Rough Notes

A FLORIDA CONDO CRISIS

Managing risks for unit owners and association boards Some condo owners receiving special assessment fees may be faced with the need to sell their units in Florida’s weak real estate market with rising insurance costs. By Sarah Warhaftig, J.D., CRM I...

Posted: Nov 01, 2024

Standing Out In A World Where Trust Is In Short Supply

Show your clients that you’re more than just another transactional agent [E]mpathy isn’t just a “nice-to-have”—it’s essential. In a world full of empty noise, being genuinely human is your superpower. By Carolyn Smith, APR, TRA Consumers today are sk...

Posted: Nov 01, 2024

THE BIG DEAL WITH MICROMANAGING

A look at the concept, the culprit and the consequences Consider that your need to micromanage might be stifling just the productivity—and creativity—you’ve hired your team to provide. By Meg McKeen, CIC We all know those people, the relationships we...

Posted: Nov 01, 2024

ACA Marketplace Rocked By Unauthorized Enrollments And Switches

Senators propose criminal sanctions “It is critical for these bad actors to be held criminally responsible and implement common sense consumer protections so families can confidently purchase quality, affordable health care insurance that works for t...

Posted: Nov 01, 2024

What does “cancellation” mean?

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS What does “cancellation” mean? Nhiem Tran and Nung Ha had a fire insurance policy with Nationwide General Insurance Company. Nationwide canceled the policy beca...

Posted: Nov 01, 2024

Subcontractor “goes bare”

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Subcontractor “goes bare” American Building Innovation LP (ABI) was hired by Balfour Beatty Construction, LLC, (Balfour Beatty) as a subcontractor for a school...

Posted: Nov 01, 2024

Bad day for insurer on UIM claim

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Bad day for insurer on UIM claim In 2019, Acuity Insurance Company issued Terra-Tek, LLC, a commercial auto policy, and Terra-Tek paid a premium to list owners...

Posted: Nov 01, 2024

THE TOP 5 WAYS TO GET A PROSPECT TO OPEN UP

Seizing the opportunity to learn pain points and figure out how you can truly help When you actually provide that cure and continue to keep them from falling “ill” again, you are in a great position to have a client for a long time. by Michael Wayne...

Posted: Oct 31, 2024

THE PANDEMIC’S SHADOW

Has success in rebuffing COVID claims reduced the scope of income coverage? Since 2020, courts have changed their tune. Why? We all know why: the COVID-19 pandemic. By Joseph S. Harrington, CPCU Attorney Richard P. Lewis of the law firm Reed Smith is...

Posted: Oct 24, 2024

In search of defense costs

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS In search of defense costs Ferrellgas Partners L.P. and its subsidiaries had a claims-made policy with Zurich American Insurance Company that included a provisi...

Posted: Oct 01, 2024

Bad news for title appellants

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Bad news for title appellants On September 28, 2016, Sanford Sachtleben and Luciann Hruza purchased approximately 20 acres of land unimproved except for a barn...

Posted: Oct 01, 2024

Who’s at fault?

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Who’s at fault? On November 19, 2015, Roger Burns, Scott Eastman, and Jillian Peterson were involved in a three-car consecutive rear-end collision heading eastb...

Posted: Oct 01, 2024

RAISING AWARENESS

Education, prevention can make all the difference when it comes to women’s heart health You are uniquely positioned to help raise awareness among women to seek out cardiac care and talk to their doctors about how to start working now to prevent or le...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

MOTIVATING YOUR TEAM

How to be a better coach using the Skill Will Matrix As a leader, you need to assess two things: team members’ skill level for the task and their will to tackle it. By Carolyn Smith, APR, TRA As we head into Q4, the insurance industry is rocked by cl...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

SHELL GAME

Federal legislators ask Federal Insurance Office to subpoena climate change info The McCarran-Ferguson Act provided only a limited and contingent loan of Congress’s constitutional authority to the states. … And Congress could recall the loaned author...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

THE BUSYNESS EPIDEMIC

Why your team feels so busy and how it’s jeopardizing effectiveness “When you’re busy, you’re more likely to make poor time-management choices: taking on commitments you can’t handle or prioritizing trifling tasks over crucial ones.” —Eldar Shafir Be...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

BUSINESS AUTO ENHANCEMENTS

Filling in the gaps [Let’s] explore a few additional business auto coverages that should be considered as agency standards.     By Marc McNulty, CIC, CRM Our last “Mind the Gap” focused on procedures and endorsements that were included in a James K....

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

HOW TO IMPROVE RETENTION

Playing the “dating game” Much like dating, the art of attraction (or marketing) and curiosity (or client intake) begin the process of deciding if the relationship is a good fit … and this impacts retention in the long run. By Dustyne Bryant, MBA, CI...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

BAD NEWS FOR TITLE APPELLANTS

Zoning issue involving a stand-alone barn finds both buyers and sellers entangled in lawsuit By Bruce D. Hicks, CPCU, CLU The Court Decisions column is a popular part of Rough Notes magazine. One reason for this is that the court room is where the pr...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

REVOLUTIONIZING INSURANCE

Making the most of AI’s capabilities, a new startup is working hard to flip the script and make insurance proactive instead of reactive By Lori Widmer “Our mission is to reinvent insurance with a model that takes us from risk reaction to risk prevent...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES

Survey findings validate many issues we’ve raised in our consulting work, columns and more Management should remain vigilant in assessing people’s mental and physical well-being during this tumultuous time which does not seem to have an end in sight....

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

TOP TALENT IN A DWINDLING WORKFORCE

The importance of implementing a multi-faceted succession plan that involves senior executives as well as younger employees Not only is employee training incredibly important to an agency’s success, it’s also one of the top three benefits sought by t...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

FRACTIONAL LEADERSHIP WORKS

The Camargo Insurance team. Front row: Chris Owens, Insurance Advisor; Allison Watkins, Insurance Advisor; Jay Mueller, Chief Executive Officer; Janet Jansen, Chief Operating Officer; David Branch, Insurance Advisor. Back row: Victoria McAlpin, Insur...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

Community service award opportunity

Applications being accepted for independent agents, brokers, and their firms  By Robert N. Kretzmer, CIC Each year, we put out a call for independent agents, brokers, or agencies to be nominated for The Rough Notes Company Community Service Award. Th...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024

THE RISK-REDUCTION REVOLUTION

Helping property owners improve their risk profile with new tech and strategies By Maura Ciccarelli Protection from natural disasters and everyday emergencies like water leaks and electrical fires have always been top of mind for property owners. How...

Posted: Sep 30, 2024