Rough Notes
Elevate both your customers’ experience and your agency’s overall performance By Michael Streit In today’s market shaped by tech giants, customer service expectations have significantly increased across all industries. And the reason is simple: Techn...
Posted: Aug 30, 2024
A thought leader’s perspective on serving the modern insurance buyer By Mick Hunt In today’s rapidly evolving market, customer experience (CX) has undergone a seismic shift. Gone are the days when customer satisfaction was solely about face-to-...
Posted: Aug 30, 2024
Empowering its members through professional development and networking opportunities By Christopher W. Cook Founded in 1997 by independent insurance agent Jerald L. Tillman, whose insurance career today spans over 45 years, the National African Ameri...
Posted: Aug 30, 2024
Standing in front of Zeller Insurance with his teammates, Nate West (third from left) is well known in Columbus, Indiana, for his ’75 Ford pickup truck. Indiana agent wins PIA National Young Insurance Professional of the Year award By Christopher W....
Posted: Aug 30, 2024
Strategies for service staff, producers and principals By Heath Shearon Ah, time management—a topic that resonates deeply in the whirlwind world of insurance. In an industry where every tick of the clock can shift the balance of client satisfaction a...
Posted: Aug 30, 2024
Voluntary product covers planned and unplanned expenses “There can be two major sources of stress. First, the stress of the legal issue itself, and then the stress of figuring out who is going to help you deal with it.” —Emily B. Rose President, Busi...
Posted: Aug 30, 2024
The first thing to do is pause and step back; you may need some serious self-reflection Telling yourself you’ve done everything right and that you are where you are at because others have failed you is easy. It’s also wrong. By Michael Wayne Well ov...
Posted: Aug 27, 2024
California court says insurer must allow claimant to record exams under oath In a contentious claim scenario … settlement could be complicated by conflicting interpretations of nonverbal behaviors during an examination under oath. By Joseph S. Harri...
Posted: Aug 14, 2024
What’s holding you back? When you’re achieving good results, it’s tempting to not raise the bar on agency standards. By Roger Sitkins During our training and coaching sessions, I always ask participants if they are making more money than they expecte...
Posted: Aug 01, 2024
Helping clients understand and manage risk Effective risk management isn’t just about checking boxes; it’s the backbone of resilience for businesses. It keeps their assets safe, their reputation intact, and their future bright. By Randy Boss, CRM, MW...
Posted: Aug 01, 2024
Tooting the industry’s horn So, why the bad rap? …People don’t like what they don’t understand, and they don’t understand insurance. By Cheryl Koch, CPCU, ARM, AAI, ACSR, AFIS, and Mary Belka, CPCU, ARM, ARe, RPLU, CIC Most of us are aware that...
Posted: Aug 01, 2024
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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