Agency Technology

I think all the carriers recognize there are different levels of where agents are at. Some are fairly advanced so they have direct XML connections for us.

I think all the carriers recognize there are different levels of where agents are at. Some are fairly advanced so they have direct XML connections for us.

You see varying degrees of success. A lot of them do feel like they are on their own. There is a great desire among agents to help support their customers.

PropertyCasualty360.com's Agent & Broker Channel Editor Laura M. Toops is twittering every day about breaking news and timely topics—not to mention keeping readers up to date on agent and broker-related news and analysis being posted on PropertyCasualty360.com.

Well known from a series of videos as the Foremost “Insurance Guy,” Bair talks about Foremost’s new Social Media Suitcase, an online tool for agents providing a complete toolkit and content for getting involved in social media

As far as going direct, it depends on the line of business. When you get into the more complex lines—at least on the property/casualty side—you don’t see [the direct channel], but for the personal lines—particularly personal auto—there is definitely more inclination to go direct.

FEMA is now set up to use Twitter for all stages of an emergency.

Laura M. Toops provides insight on new growth.