Rough Notes

BEST VETTING PRACTICES

 BEST VETTING PRACTICES IN A CHALLENGING MARKET Helping clients navigate tough economic conditions and a hardening insurance marketplace When evaluating insurance partners, embracing a culture of risk management puts your The post

Posted: Dec 08, 2022

Homeowners covers ATV injuries?

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Does homeowners policy cover ATV injuries? On December 27, 2019, Diamond Jones was riding as a passenger on the back of The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ISN’T SCARY

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION DOESN’T NEED TO BE SCARY Make the most of what you already have by thinking broadly about tech By Joel Zwicker By working in the insurance industry, you’ve The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

WAYS TO GIVE BACK

NEW WAYS TO GIVE BACK  Independent agents are finding creative ways to engage employees and increase their levels of philanthropic giving By Bill Ross If there’s one silver lining that The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP WHY NOW

WHY AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP? WHY NOW? Tips for honing your skills on your leadership journey   By Meg McKeen Do you remember the first  time you were authentic? I certainly don’t The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

Best Practices Study

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE BEST PRACTICES STUDY? Observations from training and development to leadership, staffing and valuation [B]e sure you’re not among those agencies spending more on miscellaneous The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

MARKET DRIVERS

MARKET DRIVERS Five factors driving valuation increases amid rising capital costs   By James Graham, CVA The current financial market turmoil continues to have no material effect on merger and The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

AGENCY CREATION RULES

EIGHT SIMPLE RULES FOR CREATING THE ULTIMATE AGENCY Think with your head and lead with your heart By Mary Belka, CPCU, ARM, ARe, RPLU, CIC, and Cheryl Koch, CPCU, ARM, The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

HUMILITY DESIRED IN LIFE

HUMILITY … A DESIRED TRAIT IN THE GAME OF LIFE   Characteristics of and best practices to embrace humility   By F. Scott Addis, CPCU, CRA, ACRA, TRA, ASA What The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

COMMUNICATING BENEFITS

COMMUNICATING BENEFITS CHOICES TO A CHANGING WORKFORCE The challenges of off-site workers and other unfinished business By Thomas A. McCoy, CLU In a job market where employers struggle to attract The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

EMPLOYERS LIABILITY

FIVE REASONS WHY EMPLOYERS LIABILITY IS IMPORTANT   Be aware of workers compensation loopholes By Paul Martin, CPCU The workers compensation system is a fascinating compromise. Before workers compensation laws The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

MENTAL MUSCLE

MENTAL MUSCLE Gaining focus in a world driven by distraction   By Kimberly Paterson, CEC Michael is an up-and-coming leader in his organization. He’s smart, ambitious, proactive, and has outstanding The post

Posted: Nov 30, 2022

RED FLAGS TO HIRING

 TOP 5 BIG RED FLAGS WHEN IT COMES TO HIRING  Not every prospective employee will make the cut Confidence is something I admire and respect. Hubris, however, is off-putting. By The post

Posted: Nov 22, 2022

CYBER CLARITY NOT CLEAR

CYBER CLARITY NOT AT ALL CLEAR Carrier efforts to draw the lines can’t erase the gray areas  “Cyber” entails an augmentation of ourselves, the use of computer technology and information The post

Posted: Nov 14, 2022

UNDERSTANDING GENERATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

UNDERSTANDING GENERATIONAL PERSPECTIVES … A KEY TO YOUR LEADERSHIP SUCCESS Guidelines to bridge the generational perspectives gap                           The post

Posted: Nov 03, 2022

Provide Underwriters Great Service

FIVE WAYS TO PROVIDE UNDERWRITERS WITH GREAT SERVICE  Tips for staying out of the “do not process” pile Agents routinely expect a lot from their underwriters. … There are also  The post

Posted: Nov 03, 2022

A tangled tale

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS A tangled tale On October 14, 2018, Megan Johnson and Terri Reed were involved in a collision while in Johnson’s vehicle. The post

Posted: Nov 03, 2022

Arbitration agreement put to test

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Arbitration agreement put to the test Fiona Trinity sued Life Insurance Company of North America (LINA), Zenfira Kadzhikyan, and Lucine Nikogosian The...

Posted: Nov 03, 2022

Bad news for provider

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Bad news for provider Mecosta County Medical Center, d/b/a Spectrum Health Big Rapids (and others), sued Metropolitan Group Property and Casualty The...

Posted: Nov 03, 2022

ATTRACTING, DEVELOPING, RETAINING TALENT

ATTRACTING, DEVELOPING, AND RETAINING THE BEST TALENT Recurring themes among agencies While people issues may be one of the greatest challenges for agencies, they also provide tremendous opportunities to have The post

Posted: Nov 03, 2022

Can You Spare a Dime

UNCLE, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME? NAIC panhandles for federal grants to fund health parity regulation Congress already provided states the premium tax carrot. It is time to use the The post

Posted: Nov 03, 2022

OWN YOUR POTENTIAL

OWN YOUR POTENTIAL The biggest lie: You can be anything you want to be Realizing or owning your potential is one of the great responsibilities in life.   By Dr. The post

Posted: Nov 03, 2022

FAIR, ACCURATE, AND EFFECTIVE

FAIR, ACCURATE, AND EFFECTIVE Eliminating “unfair” rate subsidies can improve a program business book Program managers need to conduct actuarial reviews to ferret out rate subsidies and develop underwriting guidelines The post

Posted: Nov 03, 2022

Lessons learned from the pandemic

Customer demand for simplicity, flexibility, and transparency across all aspects of the insurance experience has been pushing the industry to change how it does business for some time. A silver The post

Posted: Nov 03, 2022

SMALL-TOWN VALUES

Members of the First MainStreet Executive team. From left: Duane Smith, Chairman: Randy Rings, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary: Dru Bridges, Executive Vice President; and Dan Driscoll, Director, Strategic Expansion.  The post

Posted: Nov 03, 2022