Throughout the soft market, rates dropped and companies endured increasing losses as the price to pay for cash flow and market share. Now carriers are reacting to loss ratios much more intensely. Reserves will be adjusted and agencies will be targeted for action as carriers try to reserve their shrinking capacity for agencies that have…
We all know that binders have historically been issued for 30-day terms. Why is that and can a binder be issued for longer terms, perhaps even as long as the 12-month policy period? In this article, our faculty will discuss the historical significance of this “rule” (as best as we know it), along with some…
When proof of insurance is requested, which is most appropriate, the ACORD 27 – Evidence of Property Insurance or the ACORD 75 – Insurance Binder?
An agency has had several requests from mortgage brokers and lawyers asking for binders showing the new mortgagee without having set closing dates on new loans. They insist that the binder and not an Evidence of Property Insurance form be provided before they will set a closing date. Do they have an insurable interest in…
CLUE reports, like MVRs, have become a staple of most personal lines underwriters. However, what happens when someone discovers an error on a CLUE report? What are the ramifications for declining an account based on inaccurate information and what can the consumer do to get the problem corrected?
Quite a few agencies now practice agency underwriting by establishing minimum limits that they will write for auto, CGL, etc. There are definitely advantages to doing this and, in general, it’s a great idea. However, there can also be pitfalls that agents should be wary of….
Recently, our “Ask an Expert” service received a simple, one-sentence question: “How do you get your submissions noticed by an underwriter?” In this article, we’ll give you some tips from our expert faculty, underwriters, and fellow agents on how to submit an account that floats rather than sinks.
Do your employees spend, what seems to you to be, an inordinate amount of time on the internet at work…whether during business hours or their personal time? Ever wonder what they’re doing? Ever wonder about the nature of the emails they send or receive? To control net use (and abuse), you need a formal policy.
Do you ever call customer service for a company and get a message that the call may be recorded or monitored? Most likely this is a quality control function and something you may do in your own agency to measure your customer service or E&O exposure. Keep in mind that there are legal ramifications of…
There are some excellent excess and surplus lines markets in this industry, many providing products and services superior to those in the standard market. However, there are inherent dangers in using some E&S markets that agents should be aware of. In this article, we’ll present thirteen of them.
