Confusion over agency bill vs. direct bill options has caused an E&O claim or two. Curtis Pearsall illustrates the consequences of this confusion with an example.

I'm going to cut right to the chase. If you're a woman, over 40 and looking...

The asp might’ve been dangerous in Cleopatra’s time, but today an ASP (Application Service Provider) could save your agency’s life. The major vendors, such as Applied Systems, e-bix, and AMS Services, offer agents and brokers the use of their agency management system software over the Internet through high-capacity servers that are managed by and located in the vendor’s facilities. This document by Sharon Cunningham will help you determine whether it’s time for you to consider using an ASP.

In this document, Jack Fries excerpts questions from the Sales Success Profile, a sales skill test developed by Lousig-Nont and Associates (Las Vegas). The Sales Success Profile is the only sales test on the market based on assessing actual selling skills, not personality.

With the dawn of every new media technology comes the fear on the part of agents that their customers will either find a new agent or buy insurance direct from the company. In this document, Sam Meyer describes how you're now in a position to encourage your clients and prospects to buy their insurance direct — direct from you!

Before you buy an agency, check out these tips. If you're planning to purchase an agency, these guidelines are essential...

Sample employment agreement between an agency and producer.

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.

Suppose a local bedroom community just finished an Insurance Services Office (ISO) public protection classification inspection and was...

Writing EPL insurance on an occurrence basis has its advantages. For example, under claims-made policies, the limit of Liability may be more prone to exhaustion. Because a claims-made policy may cover prior acts, the limit of Liability might be spread over many years. It may be necessary to increase the limit beyond what might be considered sufficient under an occurrence policy. Another drawback of claims-made coverage is that as soon as the policy is canceled or expires, coverage ceases.