AGENCY OF THE MONTH GRASS IS GREENER Niche helps California agency enjoy double-digit growth By Dennis H. Pillsbury Cannabis and pizza often go together—one causes munchies and the other satisfies the craving. However, as it turns out, there is another tie-in that the Stratton Agency, Redwood City, California, found when it had the opportunity to enter the cannabis insurance market by acquiring a cannabis book in 2015. That tie-in was
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TECHNOLOGY BY AGENTS, FOR AGENTS People, passion and future focus help HawkSoft win raves from client management system customers By Dave Willis, CPIA The genesis of HawkSoft dates back to the 1980s when Sean Hawkins, son of HawkSoft President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Hawkins, was in elementary school. Paul recalls, “Sean’s teacher called me and said, ‘Mr. Hawkins, we’ve got a problem with your son.’ I responded, ‘Oh no,
Personal lines focus EARTHQUAKE AND FLOOD Multiple factors are shaking the markets; don’t get rattled or washed away By Dave Willis, CPIA A number of factors are influencing the personal lines earthquake and flood insurance arenas. Capacity is strong. Markets are active. And customer buy-in, although still low, is on the rise. Craig Poulton, CEO of Poulton Associates LLC, which administers the Natural Catastrophe Insurance Program, sees a long-term trend
BROKEN GLASS THE SCHOOL OF HARD WORK This powerhouse producer manages a multi-million-dollar book while mentoring young people and raising money for charity We’re pleased to present another article in our Broken Glass series, in which we talk with a woman in the independent agency business about the challenges and rewards she has experienced throughout her career. This month we profile Gundi Hofmann-Abell, a housewife who suddenly found herself a
Agency Partners TRUCKS ‘R’ US Insurtech and underwriting savvy make CTC Transportation Insurance a go-to market for transportation risks By Elisabeth Boone, CPCU Veterans of the industry may remember when numbers were crunched on a calculator, file cabinets containing policies and related paperwork took up half the space in the office, and applications were filled out by hand. Even when automation began to replace manual processing in retail agencies, wholesalers
