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.

Writing EPL insurance on an occurrence basis has its advantages. For example, under claims-made policies, the limit of Liability may be more prone to exhaustion. Because a claims-made policy may cover prior acts, the limit of Liability might be spread over many years. It may be necessary to increase the limit beyond what might be considered sufficient under an occurrence policy. Another drawback of claims-made coverage is that as soon as the policy is canceled or expires, coverage ceases.

The following are several telephone scripts* to use for sales-related duties such as x-dating, lead-generation, and qualification.

SERVICE SELLS! by Pegi Flahault Selling is as much about the approach as anything else including your approach to your employees. This document by Pegi Flahault can help you increase...

TIE IN WITH AN INSURER Dear (Customer Name): You know the pride involved in being an independent business owner. It took courage and foresight to forge your own business, and you did it. But it's ...

WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE TELEMARKETING SCRIPT CSR: Hello, (PROSPECT NAME). I'm (NAME), with (ABC AGENCY).(PRODUCER NAME), who works with you on your Commercial insurance p...