Getting With the Program

Program is a word with many definitions.

If you’re a parent of teenagers, as I am, you may hear it often in the phrase, “Get with the program, Mom (or Dad).” Like, know what I mean?

And we all know what a computer programmer is, right? A geek who sits in front of his or her computer 24/7 writing programs, that is, stringing together characters on a computer screen in a manner that seems to make no sense at all. But those very characters “nonsensically” strung together may allow you, or me, to key in a sequence of words that make remarkable sense. Or so one hopes.

A program can be a performance or series of performances one watches in an auditorium. It could also be the written explanation of the performances being watched.

But in the insurance world, program means something different entirely. It’s a group of coverages offered for one specific class of business, i.e., convenience stores, auto body shops, tanning salons, etc. In this issue of Insurance Journal, which includes our 12th Annual Program Directory, Volume II, we have listed an incredible number of programs that apply to just about any class of business one can imagine.

The program directory is compiled from information companies voluntarily provide us for selected classes of business they cover. So, take advantage of our latest directory listings and find the coverage you need now. The print directory is designed to be a resource for you to refer to year round. In addition, you can always log on to www.insurancejournal.com/directories for access to all of our directories.

And simply listing programs is not enough. We also have plenty of reading material on programs for you to enjoy, including a mystery: “Who (Almost) Murdered the Program?” in which the author, David Morse, examines the way claims operations are handled in the program business industry and to what effect.

Grace Orsolino, a program manager for Clarendon Insurance Group, offers advice to insurers on how make a profit with programs, in “Mission Impossible: How to Succeed in Program Business.”

Finally, in our “Parting Shots” column, Glenn W. Clark, president of Rockwood Programs Inc. and founder of Target Markets, explains how by working together program administrators can make the most of market conditions to their mutual benefit.

Coming up, in our May 3 issue we will feature a “Salute to Independent Agents,” and will include our first ever listing of the Top 100 P/C Agencies across the country. Watch for it.

Until then, happy reading!