Main Street Industry News - September 2022

INSIDE Update: Your PIA Membership Benefits » 7

Recession & Insurers — Insurers are Well-Prepared » 16 Insureds Think Car Color Impacts Insurance Rates » 20

September 2022 | Published Monthly

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Our promise is to be “Always alongside you.”

Farmers Mutual’s coverages are supported by prompt, personalized service and unmatched financial strength. As the leading insurer of farms in Nebraska and South Dakota, our history of success is a reflection of the trust and loyalty we’ve earned from our policyholders and local agents.

Contact: Andy Kraus, CPCU Vice President of Agencies akraus@fmne.com | 800.742.7433 fmne.com

Did you know that PIA’s company council, The PIA Partnership, has conducted nationwide research about the insurance buying preferences of small business owners?

The research is encouraging because it found that small business owners strongly prefer independent insurance agents as they make choices in today’s online world.

However, the results also serve as a wake-up call that agents must take steps to continue to demonstrate their value and also be more engaged online.

PIA and the companies belonging to The PIA Partnership have created a public website that helps agents understand PIA’s findings.

PIA members also have access to a private website containing a series of strategies and tools to help them stay ahead of online competition in commercial lines.

To access the newest PIA Partnership project, Small Business Insurance & The Internet — The Voice of the Commercial Lines Customer.

If you are not a PIA member and want to access all of the tools available through this program, contact us for a membership application or visit us online at www.pianational.org/header-utility-items/join/Join-PIA.

National Association of Professional Insurance Agents 400 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314-2353 www.pianet.com | membership@pianet.org | (703) 836-9340

Update: Your PIA Membership Benefits | 7 Membership in the PIA comes with a lot of benefits.

They range from insurance products to benefit your agency and clients to business building tools to tools to help you manage your business, and more.

Wouldn’t We All like This — Allied Underwriters Gives Entire Staff 10% Raise | 18 Allied Underwriters has done something a lot of us would like to see our employer do. It gave a 10% salary increase to all employees.

Inflation, High Gas Prices & What the Average Household Earns — An Interesting Study | 8 Doxo is a bill paying platform. The company is — naturally — very interested in income and outgo for families and individuals.

MarketScout & Insurance Rate Increases — Still Rising | 19 As you know, MarketScout tracks insurance rates on a quarterly basis. Company CEO, Richard Kerr says the second quarter of 2022 is looking about the same as the first.

Mergers & Acquisitions — A Rebound on the Way | 11 Mergers and acquisitions slowed quite a bit in the first half of 2022. It dropped by almost a third. Not to worry.

S&P Warning — The Combined Ratio Could Top 100% in 2022 | 12 A new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence says property and casualty insurers could see a combined ratio of 100.4% by the end of the year.

The Big Backfire — Attorney Lawsuit Billboards | 14 We’re all seen them along streets and highways. The billboard has a smiling attorney, or attorneys, often bedecked in expensive suits, asking us if we’ve been wronged by a company, a person or both.

Recession & Insurers — Insurers are Well-Prepared | 16 Berenberg is a privately owned German investment bank. It recently looked at insurance companies and the impact of a possible recession on them.

Insureds Think Car Color Impacts Insurance Rates | 20 A year or so ago, InsuranceQuotes.com conducted an interested survey of drivers. It found that 44% of the 1,000 Americans it talked to think driving a car that is bright red will impact the insurance rate for that vehicle. A bright red car — they believe — is more expensive to insure.

PIA NE IA EVENTS PIA NE IA EVENTS The Professional Insurance Agents NE IA and The National Alliance Designations | 23 Upcoming Events Calendar 2022 | 24

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Postage & Stamps Just got More Expensive | 17 The United States Postal Service (USPS) has raised the price of postage and stamps. For personal use, most of us use the First-Class Mail Forever stamps. They have gone up two cents to 60 cents from 58.

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 4

Contact Lindsey to place an ad at 402-392-1611.

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With PIA Trust Insurance Plans, you have the flexibility to customize your protection to best meet your family’s insurance needs. With the exception of Basic Life**, your employees are also eligible to apply for all of the plans without your participation.

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Policies or provisions may vary or be unavailable in some states.

Policies have exclusions or limitations which may affect any benefits payable.

The PIA Services Group Insurance Fund is administered by Lockton Affinity, LLC d/b/a Lockton Affinity Insurance Brokers LLC in California #0795478. Coverage is subject to actual policy terms and conditions. Policy benefits are the sole responsibility of the issuing insurance company. Coverage may not be available in all states.

Like most insurance policies, insurance policies offered by MetLife and its affiliates contain certain exclusions, exceptions, reductions, limitations, waiting periods and terms for keeping them in force. Please contact your plan administrator, Lockton Affinity, at 1-800-336-4759 for costs and complete details.

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IS YOUR E&O X-DATE HERE? PIA FOR NEBRASKA AND IOWA PIA Association for Nebraska and Iowa is committed to focusing its resources in ways that cast the most favorable light on its constituents. We are dedicated to providing the type of programs, the level of advocacy, and the dissemination of information that best supports the perpetuation and prosperity of our members.

We pledge to always conduct ourselves in a manner that enhances the public image of PIA and adds real value to our members.

SUBSCRIBE OR COMMENT Professional Insurance Agents NE IA Attention: Editorial Main Street Industry News 11932 Arbor Street, Ste. 100 Omaha, NE 68144 Email: office@pianeia.com Ph: 402-392-1611 www.pianeia.com

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UPDATE: YOUR PIA MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS Membership in the PIA comes with a lot of benefits. They range from insurance products to benefit your agency and clients to business building tools to tools to help you manage your business, and more.

If you are a member, PIA National is publishing the 2022 PIA Member Benefits Guide. It can be accessed at pianational. org/memberbenefits.

Read the 2022 PIA Member Benefits Guide here: https://www.pianational.org/docs/ default-source/products/2022memberguide. pdf?sfvrsn=e95da90b_10

Non-members, we encourage you to check out the many benefits that come your way as a member of the nation’s premiere agent association, the PIA. Your success in the insurance profession is the primary focus of the PIA Association for Nebraska & Iowa.

In addition to being a part of a dedicated community of other professional independent agents, your PIA membership offers an unmatched value in tools and resources specifically tailored to help advance your agency.

JOIN TODAY: www.pianeia.com/benefits

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 7

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Inflation, High Gas Prices & What the Average Household Earns An Interesting Study

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 8

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Doxo is a bill paying platform. The company is — naturally — very interested in income and outgo for families and individuals. It recently did an in-depth study of the cost of living in the United States.

The good news is the cost of living is far below the cost of living in other developed countries.

However, living expenses in the U.S. exceed that of most countries on Earth. So it’s a double-edged sword.

The company’s study defines bills and living expenses as rent or house payments, auto loans, auto insurance and driving, utilities, cable, the Internet, smartphones and health insurance. To no one’s surprise, Doxo found states with higher average monthly incomes tend to have higher monthly bills.

Those with lower incomes have lower costs.

Doxo said the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey has the average cost of paying bills in the U.S. as $2,003 a month. The average income of a typical household is about $64,994 a year. Those are averages. Some states are way above and some way below.

TOP-10 1. Hawaii

Average monthly household bills: $2,911 Median household income: $83,173 Average bill total as a share of household income: 42.0%

2. California

Average monthly household bills: $2,649 Median household income: $78,672 Average bill total as a share of household income: 40.4%

3. New Jersey 4. Massachusetts 5. Maryland 6. Connecticut 7. New York 8. Alaska 9. Washington 10. New Hampshire Where does Nebraska and Iowa stand?

The most expensive state in the union to live in is Hawaii. The least expensive state is West Virginia.

32. Iowa

Average monthly household bills: $ 1,784 Median household income: $ 61,836 Average bill total as a share of household income: 34.6%

41. Nebraska

Average monthly household bills: $ 1,696 Median household income: $ 63,015 Average bill total as a share of household income: 32.3% Source: Norfolk Daily News

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 9

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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS A REBOUND ON THE WAY Mergers and acquisitions slowed quite a bit in the first half of 2022. It dropped by almost a third. Not to worry. A report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says things are going to look a lot better in the near future.

The second quarter of 2022 — from the end of March to the middle of May — had only 27 announced deals. Of the 343, most — 313 — were brokerage companies. The other 30 were in the underwriting area.

Here are the details. PwC said from midNovember last year through mid-May of this year there were 343 transactions. They totaled $15.4 billion in value. That compares to $31.4 billion and 476 transactions in the same time period a year earlier.

“Although deal activity slowed in the first half of 2022 due to the overall economic environment, we expect deal activity to rebound in the second half of the year driven by strong interest in the sector from PE-backed buyers,” PwC said.

That’s a 28% drop.

Source: Business Insurance

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 11

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S&P WARNING THE COMBINED RATIO COULD TOP 100% IN 2022 A new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence says property and casualty insurers could see a combined ratio of 100.4% by the end of the year. If things unfold as S&P predicts, the P&C industry could see its first unprofitable year since 2017. That’s unprofitable from an underwriting standpoint.

The line of insurance that is being hit hardest right now is private auto. It will account for 35% of the net P&C premiums written this year. Auto insurers have been hard hit all year by high vehicle prices, parts and interruptions in the supply chain.

Commercial lines are — in some ways — offsetting that concern. Those lines did very well in 2021 and the combined ratio of 96.1% last year is the best commercial lines have done since 2015.

S&P predicts an equal performance by the end of 2022 and says commercial lines will likely end up with a slightly higher combined ratio of 96.3%.

In spite of a report that spills a lot of gloom and doom, S&P says by 2023 insurers will go back to moderate profitability and a combined ratio of 99.7%. There is a caveat to that statement.

This will only happen if there are meaningful increases in important lines.

Another asterisk comes in the form of worries about inflation and private auto insurance claims costs that continue to rise.

One worry the report doesn’t have is high gas prices. Those prices are going to keep people from driving more and that will drive down claims.

Sources: PropertyCasualty360.com and Insurance Journal

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 12

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September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 13

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The Big Backfire

Attorney Lawsuit Billboards We’re all seen them along streets and highways. The billboard has a smiling attorney, or attorneys, often bedecked in expensive suits, asking us if we’ve been wronged by a company, a person or both.

While the attorneys think the billboards help their business, the people looking at them aren’t viewing them in a positive light. Or so

says research done by the Insurance Research Council (IRC).

It’s a division of The Institutes (formerly the I.I.I.).

IRC President Dale Porfilio says most Americans see this advertising as leading to court clogging liability lawsuits and over half see them as raising the cost of insurance.

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 14

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“The public sees a connection between attorney ads and the cost of insurance. Twothirds of respondents who had an opinion said advertising by attorneys increases the number of liability claims and lawsuits,” Porfilio said. “Fifty-nine percent said such advertising increases the cost of insurance.”

If you’re curious and want to see the report, it is called, Public Attitudes on Litigation Trends and the Role of Attorneys in Auto Insurance Claims.

It notes that many of attorney firms use funds from outside investors to finance lawsuits. It’s called litigation funding.

While 81% of us have seen attorney advertisements, 39% were surprised and have never heard of litigation funding for lawsuits.

However, Portfilio did note that most people that hired an attorney waited longer than average to get a settlement from an insurer.

That said, most going that route did not fare as well as those that didn’t.

“The average auto injury claim payment, adjusted for the medical expenses owed and any applicable legal fees, was lower among claimants who hired attorneys compared with claimants who did not,” he added. “Given the costs added to the system and the lack of evidence of clear benefit for the claimant, it is important to understand public attitudes about attorney involvement.”

Source: Insurance Research Council

Public Attitudes on Litigation Trends and the Role of Attorneys in Auto Insurance Claims Survey – of the 1,500 people polled: • Almost everyone surveyed expect an insurer to settle a claim fairly and quickly • Just 24% say they’d hire an attorney before contacting an insurer for claims settlement • Most Americans think there are too many personal injury lawsuits today • Younger Americans are more likely than older Americans to view attorney involvement favorably “This survey builds on many years of IRC work examining the role of attorneys in insurance claims and the resulting consequences,” Porfilio said. “Our longstanding series of closed auto injury claim studies has shown an everincreasing rate of attorney involvement, even among no-fault claims.”

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 15

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RECESSION & INSURERS INSURERS ARE WELL-PREPARED

Berenberg is a privately owned German investment bank. It recently looked at insurance companies and the impact of a possible recession on them.

The bank concluded that insurers will come through okay.

In fact, Berenberg says insurers are wellprepared to weather the storm, and a storm is coming. The bank predicts a shallow recession

stretching into 2023 for the United States, the United Kingdom and parts of Europe.

The bank says insurers will do well because of the strength of their cash flows, near record highs in solvency and combined ratios of 93% to 95%. It also likes that commercial lines firms have reworded contracts to exclude cyber and pandemic risk, and have limited business interruption payouts.

Source: Reinsurance News

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 16

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Postage & Stamps Just got More Expensive The United States Postal Service (USPS) has raised the price of postage and stamps. For personal use, most of us use the First-Class Mail Forever stamps. They have gone up two cents to 60 cents from 58.

That’s for standard sized envelopes weighing an ounce or less.

By the way, the “forever” part of the name of the stamp means it will never expire. Even if prices change, the stamp you bought works for that ounce or less envelope.

A huge percentage of businesses use metered mail. The cost of first-class postage will now be 57 center per stamp. That’s a raise of four-cents.

Postcards sent within the borders of the U.S. will now be 44 cents. That’s up from 40 cents and the price of an international letter has gone from $1.30 to $1.40.

The cost of mailing domestic packages of 13 ounces or less will now begin at $4.50.

In a news release, the USPS said the increases are part of a 10 year plan to “transform the United States Postal Service from an organization in financial and operational crisis to one that is self-sustaining and high performing.”

The plan is called Delivering for America.

“As inflation and increased operating expenses continue, these price adjustments will help with the implementation of the Delivering for

America plan, including a $40 billion investment in core Postal Service infrastructure over the next ten years,” the USPS said.

The plan will invest $2 billion of the $40 billion in technology upgrades and $20 billion will be spend on how mail and packages are processed.

Here is a summary of the cost increases: • • • • •

Letter (up to one ounce): 60 cents Metered letter (up to one ounce): 57 cents Price per additional ounce for letters: 24 cents Domestic postcard: 44 cents International letter: $1.40

Source: MSN

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 17

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WOULDN’T WE ALL LIKE THIS — ALLIED UNDERWRITERS GIVES ENTIRE STAFF 10% RAISE Allied Underwriters has done something a lot of us would like to see our employer do. It gave a 10% salary increase to all employees. All of them. No exceptions.

The reason given by the company is to help them keep up with inflation.

The ball rolling on the salary increase began after Allied’s lead economist, Justin Smith spoke about the impact of inflation at a leadership panel last February. His predictions on the topic came true and inflation is now a serious economic crisis. To compensate the company felt it important to help its 1,000 employees survive Smith’s dire prediction.

Allied’s chairman, SteveMenzies said another adjustment will likely be made in the fourth quarter of this year if inflation continues to rise.

“Our staff is vitally important to us, a reality we demonstrate in many ways,” Menzies said.

“For decades, we have carefully assessed the impact of inflation each and every year and adjusted wages across the board accordingly.

While this 10% salary adjustment appears unprecedented, all of the indicators point to

the dire problems inflation continues to impose upon working men and women.”

Menzes said that’s one reason the company is able to recruit and maintain top talent.

Employee retention levels far exceed the national average and 90% of employees say they’re going to stick with Allied for the foreseeable future.

“Staff members recognize the values that we have sustained over the years with accurate and honest wage and benefit adjustments as well as the kind of investments we make for the benefit of our staff such as our plans for the new Operations Headquarters at Heartwood Preserve in Omaha that include an amazing set of facilities to enhance their work and post work experiences on a campus that includes climate-controlled underground parking, miles of walking trails, dramatic vistas, awardwinning parks and greenways, convenient retail offerings and, most importantly, a design that enables large expanses of light-filled workspace with lofty ceiling heights,” Menzies said in conclusion.

Source: Insurance Journal

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 18

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MARKETSCOUT & INSURANCE RATE INCREASES STILL RISING As you know, MarketScout tracks insurance rates on a quarterly basis. Company CEO, Richard Kerr says the second quarter of 2022 is looking about the same as the first. The composite average across all lines of insurance is 5.9%.

In quarter one it was 6% and that followed a 5.8% jump in the last quarter of 2021.

Kerr said the rate hikes are just beginning and he predicts more, higher rates in the future.

“Inflation can create a need for rate increases, so we may see that impact over the next four quarters,” Kerr said. “As for rate decreases, it’s possible higher interest rates could provide insurers with additional investment income which could moderate rate decreases, especially on long tail business.”

Leading the pack for price jumps is cyber liability. Rates rose an average of 21.3% in the second quarter. That’s up from the 19.7% spike in the first quarter of 2022.

Excess/umbrella’s rates rose 8.7%, D&O jumped 8.3% and commercial property rates were up 8.3% as well. Medium-sized accounts saw the most increases at 7%.

Source: Insurance Journal

Winning@Talent Your guide to hiring, motivating and retaining the best employees.

© Copyright 2022 National Association of Professional Insurance Agents

Learn more at pianational.org/winningattalent

It’s often said that an insurance agency’s most important assets are the ones that show up for work every day.

We developed Winning@Talent – a 3-part toolkit to help agencies understand how best to recruit in today’s talent marketplace as well as enhance the employee experience so good people want to stay.

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INSUREDS THINK CAR COLOR IMPACTS INSURANCE RATES Photo by Hyundai Motor Group on Unsplash

A year or so ago, InsuranceQuotes.com conducted an interested survey of drivers.

It found that 44% of the 1,000 Americans it talked to think driving a car that is bright red will impact the insurance rate for that vehicle.

A bright red car — they believe — is more expensive to insure.

By the way, younger drivers age 18 to 29 were the people that most commonly believed the urban legend.

The survey last August totally agrees with a poll of 2,000 drivers done recently by Insure. com. Of the drivers the company talked to, 46% thought red cars are more expensive to insure because they get pulled over more by police and — as a result — those drivers get more tickets.

A little over half — 52% — thinking believing the myth are women.

As we know — and as InsuranceQuotes.com said — that’s total nonsense. “The idea that a car’s color can affect your insurance rates isn’t always accurate,” InsuranceQuotes.com said in a statement that went along with its survey.

“A red car will not be more expensive to insure, despite this being a common belief amongst consumers. For the most part, a red car will not be more expensive to insure than any other color you choose.”

Where the color of a vehicle comes in — says InsuranceQuotes.com — is in the purchase of a vehicle. “Though car color usually will not have an impact on your car insurance rates, white, black, blue, and red cars are usually more expensive to purchase across the board as they are very popular colors,” InsuranceQuotes. com said. “Popular car colors may be more expensive as the demand for them is higher.”

The only place color might matter is if you get a custom paint job. Then — as we know — and only then will the color of a vehicle impact the price of an insurance policy.

All this led InsuranceQuotes.com to take a little side trip with its survey. The company wanted to know what colors people prefer. Here’s what the 1,000 people the company talked to last August said: • 19.5% like black vehicles • Silver is second at 18.5% • White came in third with 16.2% • Blue is 12.5% And red? It was fifth with just 8.5% of those surveyed liking the color. At this point, you have to wonder if the urban myth has something to do with that.

Source: Insurance Business America

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 20

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© Copyright 2022 National Association of Professional Insurance Agents

Learn more at pianational.org/readyforeverything

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CONGRATULATIONS FOR YOUR EARNED DESIGNATION The Professional Insurance Agents NE IA would like to congratulate everyone who has earned a designation from The National Alliance in 2022.

2022 CISR Designation Jocelyn Iverson Prins Insurance Sheldon, IA

Kristin Richtsmeier The Accel Group Cedar Falls, IA Jeremy Sutherland Creative Risk Solutions Waukee, IA

CISR Elite Designation Christine Shouse Professional Insurance Agents of NE/IA Omaha, NE

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Events Calendar 2022 For information and to register Click Here or call (402) 392-1611.

Date

Class/Webinar

Where

September 7, 2022

An Hour with Sam: A Numbers Game - Mastering NE/IA the Coverage Symbols in a Business Auto Policy

When

September 8, 2022

CPIA 2 ONLINE COURSE: Implement for Success

Live Webinar

Webinar: 8:30AM - 4:15PM

September 8, 2022

Lurking: Surprises In the Contractor’s CGL Policy & Endorsements to Watch Out For

NE/IA

Webinar: 8:00AM - 11:00AM

September 8, 2022

Ethics: Essentials for the Insurance Producer

NE/IA

Webinar: 12:00PM - 3:00PM

September 13-14, 2022 Ruble Live Webinar: Graduate Seminar (NE)

Omaha

**Hybrid Webinar

September 13-14, 2022 Ruble: Graduate Seminar (NE)

Omaha

Omaha Marriott Hotel Omaha, NE

September 15, 2022

Personal Lines Clients and Their New Normal

NE/IA

Webinar: 8:00AM - 11:00AM

September 15, 2022

More Money, More (Insurance) Problems?

NE/IA Mastering P&C Coverage for the Affluent Market

Webinar: 12:00PM - 3:00PM

September 19, 2022

Leadership and Liability: Insuring Executive Risk NE/IA

Webinar: 12:00PM - 3:00PM

September 20, 2022

CISR Live Webinar: Insuring Personal Residential Property

Live Webinar

Live Webinar: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

September 21, 2022

An Hour with Nicole: Personal Umbrella Issues & Answers

NE/IA

Webinar: 1:00PM - 2:00PM

September 22, 2022

Personal Lines Coverage Concerns: Annoying But Important

NE/IA

Webinar: 8:00AM - 11:00AM

September 27, 2022

Growing Good Insurance: Using Property & Liability Endorsements to Fortify Farm Risks

NE/IA

Webinar: 8:00AM - 11:00AM

September 27, 2022

Contracts Agents Should Read

NE/IA

Webinar: 12:00PM - 3:00PM

September 28, 2022

An Hour with Sam: The Policy's Position on Home-Sharing and How to Handle It

NE/IA

Webinar: 1:00PM - 2:00PM

September 29, 2022

CISR Live Webinar: Insuring Commercial Property

Live Webinar

Live Webinar: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

September 29, 2022

Commercial Property - Direct vs. Indirect Damage

NE/IA

Webinar: 8:00AM - 11:00AM

September 29, 2022

Adventures in Aging: Medicare and Other Retirement Healthcare Solutions

NE/IA

Webinar: 12:00PM - 3:00PM

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 26

Webinar: 1:00PM - 2:00PM

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October 5, 2022

CPIA 3 ONLINE COURSE: Sustain Success

Live Webinar

Webinar: 8:30AM - 4:15PM

October 13, 2022

CISR Live Webinar: Commercial Casualty 2

Live Webinar

Live Webinar: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

October 20-21, 2022

CIC: Commercial Property Institute

West Des Moines

The Rewind Hotel by Hilton - Des Moines, IA

October 20-21, 2022

CIC Live Webinar: Commercial Property Institute West Des Moines **Hybrid Webinar

October 27, 2022

CISR Live Webinar: Personal Lines Miscellaneous

Live Webinar

Live Webinar: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

November 9-10, 2022

CIC Live Webinar: Insurance Company Operations Institute

Live Webinar

Live Webinar

November 15, 2022

CISR Live Webinar: Commercial Casualty 1

Live Webinar

Live Webinar: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

December 13, 2022

CISR Live Webinar: Agency Operations

Live Webinar

Live Webinar: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

September 2022 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 27

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3 TIPS FOR CREATING A STRONG AGENCY CULTURE

Remotely

Shared experiences are one way to build workplace culture, but how do businesses create these experiences remotely? With more agencies adopting fully remote and hybrid models, new approaches to teamwork can emerge.

THESE 3 TIPS CAN HELP CREATE A STRONG AGENCY CULTURE REMOTELY. 1. DEFINE WORK POLICIES & EXPECTATIONS First, it’s important for employees to understand the difference between remote work and flexible work. Next you can create shared goals, which reinforces your agency’s mission.

2. CREATE COMPANY RITUALS

Allocating time for employees to meet virtually helps reduce virtual distance where employees feel disconnected. Rituals could include team check-ina, monthly team building games, or out-of-office meet ups. The key is to create a sense of togetherness.

3. ENABLE OPEN DIALOGUE

By meeting with employees frequently— both informally and formally—you will better understand what’s driving them and how they want to grow. Open dialogue can create ways for employees to speak freely. Then it’s up to you to listen to employees' needs and implement changes when needed.

For more information about how to motivate and retain agency employees, check out the PIA Partnership’s Winning@Talent program (link). pianational.org/winningattalent

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Are you evolving your sales & service for the digital age?

Winning @Virtual Technology can establish and strengthen your agency’s customer relationships – if you have the right people and processes in place.

Our 3-part toolkit will help you make the most of today’s digital solutions. You can use it to: assess your virtual readiness; decide which technologies are right for you; calculate ROI on the solutions you choose; apply best practices for maximum results; and learn from other agencies.

There’s a big shift taking place in insurance. Visit WinningAtVirtual.com and discover how you can not only get prepared, but win.

Brought to you by The PIA Partnership – PIA’s national carrier council. Partnership companies include:

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