HANDLING SUCCESS How Market Access Providers can respond to growth and other unique challenges By John McKay Insurtech continues to disrupt the insurance business by driving industry capabilities—and shopper expectations—higher and higher. These changes are exciting, but the disruptions are being felt far and wide. Many agents are turning to wholesalers, affiliates and network alliances, and franchises to provide roadmaps for navigating the dynamics. While these organizations represent varied and
Management
THE IMPACT OF AGENCY CONSOLIDATION Ways that forward-thinking agency networks can deal with the fallout By Mike Strakhov, CPCU There’s little doubt that independent agency networks play a critical role in insurance distribution. For the most part, they offer retail agencies market access to insurance carriers or an option for those who are not interested in a full appointment. Premium written through networks continues to grow, as does the number
The Innovative Workplace CYBERSECURITY: EMPLOYEES ARE THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE “Think before you click” and other simple training tips Cybercriminals are becoming more focused on users of company networks as a weak link in the security infrastructure chain. Secure web gateways, anti-virus tools, malware scanners, spam quarantines and other technologies help filter out malicious content and defend against a growing variety of threats, but technology alone cannot stop humans
Beyond Insurance RETAINING KEY CLIENTS Seven sticky strategies to enhance customer loyalty and keep competition away I recently received a call from a Georgia-based agency leader with both good and bad news. The good news is that his agency has been able to attract numerous prized new accounts using the consultative and diagnostic approach taught in Beyond Insurance workshops. The bad news is that his firm’s retention on these customers
Risk Management MOVING THE CONVERSATION Building awareness and ownership of risk management Over the last few years I’ve observed more independent agents expanding their conversations beyond insurance to encompass risk management. This makes sense because insurance is the fourth step of the risk management process. The first, as you probably know, is identifying risk; second is analyzing risk; third is controlling risk; fourth is arranging insurance; and fifth is monitoring
