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...e market Commercial clients. These firms are being squeezed from below by the ...ve other multi-state or multinational firms and the acquiring firm has an esta...

... Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) have the most advantages, including: the lowest taxes for both the seller and the firm an ability to borrow money at a discounted rate from an insurance company or a bank (usually one or two points below prime) motivation and productivity that comes with vested ownership for all employees the sellers' ability to roll over their proceeds tax free if invested in marketable securities (if at least 30% of the stock is sold) Other internal perpetuation alternatives exist, including gifting, employee purchase, deferred compensation, and stock redemption. Oak & Associates assists clients with a cash-flow analysis of the available alternatives and valuations. If you're not ready to establish your perpetuation plan today, at least have a contingent buy/sell agreement with a friendly, respected competitor down ... Resources Selling Legal and E&O Technology Life/Financial Services Glossaries Management Resources & Links Categories Popular Recent All Back Aspects Of Perpetuation Management 4/30/2013 10:43:49 PM by CompleteMarkets Editor , Catherine Oak This content has not been rated yet. ASPECTS OF PERPETUATION MANAGEMENT by Catherine Oak and Bill Schoeffler Most agency owners do not have a structured plan to perpetuate their lifetime's work-the firm. It would be safe to say that at least 90% of independent agencies or brokerages have not defined a strategy to buy out the majority shareholders, or even the stock of the minority owners, unless there is death or disability. In the event of death or disability, most firms have a buy/sell agreement funded by Life insurance to finance the corporation's buyout of the owner's stock ...

... ! Many resources are available to help you run your agency. Call a local, state, or national insurance association if you have a question. Contact automation vendors to learn how to make your agency management system work for you. Turn to your insurance companies. And consulting firms can help, too - just make sure to follow-up. Grace Bauer helps insurance agencies put together customized procedural manuals to secure consistency, protect against errors and omissions, attain security, and increase efficiency. She can be reached at The Grace Bauer Group, P.O. Box 08121, Fort Myers, FL 33908, (800) 896-4226, fax (239) 489-1525, e-mail [email protected] . Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to ... , then companies are willing to help even more. Call them! Insurance companies will help in many ways, such as marketing programs, financing, the purchase of automation systems, yearly renewal letters, account rounding resources, and special mailings. I'm sure I'm just scratching the surface. Tell them what you can do for them, and ask them specifically what they can do for you. CONSULTING FIRMS Consultants are here to stay, but you might be reluctant to use one. Why should I contact a consulting firm? ABC Co. used one two years ago, and nothing happened. Ask ABC why they brought in the consulting firm, what the firm promised - increased efficiency, more business? - and what program or result the firm implemented. Finally, ask the most important question: ...

...event of death or disability, most firms have a buy/sell agreement funded by L...

... Management Resources & Links Categories Popular Recent All Back How A Consultative Broker Produces Year-End Revenue 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM by CompleteMarkets Editor , C.R. Ekern This content has not been rated yet. Traditionally, Labor Day marks the beginning of the renewal and new business process (or unfortunately, in some cases, Thanksgiving!) . Here's what you can do now to secure January 1 renewals and new business. Many brokers spend September trying to get activity going. October and November are taken up with gathering information. All of this builds up to a December spent in beating up underwriters and bidding or quoting new business. The usual result? A holiday season that's a blur. There are many Christmas dinners that I barely remember. Before I became a consultative broker ... reading right now and write them down. Take inventory of your client knowledge. What information do you have about these accounts? For new accounts, if the X-date is all you know, you only have fool's gold. For current accounts, are you familiar with such issues as client financial concerns, business expansion plans, and changes in buying style? Establish value. Identify three ways that your firm has been of value- outside of the commodity and price arena- to each existing client during the past 18 months. These should be ways in which your organization provided resources and expertise that reduced the client's cost of risk, which can be measured in many ways other than premium. Now comes the tough part: Demonstrate your value now, not in December. Remember, on a large ...

... potential losses resulting from security breaches, such as network h... commitment to an active Security Program, allocate management resp...

...onic mail addresses Social security numbers Medical record numbers...liance Maintenance. Conduct ongoing security audits, monitor changes to regula...

... they can do for you. CONSULTING FIRMS Consultants are here to stay, but yo...r insurance companies. And consulting firms can help, too - just make sure to ...

... MISSION STATEMENT To achieve security and prosperity for our clients and o...and profitability for the continued security of our clients and employees. ...

...formation on the site.   SECURITY POLICY   Encryption and computer security policies should specify how e-mail a...TION POLICY   Your document security and retention policy should cover...