Latest Productivity Headlines

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

How to Improve Productivity in a New Economy

May 4 2009 // The economy is in the tank and so is the stock market. Thousands are unemployed and many people do not know where to turn. No one is setting up charities for insurance agents just yet, but the industry is at the end of the...

Don’t Cheap Out on the Training

Apr 20 2009 // Use your agency management system to the max. Measure your productivity. Communicate consistently and effectively with your staff, customers and carriers. And above all, don’t cheap out on the training.Do those...

Maximizing Sales Starts With Source-to-Sale Tracking

Mar 9 2009 // I consistently hear from agencies: “Can you give me ideas to make my phone ring more often?”This tells me right away that the agent associates sales activity with actual sales. Consider how much revenue an...

Operational Efficiency Should Be Priority No. 3 for Agency Managers

Feb 22 2009 // Managing an independent insurance agency in the current hard economy and soft market requires agents to set priorities. In the Jan. 28, 2009, issue of Insurance Journal, Juan Andrade, executive vice-president for sales and...

Operational Efficiency Should Be Priority No. 3 for Agency Managers

Feb 22 2009 // Managing an independent insurance agency in the current hard economy and soft market requires agents to set priorities. In the Jan. 28, 2009, issue of Insurance Journal, Juan Andrade, executive vice-president for sales and...

Operational Efficiency Should Be Priority No. 3 for Agency Managers

Feb 22 2009 // Managing an independent insurance agency in today’s economy and soft market forces agents to set priorities. Juan Andrade, executive vice-president for sales and distribution at The Hartford, who oversees his...

Don’t Cheap Out on the Training

Jan 25 2009 // Use your agency management system to the max. Measure your productivity. Communicate consistently and effectively with your staff, customers and carriers. And above all, don’t cheap out on the training.Do those...

Conf. Board Urges Tech Transfer to Reduce Greenhouse Gasses

Sep 10 2008 // In a new report the Conference Board, a non-profit, business research organization, has concluded “restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are not feasible without significant productivity growth and a...

Wausau Survey: Employers Stay Level Headed Despite Recession Worries

Jul 11 2008 // Although a U.S. economic recession would not be good news overall for employers, most don’t believe a recession would drive up workers’ compensation claims, according to a new survey of financial executives by...

New ‘Carbon Revolution’ Urged to Slow Global Warming

Jun 26 2008 // The world needs a shift as radical as the Industrial Revolution to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while safeguarding economic growth, the McKinsey Global Institute said on Thursday.Its study said that a modern...

Federal Charter: A Future ‘Insurance Subprime’ Debacle?

Apr 21 2008 // The banking and securities industry is facing worldwide subprime mortgage-related losses which knowledgeable sources – including the International Monetary Fund — now suggest could top $1 trillion, according to...

Federal Charter: A Future ‘Insurance Subprime’ Debacle?

Apr 21 2008 // The banking and securities industry is facing worldwide subprime mortgage-related losses, which knowledgeable sources – including the International Monetary Fund — now suggest could top $1 trillion, according to...

Analysts See Increase in P/C Mergers Ahead; Rate Climate Change Top Issue

Apr 14 2008 // Insurance equity analysts expect a significant increase in property/ casualty mergers and acquisitions this year, according to findings of a global survey by Accenture.More than two-thirds (71 percent) of all P/C analysts...

Progressive Insurance Sponsors $10M X-Prize for Fuel Efficient Vehicle

Mar 21 2008 // The X Prize Foundation, best known for its competitions promoting space flights, is offering $10 million (euro6.37 million) to the teams that can produce the most production-ready vehicles that get 100 miles per gallon or...

Failure to Reimburse Claims Expenses Efficiently Impacts Customer Satisfaction

Feb 10 2008 // The length of time it takes to repair damages on auto and homeowners insurance claims weighs heavily on customer satisfaction, according to the results of a recent study on claims handling practices. Multiple claims...

To Thrive and Survive

Jan 27 2008 // For excess and surplus lines brokers, identifying available insurance markets not sought by the standard market may be the key to surviving and thriving in the soft market.The answer to growth in a soft market is simple,...

By Marty Ellingsworth

Sep 24 2007 // The use of predictive analytics is truly enhancing speed and customer experience at the service delivery points in the value chain. Understanding behavioral patterns enables insurers to optimize their risk evaluation,...

Predictive Analytics 2.0

Sep 24 2007 // Maximizing the science and art of business analysis with the next wave of dataIt is difficult to overstate the strides in efficiency being made by the insurance industry as a result of the effectiveness of predictive...

Global Insurance Leaders Place Growth at Top Of List

Aug 1 2007 // The leading overall issue facing the global insurance industry is capitalizing on new market opportunities, according to a survey of the participants at the 43rd Annual Seminar of the International Insurance Society (IIS)...

Wis. Wausau Survey Reveals Trends in Lines of Commercial Insurance

May 30 2007 // Spurrred by advice from their agent or broker, commercial insurance buyers show increasing interest in buying more than one line of coverage from a carrier, according to a new survey commissioned by Wis.-based Wausau...