Gallagher’s Post

#LifeInsurance Agents, did you know that a cover letter plays a crucial role in the underwriting process? 📄 Learn how you can improve your cover letter writing skills and, in turn, help increase your chances of a successful life insurance policy issuance. 🙌 https://lnkd.in/gDfTMst2 #FinancialWellbeing #FinancialPlanning #FinancialProtection #InsuranceUnderwriting #RiskAssessment

#LifeInsurance Agents, did you know that a cover letter plays a crucial role in the underwriting process? 📄 Learn how you can improve your cover letter writing skills and, in turn, help increase your chances of a successful life insurance policy issuance. 🙌 https://lnkd.in/gDfTMst2 #FinancialWellbeing #FinancialPlanning #FinancialProtection #InsuranceUnderwriting #RiskAssessment

#LifeInsurance Agents, did you know that a cover letter plays a crucial role in the underwriting process? 📄 Learn how you can improve your cover letter writing skills and, in turn, help increase your chances of a successful life insurance policy issuance: https://okt.to/vV4jiB #FinancialWellbeing #FinancialPlanning #FinancialProtection #InsuranceUnderwriting #RiskAssessment

#LifeInsurance Agents, did you know that a cover letter plays a crucial role in the underwriting process? 📄 Learn how you can improve your cover letter writing skills and, in turn, help increase your chances of a successful life insurance policy issuance. 🙌 https://lnkd.in/gDfTMst2 #FinancialWellbeing #FinancialPlanning #FinancialProtection #InsuranceUnderwriting #RiskAssessment

Hire a new insurance agent without seeing quotes first? Yes. This is the best way. No it's not the only way, but the best way most of the time. However, one of the most difficult things when deciding to do this, rather than quoting with multiple agents, is figuring out the differences between agents. Let's face it, many will come in and give the same dog and pony show, be likeable, and sound identical. This leaves you with a tough decision and you might be surprised to learn that the best way to solve this is not what you're thinking. Instead of providing an RFP or structured guidelines as to what you want to see from agents you're interviewing, provide nothing. Leave it totally open. Tell the agents your interviewing multiple agents and your timeline for making the change, then stop. By leaving it open, you'll see what agent asks the best questions, takes the most initiative, works the hardest, communicates the clearest, and is the most creative. So when it comes to interviewing possible agents, remember... Do nothing and let the cream will rise to the top.

Thinking about applying at Auto-Owners Insurance? Here are some resume tips from my team: - Keep the length to one page - Use bullet points instead of paragraphs - Leave out personal information (age/picture) - Sort your information in reverse chronological order - Use a standard and easy-to-read font - Use high contrast for ease of scanning (example: black text on white paper)

Being assertive in negotiations within the insurance industry is crucial for effectively advocating for my clients while also ensuring that my company's interests are protected. Here are some tips for being assertive in insurance negotiations: 1.    I Know My Stuff: I’m knowledgeable about the insurance policies am negotiating by understanding the terms, conditions, coverage limits, and exclusions. This knowledge will give me confidence and authority during negotiations. 2.    I Set Clear Objectives: Before entering negotiations, I establish clear objectives and outcomes I want to achieve. I Know what terms are non-negotiable and where I have flexibility. 3.    I Active Listening: I Listen attentively to my clients' needs, concerns, and objectives. Understanding their perspective will help me tailor my negotiation strategy and find mutually beneficial solutions. 4.    I am Confident: Confidence is key to being assertive. I believe in the value I bring to the negotiation table and convey confidence through my body language, tone of voice, and choice of words. 5.    I Stick to Facts and Data: I support my arguments with facts, data, and evidence. This adds credibility to my position and makes it harder for the other party to dispute my claims. 6.    I Express Yourself Clearly: I clearly communicate my position, expectations, and reasoning behind my decisions. I use simple and concise language to avoid misunderstandings. 7.    I am Firm but Respectful: Assertiveness doesn't mean being aggressive or confrontational. I maintain a respectful and professional demeanor, even when disagreements arise. I firmly assert my position without belittling or disrespecting the other party. 8.    I Offer Win-Win Solutions: I look for creative solutions that address the needs and concerns of both parties. I aim for outcomes that result in mutual benefits and long-term relationships. 9.    I Prepare for Objections: I anticipate potential objections or counteroffers and prepare responses in advance. This demonstrates my readiness and ability to address concerns effectively. 10. I Know When to Walk Away: Sometimes, negotiations may reach an impasse where reaching a mutually acceptable agreement becomes unlikely. In such cases, I am prepared to walk away gracefully and explore alternative options.

"We have too many carrier mouths to feed..." 👇 The Pains & Frustrations of a "Commoditized Generalist": Part 2 When I first started in this industry, I was brainwashed into thinking that having the most carrier appointments was a "badge of honor". → "We have access to over 48 different markets!" (they say) → "Tell prospects how big we are and all the carriers we have!" → "We need more appointments so we can write everything!" Then, when I started to see some success, I realized it was a problem, not a badge of honor. When you're a generalist, you fear missing out on new business. So, what's your solution? More carrier appointments. More opportunity to write a ton of new business, right? Wrong. Having more carrier appointments so you can "be everything to everybody" is a recipe for disaster. Why? It brings more complexity, stress and pressure on your agency to perform and produce, SO THAT you can keep your carriers fed and happy. The problem with this logic is, now you have "too many mouths to feed" and the math ain't gonna work. You risk your reputation. You risk losing appointments. You find yourself "robbing Peter to pay Paul" (at times). You may be tempted to make decisions NOT in the best interests of your clients. And, the list goes on and on. Solution? Industry Niche Specialization. When you specialize and dominate specific industry niches and classes of business, it solves the "we have too many carrier mouths to feed" problem. Less becomes MORE. It allows you and your team to focus on serving unique industry niches better than your competition. You build higher quality relationships with your carrier partners. You earn an impeccable reputation with underwriters & your peers. You only have to work with a select few carriers and underwriters who will respect you and write those classes of business for you all day long. You no longer have to fear losing or begging for new carrier appointments anymore, they'll actually come to YOU! This is the secret to building a massive book of business. Period. ********* ♻️ If you found value in this, please pay it forward to others! In case you missed my 🔴"Live" Workshop Part 1 - "How To Pick The Right Industry Niche & Grow Your Commercial Insurance Book" here's the link: https://lnkd.in/e4xT9jvX #insurance #riskmanagement #nichebuilderblueprint

What's the difference between a broker and a direct writer? Brokers work for you. Direct writers do not. At the end of the day, a broker's responsibility is to you as the insured. A direct writer's responsibility is to the insurer. Brokers work with you to deeply understand your risk, and create customized solutions based on their relationships with the underwriters and insurance companies who are best equipped to effectively handle your specific risks in the event of a claim. Direct writers will give you what you ask for, similar to a vending machine. If you don't know what to ask for - you might be surprised in the event of a claim. You may be an expert in your field, but unless you're also an insurance expert who deals with many risks day in and day out, the Dunning-Kruger effect may be playing into your insurance decisions. You don't know what you don't know, and if you don't know what to ask for - how do you know you will be appropriately covered in case of a claim? Brokers work for you. Our job is to know and assess your risk to ensure it is properly covered in case of a claim. Our legal duty is to you. And it's your duty as a corporate decision maker to find and engage with the best partners when it comes to managing your risk, so that at the end of the day, everyone that has an interest in the risk will be appropriately covered when the unexpected happens. Image by pressfoto on Freepik

Here's a phenomenal way to waste a ton of hours and a bunch of your business's money: Draft an insurance requirement clause for your company's #contract, and never ever reevaluate or change that set of requirements. Here's an example: A #generalcontractor puts together a boilerplate #subcontract that includes a lengthy insurance requirements section. In the General and Excess Liability subsections, it is stated that among other items no policy may have a residential or EIFS/Stucco exclusion. Say the GC proceeds to win 100 jobs in one year, and sends that same boilerplate subcontract to an average of 30 subs per job. That insurance requirement section has gone out 3,000 times. Of those 100 jobs the GC won, only 5 of them have a truly residential component and only 1 of them involved EIFS/Stucco. Consider also that every single #subcontractor that works on that job will have some form of residential exclusion, and almost certainly an EIFS exclusion too, on their General Liability policy. Now the subs who are actually paying attention and know what they are insured for have to waste their time calling/emailing the GC on 95% of these jobs to get those requirements edited out, and the GC has to waste their time receiving and responding to said calls/emails. That's hours and hours and hours of time and money wasted, especially when you consider a number of the residential exclusions on General Liability policies will give back coverage for things like apartments, student housing, military barracks, assisted living facilities, etc. Bottom line: You can save SOOOOOO much time and money if you will evaluate the needed insurance details for each job you are awarded and eliminate unnecessary requirements from the subcontracts you send out. Superfluous contract language is costing many organizations tons of time and money every year, and no small amount of stress. If you don't need it, take it out! If you're a middle-market or large organization, I'll show you where you could save time and money by eliminating unnecessary requirements and language from your company's contract. DM me! #strategy #unbiasedadvice