General Articles

Roughly defined, disintermediation means removal of the middle man. Do a linear projection based on historical forces and you'll conclude that the disintermediation of the agent from the Personal lines process is inevitable. After all, when Warren Buffet, Conning & Company, banks, large insurance companies, and others agree on something, they must be correct, right?

We Want You To Consider Buying Earthquake Insurance... Just To Make Sure You're On The Safe Side Of Financial Aftershock. Everybody's a buzz about...

Writing EPL insurance on an occurrence basis has its advantages. For example, under claims-made policies, the limit of Liability may be more prone to exhaustion. Because a claims-made policy may cover prior acts, the limit of Liability might be spread over many years. It may be necessary to increase the limit beyond what might be considered sufficient under an occurrence policy. Another drawback of claims-made coverage is that as soon as the policy is canceled or expires, coverage ceases.

It used to be the $1 million ceiling. That was the level of revenue at which an individual performing agent with a few helpers had to become a business with different people handling different clients and responsibilities. Everyone still worked for the agent, but the agent no longer made every decision.

However, running an agency as a business doesn't automatically result in growth and a high quality of professional service. By the time the agency reaches $2 million, it runs into another "invisible ceiling."

It's one of the oldest jokes in the world: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? The answer: Practice!. The punch line is obvious; however, so...

If you’re a Microsoft Office user who touch-types, you might prefer the keyboard to the mouse for entering commands. However, chances are you wind up using the mouse, because Windows and Office keyboard shortcuts are difficult to remember, and trying to find them is like searching for hidden goodies in a treasure hunt. Once found, though, shortcuts can be invaluable time-savers.

This isn’t a list of every shortcut in Windows and Office. We’ve concentrated on the most helpful and won’t delve into the shortcuts you probably know already, such as those that copy (Ctrl-C), cut (Ctrl-X), or paste (Ctrl-V) objects.

Over the years, I've gathered something of a reputation as being someone who can find just about anything on the Internet. Like the time I helped someone find out the inscription written by Stevie Ray Vaughn on Kenny Wayne Shepard's guitar. There's no secret to finding information on the Internet — all it takes is some basic knowledge, creativity, and a little elbow grease. This article by Bill Wilson will examine some techniques that you can use to search the Internet more effectively.

I don't actually want to fail. However, the fact is that we learn near to nothing when everything is going...

In addition to working in the business, more and more agency principals and managers are working on the business by focusing on technology and workflow improvements. The latest Future One agency survey confirms this trend ― 72% of the agents surveyed responded that core management issues for them are to make their internal operations more efficient and to use technology to conduct business with carriers more efficiently. Jeff Yates shows you how to improve agency workflows with technology.

Many people tend to credit the origin of infomercials to the old, late-night slicer/dicer and Pocket Fisherman commercials. Granted, some tacky infomercials have taken the slicer/dicer format, but the original infomercials began on a higher ground: religion.

Before you haul me off to a padded room, let's define "infomercial."An infomercial is an advertisement for a product or service that has been expanded with information, entertainment, or both to retain the attention of the audience.