Agency Operations

There are some excellent excess and surplus lines markets in this industry, many providing products and services superior to those in the standard market. However, there are inherent dangers in…

New and renewal policies should be reviewed thoroughly for completeness and accuracy before delivery to the insured. However, at certain times of the year when there is a heavy backlog,…

The insured is sued for damages arising out of an occurrence that took place many years ago. The insured is unable to find the policy in force at that time,…

Almost a year ago, we ran an article called “13 Caveats in Using E&S Markets.” While there are issues that agents should be aware of when using E&S markets, in…

You’re a small agency with a lot of big business connections, but you don’t have the markets or the staff to sell and service these types of major commercial accounts.…

You have an insured who has declared bankruptcy. How does this affect any premiums the insured owes? How does it affect any return premiums due the insured? How does bankruptcy…

What is Benchmarking? It is a management tool in which an independent agent can analyze the agency’s financial and operating results against other agencies within its own peer group. This…

Just because an independent agency places more business with one company rather than another does not mean anything nefarious is occurring such as unethically steering business. Even if the insurance…

In the midst of the credit crisis and economic turmoil, some very important accounting standards are coming to the forefront.  Accounting is almost as boring as IT for most agency…

We’ve recently received several questions about trust accounts. How does an agency with an internal premium finance program know if it is in or out of trust? Can a trust…