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Lobbyist Norwood Analyzes Consumer Watchdog Legislation

bpedroso — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:10:13 +0000

John Norwood is one of California’s best known legislative advocates for the insurance and financial services sectors. Norwood spoke to the Insurance Journal about legislation and regulation, including a proposal by a consumer advocacy group that would establish prior approval for healthcare insurance and would make major changes to auto insurance and homeowners insurance in California.

How Insurance Distribution Is Changing

mtolk — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:31:52 +0000

Retail and wholesale brokers face the challenge —and opportunity— of redefining their relationships and value proposition in today’s changing insurance distribution world, according to Glenn Hargrove, president, MarketScout Wholesale, Dallas, Tex. In this interview from the recent Western Insurance Agents Association’s Insurance Industry Roundtable in California, Hargrove outlines the value proposition of agents and brokers and discusses the future of distribution.

Vertafore: Intelligence in Technology

bpedroso — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:10:37 +0000

Insurance technology leader Vertafore serves 15,000 agencies, 1,000 carriers and about 750 managing general agencies. Steven Finch, vice president of Market Solutions, says the recent purchase of Vertafore by private equity firm TPG Capital lets Vertafore target even larger acquisitions to grow. In this interview, Finch reviews the concept of intelligent workflow and the future of insurance technology in an age of mobility.

Swiss Re Chief Economist Analyzes Current Market Conditions

bpedroso — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:22:22 +0000

Swiss Re’s chief economist Kurt Karl discusses the challenges the insurance industry faces, focused on the current economic and political environment, low investment yields, the euro debt crisis and slowing growth in emerging markets.

FERMA Growth Assured as Den Dekker Steps Down

bpedroso — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:39:18 +0000

Peter den Dekker’s tenure as president of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) could well be described as a tipping point in bringing risk managers into the main stream of European business, and establishing FERMA’s leading role in discussions with brokers, re/insurers and regulators. In this interview, you’ll see why.

Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Peter Levene on Reinsurance, the U.S. Market and Some Future Plans

bpedroso — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:15:57 +0000

Lord Peter Levene talked to the IJ on his balcony at the Hotel de Paris. His reign as Lloyd’s Chairman has been pivotal in reestablishing its insurance industry preeminence. He pushed through changes that transformed Lloyd’s: contract certainty, electronic claims processing, establishing a franchise board that assures underwriting discipline, annual accounting and geographical expansion.

9/11 and Terrorism Risk 10 Years Later

bpedroso — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:04:14 +0000

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States forever changed how the insurance industry views terrorism risk. For property and casualty insurers and reinsurers the impact from 9/11 was substantial, amounting to insured losses of some $32.5 billion in today’s dollars. As we approach the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, sat down with Insurance Journal to talk about terrorism risk today, why the 9/11 event changed the way the industry views risk, why it’s important for the federal government to retain its role in covering terrorism risk, and how terrorism risk is changing today.

What’s in a Name? Unitrin CEO Southwell Says A Lot

bpedroso — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 02:14:15 +0000

A legendary insurance company name is back in the headlines. Unitrin Inc. has taken the Kemper name and effective Aug. 25 Unitrin will officially operate as Kemper Corp. Don Southwell, chairman, president and CEO of Unitrin (which will become Kemper Corp. next week), says the name change fits the company well. Southwell says in this interview that both agents and consumers know the Kemper name well and the change will lead to further growth in the future. Find out why the insurer jumped at the chance to own the Kemper name and what it expects to see under a new Kemper Corp. in 2011.

100 Agents in 100 Days

bpedroso — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:13:10 +0000

Accident Insurance Co., a growing workers’ compensation and small business insurer, is looking for 100 new independent agents within the next 100 days— through Oct. 12. Opportunities exist in 11 states. Jon Beckham, AIC’s chief marketing officer, speaks with Insurance Journal’s Andy Simpson about what the company is looking for, what it’s offering, and why the target is 100 agents in 100 days.

Growing Opportunities for Insurance Industry’s Women

bpedroso — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:59:56 +0000

Although men still outnumber women in the property/casualty insurance industry, there are many meaningful opportunities for women in the business, says Barney & Barney Principal Trindl Reeves. With more than 20 years of experience under her belt, Reeves — who recently received an award for her efforts to promote professional growth for women executives — shares the traits that can make women successful leaders in insurance.

Agent-Customer Conversations Offer P/C Insurers New Insight into Sales Process

bpedroso — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:05:06 +0000

Simulating conversations between an insurance agent and a customer during the selling process seems to be providing property/casualty insurers with a more in-depth understanding of successful, and perhaps not so successful communications strategies. In this interview with Insurance Journal’s Andrea Ortega-Wells, Bronwen Clark, qualitative manager for CMI, an Atlanta-based marketing research organization, discusses CMI’s own research model involving simulated agent-customer conversations and how the findings may be changing the way P/C insurers communicate with their customer base and agency force in the future.

Producer Compensation: The Good and the Great

bpedroso — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:24:35 +0000

Creating a compensation plan that is both fair to producers and the agency is critical in today’s competitive market, the experts say. But to do this, agency managers must distinguish between the good and the great. What makes a great producer and how should their compensation differ from that of average producers? In this interview with Insurance Journal’s Andrea Ortega-Wells, Al Diamond, president of the Agency Consulting Group, Chris Burand of Burand and Associates and Megan Bosma of Marsh Berry discuss what makes a great producer, how a great producer should be paid, why penalties for not meeting goals make a difference, and why the time is right to evaluate compensation plans.

Building Strong Relationships from a Bank Robbery Veteran

bpedroso — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:00:00 +0000

A discussion with Billy Bond, executive vice president of the Sales Force Development Group for Leavitt Group, and Patrick Linnert, executive vice president with of MarshBerry, on building strong, meaningful and lasting relationships. If you want to do it right, you have to differentiate yourself professionally and personally. Hear Linnert’s remarkable personal story and how the Four-Step Differentiation Process has affected his life.

You can download Linnert’s article, “Differentiation – A Personal Reflection,” by clicking here.

Working on Your Agency vs. Working in Your Agency

bpedroso — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:00:10 +0000

Shirley Lukens, principal of Reagan Consulting knows a thing or two about agency best practices. She helped launch the first Best Practices study back in 1992 and has been the steward of the program ever since. Listen in as Lukens talks with Peter Van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan about the program and the common traits that distinguish some of our industry’s best performers. For example, Lukens talks about the interplay between growth and profitability as it relates to agency value and how Best Practice agents are investing in their firms and are focused on growth.

Soft Market Is Finally Ending, Really, Says SNL Financial

bpedroso — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:00:08 +0000

Could the long soft market really be over? Several recent reports concluded it is not over. But now Virginia-based SNL Financial might be the first to conclude otherwise. SNL says fourth quarter reports show that the market is indeed hardening and it has the numbers from 2,500 carriers to prove it. Insurance Journal’s Andy Simpson speaks with Jon Wright, SNL Financial’s director of insurance.