BUYING A BOOK OF BUSINESS by Richard Bergsund During the past nine years our executive search firm has been involved in a substantial number of assignments to find superior performers for internatio...

CALCULATING AGENCY VALUE by Roy Phillips When buying or selling an agency, be sure the price is right: base the value on projected pre-tax profit and an expert's opinion. ...

A soft insurance market is often used as an excuse for ignoring certain issues. Why bother figuring out whether to retain risk or transfer it to...

CATASTROPHE CHECKLISTS: BE PREPARED! by Grace Bauer Believe it or not, most agencies don't consider catastrophes an area of concern until disaster strikes close to ...

CATASTROPHE PLANNING: IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN by Grace Bauer Some of us are nervous about spring, knowing that it brings tornados and floods. Some of us are in hurricane areas, where summer a...

CHANGING AGENCY-COMPANY RELATIONS by Bobby Reagan On January 26-27, 1998, Reagan & Associates and the Independent Insurance Agents of America (IIAA) sponsore...

Ten years ago it took $5 million in total agency revenues and about $30 million in Property/Casualty premiums to land on the top 100 agency list. Now an agency needs to have in excess of $10 million in revenues and $60 million in premiums to make the cut. Ten years ago the average independent agency in the country had $250,000 in total revenues with six to seven people. Today the average is close to $600,000 in revenues, also with six to seven people. To use a phrase from Bob Dylan, "the times, they are a changing."

COMBINING INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES: REALITY CHECK by Carol Hammes After the Barnett decision in Florida and the subsequent passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financ...

Do you regularly negotiate such contractual issues as commission rates, growth goals, etc. with your companies?

Congratulations to the 57% who responded, “Yes!” Based on those positive responses, it appears that agencies of all sizes are negotiating. Negotiations aren't limited to larger agencies. If these agents weren't succeeding in their negotiations, even in a hard market, they'd be giving up. Although 57% is a good percentage, I'd love to see this number keep growing. If you aren't negotiating contractual issues with your companies, isn't it time to begin?

COMPARING APPLES TO ORANGES by Bill Wilson Youve seen the commercials: 'Call now and save 15% or more on your car insurance!' Unfortunately, when someo...