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Editors and Contributors
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Andrea WellsAgency Compensation Playbook: 2013 Agency Salary Survey -
Andrew G. SimpsonHow Process Improvement Drives Agency Profitability -
Stephanie JonesThe Acquisition Cycle -
Don JerglerIndustry Predictions -
Chris BurandReasonable Compensation -
Andrea WellsPersonal Lines: How Technology is Changing the Way Agents Do Business
um…yeah….what hard market?
This article on the hard market will be followed by one on the liability limits carried by Santa Claus.
Insurance agents should establish a new relationship with their clients. Abandon the commission structure. Put all services on a fee or per hour basis. For too long, clients have always been suspicious that all coverage recommendations were simply driven by thoughts of additional commissions.
Look to the way attorneys deal with their clients. Have a contract for services !!! Define what is expected from both parties AND use arbitration as a way of managing risk.
The arbitration provision can contain limitations on exposure. Yes, you can actually set a limit on recoverable damages. For example, the most a client could recover would be the amount of the fees charged. Is it enforceable ? You bet it is.
The Federal Arbitration Act governs and courts have ruled that neither a judge or the arbitrator can alter or ignore the expressed wishes of the parties.
Agents are afraid of their clients.
You’re spot on. After implementinh a fee schedule, I noticed an immediate difference in the level and type of clients I wrote. I went from begging for cheap business, to business owners asking me to lunch to pick my brain and write me checks for my knowledge. You ask for a better client, and you’ll get one.
Thanks.
As if we need more E&O challenges!