Many years ago, a well-known insurance company went from being highly rated to insolvent almost in a fortnight. Most people in the industry older than 50 years old remember that time. The failure was a shock that created lasting skepticism …
Fees & Agency’s Standard of Care. An agency’s Standard of Care requirement has many moving parts and variables. Simple answers generally do not exist because the applicable standard is case and fact specific. However, a key to making the agency’s …
A myth is sneaking into the industry that insurer insolvency is not as important today. Belief in this myth is important to many entities. A number of companies, agencies and other firms benefit if less attention is paid to insolvency …
TPA Activities. Some agencies are unknowingly conducting TPA activities. Others are knowingly offering these services without knowing whether their E&O policy will provide coverage. Many insurance agency E&O policies specifically exclude coverage for TPA activities/services. TPA services can create significant …
The bad news is independent agency profits are and will continue to be compressed. The good news is that for independent agencies willing to abandon the traditional model, great opportunity exists. Profits will stay compressed because revenue increases will be …
Update Census Forms on AORs/BORs. When an agency takes over a group benefits account by AOR or BOR, it is likely picking up the prior agency’s/broker’s mistakes. Sometimes, for many different reasons ranging from innocent mistakes to cheating, an insured …
State Guaranty Funds. Many agency owners, producers, and CSRs believe state guaranty funds provide blank insolvency protection for any client insured by an admitted carrier. This is not true. Many state’s guaranty funds are limited to insureds of a certain …
Binders Redux. A binder is a temporary insurance contract. This is a fact. The Acord 75 field Description states, “A Binder is a temporary insurance contract which provides coverage in advance of the issuance of an insurance policy.” The Acord …
Date Stamping. Could any E&O blog address a simpler subject than date stamping? Maybe not, but date stamping correctly to mitigate E&O exposures is something too few agencies practice. Most agencies I visit have a practice of opening all incoming …
A multitude of forces are causing many carriers to think of ways to disintermediate agencies. Healthcare reform is one. Some benefits carriers have cut commissions to 0 percent and agents are still writing with them. This fact must have caught …
