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AGENCY MANAGEMENT
Incentive Compensation for Non-Producers

Should employees who are not producers participate in some sort of profit-sharing or incentive compensation plans (ICPs)? Yes! An ICP can provide a powerful incentive to motivate performance if properly constructed.

SALES
Strategic Planning for Salespeople

“Ready, shoot, aim.” That’s the all-too-common description of the producer’s modus operandi. In a misguided attempt to stay busy and see as many people as possible, too many salespeople subscribe to the theory that any activity is good activity. Times have changed and the job of the salesperson has become much more complex.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
Fixing $12 Haircuts

The owner of a beauty salon was worried. He had a large and happy clientele who willingly paid his $30 per haircut fee, but noticed an obvious decline in customers when another shop opened less than a block away offering $12 haircuts. Then he came up with a brilliant idea…

TECHNOLOGY
Filesharing

All the kids are doing it. And depending on which news reports you read, it’s either the inevitable wave of the future or another sign of the collapse of our society—or both. But what is filesharing really and why should you be wary of it?

COVERAGES
Loading and Unloading…PAP or HO?

A woman who was in a wheelchair was attempting to get into her vehicle. As she turned in her chair, she accidentally hit another vehicle causing damage to the auto. The woman reported the incident to her auto and homeowners carriers.
Each has denied the claim, saying the other policy should respond. Who’s right?

Video

Cover Story
What’s Keeping LTCi from Achieving its Full Potential?

If you ask most people heading out the door if they would grab an umbrella with a 40% chance of rain, the answer would probably be yes. So when it comes to Long-Term Care insurance (LTCi), why might many independent insurance agents tell you that getting their customers to purchase it is a difficult sale?

Chairman's Voice
Making Best Practices Work for You

Have you had your fill of platitudes and magic bullet solutions to your agency’s problems? Do you wish there was a source of accurate and credible information on what the top agencies are really doing that makes them successful?

Forms & Substance
Self-repairs, Insurable Interest, Domestic Employees
Profit and Overhead When Insureds Repair Their Own Damage; Insurable Interest in Personal Property; Covering Claims by Domestic Employees

On Branding
The Power of Personal Websites

Like The Who said: “Who are you…who who…who who?” So, how do people know you, and more importantly, how do you get known? How do you become “the insurance pro”? It’s called branding, and it starts with what you do when you meet someone.

On the Hill
Flood Insurance Battle Rages On

In late December 2011, President Barack Obama signed H.R. 2055, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act” (known as the mini-bus) into law, extending the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until May 31, 2012. The NFIP would have otherwise expired a few hours later at midnight on Dec. 23.

Ace Insura
The Case of the Fragmented Figurine

Humpty Dumpty took a fall...and broke. The woman who dropped the figurine—owned by her boss—asks Ace if her homeowners policy would cover the cost to replace the antique, which she was bringing to an antique show for an appraisal. The answer to her question, Ace says, depends on whether or not her boss required her to do the task.

Insurance Views
Put Some Stories in Your Playbook

When a football coach positions his defense, he spreads players over a wide area. Some line up to the left of the ball, and others line up to the right. Some take stances near the line of scrimmage, and others position themselves away from it. Many cluster near where plays most often come but a few scatter to areas of less action and more risk. Why is that?

Online Extras
Incentives, Filesharing, PAP vs. HO
Incentive Compensation for Non-Producers; Strategic Planning for Salespeople; Fixing $12 Haircuts; Filesharing; Loading and Unloading…PAP or HO?

State News

Industry News

Association News

On the Hill
Rep. Aaron Schock to Address Big “I” Young Agents, InsurPac Leadership

Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) will address the Annual Young Agents & InsurPac State Chairpersons Legislative Luncheon at the Big “I” Legislative Conference & Convention on Wednesday, April 25 at 12 p.m. in Washington, D.C.

Best Practices
Webinar Explains Strategies for Hiring, Developing Top Producers

There are few topics more critical to the longevity and profitability of a sales organization than a continuous source of fresh talent and energy, which can increase an agency’s bottom line and build its future success. Successful sales organizations hire talented salespeople and recruit proactively.

Trusted Choice®
BCIC Joins Trusted Choice®

Broome Co-operative Insurance Company (BCIC) is the newest member of the Trusted Choice® consumer branding program for independent insurance agents and brokers. BCIC, headquartered in Vestal, N.Y., has joined 64 other leading insurance companies nationwide as a Trusted Choice company partner.

Big “I” Professional Liability
Big “I,” Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Launch New Web Resource

The Big “I” Professional Liability Program and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions recently launched a new and improved risk management website, E&O Happens, available exclusively to agency E&O Swiss Re Corporate Solutions policyholders.

Big “I” Flood
Communities Scheduled for Possible Suspension from NFIP

In the past few weeks, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has published final rules in the Federal Register identifying participating National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) communities in various states subject to suspension from eligibility in the program.

InVEST
InVEST Participates in National Job Shadow Day

InVEST, an insurance classroom-to-career education program, is actively supporting efforts across the country for members of the independent agency system to participate in National Job Shadow Day. Numerous InVEST students, agents, brokers, company leaders and other industry leaders are participating today.

Big “I” Markets
Agent Achieves Success with Event Cancellation Policy

Big “I” Markets agent Lisa Harris from the High Desert Risk Managers agency in Scottsdale, Ariz., recently used Big "I" Markets to bind an EXPO-Plus event cancellation policy that insured an equine organization for more than $5,000 in premium.

Trusted Choice®
Your “Likes” Granted Wishes: Shawnee’s Wish

Seventeen-year-old Shawnee is one of 11 children whose wishes came true with a $171,590-donation from last summer's Trusted Choice® campaign with the Make-A-Wish Foundation®. The foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to help provide hope, strength and joy.

Trusted Choice®
Volunteering in the Community?

Trusted Choice® has established an annual award to recognize an agency’s volunteerism and donate $2,500 to a charity of the winning agency’s choice. The award is in honor of Dan Fulwider, a member, Trusted Choice supporter and community volunteer who passed away in 2009 after a valiant fight with cancer.

Big “I” Employee Benefits
Crump Life Website Tour Set for Feb. 16

Crumplifeinsurance.com is one of the most comprehensive websites in the industry, putting valuable tools and resources at your fingertips. What good is having a user ID and password if you don’t know how to use the site effectively?

Big “I” Markets
Mobile Food Truck Market Available

New insurance opportunities can be found in the growing food truck market. Members now have access to one of the only mobile food markets in the country through Big "I "Markets, regardless of the type of mobile food vending operation—whether it's one unit or a fleet of vehicles.

Big “I” Markets
Restaurant Markets Available
While mobile food vendors are a relatively new insurance market, don't forget about all the other restaurant niches members can serve great coverage to with either Travelers or Fireman's Fund.

P-C Trends
P-C Insurer Impairments Increase

The number of insurers in financial trouble rose in 2011, according to a recent A.M. Best Company summary of p-c impairments from that year. The data shows a concentration of impairments in the southern U.S., but impairments were spread from the Southeast to California to Vermont, with states such as Missouri scattered in between.

On the Hill
Senators Landrieu, Isakson to File MLR Legislation

Efforts by the Big “I” to combat the harmful effects of the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) regulations on agents and consumers are expected to receive a boost this week when Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) officially introduce the Access to Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act of 2012 in the U.S. Senate.

Forms & Substance
Applying the Rodent Exclusion

Can an insurance company deny a homeowners policy claim because of damage caused by a squirrel? There's no more fitting of a time than Groundhog Day to learn about how rodent damage is treated by homeowners coverages.

On the Hill
House Passes CLASS Act Repeal

A bill authored by Rep. Charles Boustany (R- La.) to remove the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act from the books passed the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday. H.R. 1173, the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011, would enact a clean repeal of this government-run, long-term care entitlement program.

L-H Leads
When Clients Procrastinate

Any agent who offers life insurance has likely had a client who said he wouldn’t buy it because he would be betting against himself. The best response is to note that providing for one’s personal commitments in the event of premature death is not betting against him, but rather allowing satisfaction and peace of mind that is achieved by having one’s affairs in order.

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P-C Insurer Impairments Increase

Workers’ compensation was most challenged line in analysis of 28 insurers, report shows.

What’s Keeping LTCi from Achieving its Full Potential?

Carriers underpricing LTCi and general misconceptions about Medicare contribute to the product’s negative press, but retirees risk exposure to catastrophic costs without it.

Follow the Big "I" on Twitter

We've found our wings...now follow us on Twitter!


	More Selling Power for Producers

It’s well known today that an average agency’s book will completely turn over once every seven to 10 years and that top performing agencies generate 15% to 20% of their revenue from new business. So how are agencies responding by supporting producers to succeed?


	Marketing to Millennials

The Millennial generation, born in the general timeframe of 1977 and 1998, is just beginning to enter the workforce—which means you need to start paying attention to them as potential young producers at your agency. Members of this 75 million person group are being raised at the most child-centric time in our history, and the impact to marketers is undeniable.


	Be as Resilient as a Rubber Band

Schedules have changed, messages from angry customers and a text from a daughter or son who needs the homework that was sitting on the kitchen table. The problems can feel overwhelming and ruin your day and mood, which can affect those around you and your ability to do your job well, which can lead to a “behind closed doors” meeting with the boss.

Most Recent Stories

Chairman's Voice
People Need People: The Golden Rule
Welcome to 2012! I almost entered the New Year on a bad note, but luckily I was able to right a wrong last month…

On Branding

Brand Your Agency with Client Testimonials

Which are you more likely to believe: a company representative telling you how great their product or service is, or a recommendation from another person about how it worked for them? If you’re like most people, the words from a fellow consumer pull more weight than even the best written ad copy.

ACE Insura

The Case of the Dearly Departed Money

An ex-employee of a convenience store steals cash from his former employer, and the store's insurance company refuses coverage on the basis of "voluntary parting." Can Ace help the owner of his favorite late-night stop?

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