Agency Management

How to start an independent property/casualty agency

Author: IIAT Staff
(July 2005)

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Locate training resources

Agency success is dependent on the expertise of your staff and its ability to address customer needs. This expertise is largely the result of proper training requiring both time and money. And while there is a long learning curve in the property/casualty business, you should be able locate a quick-start program from among numerous training resources including those offered by IIAT.

The American Institutes book, How Insurance Works, by Dr. Barry Smith,, offers an excellent introduction to the property/casualty business and the agency business. You can order the text with a course guide and an exam online or by calling 800/644-2101.

Whether you are hiring service staff or sales people (producers) you will need a training plan. IIAT’s InfoCentral provides help in structuring a training program, including new employee orientation checklists and a sample six-week training plan.

The basic coverages afforded by individual product lines, such as homeowners or general liability, can be learned through self-study courses. One of the biggest producers of such courses is Bisys publishers, offering courses in both property/casualty, and life and health.

Once an employee has a solid foundation in coverage basics, he is prepared to learn the application of these coverages to customer needs and the options that exist for tailoring coverage to those needs. The IIAT curriculum leading to the ACSR designation in personal lines, commercial lines, or life and health is the most comprehensive training available in Texas.

If you are preparing a new person for sales, the IIAT Producer Development Program offers the best in technical and sales training.

 

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