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.

Becoming accustomed to a growing economy is easy and dangerous. Although there are always pockets of problems, we forget that success is often more the result of a good economy than our business acumen. If everyone else is doing well, our major challenge becomes how to pull ahead of the pack. Unfortunately, many business people tend to get a bit lazy-and that's when we can get caught.
There are ways to become more successful, keep business booming, and give companies the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. Here are 15 ways to develop an extra edge:

'So dawn goes down today, nothing gold can stay.'
Robert Frost
'There are no more power elites.'
Manuel Castels in The Information Age
The painfully obvious implication of these quotes can be seen in the business world: IBM pulls its PCs out of retail venues because it no longer considers them profitable. The Wall Street Journal reported that in 1998, there were $301 billion in sales via the Internet, while the manufacturing sector did $350 billion in overall business. It took the Internet roughly 36 months to reach this figure; manufacturing needed 150 years.

22 EFFECTIVE WAYS TO OUTMARKET THE COMPETITION by John Graham Outmarketing competitors is easy - if you do it right. This takes a combination of work and savvy, but the results ...

Out-marketing your competitors is easy if you do it right. It takes a combination of work and savvy, but the results can...

Just when we think we've grasped what's happening in business, something changes to disrupt the precarious balance. It may occur in the economy, an industry, a region, a particular market, or technology that alters even the most flexible business plan.

Establishing a strategy, then staying with it, was possible for most businesses until the last decade. Planning a year or more in advance was relatively easy. Ups and downs would occur but with a high degree of predictability. Hitting sales and revenue targets was almost a natural outcome.

24-7 SERVICE PAYS by Pegi Flahault A recent survey indicated that the vast majority of agents surveyed believed their customer base did not want 24/7 service, voice mail, e-mail or anyth...

A BALANCED APPROACH TO MARKETING by Steve Anderson Just like you, each week I receive e-mails and read articles from different business and marketing experts. A common theme Ive no...

A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR SMALL AGENCIES by Chris Burand Independent agencies, even small ones, definitely have a bright future. Offer better service related to a specific product or offe...

No matter what their size, many businesses use most of their available energy just keeping things running on a day-to-day basis.
Unfortunately, there seldom seems to be much time for those tasks that can have a profound effect on a company's future, such as communicating the company's message and projecting its image.