Search CompleteMarkets

...ots, you know the gap between a conference presentation and a production deployment can be enormous. The conference wrapped with a clear consensus: AI ...or distribution professionals, the conference takeaways translate into a great...

... traditional insurance industry conferences and conventions that include techn...ur town. You can attend meetings, conferences, and conventions on a nearly fu...

... copiers, secretarial services, conference rooms, and other amenities. BENE...r telecommuters out of telecommuting centers can help you avoid this problem. ...

...office and also at each closing conference following an inspection. Local OSH...ef training sessions in the office conference room. If intensive training is n...

...il on Technology (ACT) conference in Phoenix. This group of agencies ...ment carrier download and/or service centers where appropriate; ...

... a certificate with additional coverages notes (such as Additional Insured) if the policy doesn't reflect this coverage. If you need to get permission from the carrier, get it in writing before you add this to the certificate. Don't type this year's certificate based on last year's information. Have a procedure to update the data — it might well have changed! Questions and Answers Several excellent questions at the conference warranted additional research: When an agent issues a certificate of insurance, is he or she legally obligated to list all applicable policies? For example, do they list the primary and all excess policies? I could not locate any specific legal precedent while researching this issue. It makes sense to list only those &# 160coverages applicable to the request for the cert. For example, when sending ... At the recent Network of Vertafore Users (NetVU)— formerly The AMS Users' Group — in Nashville, I was fortunate to work with Joyce Sigler, vice president of Jones & Werner, an independent agency in Fairlawn, Ohio, in presenting a program titled "Best Practices for Certificates." During this session, it became quite evident that the handling of certificates was an issue front and center in agents' minds. According to industry statistics, the handling –or improper handling –of certificates of insurance accounts for 2% to 4% of E&O claims. Although this isn't a huge percentage, it's higher than it should be. As you probably know, a certificate of insurance provides a snapshot at one point in time; it neither modifies coverage ...

...eral excellent questions at the conference warranted additional research: ...

... if we can't manage our own risks, it'll be difficult to convince clients that we can help manage theirs. Like the policies we sell, disaster-recovery plans are something we hope we never have to use. However, a thoughtfully crafted, workable plan can help us to contain the damage and to keep providing service to our customers if a disaster does occur. BUILDING THE TEAM An agent at a conference I attended recently told me that his agency had just finished putting together a disaster-recovery plan after a year of work. It might not take your agency that long, but don't expect to create a good plan overnight. Your first step is to assemble a planning team from within your agency. Its size depends on the size of your agency, but the team should include a representative from as ... in such a scenario, you can send the tapes to your vendor and have the data restored quickly. A disaster that affects your data could also damage your computers, of course, so your plan needs to include a way to replace them. Not long after 9/11, I attended a meeting at which someone from Marsh, which experienced terrible losses in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, described how they recovered. Marsh used Applied's WinTAM system on Dell computers. They had a disaster plan that included agreements with both Applied and Dell. Applied telephoned Dell and ordered new servers from Austin, Texas, and had someone pick them up, since many forms of transportation were shut down. A backup tape from Marsh was delivered to the Applied headquarters in Chicago, and the ...

... banks selling insurance, competing agencies, direct writers, company service centers, and so on. Why add another separation? Why keep your most important asset at arm's length? Why not welcome prospects and clients into your business home? Once visitors are in your office, what message does your environment send them? When prospects come in your office and are ushered into a comfortable (even plush) conference room or a producer's windowed office, they're being told how important they are to your agency. This is a good message. After they've become clients and they visit your office, they may see that the CSR who handles their account does not work in such a lavish office-maybe not in an office at all. Because clients are your agency's lifeblood, the people who handle their accounts should have ... , 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: banks selling insurance, competing agencies, direct writers, company service centers, and so on. Why add another separation? Why keep your most important asset at arm's length? Why not welcome prospects and clients into your business home? Once visitors are in your office, what message does your environment send them? When prospects come in your office and are ushered into a comfortable (even plush) conference room or a producer's windowed office, they're being told how ...

... also schedule regular personal conferences with your producers. Use the time ...s, professionals with whom you work, centers of influence, and other community...