Rough Notes

LISTENING IS THE NEW SUPERPOWER

Mastering active listening for unmatched success By truly hearing and understanding your clients, prospects, and underwriters, you build trust, enhance satisfaction, and pave the way for successful relationships. By Carolyn Smith, APR, TRA In the Bey...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

IMPLEMENTING AI AT YOUR AGENCY

Six tips for making artificial intelligence work where you do A virtual assistant based in AI … can be used to do tasks such as answering client emails or filing claims, and they are available 24/7. By Theresa Pilmer, CIC, and Miriam Kasseris, ACSR F...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

WHEN SENSITIVITIES RUN HIGH

Six tactics for giving feedback to the hypersensitive employee [G]eneration Z and millennials … are showing an increased tendency to hypersensitivity, [which] is defined as being triggered by feedback and reacting negatively to criticism. By Kimberly...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

INSURANCE DATA, REIMAGINED

Using cognitive AI processes, CogniSure gives the insurance industry automated data structuring “[The AI platform can convert] 100-page loss runs into something that an underwriter or broker can make sense of within minutes without somebody manually...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Insurer can’t subrogate

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Insurer can’t subrogate In 2014, C.H. Yarber Construction entered into an agreement with Profile Properties to lease property in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The leased p...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

UIM claim was filed untimely

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASESDigested from case reports published onlineCOURT DECISIONS UIM claim was filed untimely On February 16, 2016, Melissa Keller and her daughter Caroline Keller, then a minor, were involved in an automobile accident that occ...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Was judge qualified to hear case?

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Was judge qualified to hear case? Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) is a quasi-government body that serves as an insurer of last resort, offering win...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

WORKERS COMPENSATION

Stay vigilant on health and safety, and good results may continue By Joseph S. Harrington, CPCU In June 2024, a Rough Notes article asked how long grim results could continue in commercial auto insurance. This article turns the question on its head a...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

Here’s To Life Insurance

Despite the economic pressures of inflation, life insurance volumes remain stable By Len Strazewski Inflation is one of the hottest issues in the 2024 election campaigns and while employers may fear inflation’s higher costs of doing business, they ma...

Posted: Aug 01, 2024

TOP 5 WAYS TO EMBRACE OSHA CHANGE

Navigating the revised Hazard Communication Standard Adjustments can be difficult. They’re even tougher with a negative attitude. By Michael Wayne Twelve years ago, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a revision of its H...

Posted: Jul 22, 2024

CYBER SHIFT

Will the first hard cyber insurance market slow the shift to stand-alone coverage? A decade ago, stand-alone cyber insurance accounted for less than half of all cyber premium. By 2022, it had become the coverage of choice for larger accounts, account...

Posted: Jul 18, 2024

HOSPITAL LIEN ACT DEBATED

When a literal and minor technicality was litigated, appealed and re-appealed Technically, the medical center “won.” Practically speaking, every party lost. By Bruce D. Hicks, CPCU, CLU The Court Decisions column is a popular part of Rough Notes maga...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

LEADING WHILE ANXIOUS

How anxiety looks and feels will be different for each person experiencing it According to the World Health Organization, 4% of the population has an anxiety disorder, making anxiety disorders the most common of all mental disorders. By Meg McKeen, C...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

MANAGING THE RISK OF A KEY HIRING DECISION

What is the appropriate course of action when a candidate works for a competitor? With any key hiring decision, time and analysis are needed to identify risks and exposures and to determine the proper control and mitigation methods. By Sarah J. Warha...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

CONTINUING EDUCATION AND AGENCY STANDARDS

Take continuing education seriously For those of us who are agents, the evolution of exposures—and in many cases corresponding coverage forms—is why continuing education is so crucial. By Marc McNulty, CIC, CRM If you’re new to the insurance industry...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

A TRIP TO THE LAUNDRY

The NAIC will provide anonymized climate data to the feds The association will launder the industry data through its servers and remove the stains of any … attributable … redlines. By Kevin P. Hennosy As this edition of Rough Notes goes to print, the...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

LOOMING INSURANCE IMPLICATIONS OF AI

How will coverages be affected, if at all, by the use of AI? By Paul Broussard Artificial  intelligence (AI) will without a doubt reshape industries. As AI integration becomes more widely accepted and adopted in various industries, the insurance indu...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

WHAT YOU FEED AND WATER WILL GROW

Spreading the good word Perhaps we can take a lesson from Mother Nature that applies equally to our industry, our organizations, and our own careers. By Cheryl Koch, CPCU, ARM, AAI, ACSR, AFIS, and Mary Belka, CPCU, ARM, ARe, RPLU, CIC Feeling both e...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

UNLOCKING SUCCESS

Propel your agency beyond the competition with an effective differentiation strategy By setting yourself apart from competitors, you eliminate the need to compete on price. By Carolyn Smith, APR, TRA Are you tired of finding yourself in a 90-day bidd...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

AUTOMATING THE WAY TOWARD RETIREMENT READINESS

DC plan providers, employers share their strategies “[A]utomatically re-enrolling employees in our [DC] plan … has helped narrow the gap in participation among racial and ethnic groups.” —Carole Mendoza                                                ...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

IT’S CLASSIFIED (CORRECTLY)

Tech firm delivers a clear view of customers’ business activities Without clear insight into the customer’s business operations, coverage premiums and terms could fall short. By Lori Widmer Right now, in the United States, over 33 million small busin...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

Winning business through niche podcasting

How to get started for less than $100 By Derek Hayden, CIC, CRA, CBWA Why should your prospects and clients trust you more than other agents? How do you provide value before ever meeting with a prospect? How do you gain attention in a crowded, frustr...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

CONSUMERS QUOTE, YOU CLOSE

How embedded quoting tools can work for you By Raghav Tanna Quoting is the most time-consuming part of the insurance process for agents and clients alike. Agents must visit individual portals for each carrier, rekeying data repeatedly. Clients, meanw...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

HELPING OTHERS (BUT NO BLOOD, PLEASE)

Alabama young pro leaves captive world and starts agency from scratch after switching career path from nursing “[T]he more education you have, the better you can help your clients. There wasn’t one time that I left a [CIC] class and didn’t think to c...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

CULTIVATING ACULTURE OF GROWTH

5 tangible steps to build a culture that attracts success By Angelo Ganguzza When you are tapped to lead an existing agency, you are often focused on specific challenges, such as improving production or developing stronger relationships with carriers...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024