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... uniform or at home dreamed the American Dream' after the war: get a secure job and raise a family in a house in the safer suburbs, rather than in apartments, where many people of that generation grew up. Security was the key issue on their minds. But for the most part, their children, the Baby Boomers, grew up secure, in two-parent homes in which one parent worked and the other was home. Their level of education was generally better than that of the generation before them because their parents, looking toward the security' of the children, promised themselves that the next generation would not have to struggle as they had. The boomers were not as affected by war as were their parents, nor were they as alarmed by the Cold War as the prior ... of work their parents' generation spent paying its dues. Here lies the major difference between Gen X and the Boomers! The WWII generation built careers to be secure. The Boomers built careers to get ahead. Generation X builds careers out of personal interests. In ancient Rome, some of the most decadent parts and some of the most innovative parts of the culture grew out of the same leisure class. Although Gen Xers can't claim to be a leisure class, since they must have jobs to make a living, many of the middle class Gen X, including those in the insurance industry, aren't worried about making a living or their family's security. They don't know how it's going to happen, but they assume they'll always live in a comfortable life style. They know that the middle-class ...

... eyes to the top of the tent. On the high wire the greatest with no net "Your mouth was wide open; your eyes were even wider. You don't remember breathing. She made it. No net! It was the most exciting thing you'd ever seen. You'll never forget it. This was the greatest show on earth, and she was the greatest performer. You loved your parents. Your mom was a teacher. Dad was a carpenter. You knew what they did. It was boring! You'd watched your friends' parents the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. They were doctors, lawyers, and Indian chiefs. They were boring. You vowed that day to join the circus. This is what would make your heart beat fast. You never wanted ... guarantee future success. You've got great technology, your staff is technically competent, and you own the market. Your ability is never questioned. However, you're concerned that some members of your team are reluctant to change to venture beyond their comfort zone. The net is an asset that's creating a liability. You're afraid the safety net is becoming a hammock. Adoring. This is "best of class": the person revered by other members of the group, who will outperform any professional and always without a net. Removal of the net ensures excellence. There's no margin for error. In spite of being No. 1, you wake up scared to death every day. You love the trappings of success, but you're motivated more by a fear of failure. You're willing and able ...

... and Timing Set responsibility for invoicing — Account Manager vs. Assistant When is a policy to be invoiced and if it's to be binder billed Determine a timeline in which endorsements will be processed and invoiced from the date received from the carrier Determine a timeline in which a discrepancy notice from accounting will be resolved Determine when to bill a cancellation premium Policy Set Up Line of business code Writing Company vs. Parent Company vs. Broker Profit Center Producer, Account Manager Direct Bill Does your agency bill direct bill from the policy or from the statement? Do you bill annually or on an installment basis? Invoice Dates The invoice date is always ‘Today's Date' The transaction effective date is the effective date of the insurance transaction Future Bills Who prints and mails future invoices and when? Installment Invoices ... standards for messages on invoices Invoice Corrections Based on your agency management system, determine if invoices are to be revised or voided and then re-invoiced Set guidelines for correcting installment plans and future bills TRAINING SOLUTIONS Once you've developed workflows, establish a training and implementation plan. When people fully understand the outcome of an action, they take more time and consideration in performing it. Consider an Insurance Accounting 101 training class for all service staff involved in the invoicing process. This isn't an accounting class, but a class detailing what happens when an invoice is done. Explain the different areas affected by a single invoice. Use this outline for your class: Explain how company payables are created Explain how producer commissions are created Explain how different taxes and fee codes affect the different payable or income accounts Demonstrate the company ...

... the study demonstrates that all insureds, from lower-middle class and up, are annuity prospects. Annuity buyers aren't much different from Life insurance buyers, LIMRA notes. Age is the most noticeable difference. The median age for annuity buyers is 48, and for Life insurance buyers, 32. As prospects creep closer to retirement, annuities come into greater demand. You could prospect among several basic groups: Parents of graduating college students Employees receiving 20-year awards (or any higher number) at work, in organizations, or elsewhere Life insurance policyholders considering reductions in coverage Friends or relatives of retirees Contributors to charitable causes-tax advantages are often available to donors who combine contributions to retirement plans Owners of any retirement plans, such as IRA, Keogh, 401-K plans, etc. Another finding of the LIMRA study indicates ... 44% of the annuity buyers were in the $25,000 to $50,000 income range! Even more surprising, 35% were in the $25,000 or lower range. Only 18% of buyers earned more than $50,000 (but of course they could buy larger amounts of annuities) . In effect, the study demonstrates that all insureds, from lower-middle class and up, are annuity prospects. Annuity buyers aren't much different from Life insurance buyers, LIMRA notes. Age is the most noticeable difference. The median age for annuity buyers is 48, and for Life insurance buyers, 32. As prospects creep closer to retirement, annuities come into greater demand. You could prospect among several basic groups: Parents of graduating college students Employees receiving 20-year awards ...

... is the cornerstone of your future success. Create a template for your brand. Every message, every marketing exposure, every advertisement should be captured within the template. Your brand must be alive. Nothing is static in life. Your brand, like life, must be in a continual process of renewal. When I was a child, our insurance agent used to visit monthly to collect premiums from my parents. He was more than an insurance salesman; he was a friend, a consultant, and an advisor. In arranging finances for my college education, they sought out his guidance. And when I needed insurance for life, home, car, or health, I automatically went to him. In today's hectic and harried world, we have to recreate that kind of old-fashioned brand. We ... x No Thanks Loading.. Branding: A Singular Identity For A Multitasking Entity 4/30/2013 by Jack Burke This content has not been rated yet. Mention branding, ' and people generally think in terms of company names. Or they think of burned flesh on cattle. Aside from the cattle, Webster defines brand' as a class of goods identified as the product of a single firm or manufacturer. What's your class of goods, and how can you distinguish, or brand, it? As middlemen, too many agencies think of branding as the domain of the company that provides the products they sell. This may be true if you're a captive agent, but it's definitely not the case for the independent agency that represents many brands. You may sell Safeco's brand of products, ...

... about: AGE OR DATE OF BIRTH. Unless you can prove that the applicant needs to be a certain age to qualify (such as for licensing or driving a car), don't ask. GENDER. The only place this applies is for rest oom attendants. LANGUAGE SPOKEN. Use caution. You may require effective communication, but you may not eliminate a candidate due to a slight accent. PARENTS' OR MAIDEN NAME, CITIZENSHIP, PLACE OF BIRTH, AND COLOR OF EYES OR HAIR. Forget these. They could be used to reveal nationality or marital status. HOMEOWNER OR RENTER. Don't ask. You might be discriminating against protected classes. NUMBER OF CHILDREN, CHILD CARE ARRANGEMENTS, MARITAL STATUS. This is confidential information. CLUB MEMBERSHIPS. Don't ask. This can reveal religious affiliation ... ethnic background. EMERGENCY INFORMATION. Wait until the person is hired to ask for this information. PHOTOGRAPHS. Avoid these. They may divulge national origin. Avoid height and weight requirements as well. PHYSICAL DISABILITY. The ADA prohibits pre-employment, pre-offer inquiries regarding disability. After you describe the position to the candidate, you may ask whether the candidate can perform the functions of the job as described, with or without reasonable accommodation. The need for reasonable accommodation should not be a factor when considering the disabled individual. You may not ask specifically about a disability, but you can make a job offer that is conditioned on satisfactory results of a post-offer medical examination or inquiry, provided that this condition is made clear to all applicants for the position. ARREST RECORDS. Don't ask. You may ask ...

... discriminating against protected classes. NUMBER OF CHILDREN, CH...

...ing for businesspeople to talk to classes. Contact the head of the business de...

... and flexibility in the strategic classes of business for your client (i.e., A...

... eyes to the top of the tent. On the high wire the greatest with no net "Your mouth was wide open; your eyes were even wider. You don't remember breathing. She made it. No net! It was the most exciting thing you'd ever seen. You'll never forget it. This was the greatest show on earth, and she was the greatest performer. You loved your parents. Your mom was a teacher. Dad was a carpenter. You knew what they did. It was boring! You'd watched your friends' parents the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. They were doctors, lawyers, and Indian chiefs. They were boring. You vowed that day to join the circus. This is what would make your heart beat fast. You never wanted ... guarantee future success. You've got great technology, your staff is technically competent, and you own the market. Your ability is never questioned. However, you're concerned that some members of your team are reluctant to change to venture beyond their comfort zone. The net is an asset that's creating a liability. You're afraid the safety net is becoming a hammock. Adoring. This is "best of class": the person revered by other members of the group, who will outperform any professional and always without a net. Removal of the net ensures excellence. There's no margin for error. In spite of being No. 1, you wake up scared to death every day. You love the trappings of success, but you're motivated more by a fear of failure. You're willing and able ...