Commercial Lines

Having invested many tens of millions of dollars into technology over the past few years, large underwriters have developed tremendous competitive advantages, perhaps foremost among them the ability to write personal-lines business in real time. This real-time functionality—the ability to research, quote and deliver the policy to a customer...

If Republicans were in search of a friendly venue for their message of spending cuts and regulation reduction, they found a warm embrace a few short blocks from Capitol Hill at the recent meeting of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America in Washington D.C.

On the final day of the conference, agents met to hear a panel discussion with three insurance-industry CEOs and the president of the Insurance Information Institute on the state of the industry.

Tom Suter, vice president of strategy and managing partner for Naviant, a Minneapolis-based technology consulting firm, says agencies need to find a way for the younger generation to tap into what he calls the experienced principals' "fountain of knowledge."

It may have seemed like horrible timing when Susan Rivera was starting up a program business-focused MGA in late 2009, but there were several advantages to launching in the wake of a global financial crisis and about six years into a soft property and casualty insurance market, she says.

Why do most insurance agencies totally ignore the most important day of the year for workers' compensation? And I'm not talking about the renewal date.