Old Dog Needs to Learn New Tricks!

[Shawn H]

I am so glad I found you all here. After 20 years of being active in health insurance field it seems that sun has begun to set on this horizon. So my colleagues, I have decided to reapply for my P&C license and need you guidance on what course of studies do you recommend?
Prospecting has always been my strength & I have a large list of small business owners for clients & prospects to draw upon. As such commercial insurance seems a natural market. I would like to learn everything I need to know for a proper fact find, proposal development, etc.

Regards
Shawn H

 

[Mark]

I just shoot the old dog and buy a new dog...

jk..

We all can learn something new...

 

[Bertolinoins]

Where are you located?

 

[Shawn H]

I am in Los Angeles CA.
Thanks

 

[sgriswold]

I added P&C capability to my agency last year (we were strictly l/h for 60 years prior).

It's much more difficult than it seems to do it properly. Keep the following in mind, and feel free to contact me directly (steven at griswoldinsurance dot com) if you have other questions.

- P&C is much more service oriented than L&H. You will be on the phone with underwriters way more than you ever thought possible. More of your time will be spent with endorsements, billing, and renewals.
- Establishing direct carrier relationships is an impossibility as a scratch agent. If you want to be competitive, you will need to find an aggregator (Insurancenoodle, Superior Access, Agent Secure) or a cluster (SIAA, Iroquois) or an independent P&C agency to pair up with, at least to start. Each has their pros and cons.
- Study up on your policy forms; not many people will be willing to walk you through filling out an ACORD 125/126, and underwriters get bitchy if they're not filled out correctly.
- You need to know your customers' businesses intimately. Whether its industry-specific risks or specific quirks or exceptions which make them difficult to insure, each case will be its own challenge.


Hope that helps, and good luck!