Insurance Journal Forums

I am relatively new to the P&C industry and am interested in any suggestions on recommended reading to understand the process and operations of a P&C carrier. I am trying to learn how a P&C carrier works from a day-to-day operations stand point.

Thanks in advance to all who respond.

Hi Virtual Pal~

I have been in the industry almost 24 years and I'm still trying to "Understand" how the P&C carriers operate. They change daily. The only advice I can give you is to Pray daily as you venture into the office.

All joking aside, there is so much to understand that I don't think they have a book big enough to put everything in. You will find that everyone has their own opinion with regards to all their past experiences with each and every P&C carrier they have done business with.

I am seriously thinking about going to work for WalMart and put happy face stickers on peoples hands as putting smiles on people instead of angry looks would be so much more rewarding than telling people their premiums just went from 1500 to 30,000!!!
Have A Great Day and hopefully you get some results!!! Thought I'd make you smile today.......

Hey virtualpal,
Tough question! Although I think Melinda's being a bit too tough, because the financial services industry is still a good place to make a living - it's a whole lot tougher than when I started in 1977 and EVERYONE is being asked to do more, work harder, work longer, etc.!
IF you really are interested, the IIA books and CPCU books provide tremendous amounts of information, but...
I really think your best bet is to network with experienced professionals in your town/area. There are agent organizations (Big-I, PIA), professional groups (CPCU society, Underwriter associations, Claims associations), national trades (Alliance of American Insurers, NAII), and more. It's also likely that there are some insurance professionals in your town/area who would be willing to give you an hour if you just asked (I did that a couple of times during my career).
Sorry I can't be more specific, but you didn't really give us a lot to work with (like exactly what you're currently doing in the industry currently).
Good luck!