Latest Productivity Headlines

Allstate: Overweight Drivers, Passengers Hurt Vehicle Fuel Efficiency

Oct 9 2012 // It’s not just the gas-guzzling SUVs that are hurting the driving fuel efficiency. The growing average weight of Americans is responsible for millions of gallons of additional gasoline used in the country every year,...

What Makes a Marginal Producer?

Oct 8 2012 // Salespeople, broadly speaking, fall into three categories. First, there are those elusive few, typically the 20 percent of the firm’s salespeople, who are highly productive, who sell most of what is sold. These...

Costs Driving Changes, Opportunities in New World of Benefits Brokerage

Jul 24 2012 // Group health insurance brokerage is changing but the changes are not primarily due to Congress or the courts. Rather the changes are being driven by costs — the cost of healthcare coverage and the cost of serving...

8 Ways to Kick-Start Productivity When Sales Are Slow

Jul 23 2012 // There is never a slow time in insurance sales, at least in theory. Yet in practice, no producer is productive 100 percent of the time. Who is? But when the number drops below 75 percent, agents must use slow time to...

10 Things Agencies Do Right (and Wrong) with Agency Management Systems

Jul 2 2012 // Records, Reporting, Value Creation As a volunteer engaged with a network of agency management system vendor clients, I have an opportunity to hear from my peers about their experiences and compare this with what goes on in...

Xchanging Sees 40% Productivity Increase for Firms Using AOM Tool

Jun 19 2012 // Xchanging, the UK-based business process and technology services provider and integrator, said it is “seeing radical benefits for firms employing Active Operations Management (AOM) to achieve operational...

As America’s Waistline Expands, Costs Soar

Apr 30 2012 // U.S. hospitals are ripping out wall-mounted toilets and replacing them with floor models to better support obese patients. The Federal Transit Administration wants buses to be tested for the impact of heavier riders on...

Air Force Building in Georgia Clears the Air for Workplace Safety

Dec 22 2011 // A year ago, Building 169 at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia was the epicenter of the base’s troubles with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An inspection of the building by OSHA investigators found...

Exercise Programs Lead to Better Work Productivity, Study Finds

Sep 2 2011 // Taking time out of the work week for an employee exercise program may lead to increased productivity — despite the reduction in work hours, reports a new study. The new study, published in the August Journal of...

Bank Insurance Brokerage Income Marks New Record; Up Amost 20%

Aug 8 2011 // Bank holding companies (BHC) set a new record, marking the highest quarterly results ever recorded for first-quarter insurance brokerage income. BHCs posted $3.98 billion in insurance brokerage income in the first quarter...

House Committee Hears Concerns on Surplus Lines Reform Tax Issue

Jul 28 2011 // Just days after the surplus line reform legislation became effective, federal legislators heard comments from industry insiders on concerns regarding the implementation of provisions in the bill, including how states will...

The Game Changer: What the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange Means for the Industry, Technology Partners

Jul 4 2011 // Technology providers to the insurance industry have good things to say about a new system that allows property/casualty agents, brokers and carriers to collaborate on commercial lines accounts. The new system, the...

LexisNexis Insurance Exchange Now Available Industry-Wide

Jun 7 2011 // The LexisNexis Insurance Exchange, a system that promises to improve how property/casualty agents, brokers and carriers collaborate on commercial lines accounts, is becoming available industry-wide. The system simplifies...

Look Back Before Moving Forward

Jan 24 2011 // 5 Critical Areas to Review For many, 2010 was another tough year. A number of you are probably disappointed in how little you “accomplished” this past year. You may even feel that you have had a set back. Some...

Capgemini/Efma Report Urges ‘Re-focusing,’ ‘Operational Efficiencies’

Jan 21 2011 // In their recently released 2011 World Insurance Report Capgemini and Efma explore how insurers can “dissect their business to identify opportunities that will make fundamental and lasting improvements to their core...

Change the Holiday Slump to the New Year Jump

Dec 23 2010 // Is the holiday season the slowest time for your agency? Do the distractions of the season take the focus off of identifying ways to grow the business for next year? If you have answered yes to either of these questions,...

Democratic Congress Productive But Unpopular

Dec 23 2010 // Perhaps never before has a U.S. Congress done more and been liked less than the one controlled by President Barack Obama’s Democrats that ended Wednesday. It wrapped up its two-year legislative cycle with a crush of...

Dec 19 2010 // One way that agency owners can keep their employees happy in today’s tough times is by making their compensation more accountable to agency growth. Al Diamond, president of the Agency Consulting Group, says in...

Change the Holiday Slump to the New Year Jump

Dec 5 2010 // Five Ways Independent Agents Can End the Year Poised for Growth Is the holiday season the slowest time for your agency? Do the distractions of the season take the focus off of identifying ways to grow the business for next...

Insurance and Going Green

Nov 14 2010 // What to Know About Green Commercial Building Insurance Read the news lately and it feels like everything – from cars to grocery bags – has gone green. While recent events, such as 2009’s Copenhagen Climate Change...