Virtual University | Underwriting

CLUE Property Report Facts for Agents

CLUE Reports are a common underwriting tool. According to research, more than 80 percent of consumers are unaware these even exist. Further, those who do know they exist likely don’t know much about them. This article provides basic information necessary to educate your clients.

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Oral vs. Written Binders

Unless there is a legal requirement, is there a reason to issue a written binder on an account? We posed this question to the VU faculty and got a mixed bag of responses. What do you think?

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Why Great Loss Ratios are not the Goal of All Insurance Companies

Many agency owners take great pride in generating low loss ratios year after year. These agencies are often small but very, very profitable. These agency owners are not happy with many carriers who have de-emphasized loss ratios. They cannot fathom why any carrier would not LOVE their good loss ratios. They do not understand that loss ratios that are too low are not in some companies’ best interests. How can too high of a profit margin be bad?

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Agency Underwriting...Establishing a Minimum Limits Policy

Quite a few agencies now practice agency underwriting by establishing minimum limits that they will write for auto, CGL, etc. There are definitely advantages to doing this and, in general, it's a great idea. However, there can also be pitfalls that agents should be wary of....

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Binding Authority Weather Restrictions

Your agency/company contract has been amended as follows: 'The Agency shall have no authority on behalf of the Company to provide new coverage or increase existing coverage when the National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning, tropical storm watch or warning or hurricane watch or warning for an area within a 200 mile radius of the risk location.' Does this create problems for your agency?

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Cleaning Up Loss Ratio Problems

Throughout the soft market, rates dropped and companies endured increasing losses as the price to pay for cash flow and market share. Now carriers are reacting to loss ratios much more intensely. Reserves will be adjusted and agencies will be targeted for action as carriers try to reserve their shrinking capacity for agencies that have low loss ratios. In this article, you'll learn what agencies can proactively do to maintain their favorable relationship with their carriers.

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Correcting CLUE Report Errors

CLUE reports, like MVRs, have become a staple of most personal lines underwriters. However, what happens when someone discovers an error on a CLUE report? What are the ramifications for declining an account based on inaccurate information and what can the consumer do to get the problem corrected?

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Issuing Binders Without Closing Dates

An agency has had several requests from mortgage brokers and lawyers asking for binders showing the new mortgagee without having set closing dates on new loans. They insist that the binder and not an Evidence of Property Insurance form be provided before they will set a closing date. Do they have an insurable interest in the property and is a binder appropriate prior to closing??

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Showdown: ACORD 27 vs. ACORD 75

When proof of insurance is requested, which is most appropriate, the ACORD 27 - Evidence of Property Insurance or the ACORD 75 - Insurance Binder?

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Underwriter Submissions...How to Get to the Top of the Pile

Recently, our 'Ask an Expert' service received a simple, one-sentence question: 'How do you get your submissions noticed by an underwriter?' In this article, we'll give you some tips from our expert faculty, underwriters, and fellow agents on how to submit an account that floats rather than sinks.

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Why Are Binders Issued for 30 Days?

We all know that binders have historically been issued for 30-day terms. Why is that and can a binder be issued for longer terms, perhaps even as long as the 12-month policy period? In this article, our faculty will discuss the historical significance of this 'rule' (as best as we know it), along with some caveats to consider.

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