This week is the annual convention of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois. What does "independent" mean in the insurance world? It means that we are free to represent many different insurance companies as opposed to a captive agent who represents just one company. For instance, an agent for Allstate insurance represents just that company where at Snyder Insurance, we represent more than 50 different carriers. At the convention we have the opportunity to meet with representatives from companies we would possibly like to represent in the future. We would choose those companies based on the type of business they like to write, their financial stability and their reputations in terms of claims service and ease of doing business.
It's also a time when we meet with our current companies including their marketing representatives, their underwriters, and their loss control people. During the year we do meet with most of these people on a regular basis, but the convention could be the place where additional people from our agency get to interact. For instance, this evening I met our new underwriter from one of our carriers. He's been with that company for many years but he was just assigned our agency because our underwriter retired. He's based in another state so I wouldn't have had the opportunity otherwise.
There are many educational sessions at the convention. As licensed professionals we are required to have 24 hours of continuing education every two years. The education courses keep us up-to-date on insurance issues, and give us opportunity to learn something new. There are many different lines of insurance, so it takes considerable effort to remain current in the various areas.
In general there is a lot of talk and many presentations on the state of the insurance industry. In this time of economic crisis, many of our clients are impacted in their businesses by the costs to do business and possibly their lack of incoming business. Bottom line, as we meet in the insurance industry we try to figure out how to best insure our clients with the most comprehensive coverage at affordable prices. Not always easy. We figure out new ways to help our clients minimize their claims experiences which help keep their insurance costs down. And, we discuss new ways to bring the best in customer service to our clients so they'll want to keep doing business with us.
It's a busy week, but it's great to be working for an independent agency.
Sally Hershberger
Snyder Insurance
Marketing Director
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Posted Thursday, October 08 2009 3:14 AM
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