December 01, 2006 Like most agencies, we made a lot of mistakes when we first began scanning documents six years ago. Perhaps you might find our experience instructive.
After several false starts, we decided to analyze our agency's optimum workflow. We explored the... November 01, 2006 Sometimes technology surprises us by offering benefits we may not have realized it provided, such as additional uses for existing software programs or innovative ways to manage workflow. That happened at our agency just last month, when our virtual... August 01, 2006 As the peak of hurricane season approaches, the insurance community is holding its breath, wondering what the coming months will bring. Everyone seems to agree that the best protection against disaster is an effective preparedness plan—one that... July 01, 2006 The pioneers of transactional filing recognized that their agency management systems could be used as the sole source of client information and that a conventional filing system was no longer necessary. They didn’t view t-filing as a goal in... July 01, 2006 Two months ago, our agency’s server crashed the day before we intended to replace it. Over the next eight weeks, as we restored all our users’ settings and profiles, we received a steady stream of service invoices from our technology... June 01, 2006 If you don’t use dual monitors, then this month’s article may not interest you. But for those who have tried them, I will relate a recent incident that showed us just how ingrained dual monitors can become in an agency. I’ll also... May 01, 2006 THE AGENCY ownership life-span includes three phases: acquiring the agency, operating and growing it, and selling or perpetuating it at retirement. Each phase brings its own challenges and rewards. About once a year, I encourage readers of this... April 01, 2006 MOST OF us are aware of the communications disconnect that can take place between agents and their clients. The problem arises innocently enough when we fail to remember that terms that are second nature to us are not commonly understood by the... March 01, 2006 I recently heard some first-hand observations of agents who were victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita last summer, and it gave me food for thought. Some agents experienced property damage and loss of data they hadn’t anticipated, as 30-foot... February 01, 2006 More agency principals are considering “going paperless.” When talking with them, I am reminded of my own agency’s efforts to design our first disaster-action plan. We imagined a variety of scenarios and tried to plan for each; but... January 01, 2006 My experience tells me that almost every office suffers from some degree of backlog. Unfinished work can hinder an agency in a number of ways. For instance, every time a document is touched, the cost of processing that item increases. If backlog is... December 01, 2005 SPEED traps usually bring to mind a highway patrol car parked in an obscure place, waiting for unsuspecting motorists to exceed the posted limit. I drive 10 miles every day on an interstate highway. A team of patrol cars regularly stakes out one... November 01, 2005 At IIABA’s national convention, which was held in September in New York City, a panelist who had developed a successful sales plan referred to a “short-read” book entitled “Acres of Diamonds.” I’m fond of... October 01, 2005 You arrive at your office Monday morning and begin the day by accessing your e-mail. How long will it take before you actually get to your day’s agenda? I have found that wading through the e-mail can take as long as three hours! Several... August 01, 2005 TWENTY-five years ago, moving an insurance agency was mainly a matter of planning for sufficient physical labor. Technology rarely needed to be considered. When we moved our agency in 1980, the only technology issue we faced was unplugging our... June 01, 2005 IT'S STILL only late spring, and already we're hearing warnings about the upcoming hurricane season. As many as 15 hurricanes and nine other major storms are predicted in the months ahead. With so much damage yet unrepaired from 2004, this comes as... May 01, 2005 Time is one commodity that is equally scarce for everyone. Nobody has found a way to create more of it, nor to affect its passage. Since it is so precious, it makes sense that we should waste as little of it as possible. We all waste time... April 01, 2005 IN THE wake of HIPAA and Graham-Leach-Bliley, agencies are increasingly sensitive about their responsibility to protect their clients' privacy. Recent news stories have shown the damage that can be done to a company's reputation when it announces... March 01, 2005 OF ALL the equipment in their offices, insurance agents probably use their telephone systems the most and think about them the least. As long as you can reach the people you want to call and they can reach you, the phone system doesn't get much... February 01, 2005 WHAT DO autonomy, creativity and consistency have in common? They are all characteristics an agency owner would like to see in each employee. Autonomy gives employees the sense that they control their destinies and have the opportunity and authority... January 01, 2005 DO YOU pay attention to the transaction activity notes in your agency management system? You should. If you use your system correctly-as the core location for all transaction activity with your clients-the notes could be your best friend in the event... December 01, 2004 YOU'VE just finished reading 10 articles about insurance agencies going paperless, and you don't want to be left behind. You're ready to rush out, get some scanners, and hop on the paperless train. A more efficient office is your destination, but... November 01, 2004 THE NEED to back up agency data isn't a new topic, but developing technology is constantly presenting new backup problems-and backup solutions. Since we purchased our first computer system in 1983, we have experienced more than one of both. A... October 01, 2004
SEVERAL months ago, a reader asked whether my agency used dual monitors. Although we did not, other readers responded that they had. I'm always curious about new technology, and after doing a little research found a 2002 prediction by Bill Gates... September 01, 2004 MY LAST two columns described our agency's efforts to end walk-in premium payments on direct-bill accounts, freeing time for our employees to offer our clients other, more valuable service. Last month I explained how we began communicating to... August 01, 2004 LAST month I described how, following our acquisition of another agency, we found that a few of the acquired clients continued to make multiple walk-in premium payments at our office for their direct-bill policies. We were prepared to lose their... July 01, 2004 MOVING more and more to direct-bill payments over the past 10 years, our agency had almost eliminated the processing of premium payments. In 2002, however, we acquired another agency and discovered that they had a substantial number of customers who... June 01, 2004 AN EFFICIENCY problem sometimes can nag at you for years. Then, when you discover a solution, it seems so obvious that you can't figure out how you missed it for so long. We had such a problem for which we recently discovered a solution at a users... May 01, 2004 IN PREVIOUS columns I have referred to the process of "creative brooding," which I learned from a friend. It means to mentally depart from the normal business environment and imagine what your business could be like if you had no... April 01, 2004 FIVE years ago Blockbuster Video was right on target in the home-entertainment industry, providing movies for rental on videotape and DVD. Now, however, another option seems to be at the cutting edge, as customers increasingly turn to movies that are... March 01, 2004 DURING the holiday season, I lost my cell phone amid a frenzy of year-end activity. When I visited the cell phone store to replace it, I learned that since my contract period had just expired, I was eligible for a discount on an upgraded phone. (I... February 01, 2004 HAVE you ever watched the TV program "Fear Factor"? To me, some of the stunts that frighten contestants don't look so bad. The reason some things seem easy to us, when others find them difficult, is simply that they don't scare us. For instance, I'm... January 01, 2004 By now we all know that the best way to prevent an errors and omissions claim is to offer clients more insurance. Selling multiple policies to a client is a win-win proposition. When the client buys an additional product, the agent's income and... |