No Blind Dates, Please
Retail agents prefer personal introductions to electronic match-ups when they first seek out wholesale broker partners.
"You get connected through peers or through your trade association," said Tucker Lounsbury, a member of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York.
Frank Krisanits, vice president of RiskProNet International Inc., has put himself in the role of matchmaker for fellow members of RiskProNet–a 28-member network of brokers nationwide.
"A few years ago at one RiskProNet meeting, I brought in some principals" of one particular wholesale firm with expertise in management liability. "I basically said if you don't know these people, you're missing a bet," he said, sharing his input on the superior quality of the firm's work product.
Mark Nimmo, another RiskProNet member, noted that members e-mail each other for help with problems they may be stuck on. Being able to e-mail peers with the question, "Does anyone know a good wholesaler for day care centers?" is more helpful than using an online directory.
"All the stuff is online now," he said, contrasting the days when retailers would have to look through books and locate the heading, "Day Care Centers," to find a wholesaler list.
"Personally, I think those things are worthless," he said, referring both to books and online directories. "When you ask [national wholesalers] what types of accounts they write, they are going to list a thousand things. That's how that book is published. Under every category, you're going to see the names" of those wholesalers, he said, noting that such a publication won't separate true specialists.
Mr. Lounsbury warned that there's a law in his state of New York–and other states as well–requiring a wholesaler placing New York excess and surplus business to have a physical address in the state.
"A lot of agents fall into the trap of finding wholesalers in other states marketing through the Internet. If they don't have an office in New York, it then becomes illegal to place that business with the out-of-state wholesaler."
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