March 2018

Here are some items left over from past blogs and other random thoughts.

Greg Way from Liberty was in our office this week (bringing a big check for distribution at our meeting!) and told us that Liberty will be expanding their Worker’s Comp appetite by about 400 classes! The complete list of the desired classes will be out shortly. For instance, we just received a very competitive quote on a $40k WC premium for a building contractor who had an excellent emod.  Review your list of CL risks with Liberty to see how many have their comp with another carrier. Liberty pays a very competitive commission and is, of course, a Strategic Partner Carrier.

Over the last few days I have had conversations with several agents who indicated that their activity level was up and that they were very busy. This included such tasks as vehicle changes, as well as an uptick in writing new business. They were not complaining but were somewhat frustrated in their ability to solicit outside for new business while writing the business that came in the door as well as servicing their existing customers. This is a tough problem to have! But it is also a common one. Previously I wrote a blog about my visit to the Safeco Service Center. I am a firm believer that the use of a service center can help alleviate much of the day to day service activity, freeing up time to solicit new business, contacting existing clients for rounding or to ask for referrals, or to plan for and begin new target marketing campaigns. Service Centers sell time!

A few months ago, I wrote on the need to quote EPLI coverage for all your Commercial Lines customers. While many agents indicate they quote EPLI with all their commercial proposals, some have customers that have never had it offered to them. I have a letter (taken from LOLA) that offers existing customers this valuable coverage, and briefly explains why it is necessary. If you would like a copy of the letter, please check LOLA or email me and I will get a copy to you.

The April Business Insurance Advantage class is full, but spots are still available in the class beginning in June. BIA teaches the concept of target marketing to small commercial risks which our carriers want to write. You have many tools available to help you make the transition to writing more commercial lines business. Now is a great time to get involved in targeting small businesses, since almost all are aware of the need for EPLI coverage but few have it. You can use EPLI as the lead to get their attention and be the first to contact them about the what it is and the need for them to have this coverage. It is also a great time to contact your existing CL clients to offer an EPLI quote if they do not currently have it.

Matt Massiello, EVP and COO of SIAA, has recently emailed out a three-part article called “The Sky is Falling”. If you have not read it I can tell you it is a VERY good read and well worth your time. Please take a moment to read all parts!

Finally, if you have not RSVP’d for our April meeting, please do ASAP!

On a separate note, please remember to save the date:

MSAA Annual Conference- Wednesday, August 22^nd