At the Texas Surplus Lines Association 2003 Annual Meeting held in Austin Nov. 16 and 17, Jim Berger, president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas announced that the two groups are working together on an initiative to study ways agents and wholesalers can enhance their working relationships to their mutual benefit. Results of the study will be unveiled at IIAT’s Joe Vincent Management Seminar Jan. 25 – 27, 2004.
That the two industry sectors need to cultivate avenues for achieving a mutually advantageous workflow was the consensus of a panel representing both groups at the 4th Annual Young Agents Retreat in Austin, a two-day event was sponsored by the IIAT.
“This surplus lines panel discussion has given us a positive start as part of a larger initiative being undertaken by IIAT and the Texas Surplus Lines Association. A joint task force from both groups is taking a careful look at relationships between wholesale and retail agents,” explained Berger, in a statement released by the agents’ group.
At the Young Agents meeting, Paul Martin, IIAT director of education and panel moderator, asked retailers what they would like to see improved in the workflow relationship. Bryan Shofner, Shofner & Associates Insurance Agency, Lubbock, one of the panel’s two retail agents, echoed the importance of relationships saying he believed communication was one of the biggest problem areas. The second retail panelist, Kelli Stanford, Ed Weeren Insurance Agency, Austin, said, “every underwriter has a preference about how he wants to be communicated with.”
Panelist Dan Oberheu with Professional Lines Underwriting Specialists Inc., agreed, advising retailers to develop a “good relationship with two or three brokers you can trust.”
Panelists also agreed on what frustrates good relationships. Wholesalers are put off by poorly completed applications and indiscriminate shopping by retailers. Myra Parker with Myron Steves, Houston, said she sees a lot of applications that are incomplete. “Those go to the bottom of the stack,” she said.
Retailers, on the other hand, felt wholesalers were slow and inconsistent in processing applications. Several agents expressed frustration at last minute coverage changes and late endorsements. Stanford said, “We’re even finding that policy issuance can take anywhere from 90 to 120 days.”
Oberheu said there are some secrets to making a good submission. “One, we’ve already agreed, is maintaining good wholesaler/ retailer relations.” Parker said another secret would be having some sort of target pricing on larger applications. Re-tailers expressed concern that sometimes policies and quotes were not
consistent.
Oberheau agreed, saying, “We do have a lot of responsibility to lay out the form and policies that are being quoted.” Mike Barry, Specialty Insurance Managers, speaking from the audience, said “it all comes back to relationships.” Stanford added, “we all need to nurture those relationships and not abuse them.”
The IIAT said a highlight of the upcoming Joe Vincent Management Seminar will be the release of results from a detailed survey of both wholesale agents and retail agents. The survey and other studies are part of the TSLA/IIAT Task Force initiative which will be used to help benchmark and define best practices for both industry sectors.
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