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... x No Thanks Loading.. Is Your Insurance Software for MGAs Audit-Ready?9/14/2026 by Mark Rogers This content has not been rated yet. Managing general agents have spent several years in an expansion that produced consecutive double-digit premium growth and a steadily larger share of specialty and hard-to-place business. Capacity was available, appetite was broad, and technology investment concentrated where growth was: quoting speed, distribution reach, and product launch. That environment has changed character. Carriers extending delegated authority are applying more rigorous due diligence before renewing capacity, asking harder questions about underwriting discipline and loss ratio stability, and moving toward long-term quality over volume. The conversation shifted from how much premium an MGA can produce to how well it can evidence what it has been doing. Insurance software for MGAs built primarily to win business now meets a market that renews capacity on the strength of the record. The Carrier Relationship Runs on Bordereaux Everything a capacity provider knows about a delegated book arrives through reporting. The carrier does not see individual submissions or underwriting decisions in real time. It sees a premium bordereau and a claims bordereau, and forms its entire view of the relationship from them. That makes reporting quality a commercial property rather than an administrative chore. Common failures are mundane and consequential: Late delivery. Reports arriving after the agreed date, repeatedly, which reads to a carrier as an operation without control of its own data. Restated figures. Numbers that change between submissions without explanation, undermining confidence in every prior report. Format drift. Each carrier specifying its own layout and the MGA producing ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. E&O Claims: Training/Remediation After The Error Or Omission!4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Ken Buehler This content has not been rated yet. If an error or omission occurs, you can't undo it. You can take action to prevent similar incidents in the future, though. An examination of the incident can reveal areas that need your attention. After an incident takes place, you need to ask these questions: Were agency procedures and policies followed? Was everything about the incident properly documented? Were insurance company underwriting guidelines and binding authority guidelines followed? Did the employee (producer or support person) exceed their authority? Did the insurance company perform its responsibilities properly? If it didn't and the agency was aware of this, did the agency bring it to the company's attention? If it turns out that the agency does have some responsibility for the error or omission, even if to a very small extent, training and remedial action are in order. With that in mind, let's look at each question. Were agency procedures and policies followed? It's part of every employee's job to follow agency procedures and policies; whether they do is part of their performance evaluation. If employee adherence to stated policy isn't being enforced, you need to find out why. And the reason might not be clear-cut. For example, most successful agencies today are automated, and most agency systems are activity driven. This means processing is recorded not only by entering file information in the system, but also by entering an activity that creates ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Sample Overtime Authorization Policy For Non-Exempt Employees 7/1 /2015 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Don Phin This content has not been rated yet. If you are a non-exempt employee, you may be qualified for overtime. All overtime must be approved of in writing by your supervisor. Please request an overtime authorization form. At certain times the company may require you to work overtime. The company will attempt to give as much notice as possible in this instance. However, advance notice may not always be possible. Failure to work overtime when requested may result in discipline, up to and including discharge. Overtime is defined as [any hours worked over eight hours in one day], more than forty hours in one week, or any hours worked on the seventh day worked in one week. When the previous parameters are met, overtime is paid at one and one-half times the regular hourly rate. If you work more than twelve hours in one day or more than eight hours on the seventh working day then you will be paid two times your regular hourly rate for those additional hours. Holidays, vacations days, and sick leave days do not count as time worked for computing overtime. ©1998 Phin Enterprises. Donald A. Phin, Esq., CPCM. No portion of these materials may be reproduced by any means without the express written permission of the author. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to join? Need insurance for you, your business or your family? ...

... Policy Purpose To maximize the benefits of electronic communications to ABC Insurance Agency (The Company) and its employees, while protecting the Company and its employees from liability and/or performance challenges due to improper or unauthorized use of the systems made available to facilitate the business of the Company. Company Property As a productivity enhancement tool, the Company (including all subsidiaries) provides and encourages the business use of electronic communications (notably the Internet, voice mail, electronic mail, and fax) . Electronic communications systems owned by the Company and all messages generated on or handled by these electronic communications systems, including back-up copies, are considered the property of the Company. Any attempt to violate, circumvent, and/or ignore these policies could result in corrective action, up to and including termination. Authorized Usage The Company's electronic communications systems must be used solely to facilitate the business of the Company. Users are forbidden from using the Company's electronic communications systems for private business activities, personal, or amusement/entertainment purposes. Employees are reminded that the use of corporate resources, including electronic communications, should never create either the appearance or the reality of inappropriate use. Inappropriate use might result in loss of access privileges and disciplinary action, up to and including termination. Proper Usage Employees are strictly prohibited from using Company computers, e-mail systems, and Internet access accounts for personal reasons or for any improper purpose. Some specific examples of prohibited uses include, but are not limited to: Transmitting, retrieving, downloading, or storing messages or images that are offensive, derogatory, off-color, sexual in ...

... for effective processing of all lines of business. 3. Establish procedures for proper and expeditious handling of all claims and losses. 4. Establish and maintain systems and procedures to provide accounting controls over assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. 5. Establish and maintain an effective personnel administration program. 6. Establish policies and procedures to provide administrative support services in an economical, uniform, and timely manner. 7. Develop and maintain a high-caliber management staff to ensure continuity of effective agency operations and a natural progression for all key positions. 8. Develop an operating plan with a market analysis, forecast/budget, and objectives for improvement and continuing analysis of the agency. 9. Participate in seminars and classes for knowledge and skill development. 10. Perform other duties as assigned. AUTHORITY 1. Train producers and staff. 2. Hire, promote, and fire agency employees. 3. Approve agency increases within standards and guidelines. 4. Approve expense accounts (except own) . 5. Enforce agency credit terms. 6. Coordinate interdepartmental contacts. 7. Coordinate and control all bulletins to producers and staff. 8. Control placement of business. 9. Approve job charter and organizational changes. 10. Approve expenditures. &# 160 Position Title: CONTROLLER AND/OR ACCOUNTING MANAGER Objective: Under the direction of the Agency Manager, to plan, establish, lead, control, and maintain systems and procedures so as to provide accounting controls over assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. Salary Grade: 12 ACTION STEPS: 1. Design and establish new ...

... All comments should be noted, any changes made and agreed upon, and final draft of the procedure made. 4. Amend these printed sheets or reissue, making copies for each person involved with a procedure. Then file one copy in this manual for ready reference. 5. Suspend your procedures every six months, to again review with all staff to be sure everyone is still following the procedure to the letter, the procedure is still effective and does not need changing, and all new staff people have been trained on these procedures. A WORD ABOUT ERRORS & OMISSIONS PROTECTION Establishing standard agency procedures offers you many benefits, but the most important for most agencies is the protection that procedures offer against Errors & Omissions lawsuits. Where can errors and omissions occur? In placing coverage By exceeding company authority (per your agency contract) By not issuing proper binders or documentation of coverage Through failure to renew expiring insurance (whether insured is contacted or not) By not maintaining proper amounts of insurance (when average clauses apply) By overlooking and not covering certain types of hazards/perils Through a misunderstanding with the insured (lack of proper communication) By not having proper documentation to prove the error or omission false By giving false information to the company, or not giving all the information to the company when submitting or renewing coverage What to do to help prevent errors or omissions: l. Telephone Messages a. Date, time, and sign every phone message. b. Write the exact information given, and deliver to the proper person immediately. c. Don't take messages or try to ...

... the four specific time periods: 7.5 Prior to Crisis Timing The most important time segment concerning Crisis Management Plan timing is the period identified as "prior to crisis" . This involves an on-going time period without any definable termination. Within this major time segment lie Crisis Management Plan formulation, implementation and on-going maintenance. At the time of a crisis, the ultimate success of the Crisis Management Plan is dependent upon the effectiveness of the strategic planning which has been completed during this time period. 7.6 During Crisis Timing This time segment is relatively brief and addresses only action necessary during the actual crisis occurrence. This involves immediate action by the Emergency Response Team and Crisis Management Committee. The plans for anticipated crises must involve pre-determination of sequential task actions, establishment of priorities and delegation of authority. At the time of a crisis occurrence, Crisis Management Plan policies and operational procedures should immediately implemented. To be successful, the control of a crisis involves a logical sequence of activities with pre-determined priorities. 7.7 Immediately following Crisis Timing The post-crisis period is of relatively short duration and includes initial salvage operations, containment of loss and evaluation of the situation. Recovery plan assessment considerations, include, but are not limited to impact on staff, operating status, third party exposures, claim value and recovery considerations. During the relatively brief time period following a crisis, a preliminary assessment of the existing situation should be completed; the crisis media and public relations strategy should be implemented and decisions concerning contingency plan implementation for as alternate locations and resources should be acted upon. 7.8 Post Crisis Timing The ...

... means liability for damages because of injury to any person, damage to property, or other loss damage to property, or other loss or damage resulting from any personal, familiar, or household responsibilities or activities, rather than from responsibilities or activities referred to in paragraphs (2 )( A ) and (2 )( B ); (4 ) Risk retention group' mean any corporation or other limited liability association (A ) whose primary activity consists of assuming and spreading all, or any portion, of the liability exposure of its group members; (B ) which is organized for the primary purpose of conducting the activity described under subparagraph (A ); (C ) which - (i ) is chartered and licensed as a liability insurance company under the laws of a State and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of such State; or (ii) before January 1, 1985, was chartered or licensed and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of Bermuda or the Cayman Islands and, before such date, had certified to the insurance commissioner of at least one State that it satisfied the capitalization requirements of such State, except that any such group shall be considered to be a risk retention group only if it has been engaged in business continuously since such date and only for the purpose of continuing to provide insurance to cover product liability or completed operations liability (as such terms were defined in this section before the date of the enactment of the Risk Retention Amendments of 1986) . (D ) which does not exclude any ...

... with the threat of losing business to non-residents based on mass television advertising, agent groups banned together in the early 1950s and expanded the concept of countersignature. Agent groups wrote their own model laws, proposing to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and state legislatures that a resident agent must countersign any policy written by a non-resident agent. This was based on the theory that because non-resident agents weren't familiar with state laws, a licensed resident agent should review the policy before delivery to the consumer. The resident agent could assure the public that the policy language complied with state law. The model law also included a requirement that the resident agent be paid 25% of the commission or 5% of the premium, whichever was less. According to the Agent's Guide: [Countersignature laws] authorize the agent under his agency agreement to receive and accept proposals for insurance, covering risks of such classes as he is authorized by the company to insure; to countersign, deliver, and continue policies of insurance signed by the authorized officials of the company. Nearly all states passed countersignature laws. However, the degree of responsibility on the part of the agent varied significantly. Some states required the resident countersigning agent to be physically present with the non-resident agent at the time of the sale. Other states expanded the requirement of "countersign" to include the wet signature of an "authorized" agent on any policy issued in the state, whether written by the contracted agent or a broker representing that agent. Still other states defined "authorized" to mean a hard copy authorization (appointment) ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Management And Leadership 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. &# 160 MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP Management implies the existence of formal authority, while leadership may not have any connection with formal authority. Marketing managers are in their positions because they have been given the formal authority to perform a job, including directing the actions of others. The responsibility for seeing that the job gets done accompanies this authority. Leadership does not require a delegation of formal authority from above' in an organization. The distinction between leadership and management is not always clear. Agency employees follow the directions of marketing managers partially because they must; however, people may follow the directions of a leader for entirely different reasons: because the individual is physically attractive, knowledgeable, or for any number of other reasons. Marketing managers do not always have to be leaders to be effective, but some key ideas about leadership can be useful. The successful marketing manager's concern with leadership focuses on obtaining premium performance from employees. There are several types of leadership approaches. The approaches applicable to the role of a marketing manager include: trait, style (this is probably the most applicable), and situational. Though there are others, I feel these are specifically appropriate. TRAIT Early studies about leadership focused on the personality traits of past leaders. Leaders were thought to be dominant extroverts who possessed self-confidence, empathy, and intelligence. This approach assumes that a better understanding of leadership can be gained by studying the personalities and behavior of famous leaders. Keep in ...