DAY CARE CENTERS - 'WE ARE SPECIALISTS' AFTER-THE-FACT PROTECTION ISN'T ENOUGH Dear (Customer Name): Of course you want to be completely insured in case of a loss to your business, but...

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? There’s a general perception that agency value has been increasing during the past few years. Bill Schoeffler explains why this belief is partially true and partly the result of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

During the past few years, there have been some notable acquisitions of agencies that seemed to push the agency value envelope. In some cases, banks were making their platform acquisition and thus willing to pay top dollar to their first acquisition of a large, well-run firm. In other cases, publicly traded firms were able to exploit their high price-to-earnings ratio to offer a high price to the seller.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Dear (Customer Name), The cornerstone of any good business is quality employees. And to retain these hardworking employees, you need to offer more than a competitive salary. The (...

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE REWARDS by Carol Hammes More than 14% of all full-time workers in the United States switched jobs this past year. Turnover hits the bottom line of a business very...

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...

Question: The loan officer asked me for a business plan. What should it include? Answer: The lender uses your...

'We don't want to be all things to all people,' says one agency manager, 'so we want to identify a niche for Life insurance agents to master. Do you have any suggestions?'

INTERNAL PERPETUATION PLANNING by Carol Hammes One of the consequences of the prolonged period of competition in the Property/Casualty insurance marketplace is that a clear dicho...

LIFE GUIDE FOR P/C AGENCIES INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW This Guide has been created to help you, the P/C agent, establish a systematic, profitable marketing program fo...

'Why don't all Property Casualty agencies receive at least 20% of their commission income from Life, Health, and employee benefits?' This article will show you why this potential revenue source remains untapped by so many firms, and what to do about it.