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...rty and liability exposures. If investment or business property is involved, a...iligence can help reduce the frequency and severity of E&O claims as well ...

... that you don't want to lose, set up a suspense date to resolicit it. Not doing anything after losing a valued piece of business is just bad business. Many agencies are in a state of transition today through mergers and acquisitions. Get the most from your investment by creating a strategy to service, retain, and grow this customer base. People want to trust their insurance agent. We need to give them a reason to do so. Emily Huling, CIC, CMC, helps the insurance industry achieve excellence in customer ... " said Jan. "I was fuming. Who is this agent? She doesn't even know us and she's making decisions like this for us!" Jan and Bob quickly worked to move their business. They knew an agent from their church whom they liked and trusted. After a meeting and account review with this agent, Jan and Bob moved their account. Bob told me that they haven't heard from their prior agent even after they cancelled their policies. STORY #2 My Aunt Judy had been doing business with the same ... advisement letter, have the newly assigned CSR call the customer. Even leaving an introductory message on an answering machine is better than no personal contact at all. Update account information. Purchased businesses have been renewed automatically for years. Not only does this create a huge Errors and Omissions exposure, but the new agent is also missing new business opportunities. Never move an account to another carrier without talking with the insured. It might be the correct decision — or the only decision — but the insured has a right to know how ...

... Tax rate changes have raised maximum federal ordinary income tax rates to $39.6%, while leaving the maximum capital gains rate at 28% . Existing plans for agency sales should be re-examined to see how they are affected by these changes. Deferring tax, and diversifying investments, are often important considerations in selling or otherwise transferring a production agency. A merger or other corporate reorganization, a rollover form an ESOP purchase of stock, or a charitable remainder trust, may be used to defer taxes. Inheritance of the agency by a ... who will take over ownership can be done at substantially lower tax cost with advance planning. The agency can be passed to children through normal estate planning devices, such as lifetime gifts, or wills or trusts that take advantage of tax saving opportunities in the death tax laws. Another device is to channel a child's personal new production through that child's separate business. This outline is designed to help an agency principal plan ahead. It is intended to raise important questions, and suggest some possible answers. It is not intended to be ... owner's death or departure will be handled. I feel that all agencies and producers should have such contracts for everyone's protection. Litigation exposure can be reduced if the agent understands how the risks arise, and makes plans to avoid them. Major areas of litigation exposure are errors & omissions, and protection of expirations. Proper insurance can reduce but not eliminate exposure. Alternate dispute resolution if properly used may reduce litigation risks and cost. A producer who is aware of his legal rights is in a better position to protect them without litigation ...

...sitions. Get the most from your investment by creating a strategy to service, retain, and grow this customer base. People want t...excellence in customer service, sales, and leadership. Her new book, Selling f...

...Deferring tax, and diversifying investments, are often important consideration...se. On complex matters such as mergers and reorganizations, it can only sugges...

...cially sound. If you have had any Errors and Omissions losses, step up to the issue...be good for the customer, the company, and your agency.

... some coverages. Immediate coverage. Upon signing the enrollment forms and the authorization for payroll deduction, employees will be covered in some cases. Money-market rate participation. If interest sensitive products are part of the benefit plan, employees can participate in money-market rates without the lump-sum investment usually involved. Double indemnity benefit. Employees receive twice the face amount of Life insurance for accidental death. Most payroll deduction plans include this feature at a nominal cost. Access to coverage. Employees might not otherwise be able to obtain or even be offered these ... relieved of the potential headaches; for others, it's a drawback because they believe they could handle the administrative end themselves. Use of an enrollment firm will pay off only if the right firm is chosen. The agent must choose a firm that he or she can trust to provide good service. Which brings us to a drawback of both enrollment firm- and carrier-handled plans: As the agent who sold the employer, you're putting the credibility of your agency, including your P/C operation, into the hands of someone who ... enrollment, reenrollment, and persistency processes. 6. Automation: A computerized system should be in place to help the firm efficiently administer any size group, and all paperwork between the insurance company and the employer should be screened through the firm to detect and correct any errors or omissions. 7. Flexibility: The firm should be flexible as to the size of group it can handle. Some handle as few as two or three lives. If the firm's lowest threshold is more than 25 or so, that's going to narrow your ...

... real estate (such as your agency office building) . Benefits include tax, cash and profit allocation opportunities, and Liability protection. Consider them as one asset-protection strategy. For example, clients often place individual apartment buildings into a series of separate LLCs to compartmentalize their investment portfolio in case of catastrophic lawsuits or under-insured losses involving any of their buildings. They're a good way to shield owners of raw land from runaway jury awards to trespassers or the like. In joint-venture situations, they can make dissolution ( 'divorce') of ... LLC's members easier and more tax efficient. LLCs can be very effective in estate planning. Members can achieve a step-up in basis at death. LLCs can also substitute for a trust or family limited partnership in many cases. You can use discounting' concepts you may have heard about for impressive estate tax savings. LLCs can also be used as an effective alternative to Subchapter S corporation structure, with their similar pass-through' taxation characteristics; earnings are taxed only once (directly to the members) rather than having to pay a top ... , does the person you're dealing with have the authority to bind the LLC on purchasing insurance? Does the LLC need insurance to receive the Liability protection of an LLC? In some states, a professional LLC (PLLC) may be required by statute to take out Errors & Omissions (E &O ) insurance; otherwise, the members themselves may be held liable up to that limit. What, if any, personal assets of the LLC owners are exposed to possible loss through a lawsuit? Is additional coverage needed to protect ...

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