A TAX BONANZA: S CORPORATIONS AND ESOPs by Robert Nein The 1997 Tax Relief Act has made possible the best of all worlds for insurance agencies. One could not hope for a better opportunity. There ha...

CUSTOMER SERVICE TESTS by Bill Wilson Customer service is critical to agency profitability and growth. Outstanding customer service leads to customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction lead...

FINANCIAL-STATEMENT ANALYSIS by John Jaques This article provides an overview for evaluating the financial strengths and weaknesses of an independent insurance agency. The material provid...

PRODUCERS AS PROFIT CENTERS by Diane Herbert and Pamela Millard Sales is the lifeblood of your agency, and your sales force is one of the biggest investments in your agency you...

SEVEN MANAGEMENT KEYS GO BEYOND SURVIVAL by John Jaques For independent agencies to thrive in today's tough economic environment, agency management must actively and strongly implement sev...

TECHNOLOGY GIVES MANAGERS ACCURATE AND ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION by Jack Fries How does your profitability compare with that of other agencies in your area? What about your salary structure?...

THE CUSTOMER LIFE CYCLE AND HOW IT INFLUENCES YOUR SUCCESS by Lynn Thomas Your customers have four distinct stages in their life cycle development with your agency. Lynn Thomas explain...

THE FOUR FACES OF PROFITABILITY: PART II by Diane Herbert and Pamela Millard The first part of this article focused on two faces of agency profitability: Pretax profit and Cash Flow from ...

In the early 1990s a state insurance commissioner, in a Wall Street Journal front-page article, called insurance agents the 'buggy-whip makers' of the late 20th century. Several years later, you seem to be doing just fine, and in many cases, even better than investors in other areas. Kevin Stipe offers an overview of the insurance agency as an investment vehicle in this document.