williamjones

Reclaiming Customer Service—and Reclaiming Personal Lines

A presentation in late 2010 by Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, included a passage indicating the historic percentage of the personal lines market written through the independent agency system. The graph is rather dismal,

Tough Transitions

Denise Johnson spent years building a book of business at her father’s agency. Then her dad decided to retire and her younger brother Scott joined the firm—and promptly was named president. Any other adult child of an agency owner might have been resentfu

Federal Flood Insurance Program Faces Uncertainty Again

Last September, President Barack Obama signed a one-year extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) into law. That year-long extension is set to expire at the end of this month—Sept. 30, 2011—unless Congress acts on a long-term reform bill o

Wanted: Extreme Messaging Makeover

Have you ever driven past a billboard that would cause an accident if anyone actually read the whole thing? Or wished that a salesperson would stop blabbering about how perfect their product or service is?

Pride in the Profession—Now More Than Ever

A year ago in my first Chairman’s Voice column, I asked myself: “Why did I get into this business and what does it mean to be an independent insurance agent?” Then I referred to a speech given by Dan Gibson, founder of our agency back in 1957, where he ex

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