All the headlines from our Sales Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Nov 16 2004 // The nation’s largest independent insurance agency group will go before a Senate subcommittee in Washington today to attempt to put some distance between large insurance brokers facing allegations of illegal...
Nov 11 2004 // Austin, Texas-based National Alliance Research Academy announced the publication of the third edition of their producer compensation study titled, Producer Profile: Compensation, Production, and Responsibilities. This...
Oct 29 2004 // Pennsylvania Attorney General Jerry Pappert has filed a civil lawsuit in Commonwealth Court accusing 16 defendants of engaging in an elaborate statewide living trust sales scheme, that deceived older Pennsylvanians into...
Sep 27 2004 // A probe into improper sales of life insurance products to soldiers at Fort Benning, Ga. is expanding to other bases, other states, and as many as five companies, according to Georgia Insurance Commissioner John...
Sep 6 2004 // There are myriad reasons and methods for restructuring your agency. In my June 7, 2004, column I suggested completely eliminating your personal and commercial lines departments and replacing them with combined direct...
Sep 6 2004 // While it’s hard to find many positives about today’s increasingly litigious environment, it has helped fuel the need for both personal and commercial umbrellas.“We’re seeing an increased demand for...
Sep 6 2004 // The American Agents Alliance recently conducted a survey of independent insurance producers concerning California’s Low Cost Auto program. The program, enacted by the state Legislature in 2000 and operational since...
Aug 10 2004 // In a continuing effort to provide member companies with the best available resources for managing an insurance brokerage in today’s highly competitive marketplace, The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (The...
Aug 9 2004 // There are multiple ways to grow your agency’s bottom line. The most exciting way is, of course, to sell more policies. You logically devote most of your energies to this essential activity because it’s the best...
Jul 22 2004 // Increasing profits, maintaining revenue growth in a challenging market, and sustaining a competitive advantage are the focal points of workshops at the upcoming Best Practices Business Symposium.The symposium, conducted by...
Jul 19 2004 // Last summer, when we weren’t looking, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 620 (SB 620) and enacted new insurance producer training statutes at section 1749.8 of the Insurance Code.This new California law...
Jul 19 2004 // Baffled by the product, overwhelmed by policy verbiage and totally put off by the adversarial nature of the whole business, consumers nationwide express having serious trust issues with the insurance industry.In...
Jul 19 2004 // To be successful in marketing commercial lines requires a detailed plan. The first step in any process is to assess where you are right now. As Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going,...
Jul 5 2004 // The practice of “sales management” is embraced by some and ignored by others. It is considered a powerful tool for some agencies, yet others see it as a total waste of time. The bulk in the middle will exercise...
Jul 5 2004 // Over the years, I have found that many agency owners peg their agency value to traditional benchmarks and current market values. At one time, the industry benchmark for an average agency was one and a half times annual...
Jul 5 2004 // Baffled by the product, overwhelmed by policy verbiage and totally put off by the adversarial nature of the whole business, consumers nationwide express having serious trust issues with the insurance industry.In...
Jul 5 2004 // It always seems like the other guys are growing quickly. How about you? As each day passes, agency consolidators add new offices, banks gain experience in selling and prospecting, and a new generation of propeller-heads...
Jun 30 2004 // For individuals needing continuing education (CE) credits to meet their state’s insurance licensing requirements, then the 2004 Big “I” Convention this October at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin...
May 26 2004 // With more than 7,400 issuing locations nationwide, you’d think a product line extension would be a simple process. But that wasn’t the case when Stewart Information Services Corporation decided to add Property...
May 17 2004 // Voluntary benefits, where the employees pay the full freight through payroll deduction, are booming. Voluntary plans let employers offer attractive fringe benefits like dental, vision care and disability insurance at no...