A BOY NAMED SUE: A GUIDE TO PRODUCER TRAINING by Chris Burand A successful producer training program creates a powerful competitive advantage. Many readers are probably familia...

$200,000 GROSS COMMISSION PER PRODUCER: DREAM OR REALITY? by Chris Burand Whats your agencys break-even point for producers? Does $200,000 sound high? Read this document b...

10 STEPS TO OVERCOME COMPETITION by Jack Burke Remember the first time you experienced a Chinese box set? As each box opened to reveal a smaller box, you wondered with childlike curiosi...

Historically, a hard market is part of the cyclical nature of the insurance industry. At one time, these cycles occurred fairly consistently at about seven year intervals. However, the last significant hard market came in the mid-80s.

A hard market is characterized by increasing rates and/or reduced industry capacity, which leads to affordability and/or availability problems. In addition, both underwriting and claims adjusting usually become more stringent. In the current marketplace, these conditions are exacerbated by increased uncertainty about such loss exposures as terrorism, mold, etc., and by a reinsurance market significantly strained by the events of September 11.

A lsquo;FAILED PLAN AND THE SOLUTION By Al Diamond This letter from an Agency Consulting Group client, together with my reply, speak for themselves: Dear Al, I...

A PERPETUATION PLANNING PRIMER by Tom Doran No one expects the current frantic pace of merger and acquisition activity to last forever. When it does cool off, more agency own...

ADJUSTING EXPECTATATIONS --- AND THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND by Jon Persky Back in the 1960s and 1970s, it wasnt unusual to find people who worked for the same company for their entire...

AGENCY DEVELOPMENT: BIG SPENDERS VS. INVESTORS by Al Diamond Agents come in distinct varieties when it comes to spending money on agency development. Some agents are penny-pinchers, preferring ...

AGENCY MANAGEMENT: THE GREAT COMPROMISE by Chris Burand Chris Burand defines the great compromise as working smarter, rather than harder. Of course, 12 hours of working smarter is alwa...

AGENCY OWNERS AND CONSULTANTS: A WIN-WIN RELATIONSHIP by Edward Curry Perceptive agents never lose sight of what makes their agencies succeed. Sooner or later, most...