Rough Notes
Creating high-quality commercial submissions for underwriters When it comes to commercial account submissions, there’s no such thing as too much information. By Cheryl Koch, CPCU, ARM, AAI, ACSR, AFIS, and Mary Belka, CPCU, ARM, ARe, RPLU, CIC When i...
Posted: Apr 01, 2025
Employee engagement goes deeper than having employees who are happy and believe in an organization After you’ve asked for input, always acknowledge it. It’s so important to let people know they’ve been heard. By Kari Glennon If you’re an insurance ag...
Posted: Apr 01, 2025
Strengthening good relationships leads to exponential growth for this Ohio agency By Dennis H. Pillsbury When Matt Simon, CIC, CPCU, took over leadership of Hill & Hamilton, Bellefontaine, Ohio, in 2020, he was assuming the presidency of a succes...
Posted: Apr 01, 2025
Iowa-based young pro develops and expands agency’s public entity practice “I think it’s one thing to be good at insurance and know coverage forms, but the reality is, we want to be applicable to the things our clients are concerned about and [know th...
Posted: Apr 01, 2025
What lies ahead for construction firms through the rest of this year By Mark Wooditch It doesn’t take a crystal ball to foretell what construction industry professionals—and their insurance and risk management partners—might expect over the balance o...
Posted: Apr 01, 2025
Claims trends and risk management best practices for summer youth camps By Christopher W. Cook This writer never went to summer camp growing up, although I vaguely know about what happens there through other media. I recall that Ernest P. Worrell, pl...
Posted: Apr 01, 2025
Putting AI-powered automation to work, Gaya streamlines data and speeds the commercial quoting process By Lori Widmer What started as an idea by a student with a need became an AI-driven software company serving the insurance industry. In 2021, Carl...
Posted: Apr 01, 2025
As risks cross over into more than one business area, professionals need to respond to a complex web of exposure By Lori Widmer If 2025 will be remembered for anything, it could be that it became the year that ushered in the need for organizations to...
Posted: Apr 01, 2025
A persistently hard market makes for hard choices By Joseph S. Harrington, CPCU “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” That’s a famous French phrase for “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” If you want to appear sophisticated...
Posted: Apr 01, 2025
Increasingly popular benefits product will come into play in wildfire aftermath By Len Strazewski Swirling Santa Ana winds driving several California wildfires have killed more than 20 residents and destroyed $30 billion in property, and by the end o...
Posted: Apr 01, 2025
Leveraging face-to-face relationships with potential insurance clients When you are giving the rundown of coverage, do so by using examples of incidents that anyone can understand. … [R]eal-world scenarios that you can walk a prospect through to exp...
Posted: Mar 24, 2025
What role can they play in property insurance? Separate wildfire deductibles could be critical in securing coverage for a peril that is location-specific yet popping up all across the continent. By Joseph S. Harrington, CPCU If they work for windsto...
Posted: Mar 20, 2025
INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASESDigested from case reports published onlineCOURT DECISIONS Barging in In 2014, Swalling Construction Company, Inc., entered into a charter agreement with Pool Engineering, Inc., for a freight barge. Swalling obtained insu...
Posted: Mar 04, 2025
INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASESDigested from case reports published onlineCOURT DECISIONS Must insurer pay for resulting loss exception? The Gardens Condominium purchased an all-risk policy from Farmers Insurance Exchange in 2002. This version of the p...
Posted: Mar 04, 2025
The current interpretation of the McCarran-Ferguson Act is only a specter of the law’s original intent The belief that McCarran-Ferguson is just an antitrust exemption for the insurance industry is just another clever humbug. By Kevin P. Hennosy Marc...
Posted: Mar 04, 2025
Key strategies agencies can deploy For independent insurance agency owners, it’s likely the best time in the past decade to execute a local merger and acquisition (M&A) strategy. By James Graham, CVA Elevated, albeit historically normal, capita...
Posted: Mar 04, 2025
The conundrum of “water-related or “water damage” Anyone who is new to commercial insurance can quickly get tripped up by water-related claims. By Marc McNulty, CIC, CRM Anyone who is new to commercial insurance can quickly get tripped up by wate...
Posted: Mar 04, 2025
What strategies will work for seasoned employees? “With longevity increasing, employers need to focus even more on the levers that impact retirement readiness.” —Holly Verdeyen U.S. Defined Contribution Leader Mercer By Thomas A. McCoy, CLU Major emp...
Posted: Mar 04, 2025
Three power moves to try If you’re not recognizing your team consistently and specifically, you’re leaving wins on the table. By Carolyn Smith, APR, TRA Are you just a “good” manager—or are you ready to lead? Most agency managers are good, but let’s...
Posted: Feb 28, 2025
Real-world examples involving tenured employees No matter how experienced you are, you can still make mistakes … . And newer employees simply don’t have the “institutional knowledge” that grows from tenure in the position. By Cheryl Koch, CPCU,...
Posted: Feb 28, 2025
Exploring gender bias in the independent agency system [O]ne’s gender seems to have more than a little to do with your current and future position in the agency. By Cheryl Koch, CPCU, ARM, AAI, ACSR, AFIS, and Mary Belka, CPCU, ARM, ARe, RPLU, CIC...
Posted: Dec 31, 2024
Shaking off your “shimmy” [No] agency can operate properly when different teams are working independently, unaware of what others in their organization are doing. By Kari Glennon In our increasingly competitive industry, the quality of the customer e...
Posted: Dec 31, 2024
Understanding both terms and their applications is crucial for effectively managing risk and liability Both agreements play crucial roles in risk management strategies, but they must align with legal standards and the specific needs of all parties in...
Posted: Dec 31, 2024
Focus on circumstances, operations and humanity The best agency owners don’t sit back and complain about what’s out of their control. They look for opportunities, even in the toughest circumstances. By Carolyn Smith, APR, TRA Let’s kick off the new y...
Posted: Dec 31, 2024
It’s here and changing the financing game for independent agencies Offering premium finance at checkout can reduce the typical premium collection time from 20 days to less than five … . By Chase Petrey Obtaining financing for insurance premiums can b...
Posted: Dec 31, 2024