Sorry agents…..the days of taking the easy way out and placing coverage based on price will be coming to an end soon. You’re actually going to have to do your jobs from now on instead of just asking for price breaks.
Pablo, I do my job every day despite lower commissions for the last four years. You obviously do not work in the agency environment. Companies set prices and start price wars not agents.
Pablo
Why is it that we tell an underwriter wrote that. For once, walk in our shoes!!! I dare you. If you actually could see what was going on out there, you might get it. As an agent, yes sometimes we have to deal with price and price alone. These are the accounts we hate. However, when it’s no secret prices are dropping by 10% and some stupid underwriter tries to put a 10% increase on a zero-small loss ratio account, YOU LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT. That makes us look like an idiot. I said it before and I will say it again. The insured doesn’t drink your kool-aid and could care less that you have the best coverage in the workd with an A rating. Your kool-aid drinking competitors were just in my office yesterday telling me the same thing. You want to retain the business and hold your price? Talk to your claims department and tell them to pay the first party claims and fight the 3rd party claims. That’s why you never see Chubb have an issue with how much they charge!!!
The agency system is so far ahead of the big business minded company personel and the talking heads of Insurance Companies. They operate off the excel spread sheets for their decision making more than from a position of emperical knowlege of the industry. The agents then have to use their professional insurance skills and people skills to obtain or retain the business. We live in a world where companies press for more and more production with price cutting and reactionary hard market price increases. We work with both the non price and price buyers in the market place to stay up with their demands so we can grow in the hard and soft market. When they are cutting price, is it a price only, coverage, or relationship sale? Independent Agents have a value added role of Trusted Advisor that can help us somewhat level the playing field during these industry market swings. If loss runs are so important on the underwriting front end, then why are they so reluctant and slow to release them on the back side. You can’t have it both ways..but I guess you can when the golden rule applies, “those with the gold make the rules”..
One of the things I learned from a professor in college was, “salary in only important when it is not enough and price is only important when it is too high”, the difference in the actual and the limit is relationship. When it exceeds either, people change.
I salute the Independent agents who continues to ride this roller coaster, adapt,maintain and grow despite the MBA’s, excel spread sheets, and wall street.
Sorry agents…..the days of taking the easy way out and placing coverage based on price will be coming to an end soon. You’re actually going to have to do your jobs from now on instead of just asking for price breaks.
… articles written by underwriters lack practical sense. Pablo what are you talking about?
Pablo, I do my job every day despite lower commissions for the last four years. You obviously do not work in the agency environment. Companies set prices and start price wars not agents.
Pablo – you obviously don’t know what you’re talking about. Why don’t you just go away?
Pablo
Why is it that we tell an underwriter wrote that. For once, walk in our shoes!!! I dare you. If you actually could see what was going on out there, you might get it. As an agent, yes sometimes we have to deal with price and price alone. These are the accounts we hate. However, when it’s no secret prices are dropping by 10% and some stupid underwriter tries to put a 10% increase on a zero-small loss ratio account, YOU LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT. That makes us look like an idiot. I said it before and I will say it again. The insured doesn’t drink your kool-aid and could care less that you have the best coverage in the workd with an A rating. Your kool-aid drinking competitors were just in my office yesterday telling me the same thing. You want to retain the business and hold your price? Talk to your claims department and tell them to pay the first party claims and fight the 3rd party claims. That’s why you never see Chubb have an issue with how much they charge!!!
The agency system is so far ahead of the big business minded company personel and the talking heads of Insurance Companies. They operate off the excel spread sheets for their decision making more than from a position of emperical knowlege of the industry. The agents then have to use their professional insurance skills and people skills to obtain or retain the business. We live in a world where companies press for more and more production with price cutting and reactionary hard market price increases. We work with both the non price and price buyers in the market place to stay up with their demands so we can grow in the hard and soft market. When they are cutting price, is it a price only, coverage, or relationship sale? Independent Agents have a value added role of Trusted Advisor that can help us somewhat level the playing field during these industry market swings. If loss runs are so important on the underwriting front end, then why are they so reluctant and slow to release them on the back side. You can’t have it both ways..but I guess you can when the golden rule applies, “those with the gold make the rules”..
One of the things I learned from a professor in college was, “salary in only important when it is not enough and price is only important when it is too high”, the difference in the actual and the limit is relationship. When it exceeds either, people change.
I salute the Independent agents who continues to ride this roller coaster, adapt,maintain and grow despite the MBA’s, excel spread sheets, and wall street.