Welcome to the merry, merry month of May! Spring has fullysprung, the snows are gone, the flowers in full bloom, and summeris on the horizon.

With the world renewed, what better time to continue our themeof agent renewal? We began in January with a single resolution:Insurance is NOT a Commodity! Contained therein was an extensive,yet not all inclusive listing of coverage gems revealed in justthese columns over the past three years. Add in the veritableplethora of other great coverage resources for agents to tap andthe fields for proving to prospects and clients we are far morethan price shoppers of commodity products are white unto harvest,indeed.

Then, in the spirit of the Holiday of Romance, February took uson a stroll through the ISO Homeowners Policy provisions regardingrelationships, revealing another potential harvest of coverageissues, potential gaps and possible solutions destined to make youInsurance Cupid to lovers everywhere. With a slight detour in Marchto focus on Ethics Awareness Month, April foundus back on the anti-commodity track with a shout-out to the10% of agents who are loyal coverage checklistusers. Their willingness to offer clients regular reviews,valuable advice and astute counsel—in other words, to actuallydeliver what all agents claim to offer but don't—allows them tosoar far above the other 90% who unwittingly but effectively reinforceGoogle or other “price, price, price” mantra marketers.

Just as the full blooming of spring often pleasantly reminds usthere are far more wonders of returning nature than the admittedlybeautiful flowers, let us now consider there are more wondroussources of agent renewal and growth in client value than justtechnical knowledge gleaned from coverage forms.

What? Was that the earth moving? Did this erstwhile prophet ofprofitable forms perusal actually admit there is worthy andvaluable knowledge obtainable beyond the sacred texts? Yea, verily,grasshopper, tis true. In a forum entitled “Policy Issues”, itwould seem clear that fertile ground of wealth be the focus,especially when that garden of fruitful facts is so oftenoverlooked by far too many. Yet even the most fervent believer informs recognizes there may be value in a broader outlook, or, ascertain practitioners of the self-improvement arts used to opine, amore “holistic” perception. Anderson Cooper succinctly reduced themetaphor to a simple number—360.

Purely for discussion purposes, let's say of the total 360 ofvaluable agent knowledge, coverage forms represent 270. I nowsuggest an addition representing perhaps a further 45—carrierprospect/client studies of actual insurance purchasers. Away withspeculation, perceived market wisdom and the dreaded yet often overutilized common knowledge. What are actual insurance consumersbuying, and what opportunities does that reveal for ourvalue-enhancing, E&O minimizing astute agent?

For purposes of this single column, permit me to illustrate withbut one excellent example among many, pertaining to a specificsegment of buyers responding about a particular subset of coverageproducts: The Chubb Group's 2013 Private Company RiskSurvey.

Updated every two or three years, Chubb surveyed 450 privatecompany decision makers about their experiences, plans, insurancepurchases and claims regarding several key management/executiveexposures: D&O; EPL; E&O; employee fraud; cyber crime andcyber liability; fiduciary liability; and workplace violence. Afree executive summary—Worth the Risk? Highlights from the Chubb 2013 PrivateCompany Risk Survey—is available for download.

Agents who consider these coverages a key portion of theirexpertise and/or chosen market niche will find digging deep intothe full study fascinating. For the rest of us, Chubb has madeavailable several colorful infographics summarizing key findings.These offer great potential to any astute practitioner of theinsurance arts who is looking for potential gaps in consumerknowledge which create opportunities to increase their level ofvalue and service to clients and prospects, all while loweringE&O exposure.

Or perhaps you would just plain love morechances to cut some current, more oblivious competitors off at theknees.

One set of such potentially valuable data really jumped out atme as I first discovered the survey in 2010, and when the 2013arrived I quickly turned to the same data to discover if it hadbeen a momentary aberration or a trend worthy of agentexploitation. It's no aberration. Chubb clearly saw the same“disconnect equals opportunity” because it is a key highlight ofone of their infographics, descriptively entitled “GL Insurance:General Liability is 'must have' coverage—but only one piece of thepuzzle.” It also confirms how even those who actually know a greatdeal about coverage specifics can miss a major part of the overall360-degree picture if that is its entire focus.

The infographic details the answers to the following surveyquestion: “Does your company have insurance coverage for D&Oliability? Fiduciary liability? E&O liability? Cyber liability?Employment practices liability?” Following a brief summary of whata GL policy likely does or doesn't insure, the graphic gets to theheart of the matter: The common misconceptions and/or flat outignorance of those common inclusions and exclusions as they relateto the surveyed coverages. It is no hyperbole to describe some ofthe findings as simply shocking. And while a degree of disconnectmay be expected with small “mom and pop” size accounts, keep inmind Chubb's responders represented companies that ranged in sizefrom just a few to hundreds of employees, and up to hundreds ofmillions in revenue.

First, the obvious opportunity: The percentage of thesecompanies who have purchased these crucial coverages is surprisingsmall.

• D&O: 28%
• EPL: 30%
• E&O (for those who needed it): 27%
• Fiduciary: 26%
• Cyber: 5%

But here is the shocker. Why haven't they purchased thesecoverages? While you might expect price or traditionalprocrastination to be the main culprits, it turns out there is onekey reason that encapsulates everything we've been discussing aboutseemingly sharp agents leaving huge opportunities on the table—inthis case, basic coverage explanations. Here is why many surveyrespondents claimed they failed to buy key protection: Becausethey thought they already had it!

Or as the infographic puts it, “Non-purchasers whothink this risk is insured under their GL policy”:

• D&O: 65%
• EPL: 60%
• E&O: 52%
• Fiduciary: 51%
• Cyber: 39%

As the texters say, OMG! Is it an exaggeration to surmise that amajor business that has failed to purchase crucial coveragebecause they thought they already had it might just beinterested in purchasing same when they find out theydon't? Ya think?

I hate to assume the type of agents who would be capable ofwriting accounts of this size would be that clueless. Why wouldthey be willing to risk that much E&O when the claim comes, orsimply willing to leave that much opportunity and potential revenueon the table? But a huge percentage did, if you review thosenumbers.

Now do you see why I believe if you take your coverageexpertise, and add some amount of strategic knowledge beyond theforms, your more holistic view of those fields white unto harvestjust expanded your opportunities exponentially? Ah grasshopper, theplaces you will go and the businesses you will serve. Perhaps youwill even earn a variation of the proverb: Your clients will riseup and call you blessed, and your E&O carrier also shall praiseyou.

Your fields await. With a nod to another of May's milestones,Ladies and Gentlemen—start your reapers!

Chris Amrhein, AAI, is an insurance educator and speakerwith more than 30 years in the industry. He also is the chief funofficer at insuranceisfun.com, and author of “Yes Virginia, Thereis Insurance.”