The insurance industry has always demanded resilience, but today’s hard market is testing independent agencies like never before. Skyrocketing premiums, tighter underwriting and relentless sales pressures are creating a high-stress environment — and it’s taking a toll on agency staff, according to a new report. One of the biggest challenges independent insurance agencies face is…
As 2025 gets off to a rocky start with volatility in the business climate, insurance brokerages have to be nimble and forward-thinking to be successful and continue growing. The pandemic had already forced most companies, including insurance agencies, to re-evaluate how they do business, and if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s…
Insurance agencies move significant amounts of funds through their accounts, particularly when they keep premium deposits in trust accounts before transferring them to insurers. Like any business that has significant cash flow, it’s vitally important for insurance brokerages to have their operations buttoned up tightly to protect against financial fraud. This is especially so due…
Rising costs, commission reductions and economic pressures can make it challenging for insurance agencies to maintain profitability. However, keeping profits the same from year to year can be a losing strategy due to inflation, meaning that agencies must also focus on growing their book of business. The key is to cut costs strategically without disrupting…
One of the keys to ensuring the longevity of your insurance agency is having your finances in order and ensuring that you are generating a profit. That’s easier said than done as often the commission checks roll in sporadically during the year, or all at once after peak renewal seasons. Besides the obvious issue of…
Recruiting new talent has always been difficult for the insurance industry, and that includes independent agencies and brokerages. And thanks to the continuing tight job market, it’s harder than ever. As more insurance executives and producers start entering retirement, there’s an urgent need to recruit and groom the next generation of insurance professionals. But…
You’ve managed to put together a crack team of producers and you suddenly find yourself with more business than you can handle. You didn’t put systems and support personnel in place to handle the volume of new business your new agents have started producing and if you don’t get a handle on it quickly,…
How are you grooming the next generation of sales executives in your insurance agency? In the midst of a highly competitive job market, now more than ever any new producers you are hiring will need support from management and senior executives to help them grow and succeed. One of the best ways to help…
The point comes in every insurance agency principal’s career that they start thinking about retiring or transitioning into a different line of work they always have dreamed of. Or perhaps life complications arise, such as divorce, serious illness or the death of an agency partner that spurs the agency owner to hang it up.…
The size of jury awards has been exploding in the last few years, and they are often exceeding the limits that businesses have on their liability policies, which could leave them paying out of pocket. Besides creating problems for those businesses, it could also be problematic for their insurance brokers if they are accused of…