Agency Management

At a concert in Atlanta this spring, Colin Meloy, the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Decemberists, led the audience in singing a few lyrics. "Maybe you shouldn’t pursue a career in this," he jokingly said. "Maybe you should go to work in insurance."

Continuing our discussion of how to apply a disciplined process to handling financial matters, we now turn from credit policy to the other four areas that need to be addressed.

Florida E&S Lines:  Premium / Policy CountApril: $218,972,917 / 18,732Commercial Property                                  March:…

Floridas 2011 legislative session was the most active in the past 30 yearsespecially in the property insurance arena. Bills dealing with sinkhole reform, replacement cost reform, and Citizens Property Insurance Corp. were at the top of the to-do list for lawmakers.

While Florida insurers have long used catastrophe models to assess portfolio-level catastrophe risk, leading carriers assess catastrophe risk before the policy is underwritten. Incorporating catastrophe modeling into the underwriting process is easier than most assume.

The Florida Association of Insurance Agents has commissioned a study of domestic carriers writing Floridas homeowner policies that will help agents determine their best matches for competitiveness, contract, commissions, and compatibility.

The economic plunge in 2008 more than halved the profits of the property and casualty insurance industry, according to data just released by the Internal Revenue Services.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York reports it will file its appeal of a court decision upholding Regulation 194 in the next several weeks.