10 WAYS TO FIGHT TELEPHONE FRAUD by Peter van Aartrijk Jr. Telephone industry analysts estimate that telephone fraud in the United States costs businesses and residences as much as $4 billion pe...

ACCOUNT-UPGRADING Dear (Customer Name): Clients often ask us, 'Do I need to bond every single one of my employees to make certain I'm protected?' The subject of bonds can seem complex, but at (Yo...

FRAUDBUSTERS: ASK A LICENSED PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR Part 2 Q: I recently heard of a database that keeps track of health practitioners who've been convicted of crimes and/or subjected to adverse ...

CLIENT BILL OF RIGHTS My attorney agrees to do the following: 1. Only work on my case if he or she has the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to be an excellent advocate on my behalf. 2...

CUSTOMER SERVICE: IT'S NOT ABOUT TECHNOLOGY by Ed Higgins One interesting observation about technology applications is that agents have focused strongly on improving efficiency. M...

DISASTER PLANNING FOR AGENTS by Steve Anderson If we arent prepared to deal with a disasters effects on our own operations, we wont be in a position to help our cli...

DOES YOUR WEB SITE HAVE PEOPLE SAYING lsquo;WOW!? by Maribeth Kusmeski These seven questions can help you evaluate the WOW! factor on your Web site: Does your sit...

E-MARKETING STRATEGIES THAT ARE MORE BRICKS THAN CLICKS by John Graham Although every business should be taking full ad...

Today, an insurance professional must be an information specialist. Access to information can be vital in all specialized areas of insurance. Every agency has numerous books, both those published professionally and those published as company manuals and promotional materials, which are reference tools enabling more effective decisions. But where are the materials when you need them? Ideally, in a library using a database program and an efficient cataloging system.

In early September, the credit reporting agency Equifax announced a significant data breach. Hackers were able to access the names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and addresses of 143 million consumers, which put their identity and credit at risk. A credit report freeze is one protective measure Equifax recommended. Every consumer, including you, should understand this protective measure as you protect your data, identity and credit.