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... Automobile) will have high policy limits, and Comprehensive coverages will be available to all consumers with regulated pricing. Most Commercial Lines products will be priced, underwritten, packaged, and audited through automation with mid-term policy changes incorporated into the policy. The servicing of Personal Lines and many Commercial products will be done by the insurer. The independent agent will be more involved as a specialist to sell, design, and service complex insurance products. The affluent Personal Lines client, the complex Commercial/Industrial account, and specialty programs for a particular industry will become the forte of the independent agent. The technical and sales expertise of the P/C agent focused in these areas will encompass Life, Health, Workers Compensation, and risk management along industry lines (i.e., hospitality, construction, pharmaceuticals, transportation, etc.) . This means the agent will assume more the role of a specialized insurance consultant with a specific expertise in an industry and related applications of finance, underwriting, marketing, claims, and risk management. Major insurers in these markets will be closely aligned with specialized agents having in-house automated underwriting, policy issuance, and claims-settlement authority. A significant downsizing of many industries during the next five years will cause displacement in the workforce. The new independent agent career trainees will be individuals from other industries, highly educated with university degrees and varied work experience (engineering, the sciences, accounting, nursing, business) . The career path for new agents will involve an initial two-year training commitment which will involve sales, marketing, underwriting, actuarial, specialized product knowledge, ...

... Management Consultants (AAIMCO) is comprised of highly regarded, long-term, professional consultants specializing in the insurance industry. They are not www.aaimco.com or call (800) 779-2430 for more information. associated with any carrier or vendor. Visit their Web site Many state or national professional organizations maintain lists of consultants that their members have used successfully. HOW NOT TO LOCATE A QUALIFIED CONSULTANT My buddy, another agent, had a similar problem and he's offered to help me with mine. This is akin to sharing prescription medication with a friend because you have similar symptoms. Every agency is different. A treatment used to solve the ills of one could fail dismally in another. Joe owned an agency for years. He's retired now, so he's consulting for me. This is as ridiculous as permitting an out of work pharmaceuticals vendor to attend you as a consulting physician. Familiarity with the agency business is not equivalent to understanding how to solve an agency's problems. Most of these people have intimate knowledge of one or a few agencies, or have touched agencies from the outside only. They're a far cry from consultants whose careers have dealt with hundreds or thousands of agencies on an intimate and problem-solving basis. WHAT TO EXPECT Consultants should help you identify problems. They should recommend detailed solutions. They should implement solutions in accordance with your desires. In other words, you should be able to implement the solutions without the consultant; it should be your choice to retain the consultant for implementation. They should provide follow-up services to assure that the problem is solved. Consider a consultant part of your staff once they're familiar ...

...s permitting an out of work pharmaceuticals vendor to attend you as a consul...

...., hospitality, construction, pharmaceuticals, transportation, etc.). This me...

... accordance with what needs to be said. The use of expert witnesses in the insurance industry has increased during the past 20 years, as issues become more confusing to the average person (or juror, and perhaps even the judge) . The expert's job is to provide the fact-finders with relevant and reliable information upon which they can make their determination. Consider for a moment the image that the term expert witness' conveys to an average juror. The fact that a person has been presented as an expert' gives them a great deal of credence, even if their theories or techniques have no relevant or reliable foundation. Although the opposing attorney might attempt to cloud that expertise by showing that the expert is being paid for their testimony, the perception still persists. In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1993), the U.S. Supreme Court took aim at gunslinger' expert witnesses by ruling that Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence requires that scientific evidence be reliable and relevant. The Daubert decision set three criteria for the admission of expert witness testimony: First, the witness must be qualified; second, the proposed testimony must be accepted scientific knowledge; and lastly, the testimony must assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact at issue. The factors for the trial judge to consider in determining the relevance and reliability of evidence include: Whether the theory or technique has been or can be tested Whether the theory or technique has been subjected to peer review The technique's known or potential rate of error The general acceptance of the theory or ...

... must have been covered by the plan, and may announce a dollar limit for normal pregnancy, subject to a special deductible. Occupational therapy Organ transplant Orthopedic training (exercises) Outpatient benefits Physical therapy Pre-admittance testing Prescription drugs, in/out of the hospital Private hospital room (only if required by law) Prosthetic devices Radiation therapy Speech therapy Substance abuse Surgery Surgery-second and third opinions Testing Well baby care X-rays A good Group Health insurance contract should provide the aforementioned benefits, plus a Group Life benefit and Group Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage if mandated by law. Following is a list of some options you might encounter in a Group Health contract: Common carrier Dependent Life coverage Dental plan Long-Term Disability coverage Loss of Time (Sickness), aka Weekly Indemnity Legal service Medicare supplement plan Prescription drug cards service Pharmaceutical PPO Supplemental accident Vision care Because pre-paid plans, HMOs, and PPOs do not issue Life insurance or Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage, and because many optional coverages are written only in certain plans, it may be necessary for you as the agent to put together several different plans for a total employee benefits package for your insured. Method of Benefit Delivery Although designed to cover the same basic risks, insured plans, pre-paid plans, and HMOs and PPOs deliver their benefits quite differently. Insured Plans-Generally, an insured plan will have an overall lifetime limit of liability, stating that a covered person may only be covered for'$[Amount] lifetime limit of liability, from all causes. That limit is commonly $1 million or more. These limits are based on actual cash payouts of plans ...