JANUARY 2008
FEATURES
Cover Story:
19TH Annual Rough Notes Marketing Agency of the Year Candidates

Marketing:
An eye for art
Visionary Huntington T. Block turns passion for art into a thriving insurance brokerage.

Technology:
Dealing with data breaches
Hartford Steam Boiler works with carriers to enhance policies with protection for loss of personal information.

Other Feature Stories:  
2008 industry forecast
Analysts see the calm waters of 2007 becoming more rippled in 2008.

ART market review
CAT bonds, Triple X, sidecars and a troublesome IRS attack keep things interesting.

Making its mark in the Midwest
Harleysville looks to “build something special” with agents.

Young agents recognized

Benefits becomes new business driver in traditional P-C firm
Northern Michigan agency’s clients are seeking flexibility and cost containment.
Above is our new monthly feature article, "Capitalizing on Benefits." This feature will profile the employee benefits business operation of a leading property/casualty agency.

Commercial auto provides nearly $30 billion in premium
Small and middle market businesses account for nearly 95% of the total.

Powering up
Wholesaler Nielson, Hurtado is a one-stop shop for power distribution risks.

Insuring recalls of unsafe products
Significant loss potential requires close attention of manufacturers, distributors.

Cashing in on the captive movement
Keystone helps agents provide ART solutions to middle market clients.

Trucking goes high-tech
United Brokers capitalizes on tech advances in trucking industry.

COLUMNS
Customer Service Focus—Hiring + training = value-added CSR
By Cleva Moore, CIC, CRM, CPCU, AIS, AU, APA

Winning Strategies—Entitlement and reverse entitlement
By Larry G. Linne

Public Policy Analysis & Opinion—Regulated by state law
By Kevin P. Hennosy

Benefits Business—Speeding up the proposal process
By Len Strazewski

Enterprise Risk Management—ERM: Falling behind?
By Michael J. Moody, MBA, ARM

Managing by Coaching—Little-used coaching is most effective management style
By Kimberly Paterson

Beyond Insurance—I³ - issues, implications, interventions
By Scott Addis

Risk Management—Don’t get comfortable
By Donald S. Malecki, CPCU

Coverage Concerns—Employee theft
By Roy C. McCormick

ADVERTISERS INDEX

DEPARTMENTS
Court Decisions
PF&M at a Glance
Rough Notes Staff
Reprints