Here's a letter I received recently:
Dear Dave:
I am the manager of a four-person Life/Benefits department of a P/C agency. The agency is set up with profit centers such as Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, Surety, and Life/Benefits. Each profit center shares in the common overhead of the agency office supplies, salaries, etc.
I have no problem having my department pay for what it uses.

AGENCY ACQUISITIONS: LET THE BUYER BE SMART Every independent agency in the country will experience a change in ownership at least once in its lifetime. Close to one-third of agencies h...

CHARACTERISTICS OF STRONG AGENCY/CARRIER RELATIONSHIPS by John Jaques The compilation of agency/carrier relationship characteristics presented in this article is based on observatio...

Ten years ago it took $5 million in total agency revenues and about $30 million in Property/Casualty premiums to land on the top 100 agency list. Now an agency needs to have in excess of $10 million in revenues and $60 million in premiums to make the cut. Ten years ago the average independent agency in the country had $250,000 in total revenues with six to seven people. Today the average is close to $600,000 in revenues, also with six to seven people. To use a phrase from Bob Dylan, "the times, they are a changing."

COMPENSATING THE CROSS-SELL by John Jaques A simple method for cross-selling employee benefit coverages to Property/Casualty clients is to establish a disciplined program for the ...

DIVIDE SALES DUTIES INTO MARKETING AND SELLING Some CSRs have trouble marketing because they confuse it with selling. The whole concept of persuading a customer to sign an application for a policy ca...

EXTERNAL GROWTH WITH SUCCESSFUL ACQUISITIONS by Carol Hammes Be prepared to do an acquisition before the opportunity presents itself. INTRODUCTION Most agencies will have the opportu...

INSURANCE COMPANIES AND AGENCIES: THE PARTNERSHIP DREAM by Carol Hammes A proven way to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with your carriers. Most insurance companies have ...

LEARNING TO MANAGE E-MAIL by Steve Anderson Communicating with someone used to be easy. You could just pick up the phone and give them a call, or sit down and write a note. Fast forward a...

MARKETING CLUSTERS - A MEANS OF GROWTH AND SURVIVAL by Jack Fries The benefits, drawbacks, and formation of a marketing cluster. Clustering has been around for ...