Rough Notes
The imperative of professional development in the insurance industry By Mick Hunt As we navigate through an era where digital transformation reshapes every facet of our lives, the demand for continuous professional growth becomes undeniable. Consider...
Posted: May 31, 2024
Members of the Associated Insurance services team. Specialty Idaho agency diversifies from monoline in one industry to all lines for everyone By Dennis H. Pillsbury The decade of the ‘70s was a tumultuous one for the workers compensation system. The...
Posted: May 31, 2024
NAAIA executive director takes pride in organization and career accomplishments In the insurance industry, certain dedicated young professionals stand out among their peers and are members of an elite squad of individuals. These are their stories. “D...
Posted: May 31, 2024
Leveraging military training principles in building insurance agency expertise By Rob Bowen In the realm of professional development, the journey from novice to seasoned expert shares remarkable parallels across diverse fields. Just as military recru...
Posted: May 31, 2024
Do you know where your firm compares to insurance industry averages for compensation decisions? By Tommy McDonald Compensation represents a substantial expense for most insurance agencies and brokerages. Therefore, the approach to compensation has a...
Posted: May 31, 2024
The 2023 Rough Notes Community Service Award was given at the company’s Agency of the Year banquet this past March. From left: Sam Berman, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, The Rough Notes Company; Shawna Weaver, Director of Peopl...
Posted: May 31, 2024
Five difficulties facing the market and ways to mitigate them By Harish Kapur The commercial trucking industry has changed drastically in the past several years. The steep demand for drivers that existed throughout the pandemic has vanished. At the s...
Posted: May 31, 2024
Passion drives the members of this Florida-based organization By Christopher W. Cook A Google search of “Florida insurance market” led me to one of the questions that “people also ask”: What is causing the insurance crisis in Florida? While I’m not...
Posted: May 31, 2024
Will the tough times never end? By Joseph S. Harrington, CPCU Here are headlines from a search engine for the past seven years. Pick any one you want, since they all still apply: “Commercial Auto Insurance Underperformance Drags On” “Commercial Auto...
Posted: May 31, 2024
Supporting worker satisfaction drives new plan features By Maura C. Ciccarelli We all know that oral and vision health are important not just for our quality of life, but also for overall health. With an increasingly competitive marketplace for talen...
Posted: May 31, 2024
Combining skills with a willingness to adapt, it’s possible to find opportunities amid change When you know the client’s business as well or even better than they do and can fix what’s broken—most importantly before things derail entirely—that is inv...
Posted: May 30, 2024
New Jersey ruling points to a problem with general liability sub-limits Not long ago, identifying such potential gaps would have been an exhaustive endeavor. Today, artificial intelligence and machine reading should be able to make short work of do...
Posted: May 23, 2024
INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Can widow collect for emotional distress? Christine Moody’s husband, Steven Moody, was accidentally shot and killed by a friend during a camping trip. Moody sou...
Posted: May 03, 2024
INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS “Regular use” exclusion debated Matthew Rush was a detective for the city of Easton, Pennsylvania. On November 28, 2015, Rush sustained serious injuries in a mo...
Posted: May 03, 2024
INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Is aircraft injury covered? Around 2011, Matthew Mrzena purchased a 1946 Piper PA-12 airplane. Mrzena stopped using the Piper in 2014 when it failed an annual i...
Posted: May 03, 2024
Learning from industry leaders Having dedicated philanthropic initiatives as part of your agency business is important for independent agents seeking to secure a future of success. By Kelly Hartweg Most of us know that giving back is good for busines...
Posted: May 03, 2024
Effort and dedication are key Increasing your referral sources is about building meaningful relationships with those who have the potential to refer you. By Carolyn Smith, APR, TRA In our Trusted Risk Advisor program, participants are asked to reflec...
Posted: May 03, 2024
Senator Brown and Secretary Yellen discuss baffling and terrifying forms of risk “When Wall Street tries to shapeshift to evade the watchdogs we depend on, FSOC [Financial Stability Oversight Council] must be there to take action to protect our econo...
Posted: May 03, 2024
Making sure you have what you need in place to satisfy customers and grow your business Don’t fall victim to the shiny object syndrome, which is what many owners do. Be patient, block out the noise, and involve your teammates in making the best decis...
Posted: May 02, 2024
Explaining details in coverage forms prevents confusion [W]e as agents need to do a better job of understanding the nuances of company-specific coverage forms and properly conveying those differences to our clients. By Marc McNulty, CIC, CRM Earlier...
Posted: May 02, 2024
Making sure acquisitions result in the expected return Developing a detailed “snapshot” of an agency’s data … gives the seller invaluable insights into its overall culture—and whether it will be a match with the buyer’s approach to doing business. Th...
Posted: May 02, 2024
When success means questions are more important than answers The characteristics of good questions include being purposeful, relevant to the subjects being discussed, clear, neutral in intent, and specific to the information desired—and, most importa...
Posted: May 02, 2024
The 7 eagle qualities that help agency leaders reach new heights [T]urbulence lifts (eagles) higher, ultimately allowing them to conserve energy once they’re above the storm. By Brent Kelly When you think of the eagle—our national symbol of courage,...
Posted: May 02, 2024
How Retention Software Can Help Your Agency Succeed Addressing the daunting task of renewal management By Vijay Rengarajan, CPCU The hard market continues. Premiums are increasing, insurance companies are more selective about the risks they cover, an...
Posted: May 01, 2024
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan’s Risk Management Industry Club introduces the next gen-eration to the wide scope of insurance careers By Maura C. Ciccarelli Photography courtesy of BGCSM and NAAIA Foundation In May 2023, 15-year-old...
Posted: May 01, 2024