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...ewelry industry. The $12 million appraisal was done by a member of the respect...this happen? Because it can. Proper appraisals by qualified, reputable apprais...

...6 requires an annual independent appraisal for employer stock held by an ESOP....ees failed to determine whether the appraisal report still had validity at the...

...hey would send him a bill for an appraisal, which they were authorized to perf...nically accesses digital photos and appraisals of auto damage directly from the body shops. FPG then validates the appraisals using industry-standard appraisal- and repair-estimating software....

...omplete, professionally prepared appraisal won’t always provide the answ...pon the sale of the agency. 2. The Appraisal Foundation’s definition of...

... counseling Performance appraisal interviewing Having litigate...ther words, most of the performance-appraisal discussion should focus on the r...

... deviate from your approach when you get caught up in a bidding war. The process of properly valuing an independent insurance agency can be complex and is often overwhelming when it is necessary to cover all of the bases required by the courts and the IRS. Management consulting firms that value insurance agencies as part of their services prepare extensive documents that review all of the valuation guidelines listed in Revenue Ruling 59-60 as they relate to the subject agency. They then apply anywhere from two to six different valuation tests depending upon the size of the agency and the purpose for the valuation. The result is a report that can easily be in excess of 50 pages and often loses the average reader (and many judges) well before the conclusion is reached. When you cut through all of the background details and appraiser jargon, however, the process really is not all that difficult. Even if there is a valid reason to have an independent third party appraise the agency every year or two, agency owners can and should go through an abbreviated valuation calculation of their own. No outsider can know your agency as well as you do. The balance of this report suggests three fundamental approaches to valuing an insurance agency. Provided that the person applying them carefully and unemotionally evaluates the specific organization, any of these methods can be appropriate at one time or another depending upon the purpose for the valuation. While there are different judgment calls that may have to be made if a separate book of business is being valued rather than the stock of a going concern insurance agency operation, the basic methodology can be applied ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Make A Smarter Deal: Base Agency Value On Profitability, Not A Multiple Of Commissions!5/29/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Roger Thomas This content has not been rated yet. What multiple does an agency sell for these days? 1.25 times commission? 1.5 times commissions? As a broker and as an appraiser of insurance agencies, Roger Thomas is often asked these questions. He answers them in this document. Having dealt with hundreds of agency sales and acquisitions, it's become very clear that many sellers and buyers expect to price an agency using a multiple of commissions. Although this method has been commonplace for decades, using a multiple of commissions to purchase or sell an agency can lead to gross overpayment. Why? It fails to consider the profitability of the agency. Unless every agency has the same expense structure — and we know that expenses vary widely from agency to agency — how can a multiple of commissions be accurate? This is a simplistic approach that can be very costly for an agency purchaser. To which commissions should a multiple apply? Just Property/Casualty? Would Life and Health use a different multiple? Should you apply the multiple to gross commissions or to net commissions (after paying producers)? What should you do about commissions relating to the vested ownership interest that some producers have in their books of business? Can you sell commissions that are brokered for another agency and that you don't own? And just what is the correct multiple, anyway? Will it correspond to the agency's expenses? If so, how will ...

... Gary Jacobson Editor's note: This article is one of a series that covers buy/sell arrangements for agency valuation and tax issues, shareholder internal buy/sell agreements, related estate planning, employment contracts and non-competes. It's part of a unique pre-publication book by the authors that gives you practical street-level understanding of one of the most significant financial events in the life of your agency. CHAPTER 3: SPECIAL FACTORS WHEN VALUING AN AGENCY Although we discussed agency value in general terms in earlier chapters, this is a huge topic with many special factors that affect agency value in ways that don't impact most closely held businesses. This chapter focuses strictly on special factors that can affect agency value, many of which are unique to insurance agencies. Agency owners should be aware that even the best CPA or business appraiser is unlikely to be aware of these factors unless you, the agency owner, make a point of explaining them. It's Not That Simple! We all know that although the value of a house is ultimately based on what the buyer and seller agree upon, we also know that a reasonable starting place is often the price for which similar homes in the neighborhood have recently sold. We also know a realtor can greatly simplify the process. This might seem difficult to some, especially those who have never bought or sold a house before, but it's child's play compared to valuing an agency. Many buyers and/or sellers are in the same position as a person who has is buying a house for the first time, but without the help of a realtor. Valuing an agency is ...

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...red that the insurer requires an appraisal in order to schedule the j...t the jeweler had done the appraisal.