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... with drugs and alcohol. Employers who hire recovering substance abusers receive tax incentives from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government-and they get an opportunity to provide a second chance to someone who is willing to work. Montgomery knew that Beal offered potential employees a place to work, but more importantly, he knew Beal cared about people. Beal's caring approach is illustrated in the example of a former worker who had been with Rizzo's for 18 years before leaving for another job. When the worker, who had come to hold a principal position at Rizzo's, lost his new position, Beal soon suspected that an alcohol problem was the culprit. He took his former worker and friend to get counseling and eventually offered him a full-time job with a full benefits package if he would agree to enroll in a rehabilitation program at Miremount Center. The center provides an important link between Beal and employees undergoing rehabilitation for substance abuse problems. Not only did Beal offer the worker a full-time job, he also provided help to his family during this period. His intervention paid off. After only 28 days, the employee was back at work and has recovered his self esteem, his family and his future. Beal has proved the merit of what PECORA seeks to accomplish in the caring attitude he fosters in his own workplace. He currently has eight employees recovering from substance abuse problems working for him, one-half of whom hold key management positions in his company. People ask me why I hire known substance abusers, ' observes Beal, and my response is, Well, at least I know what I'm getting. When ...

...f regulatory changes, carrier rehabilitations, and the continued drop in inter...

... clear the policyholders surrendered and exchanged a significant number of traditional' policies to Executive Life for most of the 1980s. It wasn't until late 1989 that the financial and popular press began to question the financial shell game that appeared to be behind the spectacular growth of the company. Yet only months before the ultimate demise of the company, policyholders and agents seemed to maintain their belief in Fred Carr. At the company's August 1990 annual meeting, Carr made a brief presentation with convincing arguments as to why the company would remain healthy. There were several questions from the audience — mostly friendly — and the meeting adjourned in less than an hour. Barely seven months later, on April 13, 1991, the California Commissioner of Insurance seized the assets of Executive Life and forced the company into a seven-year rehabilitation that severely reduced benefits for millions of Life and annuity policyholders. Executive Life was the largest insurance company failure in U.S. history. Despite the financial harm to so many policyholders, many people in the Life insurance industry privately cheered the demise of the company that had caused them such distress. But when the New Jersey Commissioner of Insurance seized Mutual Benefit just three months later in July 1991, few were laughing. The collapse of Mutual Benefit, a 146-year Old Line Eastern Mutual, ' was an economic and public relations disaster for the industry. The financial and popular press had focused on the Life insurance industry, and if the Russian coup in August 1991 hadn't deflected the media's attention, more carriers would've probably gone insolvent. Until August of that year, many of us feared for the ...

... . Make sure that claims are reported to carriers according to law. Review the accident reports and witnesses' statements. If the claim is compensable, ask the carrier to make voluntary payments in a timely fashion. If the claim is non-compensable or fraudulent, request that the carrier deny benefits. Once the petition is filed, review it for completeness and accuracy. If the petition is incomplete or inaccurate, state laws provide for a 15% -25% penalty reduction of attorney's fees. Check the state statute of limitations as it applies to: Filing a claim for benefits Filing a petition Closing claims files on non-litigated claims Because any wages or earnings the claimant is receiving will diminish their weekly compensation, review their current work status for concurrent employment. If necessary, request a re-examination by the state Rehabilitation Commission. Check for Second Injury Fund Relief, which is available to claimants classified as permanently disabled due to a permanent injury on a previous job. In these cases, the employer doesn't have to pay for the original injury, thus improving their Comp credit status. Check compensation payments for a death claim. Determine eligible dependents and the compensation rate provided by state law. Payments cease when a child reaches age 18, or age 21-23 if they're full-time students or if the widow remarries. Monitor any subsequent overpayments for over-reserving. Check claim offsets to determine if Social Security or state credits can be applied: Review any offsets to compensation benefits by Federal survivor or disability benefits, black lung benefits, or disability pension benefits. Investigate other disability benefits (state or contractual) . Review the claim ...

... check. Take the commission dollars to be handled by a CSR and subtract compensation costs (include taxes and benefits) to determine what the spread is for that specific position. Then determine whether the remaining dollars are enough to cover producer compensation and overhead, and provide a fair return to the owners. This analysis will have to rely on a gut feel' rating; there are no reliable benchmarks on what the spread should be, since there are too many variables from agency to agency. The bottom line for this process is to see if there's a fair return to owners after expenses are taken out. A low return or loss will require an adjustment to compensation (CSR or producers) or some other way of lowering overhead costs. If adjustments are not feasible, management should think about rehabilitating or getting rid of specific books of business. Analyzing affordable compensation is important-but what an owner feels is appropriate might not be the same as what they'll need to pay. The economy has a tremendous impact on prevailing wages. Our recent survey of California agencies shows that the average salary for a newly hired experienced Personal Lines CSR is now $23,579 for rural agencies and $33,000 for urban and suburban agencies. Experienced Commercial Lines CSRs are now receiving an average of $29,075 and $42,000, respectively. Salaries have clearly gone up in recent years, but there's been no corresponding increase in the commission dollars handled. Major reasons for the stagnant size of a CSR's book of business are the continued soft market and lower commissions paid by the carriers. ...

... light of its star spokespeople. You can create similar equations in the minds of prospects and clients by linking your agency's name to a good cause. Cause-related marketing is good citizenship and good business. Consumers are growing increasingly tired of hype and hard sell. We are all exposed to an enormous number of advertising messages every day. To keep our sanity, we have to tune out 99% of them. Most advertisements and direct mail tout a better price or superior service. Obviously, not everyone can have the best price or service, so consumers have learned to ignore these claims. A different, fresh approach has a better chance of catching your audience's attention. Attaching your agency or company to a good cause can do just that. This strategy can also begin to make a dent in rehabilitating our industry's battered image. Innovative marketers in other industries have used cause-related marketing successfully. Their stories provide some valuable lessons for insurance marketers. The Body Shop A cosmetic store that doesn't advertise or use fancy packaging sounds as if it would be doomed to failure. Yet The Body Shop, based in , is the world's hottest cosmetics chain. It doesn't spend a penny on advertising or pretty packages. The company sells natural soaps, scents, lotions, and shampoos in more than 300 stores around the world, including the . It sells its products largely by providing information to consumers. Every container explains the ingredients and their benefits. The Body Shop has established a fine reputation by supporting a number of social causes. Environmental protection is one, including a lobbying campaign to protect the Brazilian rain ...

... had increased. He received an award of $140,000 in compensatory damages and $975,000 in punitive damages. In the St. Mary's Honor Center case, the judge believed that the plaintiff had been discriminated against, but that he had not shown it was because of his race rather than for personal reasons. In Harris v. Hughes Aircraft, on the other hand, the jury decided that the discrimination against the plaintiff was because of his race. The lesson for employers appears to be that reasons given for demoting or firing a minority or other protected employee should be substantial and legitimate, and that great care should be taken not to give an impression of discriminatory motives. Footnotes: 42 U.S.C. 1981 ff. 42 U.S.C. 2000e. 29 U.S.C. 621 ff. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 701 ff. 42 U.S.C. 12101 ff. Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. (1993) U.S., 126 L.Ed.2d 295, 114 S.Ct. 367. Labor Code 1102.1. Holloway v. Arthur Anderson & Co. (9th Cir. 1977) 566 F.2d 659. Title VII, 704(a ), 42 U.S.C. 2000e-3(a ) . For example, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Calif. Civil Code 51 ff; the Fair Employment and Housing Act, Calif. Govt. Code 12900 ff. 29 U.S.C. 621 ff. Govt. Code 12920. Jennings v. Marralle (1994) 8 Cal.4th 121, 32 Cal.Rptr.2d 275, held that the FEHA applied to age discrimination for employers of five or ...

... Name] reserves the right to demand a drug or alcohol test of any employee based upon reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion includes, but is not limited to, physical evidence of use, involvement in an accident, or a substantial drop off in work performance. Failure to take a requested test may lead to discipline, including possible termination. The company also cautions against use of prescribed or over-the-counter medication which can affect your work place performance. You may be suspended or discharged if the company concludes that you cannot perform your job properly or safely because of using over-the-counter or prescribed medication. Please inform your supervisor prior to working under the influence of a prescribed or over-the-counter medication which may affect your performance. [Company Name] will make every effort to assist its employees who wish to seek treatment or rehabilitation for drug or alcohol dependency. The company will consider continued employment of such an employee as long as the employee adequately addresses continued concerns regarding safety, health, production, communication or other work related matters. You may also be required to agree to random testing and a one-strike' rule. If you have a drug or alcohol problem, please ask for our help! ©1998 Phin Enterprises. Donald A. Phin, Esq., CPCM. No portion of these materials may be reproduced by any means without the express written permission of the author. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to join? Need insurance for you, your business or your family? Get quality appointments - Save yourself a whole ...

... If they aren't willing, will you create an environment in which they'll motivate themselves to do the job? If they aren't willing and able, can or will you terminate them? Why not? &# 160 Is the plan right? Are you on track? If so, can you move faster? If not, what must you do to get back on track? What are your contingency plans? &# 160 Ongoing oversight closes the circle by providing accountability and consequences. Are the system, plan, and processes working? Is the organization performing as promised? What about individual team members? What is the market doing? &# 160 If team members are meeting expectations and honoring agreed commitments, are they being rewarded? If expectations aren't being met, is the team member being rehabilitated — developed, trained, or encouraged — with environmental changes that will improve their motivation? Motivation is internal to each of us; the leader can only manipulate the environment, not change the individual. &# 160 Can management (leadership) be tough, positive and effective? The only answer is "yes." Can management get positive results without this format? Occasionally. Even a blind hog will find an acorn every now and then. Tough, positive management works, but not "because I said so." It works because it provides what people want and need: Structure. &# 160 Michael G. Manes can be reached at Square One Consulting, 625 Weeks Street, New Iberia, LA 70560,  cell 337-577-3885, e-mail [email protected] ...

... for direct-mail activity, newsletters, etc., and coordinate newsletter program for use on existing and prospective clients. 11. Determine which niche programs individual producers wish to pursue and work with them and commercial lines manager to prepare individual producer business plans to help producers succeed. 12. Monitor demographic changes in city, state, and region, that would impact marketing efforts. 13. Work closely with commercial CSR as the CSR/producer team coordinator. 14. Participate in seminars and classes. 15. Perform other duties as required and assigned. AUTHORITY: 1. Carrier contact as needed 2. Producer/CSR/prospect contact as needed or required 3. Maintain up-to-date file of company programs, brochures, and facilities for possible use 4. Recommendation of salary increases, promotion, probation, rehabilitation of staff within unit; conduct performance evaluations of staff 5. Approval of seminar and training attendance by staff 6. Approval of requisitions for supplies and equipment within unit 7. Maintenance of prospect files and profiles PERFORMANCE-MEASUREMENT CRITERIA: Criteria to measure my achievement of stated duties should include: 1. Timely completion and submission of required reports to my supervisor 2. Adherence and compliance with stated procedures, service standards, personnel policies, and accounting practices 3. Control of expenses within my area of responsibility so budget 4. Degree and quality of professional development 5. Adherence to standards of performance for sales and service 6. Smooth, efficient, and positive relationship between producers, staff, and companies 7. Results of the sales center's efforts 8. Production of leads and prospects sufficient to produce an ...