Digital Insurance Inc. offers complimentary healthcare reform webinar

The top employee benefits agency for speed of growth, Digital Insurance Inc., has sent out invitations for a free webinar that they have entitled “The Agency of the (Not So Distant) Future”, which will be held on Thursday, November 3, at 2 pm. The chief marketing officer and executive vice president of Digital Insurance, Mike Sullivan, will be using the seminar to make a presentation of his vision of the successful agency of tomorrow, and to go over the type of knowledge and infrastructure that will be required in order…

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Study suggests recovery for independent insurance agents and brokers

A new study from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA), the largest insurance agent and broker association in the U.S., brings some good news regarding the state of the nation’s independent agencies. The 2011 Best Practices Study outlines the organic growth that is currently moving throughout the industry. The study notes that 2010 was a year of promising growth and that the trend has continued throughout this year as well. The IIABA says that independent agencies are showing real signs of recovery for the first time since…

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How to prepare an insurance agency to be sold

The perceived value of an insurance agency is impacted by a number of different factors, but there are three among them that will have the greatest influence. These three critical factors are the same as those that would influence the perceived value of any type of investment, and are: • Market conditions • Pro forma earnings • Risk connected with earnings in the future Market conditions are vital to the sale of any form of investment, and timing can significantly influence the sale’s net gain. The parts of market conditions…

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Disability Insurance Services unveils Great Getaway Giveaway sales contest

The largest disability insurance solution provider in the country, Disability Insurance Services (DIS), has announced the upcoming start of its Great Getaway Giveaway sales contest for financial planners, insurance agents, and independent marketing organizations (IMOs). It will allow DI insurance professionals to win a trip to any destination on the planet and will begin on October 10, running through November 11. Dan Steenerson, the president of Disability Insurance Services, said that the goal of the insurer is to make sure that every American’s paycheck is securely protected. He added that…

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High praise for mobile capabilities added to the FirstBest Front Office Suite for insurance carriers

Insurance software solutions provider, FirstBest Systems, Inc., which provides products for the MGAs and MGUs specialty and commercial-lines insurance carriers, has revealed the latest additions to its Front Office Suite of insurance applications, which will now include mobile commerce capabilities. This new functionality will permit the insurance workforce to take advantage of a wider range of solutions for underwriting and collaborative business challenges using mobile devices that are increasingly becoming standard in the industry. The mobile capability is entirely integrated with the agent portal applications and underwriting workstations through FirstBest,…

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Kentucky obtains federal waiver on insurance provisions

Insurance companies in Kentucky have been granted a waiver from a provision of the health care law that requires insurers to spend at least 80% of the money they collect from premiums on improving medical care. The waiver does not remove mandate, however, and insurers will still need to spend 75% of their premiums toward medical care. According to federal law, if companies do not follow this mandate, they must refund the money to policyholders. The state’s Department of Insurance petitioned the federal government for a waiver in an effort…

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Alabama Governor erects new panel to investigate the state’s shaken insurance market

A new panel has been set up in Alabama by Governor Robert Bentley comprised of 24 of the state’s insurance and business officials as well as several regulatory figures. The panel is tasked with investigating the state’s insurance market in the wake of deadly tornadoes that ravaged the state, along with its neighbors, two months ago. The original intent of the panel was to focus their investigation to coastal areas, spurred by the forecasts of a tumultuous hurricane season. The effort has been expanded, however, to account for the toll…

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