Education
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Advanced Basic Training – A 12-Week Foundational Course
The Insurance Journal Academy of Insurance provides online training for insurance professionals.
Insurance is one of the most important financial mechanisms of modern capitalistic societies. And an insurance career can be fascinating and rewarding – provided it has the right foundation. The 12-week Advanced Basic Training course will provide that strong career foundation. Designed for those [...] -
Insurers Can’t Count on Investments, Advises III’s Hartwig
Property/casualty insurers’ investment income has been down and it isn’t going up any time soon, according to Dr. Robert Hartwig, president and economist for the Insurance Information Institute in this interview with Insurance Journal’s Andrew Simpson. How will insurers perform and price products in this environment and will regulators take note? Hartwig also discusses the [...]
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Insurance Innovation: An Oxymoron?
Insurance innovation…is it an oxymoron? That was the provocative title of a panel at the Professional Liability Underwriters Society meeting in Chicago. One of the panelists, Leib Dodell, now with the new ThinkRisk Underwriting in Kansas City and formerly president and CEO of Media Professional Insurance, discusses why and how the insurance industry should embrace [...]
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Media, Tech Markets Converge: Dodell On Keeping Up
The world is changing, with virtually every business now facing both media and technology exposures. Insurance needs to keep up, says Leib Dodell , former president and CEO of Media Professional Insurance, who is now part of the team launching a new specialty E&O facility based in Kansas City called ThinkRisk Underwriting Agency. In this [...]
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NAPSLO’s Next Generation
The insurance industry has taken a keen interest in finding future workers with the knowledge and skills required to hit the ground running in the insurance business. One of the more interesting approaches is the Next Generation initiative by the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, or NAPSLO. The effort, which began as a [...]
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Japanese Agents Learn U.S. Best Practices
Japanese insurance agents learned about best practices from U.S. agencies on a recent East Coast tour. Peter van Aartrijk, of Aartrijk Branding Group, and Sue Noda, of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Japan, discuss the visit and what it’s like to be an independent agent in Japan.
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How to Hire an Agency Consultant
Agency consultant Al Diamond of the Agency Consulting Group says a good consultant helps an owner realize his or her own dreams, not the dreams of the consultant. What consultants can be expected to do and how they get paid.
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Most Common Mistakes By Agencies
Agency consultant Al Diamond of the Agency Consulting Group cautions agents against shrinking their business even under financial and pricing pressures.
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Agency Hiring in Today’s Economy
Agency consultant Al Diamond of the Agency Consulting Group with some tips on how insurance agents might capitalize on other industries’ woes.
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How to Use Compensation to Motivate Employees
Agency consultant Al Diamond of the Agency Consulting Group says a properly-constructed compensation plan can re-energize producers who have lost their spark. It works for non-producer employees, too.
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Agency Management with Al Diamond
Al Diamond is one of the country’s best known and respected agency management consultants. His firm, Agency Consulting Group, Inc., is based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He deals with agencies across the country on issues ranging from operations to mergers to sales and compensation. He is also a Best Practices instructor for the Independent [...]
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Recruiting Black Insurance Professionals
Ohio agent Jerald Tillman founded what is today the National African American Insurance Association some 30 years ago to attract more black professionals into the industry. The group now has chapters in dozens of cities across the country with still more planned. In this excerpt from a recent interview with Insurance Journal’s Andrew [...]
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Who’s Getting Into, Out of the Agency Business
Agency consultant Al Diamond of the Agency Consulting Group discusses why more people are starting agencies today and why some who left are returning to the business.
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The Optimism of Young Independent Agents
Young agent Joey O’Connor, vice president with Daniels & Eustis Agency in Louisiana, talks about what being independent means to him and to other young agents– and why they are optimistic about the future — in this excerpt from an interview with Insurance Journal’s Andrew Simpson.
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Ethics in Today’s Insurance Industry
Today’s financial headlines and bailouts raise questions about the state of ethics in the financial services industry and in insurance. Marvin Kelly, president of the CPCU Society, whose members must honor a code of ethics, thinks the industry does a lot of things right but this doesn’t make the news.
Featured
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London Calling
London Based specialty insurer Hiscox, which launched a significantly expanded US presence in 2006, saw its gross profits reach record levels of 481 million dollars last year. Recently, the company’s chief underwriting 0fficer, Rob Childs, sat down to discuss the profitability for the company and what he sees as the outlook and obstacles for [...]
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Flood Fiasco
On Feb. 28, the National Flood Insurance Program lapsed for several days because Congress failed to pass reauthorization. That was just the latest issue for this program that is becoming a major concern for independent agents. Their worries: insufficient coverage, insufficient limits and insufficient leadership in Washington when it comes to this key program. In [...]
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Social Media: The New Community
Women between ages 55 and 65 make up the largest growing demographic of Facebook users, which makes Claudia McClain, President of McClain Insurance Services in Everett, Washington a comfortable newbie, joining the social networking site just one year ago.
In this interview with Mitch Dunford, McClain discusses social media’s affect on the insurance industry and how [...]
Popular
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Insurance Risks at Gatorland Theme Park
Opened in 1949, Gatorland is central Florida’s oldest theme park. The 110-acre attraction is home to a multitude of animals, including the powerful alpha predators that are the park’s namesake.
With over 100 employee roles, ranging from custodial and food handling to gator wrestling, the potential for injury is great; however, the incident of harm at [...] -
From Vine to Wine
Don Reha is the winemaker for Orfila Vineyards and Winery in Escondido, California where he oversees the winemaking process from vine to bottle. In this episode of Watching the Risks, Reha talks about insuring and protecting the product and business income through its various stages.
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Fast Food Chain Battles Fraudulent Claims
Based in San Diego, Jack in the Box Inc. was founded in 1951 and is the first major fast-food chain that started as a drive-thru. Today, it has approximately 43,000 employees with more than 2,200 quick-serve restaurants in 18 states. In this episode, Jack in the Box deputy general counsel of 12 years, [...]
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CEO Motamed Says Changes Underway at CNA
Thomas Motamed joined CNA Financial as Chairman and CEO in January, 2009 after 30 years at Chubb Corp. In this interview, he talks about the changes he has in store at CNA.
Random
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The Current Status of the D&O Market
Jim Nestheide, vice president of Financial and Professional Services (FPS) of St. Paul Travelers,
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New Hampshire – Roger Sevigny: High Floods, Lower Taxes
New Hampshire Commissioner Sevigny, with memories of Spring floods still fresh, hopes to get
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Janice Cox, ISM Insurance / IIABA 2003 InfoXchange
Interview with ISM Insurance Specialty Liability Programs Mgr, Janice Cox, at the IIABA 2003
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Florida’s Insurers Caught in Crisis
How did the Florida property market turn into a crisis? Florida Insurance Council’s Sam Miller offers some history and insight from the Florida Private Sector Summit on Property Insurance sponsored by Demotech and Insurance Journal.
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