CARRIERS PUT THE SQUEEZE ON AGENTS by Edward Curry If you're an agency owner wondering why your carriers are making it so difficult to do business with them, you're not alone. While...

CHANGING ENVIRONMENT MAKES HIGH VALUED AGENCIES EASIER TO RECOGNIZE by Robert Smith Stories are starting to circulate around agency/brokerage meetings, 'Did you hear what the ABC or XYZ Age...

COMPENSATING THE INSURANCE AGENCY OFFICE STAFF by Harry Brooks What should you be paying your agency office staff members, other than producers? It is not a sufficient answer to say...

CUSTOMER SERVICE: IT'S NOT ABOUT TECHNOLOGY by Ed Higgins One interesting observation about technology applications is that agents have focused strongly on improving efficiency. M...

EVERYONE WANTS A WINNER by Tom Barrett As sales and marketing professionals continue conversations about increasing productivity, decreasing expenses, and boosting sales, the same c...

GETTING A HANDLE ON YOUR AGENCY'S LIFE POTENTIAL One reason agencies shrug off their Life potentials is they have no idea how big that potential may be. In each agency, of course, the precise figure...

The sale of Life insurance to Personal Lines Property/Casualty customers has long been an issue with traditional independent insurance agents and brokers. There are very few agencies that haven’t tried, at one time or another, to develop a program to cross-sell Life, Health, or Disability to existing customers. Many agencies have even hired a “Life Person,” only to end up with a big expense and little income to show for the effort. This has only added to the frustration of the agency owners. So what’s the answer?

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: MAKING THE DEALS by Sharon Cunningham Amid the merger and acquisition frenzy, many agencies believe the value of their businesses might never be higher. Sharon...

f you were managing a start-up band, would you depend solely on Lady Luck? Would you rely on Fortune dumping a great songwriter/arranger in your lap, great musicians who can actually get along, and a strong, powerful record company backing you? Would you just wait without searching for talent, obtaining signed contracts, securing studio time, or acquiring any backing? Of course not. Chris Burand wonders why so many agency principals take this approach to getting good producers.

OWNERSHIP, PERPETUATION, AND MANAGEMENT by John Jaques The succession of ownership and management for your organization for the mid and long term is as important to your firm as ...