Information overload has serious implications. Failure to respond to a client or carrier request can be harmful from both an E&O and a client service perspective. Laura Nettles tells you how to manage your work intelligently when everyone is expecting an immediate response.

Independent Agency System carriers that rank high on the Gomez insurance Web site index probably congratulate themselves on their achievement - the result of hard work, creativity, and spending in the nine or ten-digit range. But what if these high-ranking carriers are scoring well in the wrong game?

Suppose Gomez and other Web ranking services have no idea what they’re talking about? What if they base their evaluation criteria on an implicit misunderstanding of the insurance business? What if "winning" means embracing a bankrupt business strategy?

CHARACTERISTICS OF STRONG AGENCY/CARRIER RELATIONSHIPS by John Jaques The compilation of agency/carrier relationship characteristics presented in this article is based on observatio...

Agents who’ve experienced a hard market know that claims are often scrutinized much more closely than they are in a soft market. Unfortunately, circumstances sometimes lead to the denial of claims that are covered regardless of market conditions. This document by the Virtual University faculty provides an example of what you might see more of in the months to come.

CLAIMS MANAGEMENT: AN IMPORTANT PART OF A SUCCESSFUL INSURANCE PROGRAM by Elizabeth Shaw, CPCU This writing is based on one simple premise: The integration of claims management into a commercia...

COMMERCIAL LINES MARKETING PROGRAM by Al Diamond This documentcovers issues as diverse as agency budgeting, how to post an effective classified advertisement, and marketing carr...

COMMISSION-REDUCTION STRATEGIES by Ken Buehler Commission reductions have been in practice for a number of years and, given the current expense reduction needs of carriers, there are no r...

CONSULTATIVE BROKERS IN A CHANGING MARKET by Rob Ekern Those of us who entered the business more than 20 years ago have seen two or three market cycles. We had to weather at least one and...

CONTINGENCY COMMISSIONS: A WIN-WIN PROPOSAL by Al Diamond This solution to the contingencies controversy benefits everybody in sight. In October 2004, New York Attorney-General E...

Appropriate claims handling can easily reduce payouts and an entity’s losses by 20%-50%. In this article, Monte Gale provides an adjuster’s guide to controlling a loss once it’s submitted.