Forcing insurance works in some cases, not so much in others. The level of uninsured drivers do not seem to drop if insurance is required as there is no way to truly enforce it. In British Columbia (Canada) your license plate renewal includes purchasing insurance. If your plates are expired so is yo...

Azlobo, welcome to our world! This might seem harsh - and it is - but it's reality. In the world of insurance you've got to be on your game and ready to go all the time. Always learning. Always seeking the next sale. Always asking for referrals. Always growing as a professional. There is a huge lear...

Related story: I used to work at Hartford. Started in one division, then went through their underwriting training class. Became an underwriter, got a letter of authority a few months after class. Great training, BTW. Started with the company as a salaried employee and remained salaried through the c...

Steve & Justthere - it's good to hear something positive about FIG. I still think they are a good company but like any company they will go through good & bad times.

May your success continue!

FFA - it's morale, not moral. Learn grammar and spelling and use words correctly even in internet posts. Big difference in words here. Another rant about words to everyone else: know the difference between loose and lose. Loose is when something that was once tight is no longer such: I loosened a kn...

I'll say this about Farmers: they are still around and still have a good market share. I left FIG back in 1998. Main reasons were huge technology issues & billing problems. But here we are in 2010 and they are still around, still a major player, though they obviously still have their problems. W...

When I was an agent I responded to that question like this: "I hope that you are enjoying my service to you. I would think that every three years would be a good amount of time. If you market your account every year underwriters get tired of seeing your file if they do not write the account and...

Might be a good opportunity but they do have a limited market: education. That said, there are quite a lot of people in this field. Elementary, middle, high, college, university, etc. Not just the teachers but administrators, maintenance, everyone. Rates are usually good, coverage is better than mos...

Seems like everyone is referring you to programs, not carriers.

Try Acuity, Continental Western, Allied used to as well. I've heard that Travelers has also started doing them again in some states, not sure about IL.

Hey NewBrokerCa: You really need to evaluate if doing business in other states is a good business decision. Texas is one of the most difficult states for outside producers to work in. At one point I was licensed in 15 or so states but I had an admin who could handle the related paperwork for me. Try...

L&C, the word is "hydrant". That does sound like it's in a PC 10 to me. PC 8 is usually within 5 miles of a volunteer department and has hydrants nearby. Protection class 10 is more than 5 and no available water nearby. It's basically unprotected. Here is what the underwriter thinks: 1...

I'm not sure on this but would bonding make any difference? I never handled any contracts with our E&S brokers back in my agency days...but would having them bonded for a certain amount make sense? If they fail to pay your premium to the carrier for whatever reason (theft, go out of business, wh...

Wayne, I like much of what you said except the part about not paying commish on renewals. Back in my agency days nearly all of my service time was spent on renewal business. Are you thinking that you pay for that work in the base salary? If so, your employees might not see it that way - they can see...

This can be tricky. While you want to inspire your producer to produce you don't want to make goals or the compensation structure unreasonable. If your new producer fails you fail as well - you have lost time and money. I think policy count is a good idea as well. I would suggest some type of slidin...

Another thing about Federated: they work hard at tying accounts by writing multiple lines including life insurance. Very good chance that the owner or decision maker at the dealership has life coverage with Federated as well. It will make it even harder to pull the account away - which is why Federa...