ANALYSIS OF PROFIT-SHARING AGREEMENTS Use this form to review your company profit-sharing deals. Complete this checklist for each major company represented. A no ans...

If you're a principal in a privately held insurance agency, establish a value creation quota for each shareholder. Here's how: A month before your next planning retreat, provide each shareholders with a statement showing the value of his or her share of the agency's stock. If you don't have an appraisal, simply use your best estimate.

ARE YOUR PRODUCERS SUBSIDIZED? by Chris Burand If you dont think youre subsidizing your producers, you might need to think again. The average agency spends b...

AS GOES AGENCY GROWTH, SO GOES VALUE by Chris Burand Growth is a key factor in an agency's value. Chris Burand explains why poor or erratic growth is a risky investme...

In spite of 19th-hole braggadocio about rising sales figures, bottom-line results, and upcoming prospects, businesses do stall and stagnate. Streamline.com was a raging Internet stock until it ran into a wall. Kodak used to be a Wall Street favorite, and now it's struggling to find itself. P&G once had 99.44 % acceptance; now the tide seems to have turned. For years, Xerox set the standard; then it lost direction.

BANKS AND P/C INSURANCE AGENCIES REALITY CHECK PART I: DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE by Chris Burand Do bank stockholders benefit from acquisitions of P/C agencies? The answer? Yes,...

BETTER CONTINGENCIES EQUAL MORE PROFITS by Chris Burand Many insurance companies try to boost profits by reducing contingency payments - not a smart move. A go...

BONUS/COMPENSATION PLANS: PART ONE by Jack Fries An incentive or bonus program requires many variables to be successful. Such programs too often reward work that wouldve been done...

BUDGETING: WHAT, WHY, AND HOW? by Al Diamond Most insurance agencies dont budget. They operate on the lsquo;Money-in-the-Bank or the lsquo;Sell-and-Hope-for...

'BUT I CAN'T AFFORD TO ADVERTISE!' by Al Diamond Why on earth would agency principals pay a consu...