AGENCY OF THE MONTH STARTING FROM SCRATCH Amid double-digit growth, North Carolina agency zeroes in on retention and employee development By Dennis Pillsbury Christopher Cook was following in his mother’s footsteps when he started working as a life insurance agent. She was a successful career life insurance agent. But after two years of hearing “Can you help me with my auto insurance?” from friends who were thinking more
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Young Professionals (INSERT INTERESTING TITLE HERE) Seven tips for creating compelling content By Christopher W. Cook Writing for an insurance publication that’s been around for over 140 years can have its challenges, especially for someone who has never worked in the insurance business. This is where I try to put my B.F.A. in Creative Writing to use, to differentiate my byline from the number of Rough Notes writers
Professional Development RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING! Consulting firm’s podcast advises agencies on how to make an impact By Christopher W. Cook The word “amazing” makes me recall certain things from throughout my life. I remember the game A-Maze-Ing for the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A computer (my first computer system as a child), where you would control a mouse trying to escape a maze, with the options of gathering cheese along the way or
BROKEN GLASS FROM COO TO CFO … MID-PANDEMIC With grit and determination, this exec assumed her new role without missing a beat By Elisabeth Boone, CPCU The term “human dynamo” has been overused to the point that it’s become a cliché … but it truly applies to Sharon Edwards, chief financial officer of Risk Strategies Company, which she joined in December 2019. Risk Strategies is a national specialty
AGENCY PARTNERS ALL ABOUT THE NiCHE A specialty insurance provider that operates as an MGA? That’s not all that’s different about NSM Insurance Group. By Lori Widmer Geof McKernan wants you to know this about his company: “We create niche-specific products. That’s how we build our success.” In fact, when leaders of NSM Insurance Group, a Philadelphia-area specialty insurance provider, are asked what NSM stands for, they now proudly
