three years, they'll devote a higher proportion of agency resources to Life and Health products.