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... and casualty lines. Once you establish a contract surety account and provide good service, contractors are very loyal, ' Ward says. As long as you're taking care of business, the retention rate is very high. Once you establish a relationship, it tends to be longer lasting than the standard business relationship. The ability to provide sufficient amounts of surety credit has traditionally been the major competitive factor among agents writing surety bonds. But that could change. Prices for surety bonds are no longer regulated and price-shopping may become an issue. But regardless of what happens in the surety market, Ward will still be writing other types of coverage. In my area, we have to be all things to all people, ' he says. We have to be everything from writing homeowners and BOPs to doing notary bonds. Identify Needs The handwriting was on the wall, says Cynthia Regnier, CIC, president of Regnier & Associates in Austin . In 1983 and 84, everybody was talking about niche markets, and how an agency would need to develop niche markets to survive, ' she says. Regnier, who had just opened her agency in 1982, heeded the warning. She just recently turned her existing commercial and personal clients over to another agency and concentrated on niches. It was an absolutely, fantastically wonderful thing to do, ' she says. I'm not sure where we'd be today if we hadn't done that. In 1985, Regnier purchased Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services (VFIS) of Texas , which operates as a Regnier & Associates dba. In the first eight months, the agency doubled its premiums ...

...ting homeowners and BOPs to doing notary bonds.' Identify Needs The ha...sitive to changing legislation. 'The notary public bonds and used-car dealer b...

... operating accounts. 10. Provide notary service. JOB CHARTER MEASUREMENT S...

... photocopying, faxing, performing notary service, and more. By giving away a l...