Alan appears to be an ethical broker with integrity getting his clients the best coverage for the most competitive price-not the cheapest price.
Unfortunately, in my 23 years as a broker/account representative with a national brokerage firm today called Acordia and in my 15 years as an independent p/c consultant, I have seen all the ills of our industry. For Marsh to have been ripping off their fortune 500 clients- so have the other national brokers and so have all the large and medium size houses. Bravo to Mr. Spitzer let the heads roll and the resignations begin. Wait until Spitzer gets into the accounting fraud that the insurance carriers are putting over the public!
Enron is minor to the insurance industry’s fraudulent practices.
Of course M & M will conduct their own investigation. The results will be that ALL brokers that are in the postion to submit large accounts & nat’l accounts will do what is in their best interest financially. What company wouldn’t.
All broker’s know that based upon your volume and profitability you can negotiate for extra points or what ever you may wish to call them. This is true of ALL brokers large , small and supersized.
If you take a very simple basic brokerage rule of how to make your business more profitable they acted within all acepted normal agreements of ANY brokerage.
The practise of making the most money for any brokerage is standard across this entire state. Mr. Spitzer needs to examine a large number of brokerages including small & mid-sized and he will quickly learn how this crazy business operates.
Right on Bean counter-
I’ve been saying for years that the inherent, built-in conflict of interest that exists in the sale of insurance, should be highlighted and publicized so that insurance buyers, big and small, know that only the integrity of their broker puts a limit on how much they will overpay for insurance.
Of course Spitzer is right. When a broker can place coverage and his decision is affected by such factors as contingency, commission level, bonuses, etc., why wouldn’t he consider using a company that might not be the lowest in premium? However, if you look at this from an insurance company perspective, how else can you inspire agents and brokers to produce good, clean business?
On the other hand, I understand that some of the Spitzer allegations involve more than just comission levels, contingencies, or bonuses.
Let’s see how this plays out. Yetserday there were two AIG employees who pleaded guilty, so you know there has to more to this than just bonuses.
This case coupled with several trends (self-funding, shift from treatment to health/wellness,aging workforce)provides further evidence why employers need to re-assert control over the financing and delivery of their healthcare. Let’s face it, managed care has at best been a modest success as evidenced by double-digit medical inflation. It’s easy to pick the low hanging fruit. Since the US has an employer-driven healthcare system, it is imminent that employers will stop abdicating responsibility especially, when their carriers continue to provide them with added fuel. The exodus to self-insurance will clearly grow as will the distrust of the insurance sector. It is time to be collaborators not conspirators especially,provider-employer collaboration.
As an insurance broker I find interesting the public perception that brokers are overpaid and do not provide a service. Quality brokers perform a variety of functions including securing multiple quotations for their clients. We provide for our clients copies of quotations and declinations; how else can I display to my client the marketing efforts that we went to on their account.
In California while Workers’ Compensation premiums have risen dramatically the last several years commisions have been greatly reduced. We are working very hard to deliver quality solutions for our clients while often obtaining 5% commission (not a profitable equation). Perhaps insurance consumers, like Larry and Donald, need to examine how they select a broker. The cheapest ***** is still a *****. Alan.
Alan appears to be an ethical broker with integrity getting his clients the best coverage for the most competitive price-not the cheapest price.
Unfortunately, in my 23 years as a broker/account representative with a national brokerage firm today called Acordia and in my 15 years as an independent p/c consultant, I have seen all the ills of our industry. For Marsh to have been ripping off their fortune 500 clients- so have the other national brokers and so have all the large and medium size houses. Bravo to Mr. Spitzer let the heads roll and the resignations begin. Wait until Spitzer gets into the accounting fraud that the insurance carriers are putting over the public!
Enron is minor to the insurance industry’s fraudulent practices.
Talk about conflict of interest-Marsh is conducting their own investigation.
Of course M & M will conduct their own investigation. The results will be that ALL brokers that are in the postion to submit large accounts & nat’l accounts will do what is in their best interest financially. What company wouldn’t.
All broker’s know that based upon your volume and profitability you can negotiate for extra points or what ever you may wish to call them. This is true of ALL brokers large , small and supersized.
If you take a very simple basic brokerage rule of how to make your business more profitable they acted within all acepted normal agreements of ANY brokerage.
The practise of making the most money for any brokerage is standard across this entire state. Mr. Spitzer needs to examine a large number of brokerages including small & mid-sized and he will quickly learn how this crazy business operates.
Welcome to the world or reality.
One on the inside.
Right on Bean counter-
I’ve been saying for years that the inherent, built-in conflict of interest that exists in the sale of insurance, should be highlighted and publicized so that insurance buyers, big and small, know that only the integrity of their broker puts a limit on how much they will overpay for insurance.
Of course Spitzer is right. When a broker can place coverage and his decision is affected by such factors as contingency, commission level, bonuses, etc., why wouldn’t he consider using a company that might not be the lowest in premium? However, if you look at this from an insurance company perspective, how else can you inspire agents and brokers to produce good, clean business?
On the other hand, I understand that some of the Spitzer allegations involve more than just comission levels, contingencies, or bonuses.
Let’s see how this plays out. Yetserday there were two AIG employees who pleaded guilty, so you know there has to more to this than just bonuses.
This case coupled with several trends (self-funding, shift from treatment to health/wellness,aging workforce)provides further evidence why employers need to re-assert control over the financing and delivery of their healthcare. Let’s face it, managed care has at best been a modest success as evidenced by double-digit medical inflation. It’s easy to pick the low hanging fruit. Since the US has an employer-driven healthcare system, it is imminent that employers will stop abdicating responsibility especially, when their carriers continue to provide them with added fuel. The exodus to self-insurance will clearly grow as will the distrust of the insurance sector. It is time to be collaborators not conspirators especially,provider-employer collaboration.
As an insurance broker I find interesting the public perception that brokers are overpaid and do not provide a service. Quality brokers perform a variety of functions including securing multiple quotations for their clients. We provide for our clients copies of quotations and declinations; how else can I display to my client the marketing efforts that we went to on their account.
In California while Workers’ Compensation premiums have risen dramatically the last several years commisions have been greatly reduced. We are working very hard to deliver quality solutions for our clients while often obtaining 5% commission (not a profitable equation). Perhaps insurance consumers, like Larry and Donald, need to examine how they select a broker. The cheapest ***** is still a *****. Alan.