The best time to prepare yourself and educate your clients about claims and how their policies will respond is before the claim happens. Commercial-lines insurance policies are nuanced, and they can leave even the most experienced insurance professionals scratching...
Know more than the basics about workers’ compensation
When independent agents take a closer look at workers’ compensation insurance, disability insurance and health insurance, they need to be able to identify which types of coverage come from each type of insurance. This is important because then, agents can prepare...
Today’s world: Employment practices exposures
Employers must follow myriad federal, state and local employment-related laws—and a lack of compliance can lead to an employment practices claim. Additionally, employers are exposed to claims for breaches of contracts and various workplace torts, like invasion of...
N.Y.: DFS finalizes changes to CE requirements for insurance producers
The New York State Department of Financial Services announced today that it has finalized changes to the continuing-education requirements for insurance producers. What’s new? All licensees will be required to take at least: one hour of insurance law per licensing...
Three reasons to learn about ethics in the insurance industry
As an independent insurance agent, it’s critical that you act responsibly and ethically in order to ensure that your clients are protected. Learning about what ethics are—and how to respond to ethical dilemmas—is important to you, your agency and your clients. Here...
Wine lovers unite—Your clients’ collection might be insurable
Do you have clients who drink wine? Or, more specifically—do you have clients who collect wine? Did you know that, depending on the size and value of their wine collection, they can get coverage? To help your clients get coverage for their beloved reds, whites and...
Certificates of insurance and additional insureds: Navigating the maze
Do you often cringe when you open an email and see a certificate request from one of your commercial clients? There are few things that cause more problems for insurance agents than requests for certificates of insurance. The requests and requirements seem to...
The coverage concerns with a building’s structural integrity
On June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla., partially collapsed in the middle of the night, claiming 98 lives and injuring several more. The cause of the tragedy still is uncertain, but according to Miami New Times, the structural integrity of the...
Insuring truckers—Don’t depend on the business auto policy
Insurance for trucking risks can be extremely confusing to insurance agents unless they are prepared and knowledgeable about the coverage. In addition to general knowledge about the risk, insurance professionals must know the underwriting guidelines and...
Insurance and ethics—What is the ‘right thing’?
Independent agents need to pay attention to business ethics. Remember, if you act unethically, even if it’s unintentional, you could tarnish your credibility as an insurance professional, you could hurt the reputation of your agency’s brand and you even could find...