Agent Group Extends Training To Southern Calif.

The Sacramento, Calif.-based Alliance of Insurance Agents & Brokers announced it has extended its preferred market training to Southern California.

Alliance said the action signals its commitment to producers throughout the state to provide access to preferred markets without the need for a direct appointment.

The Alliance, a nonprofit, member-owned trade association of insurance professionals founded in 1966, is offering one-day training seminars to teach producers how to underwrite, submit and retain preferred personal, commercial and specialty lines insurance business.

Special emphasis in the program will be placed on helping producers understand how to cross-sell their existing book of business and earn their way to direct appointments, Alliance said.

Upon completion of the training, producers are immediately able to submit risks to a variety of preferred carriers through the association's wholesale insurance agency.

"The economy is forcing producers to look for new ways to generate revenue from their existing book of business," Michael D'Arelli, executive director of the Alliance, said in a statement.

He noted that producers are often fearful about venturing from their comfort zone and writing lines of business with which they are unfamiliar, explaining, "This is where the Alliance is helping agents and brokers. We assist producers who have never written a single piece of commercial or specialty lines business, teach them how to write it, and provide them with competitive commission."

The Alliance will host preferred market training in Sacramento and Los Angeles counties. The first Southern California seminar will be held on Feb. 10th, in Encino, Calif.

Additional information is available at www.agentsalliance.com. Reservations can be made by calling the Alliance Member Services at 866-497-9222.