Parting Shots

Could Washington Be Listening to Small Business?

There probably are few American small business owners who could correctly identify the federal group whose primary job is to keep the president of the United States updated on the activities of government such as management, spending, interagency cooperation and …

Tougher Laws Key to Fight Against Insurance Fraud

How do you convince overworked state prosecutors to chase down often stale-sounding insurance swindles when their case files already are bulging with high-profile crimes such as drugs, robbery and murder? Insurance-fraud laws are great motivators: State prosecutors can convict con …

Keeping Retention Rates High in a Softening Market

The success or failure of any organization can be traced to customer retention. Agents and carriers who retain the most customers have greater long-term success and profitability than those who consistently lose clients. While many elements help keep retention rates …

The Attack on Credit Scoring and Other Risk-Based Insurance Pricing Tools

Independent Agents and Their Customers Have the Most to Lose As product manager for the state’s largest writer of auto insurance through independent agents, I want to take this opportunity to remind you that preserving our ability to use credit-based …

Pet Peeve

I have a bone to pick with the insurance industry. Why is an industry that loses billions on cat losses every year so hot under the collar about dogs? You don’t have to be a poodle to know that with …

An Underinsurance Lesson from the West Coast

In the aftermath of the devastating Southern California Wildfires of October 2003, claim adjusters went to work in an area where an estimated 3,631 structures were destroyed. In many cases the only remaining indication of a house was its concrete …

Agents Beware: Due Diligence is Now Required

Transactions between retail agents and brokers they place business through just became more labor intensive. I recently testified as an expert in a federal case involving a reputable agency’s failure to conduct proper due diligence on a purported surplus lines …

Agents Beware: Due Diligence is Now Required on Brokers

Transactions between retail agents and brokers they place business through just became more labor intensive. I recently testified as an expert in a federal case involving a reputable agency’s failure to conduct proper due diligence on a purported surplus lines …

Keeping Retention Rates High in a Softening Market

The success or failure of any organization can be traced to customer retention. Agents and carriers who retain the most customers have greater long-term success and profitability than those who consistently lose clients. While many elements help keep retention rates …

Adjusters can Detect the Problem of Underinsurance Before Disaster Strikes

In the aftermath of the devastating Southern California wildfires of October 2003, claim adjusters went to work in an area where an estimated 3,631 structures were destroyed. In many cases the only remaining indication of a house was its concrete …

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