Latest Productivity Headlines

All the headlines from our Productivity Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Halliburton Supreme Court Case Could Curb Securities Fraud Class Actions

Feb 28 2014 // A quarter-century after the U.S. Supreme Court opened the era of class action shareholder litigation, the justices may be poised to shut it down.The court will hear arguments March 5 on a Halliburton Co. appeal targeting...

Construction’s Growing Role in Renewable Energy

Jan 13 2014 // California isn’t just a warm place to live, which is often the case even in winter, but it turns out the state is considered a “judicial hellhole.”The American Tort Reform Foundation issued its annual...

The Agency Producer Activity Gap and How to Close It: Survey

Dec 11 2013 // Agency producers are not spending enough of their time on the sales-related activities that they and their managers think they ideally should.Instead they are spending more time than they think they should on...

Why McKinsey’s Prediction of Demise of Independent Agents Is ‘Dead Wrong’

Oct 28 2013 // A recent report from McKinsey & Co. had some bad news for local property/casualty insurance agents— many of them will be out of business within the next five to 10 years.McKinsey contends that “the economics of...

Energi, CapX Partners Launch Online Platform for Energy Savings Projects

Oct 17 2013 // CapX Partners has launched a new online platform called Energy Conservation and Performance (E-CAP), to help building owners, ESCOs, contractors and engineers secure financing for their energy savings projects.Partnering...

4 Strategies to Make Producer Lifecycle Management a Priority

Jun 17 2013 // Maintaining a top-notch sales organization is harder than ever. One key reason is the growing challenge of keeping up with state and federal insurance regulations that focus on sales. The multiple tasks involved –...

N.Y. Assembly Approves a Flurry of Post-Sandy Insurance Reform Bills

Jun 5 2013 // The New York State Assembly approved on Tuesday a comprehensive post-Sandy insurance reform package comprised of 14 pieces of legislation. All approved measures now move to the state Senate for further consideration.The...

Agency Compensation: Who’s Worth What in Your Independent Agency?

Mar 20 2013 // From top level managers to office and support staff — every person in an agency has a role to play in helping the agency win in the sales game.When one person fails, the whole agency suffers. And when an agency suffers,...

How Process Improvement Drives Agency Profitability

Mar 11 2013 // To boost their profitability, agencies make investments all the time in people and technology, as well as in other businesses through acquisitions. But Dan Epstein, CEO of ReSourcePro, says there is another often...

How Process Improvement Drives Agency Profitability

Feb 26 2013 // To boost their profitability, agencies make investments all the time in people and technology, as well as in other businesses through acquisitions. But Dan Epstein, CEO of ReSourcePro, says there is another often...

Agency Compensation Playbook: Who’s Worth What?

Feb 25 2013 // Managing sales in an independent agency is a team sport. From top level managers to office and support staff – every person in an agency has a role to play in helping the agency win the sales game.When one person fails...

Wells Fargo Introduces National Health & Productivity Practice

Feb 19 2013 // Wells Fargo Insurance, part of Wells Fargo & Co. is launching a health and productivity national practice, the San Francisco, Calif.-based company announced on Tuesday.The group, which is part of the company’s...

Bank Holding Cos. Set Record in Insurance Brokerage Fee Income: Report

Oct 31 2012 // Bank holding companies (BHCs) set new records in insurance brokerage fee income in the second quarter and year-to-date (YTD) in the first half of 2012.According to the Michael White-Prudential Bank Insurance Fee Income...

What Makes a Marginal Producer?

Oct 22 2012 // Salespeople, broadly speaking, fall into three categories. There are those elusive few, typically the 20 percent of the firm’s salespeople, who are highly productive, who sell most of what is sold. These individuals...

Allstate: Overweight Drivers, Passengers Hurt Vehicle Fuel Efficiency

Oct 22 2012 // It’s not just the gas-guzzling SUVs that are hurting the driving fuel efficiency.The growing average weight of Americans is responsible for millions of gallons of additional gasoline used in the country every year,...

Allstate: Overweight Drivers, Passengers Hurt Vehicle Fuel Efficiency

Oct 9 2012 // It’s not just the gas-guzzling SUVs that are hurting the driving fuel efficiency. The growing average weight of Americans is responsible for millions of gallons of additional gasoline used in the country every year,...

What Makes a Marginal Producer?

Oct 8 2012 // Salespeople, broadly speaking, fall into three categories.First, there are those elusive few, typically the 20 percent of the firm’s salespeople, who are highly productive, who sell most of what is sold. These...

Costs Driving Changes, Opportunities in New World of Benefits Brokerage

Jul 24 2012 // Group health insurance brokerage is changing but the changes are not primarily due to Congress or the courts. Rather the changes are being driven by costs — the cost of healthcare coverage and the cost of serving...

8 Ways to Kick-Start Productivity When Sales Are Slow

Jul 23 2012 // There is never a slow time in insurance sales, at least in theory. Yet in practice, no producer is productive 100 percent of the time. Who is? But when the number drops below 75 percent, agents must use slow time to...

10 Things Agencies Do Right (and Wrong) with Agency Management Systems

Jul 2 2012 // As a volunteer engaged with a network of agency management system vendor clients, I have an opportunity to hear from my peers about their experiences and compare this with what goes on in our own office. While we all find...