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... challenge of a successful marriage is so great that many young adults delay marriage or avoid it altogether. I've been happily married for 25 years. I consider myself lucky in love, but I'm not an expert. I attribute my success to selecting a wife with the patience of Job and with doing as I'm told. Business today is being reshaped by mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances. If business alliances can be compared to marriages, will their success rate be similar? Perhaps a more important question is how we reduce the chances of entering into a bad relationship. Beginning with that premise, I'd like to offer prospective allies the following points to determine if they're in love or just infatuated: Who's the person or organization you're going to marry? ' Who's the leader of ... Articles Blog Photos Group Connections Reviews IMMS Library Immerse yourself in our stacks. Take some time and browse through our library. We have thousands of articles, checklists, tip sheets, sales letters, and more! Communications Marketing Customer Service Planning Finance/Accounting Risk Management Human Resources Selling Legal and E&O Technology Life/Financial Services Glossaries Management Resources & Links Categories Popular Recent All Back A Relationship Audit 4/30/2013 10:42:27 PM by CompleteMarkets Editor , Michael Manes This content has not been rated yet. A RELATIONSHIP AUDIT by Michael Manes Before the agency "marriage," both parties need to answer these questions. The article was thought provoking. The question was simple: Why do so many marriages fail? The analysis was thorough: money, sex, families ...

... Newsletters Employees Articles Blog Photos Group Connections Reviews IMMS Library Immerse yourself in our stacks. Take some time and browse through our library. We have thousands of articles, checklists, tip sheets, sales letters, and more! Communications Marketing Customer Service Planning Finance/Accounting Risk Management Human Resources Selling Legal and E&O Technology Life/Financial Services Glossaries Management Resources & Links Categories Popular Recent All business alliances Articles tagged with business alliances Back A Relationship Audit This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Michael Manes 4/30/2013 10:42:27 PM A RELATIONSHIP AUDIT by Michael Manes Before the agency marriage, both parties need to answer these questions. The article was thought provoking.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) x No Thanks Loading.. Loading.. ... No Thanks Loading.. ...

...s, joint ventures, and strategic alliances. If business alliances can be compared to marriages, will ...

... ) Best Mergers & Acquisitions Practices This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Tom Doran 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM BEST MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS PRACTICES by Tom Doran Two in three transactions erode shareholder value rather than increase it. Given these odds, how can you succeed with an agency acqui.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Forming A Strategic Alliance This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Carol Hammes 4/30/2013 10:36:15 PM FORMING A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE by Carol Hammes A major challenge facing the Independent Agency System today is to provide quality products and services in a more cost effective and user-frien.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Judge Judy Rules On Banks, Insurance -And A Consumer ... Library Immerse yourself in our stacks. Take some time and browse through our library. We have thousands of articles, checklists, tip sheets, sales letters, and more! Communications Marketing Customer Service Planning Finance/Accounting Risk Management Human Resources Selling Legal and E&O Technology Life/Financial Services Glossaries Management Resources & Links Categories Popular Recent All mergers acquisitions Articles tagged with mergers acquisitions Back A Relationship Audit This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Michael Manes 4/30/2013 10:42:27 PM A RELATIONSHIP AUDIT by Michael Manes Before the agency marriage, both parties need to answer these questions. The article was thought provoking.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Agency Valuation, Mergers & Acquisitions: Is It A New Day? This content has ...

...f the local business health-care alliance. Many larger communities have an emp...

...ate in local, state, or regional alliances that of key stakeholdersfocus on un...aintenance. Conduct ongoing security audits, monitor changes to regulations, a...

... more upon the concurrence of strategic business plans. Companies or agencies, however large, can no longer strive to be all things to everyone. Part of finding the appropriate niche is to identify partners who have carved out that same turf. What it all boils down to is that agents and companies must be more selective about their key relationships and more professional in establishing and maintaining the contractual and working alliance. Decisions must be based upon mutual need within the context of the most efficient way to provide necessary insurance products and services to the individuals and businesses that recognize the "value-added" that the Independent Agency System offers. Companies that continue to treat agencies with thinly veiled contempt or try to impose contracts and guidelines will decline unilaterally. The increasingly professional and business-oriented agency principals will see to this! ... pay account balances? This can be a major issue since some companies are lowering the time to 30 days from the traditional 45 days and are requiring payment even though they might not have been able to get the policy correctly issued yet (hard to believe isn't it?) . Do you have to pay their account or can you use your own account current? What is the agency's liability for audit premiums? Do you have at least 45 days (hopefully 60) to turn the responsibility back to the company? If you have been offered a preferred contract, what are you getting that is of value to your agency? There are almost always substantial volume commitments that must be met, sometimes in Life insurance as well as Property/Casualty. Will the preferred underwriting pricing/servicing or ...

... , and pertinent renewal requirements. Modem use may be expanded to carrier interfacing for policy input, printing, or downloading data already captured by individual carriers. &# 160 CREATING A CLUSTER &# 160 In late 1995, my company received a referral from Don Eve, in conjunction with three well-managed agencies in the Northeast. With longstanding personal relationships between the individual owners, they sought to form an alliance that would place them in a collective proactive role to meet the dynamics of insurance carriers' future planning. They wanted to: Develop account rounding in Personal Lines with a professionally managed effort that would end the industry tendency to offer lip service in this important product line Provide selected carriers with one point of contact that would meet volume requirements and offer greater potential market stability and competitive pricing Encompass their ... are an important element in defining what we've created. The various contractual agreements include: The individual agency agreement with the Service Center, defining the relationship in terms of ownership, compensation, duties, and responsibilities. The corporate defining documents that specifically address: Membership requirements Membership termination Admittance of new members Underwriting integrity Company contracts/relationships Profit-sharing division of revenues Niche marketing agreements Competition for new accounts Earned/audited premium collection Data processing equipment/software The establishment of task forces' to identify and resolve problems and explore opportunities. Task force missions may include: Examination of all pertinent data to determine the marketing position of each carrier Determination of appointment of new carriers Determination of termination of existing carriers Development of a system to investigate each prospective agency/agent who applies to the cluster to become a member Perpetuation ...