Times have certainly changed. It wasn’t so long ago that you could open your doors and find a steady stream of customers ready to buy whatever you offered them. If they liked your company, they were loyal 'customers for life.'

EMPLOYMENT LAW: CLEARING THE MINEFIELDS by Donald Phin The way I look at it, most of today's employment lawyers (like most other professionals) do a poor job of working on their business...

E-SURVEYS: SELF-SERVING PABLUM by Jack Burke Most questionnaires aren't worth the paper they're printed on because they're designed to elicit only positive responses. Companies are afrai...

EVALUATE PROSPECTIVE BUYERS FOR YOUR AGENCY by Patricia Berry Before selling your agency, get answers to these questions. Many agency acquisitions are based on retention because b...

EXCESS-INTEREST WHOLE LIFE: MODULE V-A THE COVERAGE Excess-Interest Whole Life insurance is one of those products that few people know about-or know well. It's k...

EXISTING CLIENTS Re: Homeowners Insurance Dear (Customer Name), Enclosed is your renewal policy effective (Date) written with (Company Name). As you are undoubtedly aware, construction costs are c...

FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY Dear (Customer Name): How do you know if you have the right Fiduciary Liability policy? Take the insurance buyers' ERISA quiz: ...

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL by Douglas Moat Like most businesspersons, insurance agency owners and managers want to know how well they are doing and how much their business is wo...

At least 30,000 attorneys in the U.S. claim that they're practicing employment law. Statistically speaking, what holds true for any profession is true for employment lawyers: Half are above average and half are below average. How do you distinguish one from the other? How can you find out which lawyers or firms are in the top 5%? Don Phin discusses the questions you should be asking.

FINDING NEW TALENT STARTS WITH SMART HIRING PRACTICES by Mark Shlien Although the recession has resulted in layoffs, many insurance agencies are still hiring. However, changing job requir...