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... I'm pleased that technology has found its way into events and gatherings of people who traditionally didn't talk of such matters. It seems like only yesterday that events for CEOs would acknowledge technology in a very lofty kind of way. Today, technology has surfaced as a competitive corporate strategy and CEOs are becoming well versed in what once was viewed as arcane techno-babble. If you're a hands-on technology user, you can't pass up your user group meeting because it allows you to communicate with people using the same hardware and software. And just from ... and seminars to keep you busy year-round. And technology issues are adding to these already overloaded programs. How do you determine which are worthwhile? This document by Greg Maciag looks into what makes technology events relevant to you. Technology has contributed to an explosion of industry meetings during the past decade. Is there a saturation point? Are we diluting our ability to focus the industry? Is there too much information? Are we confusing people? Or is all of this a good thing? First we need to look at the huge ... 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 Industry Technology Events: Revelation Or Repetition?4/30/2013 10:42:27 PM by CompleteMarkets Editor , Greg Maciag This content has not been rated yet. INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY EVENTS: REVELATION OR REPETITION? by Greg Maciag The insurance industry has spawned enough conventions and ...

... ) routine that defines their being. However, as with every emotional event in our lives, a business transition is easiest to accomplish when you make it part of an ongoing process and plan. FINANCIAL PLANNING An agency perpetuation plan allows you to plan the finances and corporate structure of the business for the easiest perpetuation with the best tax implications for both the buyer and the seller. Working with your consultant, accountant, and/or tax attorney, you can realign the form of company you operate to make the financial burden on ... the book of business of the retiring agent. This made for a transparent movement of business over time because the retiring agent's accounts would eventually experience retention loss while the new agency's business was all theirs. You can implement a wide variety of financial and organizational activities to meet the buyer's and seller's needs. MANAGEMENT SUCCESSION PLANNING Do you remember all the mistakes and missteps you made while you were learning how to manage your agency? Do you want the next generation of owners to go through that experience, too? To avoid this situation ... agency's strategic and tactical plans, it will lose its emotional edge. The greatest problem that people have with succession and perpetuation is that they don't want to think about breaking the business (and personal) routine that defines their being. However, as with every emotional event in our lives, a business transition is easiest to accomplish when you make it part of an ongoing process and plan. FINANCIAL PLANNING An agency perpetuation plan allows you to plan the finances and corporate structure of the business for the easiest perpetuation with the best tax ...

... the agreement first. A typical Confidentiality Agreement will bind the buyer and the advisors with whom the buyer chooses to share the information. If the buyer is an individual, this is often all that is needed. If the buyer is a separate entity such as a corporation or an LLC, then such a format is not always broad enough. The key employees of the buying entity who are involved in the negotiations should also execute the Confidentiality Agreement if they present potential competitive threats to the seller, and the buyer entity should take ... the life of your agency. CHAPTER 2 - NEGOTIATIONS In Chapter 1 we dealt extensively with issues to be addressed prior to initiating negotiations to buy or sell an agency. In Chapter 2 we discuss the negotiations from both the buyer's and the seller's side. THE FIRST MEETING You've done your homework. Now it's time for the first meeting (or two) . &# 160 Both buyer and seller should have thought through, in advance, what they are willing to disclose in order to help establish mutual interest. For instance, ... , Larry Morrison This content has not been rated yet. HOW TO BUY, SELL, MERGE OR PERPETUATE AN AGENCY: INTRODUCTION – PART IV by Larry Morrison and Gary Jacobson A Comprehensive Look at the Best Ways to Handle One of the Most Significant Financial Events in the Life of Your Agency 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 ...

... too many companies have yet to learn that either a Web site or Web advertising must hold the user's interest. These tools should contribute to reaching the goals and objectives in a highly disciplined, consistent approach so that the focus is always on the customer or prospect. Corporate identity, an essential element in self-promotion, deserves careful attention. How satisfied a company is with its logo, letterhead, business cards, product graphics, or newsletter design is irrelevant. Customers are the final arbiters when it comes to corporate identity. How a ... until the key objectives emerge and gain the support of management. 2. Designing the Plan Once the goals are established and everyone knows what is to be accomplished, you're ready to move into the next phase. This involves selecting the specific tactics or activities required to meet the objectives. A marketing plan will include three types of marketing activities: self-promotion, media relations, and advertising. Self-promotion. Every business has an obligation to tell its own story in a way that best communicates its message. This self-promotion involves the use of ... techniques. The options are endless, but here are some basic self-promotion tactics: company newsletters direct mail special events, seminars trade show exhibits capabilities brochures collateral materials Internet use If a newsletter is to be developed, the issues of size, design, content, style, frequency, and distribution all combine to create an effective communications experience for the reader. Serious thought must go into developing a comprehensive database. The same is true for brochures and direct mail pieces. The Internet offers unusual opportunities for telling a company's story and identifying ...

... maps out a plan for the continuation of a business in the event that a major stockholder passes away or becomes disabled. The agreement most often involves Life insurance. Two basic types of these agreements include stock-redemption plans and cross-purchase plans. In a stock-redemption plan, the corporation agrees to purchase stock in the event of a shareholder's death. The agreement is funded by Life insurance on the shareholder. The corporation becomes the owner and the beneficiary of the policy, which is considered a corporate asset. In a cross-purchase plan, shareholders ( ... with our Business Life insurance program. We can advise you on the types of Life and Disability insurance it takes to successfully plan for a continued, healthy future of your business. The experts in our Life department will analyze your business and provide the best policies to meet your needs in the most economical manner. Salary continuation plans in the event you're disabled..buy-sell agreements that ensure a smooth buyout of a deceased shareholder's stock..Key-Person insurance on the lives of those executives whose replacement would be costly and difficult..and much more. We have the expertise to ... i.e., pure protection, cash-value build-up, and so on) . Some business plans also call for Disability Income protection, and of course for Group insurance. Buy-Sell Agreement: A legal agreement that maps out a plan for the continuation of a business in the event that a major stockholder passes away or becomes disabled. The agreement most often involves Life insurance. Two basic types of these agreements include stock-redemption plans and cross-purchase plans. In a stock-redemption plan, the corporation agrees to purchase stock in the event of a shareholder's death ...

... that the majority of crisis, risk and insurance management strategies, methodologies, tactical systems and/or consulting practices herein identified have been copyrighted by Richard H. Soper or Richard H. Soper, Inc., dba: SOPER & ASSOCIATES, a State of California corporation or SOPER & ASSOCIATES, LTD., a State of Washington corporation or in articles or texts authored by Richard H. Soper and appearing in: Risk Management, Risk & Benefits Management, Risk Management Reports and/or published in copyrighted text by: Risk ... composite of excerpts from the Crisis Management Handbook, currently under development by SOPER & ASSOCIATES, LTD. as well as from syllabi used in conjunction with the following presentations: Society of Risk Management Consultants, 1994 Fall Conference Santa Fe, New Mexico, October, 1994 Meeting Topic: Crisis Management Consulting Golden Gate Chapter, San Francisco, RIMS Meeting, November, 1990 Meeting Topic: Crisis Management Plan Los Angeles Chapter, RIMS Meeting, October 1989 Meeting Topic: Crisis Management Plan West Coast Regional RIMS Conference Otter Crest, Oregon, ... Vulnerability Flow Analysis 5.3 Insurance and Risk Funding Adequacy 5.4 Facility Location Considerations 6.0 CRISES EXPOSURE AWARENESS 6.1 Crises Exposure Awareness Overview 6.2 Legal Compliance Considerations 6.3 Litigation Crisis Exposure 6.4 Environmental Crisis Exposure 6.5 Earthquake Crisis Exposure 6.6 Volcanic Crisis Exposure 6.7 Crisis Awareness Focus Exhibit 6.1 Significant Crisis Events DIVISION III CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENT 7.0 PLAN ORGANIZATION AND TIMING 7.1 Key Crisis Management Plan Elements 7.2 Crisis Exposure Assessment 7.3 Crisis Management Plan Components Exhibit 7.1 Crisis Management Plan Organization 7.4 Crisis Management Plan Timing Exhibit 7.2 Crisis Management Sequential Timing 7.5 Prior to Crisis Timing 7.6 ...

... work. A company is lucky if there's someone around who's not afraid to poke holes in its "latest and greatest" ideas and initiatives. Of course, most organizations either sideline or dismiss these bothersome skeptics as lousy "team players" who don't fit into the corporate culture. Bruce McLain was one of these people. At public relations planning meetings, everyone waited for Bruce to weigh in with his often clever and always incisive comments. Bruce's most memorable contributions always came toward the end of a meeting, when he brought everyone ... down from the lofty heights of enthusiasm with his question, "Who's going to make the coffee?" Bruce knew that success lies in the details, not in the grandiose ideas. If it isn't clear who's going to do what to whom and when, all the talk is irrelevant and the program will fail. It isn't necessary to look very far for examples: A major-market TV station scheduled a free event for fans to meet one of the actors in a national TV show aimed at teenagers. Even with great PR, ... a handful of people showed up. No one thought that holding the promo in a bar might not be an appropriate place for kids. Then there's the Solstice, the sleek, two-seater sports car from Pontiac that weighs in at $2K. Both the design and the price get rave reviews, but experts question whether it will make the hearts of the young and the would-be young go pitter-pat. "Like the other GM sports cars, it comes to market a tad underpowered," writes one auto reviewer. "It feels ...

...mitation the following: 2.1.1 Corporate Administration. Oversee office man...pute Resolution') which is hereby incorporated by reference. 10. MISCELLANEOU...

... they've compiled. Again, these can be rewritten into a press release from your agency. Hertz, the car rental leader, gets millions of dollars of free publicity every year when it issues its annual Cost of Car Ownership Study. Although this benefits every Hertz location, corporate or franchised, the smart operators contact the local media and offer statements that enable the media to personalize the story with a local slant. You could be doing this with every release issued by each of your companies. A national release from a company stands a ... accounts. Workers' Compensation, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and Employer Trip Reduction Programs (carpooling mandates) are but a few of the current hot topics. Arrange a seminar for clients and prospects to enlighten them on these topics and how your agency can help meet their insurance requirements. Your local IIAA or PIA chapters can usually help you find speakers or material for such presentations. But don't stop with just the seminar. Put out a press release and invite the media to attend. They may or may not attend, ... an investigation into public relations theory than a how-to manual. However, in Insurance Agency Promotion and Advertising, ' George and Jeffrey Nordhaus offer a list of possible press-release subjects, including: Accident Prevention Anniversaries (Business) Anything Unusual (Hobbies, Human Interest, Office Events, Trips) Automation Advances Awards Company Appointments Community Service Convention Attendance Disabled Workers Fire Prevention Foreign Trainees Honors Insurance Laws & Regulations Local Disaster programs Mergers New Anything (Address, Employees, Officers, Offices, Techniques) Promotions Public Service Work Rate Revisions Remodeling ...

... . These products generated 80% of the industry's premium revenue. The underlying investments of the Life insurance industry were in fixed-return securities. Securities were a primary source of long-term capital in the economy, which by 1990 accounted for almost $1.5 trillion invested in mortgages, corporate bonds, and U.S. bonds. Although interest rates could vary, they did so in a relatively narrow band until the stagnant inflation of the mid-1970s. Since the underlying policy reserve rate guarantees were a relatively conservative 3% or 4%, there was little ... reform is that a methodology that didn't work well was retained and made more elaborate, rather than providing a better model to help customers understand how a policy works (the goal of the NAIC Working Committee on illustration reform) . In fact, at the December 1997 meeting of the NAIC in Seattle, regulators complained that illustration reform would have to be revisited yet again, since it hadn't met regulators' expectations — even just 12 months after initial promulgation! The American Council on Life Insurance started the last phase of repairing the industry's ... by launching the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA) in 1996. The creators of this membership organization (virtually a self-regulating body) created six principles of ethical market behavior to which all members are expected to adhere through self-examination followed by independent examination. As of September 2001, a total of 232 Life insurance companies had achieved and maintained current membership in IMSA. Similar to the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, ' the members of IMSA hope to regain the trust and confidence of consumers and the press in ethical sales practices by companies ...