Bankruptcy and Insurance
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…
Customer Service
Brokering Business Through Other Agencies…How Much is it Worth?
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.…
The Importance of E&S Markets
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…
Lost Policies…No Coverage?
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,…
Quality Control vs. Service Delays
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,…
Canceling Current Policies for Failure to Pay Premiums on Past Policies
An insured received her commercial property renewal and paid it in full. She then received a cancellation notice. According to the insurer, they failed to bill the insured three years…
“Courtesy” Calls on Cancellations of Direct-Billed Policies
After years of preaching to agencies that they should not call customers whose direct bill policies are in a “pending cancellation” state due to non-payment of premium, at least one…
Lack of Documentation on L&H Sales
Some independent contractors sell L&H insurance and split commissions with a bank-owned agency. The agency does not get a copy of any of the documentation, from application to policy. Servicing…
What You Can Do About Insurer Insolvency (Part 1 of 2)
Mission. Integrity. Ideal. Excalibur. Universal. Enterprise. Great Global. American Excel. Champion. Adjectives for the Virtual University? Nope…names of companies that used to insure millions of individuals, families and businesses. Perhaps…
Ethics in the Insurance Industry
March is Ethics Awareness Month in the insurance industry. This has become an annual event, sponsored by the Insurance Institute for Applied Ethics and the CPCU Society, and endorsed by…
