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... transaction plan is of paramount importance. Planning your work then working your plan helps you accomplish more in a day. A solid renewal control process will help you control your work rather than it controlling you! Here are some recommended steps for implementing a comprehensive renewal flow plan: RENEWALS 1) Get the renewal control list. This list should be prepared from the information contained in invoices. The agency's bookkeeper or accounting personnel can prepare this report three to four months in advance of the renewal month. The list should be produced by date and in alphabetical order. If you work in a team, the list can be generated by producer code and in chronological order. 2) Update. Review the list and make direct notations on it with information about modified expiration dates, coverage types, and ... far more complex. Without a solid plan of action with specifically defined mechanisms, renewals can easily take control of a CSR's time. When this happens, service suffers. True risk management - providing total financial protection for clients - requires time and careful attention to details. This sort of quality care leads to excellent retention rates. You've heard it before: It costs far less to keep an existing account than it costs to get a new one. So, implementing a careful renewal transaction plan is of paramount importance. Planning your work then working your plan helps you accomplish more in a day. A solid renewal control process will help you control your work rather than it controlling you! Here are some recommended steps for implementing a comprehensive renewal flow plan: RENEWALS 1) Get the renewal control ...

...ntain close liaison with public accountants, state examiners, and Internal Rev...

... Links Categories Popular Recent All Back Choosing An Accountant 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM by CompleteMarkets Editor , Chris Burand This content has not been rated yet. The agency external accountant plays an integral part in every agency's operations. After reviewing many agencies financials, I've seen the unfortunate results of either choosing the wrong accountant or, more frequently, agency owners, managers, and bookkeepers not communicating effectively with their accountant. This situation is difficult to detect until serious damage is done because the results usually don't become evident until many years have passed. A little planning up front can help avoid disaster down the road. Here are a few tips to help agencies achieve better results from their accountant: The first step is to decide what you want your accountant to do. Many ... : Last name: Email: Are you sure you want to deactivate your CompleteMarkets Company Profile Deactivate Cancel Loading.. About Us Services Jobs PR 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 Back Choosing An Accountant 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM by CompleteMarkets Editor , Chris Burand This content has not been rated yet. The agency external accountant plays an integral part in every agency's operations. After reviewing many agencies financials, I've seen ...

... agency's financial management is inadequate, however, years may pass before the problems becomes evident-and it may be too late to fix them. Let's look back at the evolution of today's agency financial management. As you do this, think about your own agency and the role of your financial manager. Evolution of the Financial Manager In the not-so-distant past, an insurance agency's finances may have been managed by a bookkeeper sitting in a dark back office sweating over an account current ledger (wearing green eyeshades, of course) . Life was stressful for that bookkeeper because all the columns on his ledger had to balance, and much of his work had to be done manually. Before the advent of spreadsheets, financial projections or forecasts could be done, but this was slow and tedious. When agency automation was ... : Last name: Email: Are you sure you want to deactivate your CompleteMarkets Company Profile Deactivate Cancel Loading.. About Us Services Jobs PR 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 Back Best Practices Of Financial Management 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM by CompleteMarkets Editor , Angela Bemiss This content has not been rated yet. In today's insurance environment, a successful insurance agent or broker must have good sales management, good operations ...

...y, agency owners, managers, and bookkeepers not communicating effectively with...area of expertise. I've found that accountants who specialize in annual tax re...

... ? You probably know the Return on Investment (ROI) on your last stock or mutual fund, but what about the ROI on your AMS? Does it really matter? Many agents don't know the answer to these questions; in many cases, they've never given it any thought. They dutifully bought a system because it was the right thing to do. Then they immediately turned it over to their bookkeeper or accounting department (since computers were for number crunchers') and blissfully went about the business of selling and servicing. Today, most agencies have a comprehensive automation system. They also have a high degree of automation knowledge, but are still not what you would call techies. For the most part, they have no idea if they're using their system to anywhere near its full capability. The ... Management System Utilization Survey that follows will allow you to measure your system usage and then take action to improve it. Although neither a complete survey of every possible function in every major agency management system, nor a measure of every type of software available to agents and brokers, the survey will open your eyes to forgotten uses of your AMS. Take the time now to print and complete this survey. Measuring your agency utilization is the first step toward improving it. The test can be completed in a few hours. Once you have completed and scored it, your strengths and weaknesses will be apparent. Several key people in your agency should complete their own copies of the survey, and then compare their answers to get an accurate overall picture. &# 160AGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM UTILIZATION SURVEY DIRECTIONS: ...

... agency's financial management is inadequate, however, years may pass before the problems becomes evident-and it may be too late to fix them. Let's look back at the evolution of today's agency financial management. As you do this, think about your own agency and the role of your financial manager. Evolution of the Financial Manager In the not-so-distant past, an insurance agency's finances may have been managed by a bookkeeper sitting in a dark back office sweating over an account current ledger (wearing green eyeshades, of course) . Life was stressful for that bookkeeper because all the columns on his ledger had to balance, and much of his work had to be done manually. Before the advent of spreadsheets, financial projections or forecasts could be done, but this was slow and tedious. When agency automation was ... , it came with the automatic computation and printing of account currents and many other financial reports. The average agency had increased in size, and the financial manager might now be an accountant. Life was still stressful because he was most frequently responsible for the new computer system. He knew very little about computer software and hardware, but he was the logical choice for this responsibility, since anyone who understands debits and credits must understand computers-right? Need for Savvy Financial Management In recent years, the world of the insurance agency has changed dramatically, and the need for effective financial management has increased. Much of the accounting is done automatically by the computer, with the remainder handled by the accounting staff. The computer system is frequently managed by an Information Systems Manager. The financial manager may have responsibility ...

... owed to the agency without alienating the insured. In this section, we will answer the following questions: Who should do the collecting? What are the steps to developing an effective collection system? When should you collect? Why must every agency set a goal concerning collections? OVERVIEW Who Should Do the collecting? One staff person should be responsible for the collection system. This person should be the bookkeeper, financial manager, or another individual in the accounting department. Do not involve the producer in collecting unpaid premiums. A producer cannot be the good guy' who develops a friendly relationship with the insured and then the bad guy' at collection time. What Are the Steps to Developing an Effective Collection System? 1. Appoint a responsible collection manager. 2. Establish a list of key ... : Last name: Email: Are you sure you want to deactivate your CompleteMarkets Company Profile Deactivate Cancel Loading.. About Us Services Jobs PR 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 Back Collections 4/30/2013 10:38:09 PM by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. COLLECTIONS The purpose of a collection system is to collect money owed to the agency without alienating the insured. In this section, we will ...

...ictment of capable, hardworking bookkeepers. But the fact remains that making ...

...arding the importance of annual accountants' reviews sparked a lot of... every agent I know using multiple accountants are finding they are act...