https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/2141/E-O-IN-COMMERCIAL-AUTO/
...client’s employees had poor driving records. The coverage was changed to...vers was fired and the other had his driving record cleaned up, the agent noti...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/2325/Golf-And-Sales-Learning-To-Swing/
...al: They might stretch, go to the driving range and hit several balls, and hit...nd dollars) that you’ve spent at the driving range just practicing. And not ju...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1817/CYBERSECURITY-OPPORTUNITIES-FOR-AGENTS/
... to assist your Commercial Lines clients and prospects in this defense. Agents who learn more about CyberSecurity and establish relationships with network security firms that offer cyber-risk assessment and mitigation services will profit from additional fees and enhanced customer relationships. G. Edward Kalbaugh is a partner in Allegent Growth Strategies. Allegent is a full-service consulting firm specializing in services to the insurance industry. It is located at 100 Crossways Park Drive /, Ste. 104, Woodbury, NY 11797. The company can be reached by phone (516) 364-7034, fax (516) 364-7036, e-mail [email protected] , or visit www.allegentgsi.com . This article originally appeared in Rough Notes magazine and is reproduced by permission. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to ... CyberSecurity will receive a significant portion of these funds. G. Edward Kalbaugh discusses cyber-risk issues and what role insurance agents can play in addressing these risks. &# 160 Federal funding for CyberSecurity is important to insurance agents for a number of reasons. Before discussing these reasons, let's define CyberSecurity as any product or action that attempts to secure a wired or wireless network. These networks encompass a wide range of communication infrastructures, including wired and wireless internal office networks, external private networks, traditional public networks, the Internet, and the various networks used by local, state, and federal governments. Among the various CyberSecurity products or services, virus protection is the most familiar to computer users. But for most businesses, CyberSecurity can provide a complete spectrum of risk identification, mitigation protection, and ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1982/THE-FOUR-FACES-OF-PROFITABILITY-PART-I/
... expenses. It's how business owners measure success. It's the bottom line and where we want to start and end in any business. However, agency owners have different goals. Some are investing in growth — new producers or upgraded technology. Others are planning for retirement. Will they sell the business to outsiders or transfer it to the next generation? The goals of the business and the individual will drive decisions about profit: How much or how little is enough and whether to take it out or reinvest it. Some look at industry averages, or benchmarks, and say, "Well, my profit is about average, so I'm doing okay," or "Hey, I'm doing better than average." Although industry averages are useful, each agency owner must look at their own numbers ... Insurance Agents of America, Inc., and Reagan Consulting, 2001) reported average pre-tax profits for participating agents between about 10% and 18% . For the 25% most profitable agencies, the averages ran about 18% to 42%, depending on size. For agencies with the 25% highest growth rate, it ran7% to 34% . The study compares agencies within revenue categories ranging from $500,000 to more $10 million — and, interestingly, higher average profits do not correlate with revenue size. The distinction between average agencies and agencies that are either growing rapidly or focused on profit is important. If you're hiring new producers and support staff or buying books of business, it will show up on the bottom line. The Best Practices Study also reports average ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/2262/HOW-STAGED-ACCIDENTS-WORK/
...ooking for an unsuspecting victim driving a vehicle that appears to be insured...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/877/Ten-Reasons-Why-Marketing-Fails/
... stay on the cutting edge There was a time when stability, strength, and vast resources were the major factors influencing buying decisions. Although they still play a role in decision-making, technology has changed buying patterns. Today, companies want to make certain that what they're buying is on the leading edge. No business wants a Pentium IV chip when there's something faster. The technological bells and whistles often drive today's buying decisions. "State-of-the-art" disappeared because it describes what can be mistaken for a static situation, while "cutting-edge" conjures up an image of action, progress, and excitement. Cutting edge gets the purchase order. 9. Failure to do the research When Daimler Chrysler's PT Cruiser hit the showrooms in 2000, the funky little vehicle sold at above the sticker price. Why has ... team's request for a marketing program. The return-on-investment issue is a common query when marketing dollars are at stake. Why is marketing often perceived as being unable to deliver the desired results? Why are marketing programs often disappointing to those who pay for them? Here are 10 possible reasons: 1. Failure to direct the correct message to the correct audience For at least two decades, the IBM message rang throughout American business with undisputed clarity: You can't go wrong buying IBM. While IBM was praising itself, along came a kid from Texas with his own message: "Just take it out of the box, plug it in and go to work. If you need help, give us a call." The Dell Computer message spoke to the customer. The IBM story spoke to its ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/2802/Insurance-Policy-Management-System-How-AI-Enables-Personalized-Services/
...telematics devices measure actual driving patterns. Is the customer commuting ...ovement recommendations for specific driving behaviors. This creates accountab...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/352/Mining-The-Assets-Of-Students/
... to learn about their market niche to determine the best methods of advertising and communication. They accomplished this by surveying the student body as to what they looked for in a car, what price range they could afford, and whether they knew about the Todey dealership. Survey results were interesting. Few had heard of the dealership. All seemed to have champagne tastes and beer budgets: They preferred to drive more expensive sports models, but accepted the financial reality of a $12,000 price limit for a car. The survey also learned that the target market (the student body) represented a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds-and the students told the dealership how important it was to appreciate these cultural differences. As one student put it, It is more important to be culturally sensitive to ... goals: Approaching the college students as first-time new car buyers, and Increasing the dealership's name recognition on campus. The dealership funded the effort with $2 ,500. The students felt that first they needed to learn about their market niche to determine the best methods of advertising and communication. They accomplished this by surveying the student body as to what they looked for in a car, what price range they could afford, and whether they knew about the Todey dealership. Survey results were interesting. Few had heard of the dealership. All seemed to have champagne tastes and beer budgets: They preferred to drive more expensive sports models, but accepted the financial reality of a $12,000 price limit for a car. The survey also learned that the target market (the student body) ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1917/A-Back-Porch-Mba/
... are no trees except for those that formed the fence row. The one exception is my friend's lot. It has literally dozens of trees. The original builder had the vision to plant these trees and my friend and his spouse had the vision and discipline to maintain them when they really were out of place in the subdivision. His yard is different in a subdivision built on sameness. As you drive down this road you see houses that vary in price from $100,000 to to-$500,000. Before the addition my friend's home would probably would've been appraised in at the bottom third of those in the area. When the addition is complete, his will be the benchmark. What he bought originally was an average house with great potential (a dream) . What ... her motivators are varied. A carrot' might be as simple as a kind word or a pat on the head. Special recognition might include a dog biscuit, playing fetch (providing attention), or a bone. For great performance, Mollie Deux may get a piece of steak or have someone scratch her so that her leg twitches. The sticks' of her world are equally simple. The range includes everything from a stern NO' to a rolled- up newspaper across her butt. Management of the work of an employee's work can be framed similarly. If they are right for the job, what's their turf' — what are the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of each employee? Once these are clearly defined and the employee is trained and motivated, let them run free. ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/424/Do-Banks-Overpay-For-P-C-Agencies/
... reserved for exceptional agencies. So, perhaps it's time to reconsider the story of bank-agency acquisitions. Despite their relatively short history in the insurance distribution business, banks are financially sophisticated organizations and experienced acquirers. Most are conservative, disciplined capital investors that are accountable to boards of directors and to shareholders. As a growing component of the insurance distribution system, banks will continue to rely on agency acquisitions to drive their commercial lines strategies. And most will continue to acquire agencies in a thoughtful, strategic and disciplined manner. The expression "win-win transaction" is overused and often misapplied. But successful acquisitions enable both buyer and seller to realize their objectives. James M. Campbell is a principal and senior vice president of Reagan Consulting, Inc., an Atlanta-based management consulting firm that serves the insurance distribution ... Leading Banks in Insurance." Of the 407 participating banks from throughout the U.S., 52 reported on their most recent agency acquisition. Most of these transactions are current, including 58% that closed in either 2002 or 2003. Findings from the analysis of these transactions included: Price multiples paid by banks are in line with the current market. In today's market, agencies typically sell within a range of 5.5-to-8-times pro forma EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) . A majority (53%) of the transactions reported by banks were priced below 7-times EBITDA ? well within the current market range — and 45% were priced below 6-times. Only 12.5% of theses deals exceeded 8-times EBITDA. Translated into a multiple of revenues, 47.9% were priced below 1.5-times agency ...