https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/704/Accounting-Vs-The-Front-Office/
... x No Thanks Loading.. Accounting Vs. The Front Office 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Gail Franzen This content has not been rated yet. Is there friction in your office between your accounting department and your service staff? Gail Franzen advises you to tackle the personality differences between accounting and customer service personnel through communication and standardized workflow processes. In talking with various agencies around the country, one thing they have in common is the conflict between the service staff and the accounting department. Misunderstandings arise between the two departments when they need to interact with one another and when their job functions affect one another. Much of what transpires in the accounting department depends on the invoicing being performed by the service staff. The service staff's primary responsibility is servicing the client — not invoicing. ... the accounting department's perspective, time is wasted when the company statement and the invoice don't agree. This frustration grows when the service staff is interrupted in the middle of an important task by the accounting department to verify and correct the discrepancy. More and more carriers are moving agencies from payment by account current statement to company statement, placing the burden of reconciling on the agency. The accounting department needs to match each item on the carrier statement to the invoice. Frequently, items aren't invoiced or the premiums and commissions are wrong. INVOICING PROBLEMS Whether the invoice is direct bill or agency bill, the same issues and concerns arise. It's not the invoicing process that's the problem. All agency management systems have the ability to process invoices. The real issue is training and understanding the specific agency codes ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/93/Non-Web-Site-Planning-Office-Layout/
... are its heart. They should situate themselves in the heart of the agency. Hearing the buzz of the agency provides a continuous reality check. This helps leaders make decisions based on the way things are, rather than how it's assumed they should be. Separation doesn't make the heart grow fonder; it makes the head more detached. When principals separate themselves, managers tend to follow suit. Managers are accountable for certain results-and when they can't see those who produce these results, they're operating under a considerable handicap. Management is not a solitary undertaking. You can think and create behind glass walls with an open door. COUNTERS: COUNTERINTUITIVE, COUNTERPRODUCTIVE Clients or prospects who visit a traditional agency often see a counter separating them from the agency staff person. There's enough to separate an agency from its clients ... x No Thanks Loading.. (Non-Web) Site Planning: Office Layout 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Virginia Bates This content has not been rated yet. Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.- Will Rogers Many agency principals and their staffs are still sitting where they were 10 years ago-literally. They're still on the same patch of carpet in the same corner of the same room. Physical arrangement of the office reflects a business philosophy. It speaks more loudly than any verbal pronouncements of management. It certainly makes workflow easier or harder than it would be otherwise. The Independent Agency System has changed in organizational structure, technology utilization, compensation strategy, and marketing approach; yet its physical plant remains markedly unchanged. But there ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1624/Purchase-And-Sale-Agreement-Part-I/
...ong and Short, Certified Public Accountants, which statements are prepared in ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1010/FORMING-A-STRATEGIC-ALLIANCE/
... with customers; Personalities, skills, and experience of the people; Management style and focus; Growth objectives; Willingness to invest time and money commitments. If your alliance will include other insurance agencies, you should also review all of these before signing any agreements: Insurance company contracts, Premium, Commissions and loss ratios for the last three years; Percentage of premiums derived from larger (target) accounts and the effects of losing one of these accounts on the joint company premium commitments; Fiscal responsibility history, especially with respect to payment of company accounts. Also, you should make certain decisions during the preliminary negotiations with other agencies: Which companies will you share and will each agent be allowed to keep individual relationships; Who will have the authority to make which decisions regarding the shared companies; ... independent agencies (those with less than $1.5 million in total revenues) to retain company contracts. This situation is increasing interest in mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances (also known as joint ventures) . Many agencies have joined others to deal with sales/marketing and insurance company challenges, to set up niche marketing programs, and even to make shared-employee arrangements. Some alliances provide all back office support for agencies, companies, and bank agency owners and create a new entity that, from an ownership point of view, appears to be jointly owned. &# 160 The key to these arrangements is that they allow the individual independent agent to maintain independence while giving them the economies of scale and marketing presence to access this new marketplace. A joint venture provides a good way to reduce ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/951/PROFIT-CENTER-APPROACH-TO-SALES/
... enough to ask for them. Carriers that previously had been giving an extra five points on business taken from another company are now giving agencies an extra 15 points on their entire book. These extra commission dollars have gone a long way to offset the reduced income resulting from soft-market premium levels. But even the largest agencies have a finite amount of premium dollars to spread around. And constantly switching of accounts from company to company is expensive and sometimes not in the customer's best interest. Unless you can keep expenses at or near current levels, profitability will eventually start to erode. This scenario makes the budgeting process all the more painful. Growth has to come from actual new accounts, either produced internally or acquired from someone else. It's essential that the cost of putting these new accounts on the ... business, the percentage of this billing type for each line of business might be the best way to allocate these people. However, if they're allocating producer commissions manually from direct bill statements, they might actually spend more time in handling business written with this billing method, (particularly in Life and Health, where there can be numerous company statements with small renewal items) . Top management, the office or operations manager, and/or the computer coordinator might find it difficult to decide how much time is spent in any one area or might spend varying amounts of time from year to year. In this case, apply the percentage of total commissions received from each department against their compensation. You'll need to make some additional judgment calls for allocating operating and administrative expenses to each profit center. ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/2061/HOW-TO-BE-A-HIGH-PERFORMING-FIRM/
... 160 The more effectively you sell, market, and service, the more valuable your agency. The secret to peak performance is employing the right people, in the right positions, based on their talents and the needs of the firm. Every firm must perform four major functions regardless of revenue size or number of employees. These functions are sales, marketing/placement, service, and accounting/administration. Any firm that wants to achieve its growth and profitability objectives needs to manage these functions properly to operate at a high-performance level, which in turn leads to high value. Let's explore how a successful firm should manage these four key functions. MANAGING SALES New sales, which are the key to growth, are measured by new customers, not additional commissions that materialize from renewals. ... . MANAGING MARKETING/PLACEMENT Good carrier relations can make the difference in the firm's ability to survive market cycles and its potential to reach growth objectives. Price is not the key, even in a soft market, since a client is likely to get a lower price elsewhere — perhaps from a direct writer or another firm in town. Professionalism and honesty in dealing with underwriters and branch officers is paramount. If the firm shotguns applications to most markets without screening those clients properly, relationships will deteriorate. Underwriters need to indicate to the firm what would enhance the firm's ability to write business with them. It might be a surprise to find that they are eager to help place business. The easier they make the firm's job, the more successful the firm will be in marketing and ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1778/AGREEMENT-FOR-PURCHASE-AND-SALE/
... incorporated agency with several offices; Buyer will consolidate the office o...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/2615/Telecommuting-to-Your-Virtual-Office/
... efforts. Ability to attach leads and clients to your specific market searches, with e-mail alerts for all the market, articles, blogs and people searches you make. And much more! All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Monetization type: None Comments (0 ) There are no comments posted. Search Articles/Libraries Select a Category All Benefits & Financial Services Commercial Lines Insurance Careers Communications Customer Service Financial/Accounting General Articles Human Resources Legal and E&O Letters (Customer Service) Letters (Sales) Life/Financial Services Management Marketing Marketing Agency of the Month Organizational Profiles Personal Lines Planning Questions & Answers Risk Management Selling Specialty Lines Technology Uncategorized Choose a Content Package All Member Content IMMS Library Jack Burke LIG Marine Managers USG Insurance Services, Inc. NIF Group Inc. PRS High Hazard/High Risk ... x No Thanks Loading.. Telecommuting to Your Virtual Office 8/17/2018 by CompleteMarkets Editor , LuNell Gilliland This content has not been rated yet. WHAT IS A VIRTUAL OFFICE? The virtual office concept, also known as telecommuting or a mobile office, emerged as the American work force shifted from physical labor to knowledge-based work. Workers who create or manipulate information can generally perform anywhere there is a telephone, desk, chair, and computer. Technology enables the knowledge-based worker's office to be portable. "Virtual," by Webster's definition, means "being such practically or in effect, although not in actual fact or name." Employees who work from home or some place other than the main office location are considered to be working in a virtual office. These employees are called ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/213/Managing-Small-Commercial-Accounts/
... x No Thanks Loading.. Managing Small Commercial Accounts 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Cindy Brady This content has not been rated yet. In many agencies, small' Commercial accounts get over-serviced while larger accounts are under-serviced because both are treated the same. Small accounts take the same amount of paperwork and processing time as larger accounts yet produce less revenue. They're more numerous and require more time keeping track of expiration dates. Because producers make less commission on small accounts, they usually leave them to the care of customer service representatives (CSRs) . It's not a case of being unable to see the forest for the trees-it's a case of knowing how to care for select trees in the forest. With systematic, specialized care, CSRs can ensure that these select trees' are ... us on the eight points listed below. If you have additional comments you would like to make, we welcome you to do so on the back of the page. Please use the following scoring system: 1... Disappointing 2... Less Than Expected 3... Average 4... Better Than Expected 5... Always Terrific 1. Are we courteous when we call you on the phone or when you come to see us in our office? 2. Do we take enough time with you and do we explain things thoroughly enough for you to understand what coverages you have? 3. Have we handled your claims (if you have had any) in a timely and fair manner? 4. Are you secure in the knowledge that we have provided you with best coverage for you needs at the best price? 5. Do ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/959/CENTRALIZING-CUSTOMER-SERVICE/
...cing. But in agencies with branch offices, each office tends to have its own s...as necessary. If the agency has four offices or units, each with $75,000 in Pe...