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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Markets in Motion: Solar Manufacturer Warranties
The alternative energy market has many complicated angles to it, including solar warranties, which are essential to solar manufacturers as well as to the development and funding of solar projects.
According to Mike McMullen, president of PowerGuard Specialty Insurance Services, banks are hesitant to lend against some larger solar projects because of the severe credit [...] -
Excellent Claims Service when Clients Need it Most
Engle Martin & Associates is an independent adjusting firm providing claims services to the insurance industry. In this interview with Claims Journal, Susan Froman, Engle Martin’s Director of Sales, discusses the growth of the company and providing service to their clients when they need it most.
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‘Uncomfortable Change’ Paves Road to Perpetuation
Too often agency principals find themselves facing a forced sale as a result of not having a proper perpetuation plan. In this podcast, MarshBerry president John Wepler discusses the many difficult and “uncomfortable” decisions required of an owner seeking to properly–and profitably–perpetuate the firm. Listen to this frank conversation as John offers some good news: [...]
Popular
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Get Smart About Insuring Intellectual Property
The Internet makes it easier to get into business but it also makes it easier to steal others’ ideas. The Web is also expanding the notion of what materials, images and designs need to be protected. Intellectual property attorney David Branfman advises agents on questions to ask clients about intellectual property exposures and warns about [...]
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Risk Management’s a Priority for Moving Company
Moving companies face a number of exposures in their daily operations, including workers compensation, cargo, fleet and general liability. Priority Moving in San Diego, Calif. is no exception. A Wheaton Van Lines agent, Priority Moving has created a series of internal procedures, reinforced by a strong employee screening process and training program. Analytics software [...]
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Cyber Breaks, Insurance and Data Breach Response Advice
Stroz Friedberg is a consulting firm that does computer forensics, mobile phone forensics, electronic discovery and cyber crime response, operating at the intersection of law, technology and behavioral sciences. David Garrett, managing director of Stroz Friedberg’s San Francisco office, explains why clients may or may not have cyber risk insurance, whether those that have the [...]
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Helicopter Business Revolves Around Safety
Corporate Helicopters is a San Diego business focusing on charter, tours, aerial filming and helicopter sales. In this episode of Watching the Risks, Corporate Helicopters president Ivor Shier explains how looking through the lens of risk analysis from the formative years to the present has led to a safer company.
Random
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Interview with Big I’s Alex Soto, Take 1: The Truth About Katrina Claims
The insurance industry has done a poor job of getting out the truth about how well it handled
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Julie Thompson/Lee Ripley, Pacific Life & Annuity / IIABA 2003 InfoXchange
Interview with Pacific Life & Annuity Senior Sales Rep, Julie Thompson and Lee Ripley, at
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CEO Journal: Farmers’ Growth Strategy in a Tough Economy
Growth expectations may be lower due to the recession but Farmers Insurance CEO F. Robert Woudstra thinks it is still possible for an insurer to grow in this economy by focusing on the right segments. For Farmers, the focus for 2009 and 2010 will include the small business and the Hispanic market.
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Rosie The Riveter
A woman installing a framed picture with a power tool. Not for the feminist.
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