Archive for September 2010

Who’s Who – Company Insurance Brokerage & Independent Insurance Brokerage Listings

Agents can choose to place business with either a company insurance brokerage office or an independent insurance brokerage firm. Here are insurance brokerage listings for many of the various tiles used within the business. Find out the difference among insurance brokerage titles, and how to distinguish who’s who.

Health and life agents can earn over 90 insurance designations. Fortunately, the numbers of titles for firms obtaining brokerage business are fewer.A listing is provided of many different title names used, and any actual differences that separate one’s firm title from another. The potential producers that might write insurance cases for you should also know these differences.

Before this, it is critical because of some many misconceptions to define the terms broker and brokerage as they refer to life and health insurance. You would be surprised at how few of the general public understands what your firm title or function means. Likewise, hundreds of thousands of agents do not understand these terms. The mix up occurs primary with stock brokers and stock brokerage firms. That is what the majority of the public thinks of when hearing these terms.

Insurance brokerage firms of all different titles, obtain a written annuity, life, or health insurance case from a broker. All their producers should be called brokers and their cases called brokerage business. When an agent writes a case outside their primary career company, they are called a broker and their business is brokerage. There are many agents that are “agent brokers”. They have a primary insurance company as an agent and submit business to a brokerage firm as a broker. There are also independent life and health insurance agents that should rightfully be called independent brokers, with the before mentioned group better referred to as semi-independent agents.

Writing brokerage business is a true form of independence of the agent’s part. Rarely will this occur to any extent until the agent has surpassed a full three years of insurance dependence on career orientated companies. The three main reasons an agent writes insurance brokerage are independence, client needs, and higher commissions.

COMPANY INSURANCE BROKERAGE

What truly baffles insurance agents is the fact that some of the insurance companies training new insurance career agents often operate and highly promote through large advertisements their brokerage operations. They preach to the agents that they should only do business with the career company you are licensed with. Moreover, agents are firmly reminded they have all the products they need, and the company is supporting them 100%. Meanwhile the company insurance brokerage operation is trying to pilfer away as much business as possible from the career agents of fellow insurance companies. Less confusing of course, are the expanding number of insurance companies that only accept brokerage business and have no agency force of their own.

Starting with one insurance company brokerage operations, you have many different variations and titles among the people that distribute the products. A main difference would be those that are directly employed by the insurance company as a salaried or salaried plus bonus individual. Others have an independent contractor style contract, with fringe benefits like health insurance missing. They are paid through a combination of commissions and overrides along with possible production bonuses.

Director of marketing, national director of recruiting, director of product development and sales, Northwest marketing director, divisional director of disability sales, are just a taste of titles usually reserved for higher up home office employees. Many of these have never sold or brokered an insurance policy! Among them are fortune telling number crunchers with little reality of what it takes to be a successful brokerage manager. In turn, rarely do they do the actual recruiting of agents. The sad part is that they frequently set the company recruiting, marketing, and budgeting policies that others must follow.

The common one company insurance brokerage devoted titles include General Agent, Brokerage General Agent, Regional General Agent, State Manager, Managing General Agent, District Manager, Director of Brokerage, Wholesaler, and Regional Manager. If an insurance company is brokering three main products, they for example, may be LTC Brokerage Manager, Annuity Brokerage Manager, and Advanced Life Brokerage Manager. The inter combinations of titles are virtually countless. A high percentage of these one insurance company brokerage operations maintain the name of the company in their firm name.

Here is one conflict of interest. As some insurance companies want to sell as many insurance brokerage cases, as possible they often contract with independent marketing organizations and national brokerage firms. There is frequently true competition among them, going after agents and brokers to acquire insurance brokerage. It should be mentioned what the danger factor is. When you rely on just one insurance company what happens when your prime product is suddenly dropped, your territory is cut, your position is eliminated, or when another insurer buys out the company?

INDEPENDENT INSURANCE BROKERAGE LISTINGS

Non-existent just 25 years ago, independent insurance brokerage firms have erupted on the market scene. Here are some reasons why. First brokers like to find a company that can give them the best product for their client, or the highest commission when they make a sale. With some independent insurance marketing firms representing over 50 companies, they can sometimes do both. Some national firms are so powerful that they can dictate that an insurance policy develop a product only they can distribute. Insurance companies know that they can keep adding new policy features or constantly introduce a rehashed, but now called new policy. Insurance marketers love promoting a familiar product that has new features, a new name, or new commission structure. As insurance marketers like to make money, unfairly some of those where the highest override exists, are the products most heavily promoted . A 35% override sure beats 20% on a similar product in the mind of numerous marketers.

Titles that independent insurance brokerage marketers have on their contract include product distributor, national wholesaler, and exclusive product marketer, along with all independent contractor titles mentioned under one-company marketers. They often distinguish themselves by keeping their personal name out of the firm’s official name. Others insert the word independent or national to separate them. Usually they promote a variety of company insignia trademarks or names in their advertising materials.

It is essential to describe briefly independent insurance marketing organizations. Over 250 independent insurance brokerage firms are associated with to at least one of the top 20 independent insurance marketing organizations. While 250 out of 15,000 to 20,000 separate brokerage titled operations does not seem significant, it really is. The smaller firms combine contracting and some advertising to form the larger independent insurance brokerage marketing organization. The organization thereby is able to obtain a higher compensation level contract with more insurance brokerage companies. Although sometimes members only operate in one state, others cross-territories, even on a national basis. The longevity of profitability for these firms is amazing, especially when compared with brokerage firms overall. The dues and advertising cost sharing is well offset by the extra training tips, bonding, shared marketing tricks, and higher overrides they could receive on their own.

Who’s Who in major league, big-time insurance brokerage is constantly changing. Some are 3-generation family owned firms, and others mightily spring up and disappear just about as quickly. One of the key factors never mentioned above is of great magnitude. That factor is service. What can you do to make sure your broker stays your broker? Regardless of what title you or your firm has, all is irrelevant if the broker writes one case and moves on elsewhere.

Well published author, Don Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don’t know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is.

Watch for his new paperback book debuting on Amazon early this summer. It is loaded with great insurance marketing and recruiting information.

Come and get your FREE “Think and Grow Rich” Ebook by Napoleon Hill instantly. The website address is http://www.agentsinsurancemarketing.com

Author: Donald Yerke
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The Best Forex Software & the Things to Consider

What constitutes the Best Forex Software?

The term ‘best’ is a very subjective term and open to interpretation, and never more so than when applied to Forex Software. One person’s interpretation of the best Forex Software is because it’s easy to install; another may feel it’s the best because it’s easy to use; however, I suspect that the majority of people would consider the best to be the one that makes them money whilst they sleep.

And of course, many best Forex software products claim to do just this – so how do you distinguish between them all? Consider the following:

  • Has this Forex product been tested ‘live’ as well as being back-tested?
  • Have the Software developers risked their own money and seen a profitable return and results they can show you?
  • Do the back-test results come from a long back-test period and do the results demonstrate realistic success and ultimately profitability?
  • Are there testimonials you can refer to from users of the product?
  • Is the software well established and has it become a best seller?
  • Does the Forex software enable you to start trading / risking a small amount of investment?
  • And do the Forex software developers offer a money back guarantee, no questions asked?

If the software you are considering can provide you with the answer ‘yes’ to all of the above questions, then you could be making a wise, low risk, well informed decision and you may well have found the best Forex software for your requirements.

So, perhaps the software should:

  • Be relatively inexpensive to buy
  • Be easy to download and install
  • Be easy to use and require no previous experience of Forex trading
  • Work automatically 24/7 without needing your interaction
  • Make you money!
  • Offer a no questions asked, money back guarantee

If the Forex product you are considering does not offer these benefits, then you would be wise to find one that does.

And what is Forex?

FOREX, (also know as FX), refers to the foreign exchange market where currencies are traded for one another and is one of the largest global markets on which you can trade. The foreign exchange market is largely made up from currency traders who speculate in movements in the exchange rates – Forex trading can be profitable even when small changes occur in the exchange rates. The foreign exchange markets provide a relatively level playing field for all traders, as exchange rate news is released globally to everyone at the same time. Also, the market operates 24 hours per day during the week.

Always remember that no matter how good the Forex software you are using is, there is a risk associated with Forex trading, as there is with all kinds of trading. Make sure you understand these risks fully before trading large amounts of your money. Again, ensure the Forex software you are considering enables you to start trading with small amounts of capital.

David Mears is a freelance writer & designer. To see details of a Forex Software that offers the benefits mentioned in this article visit www.best-forex-software.co.uk.

Author: David Mears
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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How to Improve With Your Driver – Golf Practice Tips

The driver is one of the most difficult golf clubs to hit in your golf bag. More golfers struggle to get off the tee in decent shape, than they do to get onto the green in decent shape. If you cannot get off the tee, then you are starting every single hole without giving yourself the best chance to score. Read on to learn more about hitting your driver.

There are some ways to improve your driver and to get off the tee in better shape. The first part of getting off the tee in good shape is your mental game. Too many golfers approach their drive in a way that does not give them a chance to put it in the fairway. They guard against the out of bounds or the trouble on one side or the other and when they do this they are mentally setting themselves up to put the ball exactly where they don’t want to go. You simply cannot be successful with your driver without first painting a mental image of the exact shot you want to hit.

Another thing that is very important to get off the tee is to avoid the overswing. It is hard to accomplish this because your friends are all going to make jokes and talk about who hit the ball further, but you don’t have to swing hard in order to hit the ball a long ways. It is much more important for you to make solid contact and put the ball in a playable position. In order to do this you have to learn to keep your swing under control.

The last tip for improving your driver is quite simple. You have to practice. You should go out to the driving range and hit golf ball after golf ball, but don’t just hit them. You need to practice as though you are on the golf course. Create a narrow fairway in your own mind on the driving range and try to stay in that fairway. Work on your line, your consistency, and your swing. The more you practice the better you will become with your driver.

Now you can start driving the ball longer and more consistent because you will have a perfect mental image of the shot you want to hit, you will consistently be able to swing under control, and due to your extensive practice you will be more consistent at achieving the results you want off the tee box.

Do you want to improve your scores and show your golfing buddies that you are better than they are? Discover more Golf Practice Tips, tips, and tricks to lower your handicap and become a better golfer here:

Golf Practice Tips

Author: Benjamin R. Ehinger
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Improve Putting With Indoor Golf Practice

Are you a frustrated putter? Is your putting killing your golf score? If so, you’ve got to find every opportunity you can to practice your putting, and why not indoors with a training aid?

Golf Putting Aids Can Help

You’ve seen them…indoor putting aids! There are a ton of them! Some are good and some are worthless. But anything is better than nothing. Just getting a putter in your hands and making some putting strokes is going to help. Practice makes perfect!

The great thing about golf putting aids is you can try them out at your local golf store. Many of them are set up for you to try at your convenience. This will give you a firsthand feel for which ones you think will help your putting woes.

Putt In Your Office

I’m dead serious! Bring a spare putter to your work and do it whenever you can. Shut your door…grab your putter…and give it a go! A simple putting drill is to lay a glass on its side and putt your ball into the opening of the glass. You’ve probably seen this drill before, but have you ever done it? It works!

You can also putt to a spot that’s maybe 8-10 feet away if you don’t want to do the glass drill above. If you have any kind of thick carpet, the ball is not going to roll as well, but again…it’s better than nothing.

On Your Garage Floor

You want to mimic the greens at the Master”s? Put on your garage floor! Talk about fast. Now I wouldn’t do this too much as it will really throw off your feel for speed on real greens, but it’s kind of fun once in a while.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The ONLY way to improve your putting is through practice. As I mentioned before, One very effective way is to get a indoor golf putting mat. They come in a variety of prices and styles, but you’re sure to find one that you like. They can be fun to use on those miserable winter days.

Anyhow…I hope you take my advice and get that putter in your hand as often as you can! The next time you hit the course, you’ll shave several strokes off your score.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf performance experts in the country. He is the founder of 8 golf improvement websites, including his golf training aid review site. He also has more information on golf putting aids. Visit his site today.

Author: Mike Pedersen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Who’s Who – Company Insurance Brokerage & Independent Insurance Brokerage Listings

Agents can choose to place business with either a company insurance brokerage office or an independent insurance brokerage firm. Here are insurance brokerage listings for many of the various tiles used within the business. Find out the difference among insurance brokerage titles, and how to distinguish who’s who.

Health and life agents can earn over 90 insurance designations. Fortunately, the numbers of titles for firms obtaining brokerage business are fewer.A listing is provided of many different title names used, and any actual differences that separate one’s firm title from another. The potential producers that might write insurance cases for you should also know these differences.

Before this, it is critical because of some many misconceptions to define the terms broker and brokerage as they refer to life and health insurance. You would be surprised at how few of the general public understands what your firm title or function means. Likewise, hundreds of thousands of agents do not understand these terms. The mix up occurs primary with stock brokers and stock brokerage firms. That is what the majority of the public thinks of when hearing these terms.

Insurance brokerage firms of all different titles, obtain a written annuity, life, or health insurance case from a broker. All their producers should be called brokers and their cases called brokerage business. When an agent writes a case outside their primary career company, they are called a broker and their business is brokerage. There are many agents that are “agent brokers”. They have a primary insurance company as an agent and submit business to a brokerage firm as a broker. There are also independent life and health insurance agents that should rightfully be called independent brokers, with the before mentioned group better referred to as semi-independent agents.

Writing brokerage business is a true form of independence of the agent’s part. Rarely will this occur to any extent until the agent has surpassed a full three years of insurance dependence on career orientated companies. The three main reasons an agent writes insurance brokerage are independence, client needs, and higher commissions.

COMPANY INSURANCE BROKERAGE

What truly baffles insurance agents is the fact that some of the insurance companies training new insurance career agents often operate and highly promote through large advertisements their brokerage operations. They preach to the agents that they should only do business with the career company you are licensed with. Moreover, agents are firmly reminded they have all the products they need, and the company is supporting them 100%. Meanwhile the company insurance brokerage operation is trying to pilfer away as much business as possible from the career agents of fellow insurance companies. Less confusing of course, are the expanding number of insurance companies that only accept brokerage business and have no agency force of their own.

Starting with one insurance company brokerage operations, you have many different variations and titles among the people that distribute the products. A main difference would be those that are directly employed by the insurance company as a salaried or salaried plus bonus individual. Others have an independent contractor style contract, with fringe benefits like health insurance missing. They are paid through a combination of commissions and overrides along with possible production bonuses.

Director of marketing, national director of recruiting, director of product development and sales, Northwest marketing director, divisional director of disability sales, are just a taste of titles usually reserved for higher up home office employees. Many of these have never sold or brokered an insurance policy! Among them are fortune telling number crunchers with little reality of what it takes to be a successful brokerage manager. In turn, rarely do they do the actual recruiting of agents. The sad part is that they frequently set the company recruiting, marketing, and budgeting policies that others must follow.

The common one company insurance brokerage devoted titles include General Agent, Brokerage General Agent, Regional General Agent, State Manager, Managing General Agent, District Manager, Director of Brokerage, Wholesaler, and Regional Manager. If an insurance company is brokering three main products, they for example, may be LTC Brokerage Manager, Annuity Brokerage Manager, and Advanced Life Brokerage Manager. The inter combinations of titles are virtually countless. A high percentage of these one insurance company brokerage operations maintain the name of the company in their firm name.

Here is one conflict of interest. As some insurance companies want to sell as many insurance brokerage cases, as possible they often contract with independent marketing organizations and national brokerage firms. There is frequently true competition among them, going after agents and brokers to acquire insurance brokerage. It should be mentioned what the danger factor is. When you rely on just one insurance company what happens when your prime product is suddenly dropped, your territory is cut, your position is eliminated, or when another insurer buys out the company?

INDEPENDENT INSURANCE BROKERAGE LISTINGS

Non-existent just 25 years ago, independent insurance brokerage firms have erupted on the market scene. Here are some reasons why. First brokers like to find a company that can give them the best product for their client, or the highest commission when they make a sale. With some independent insurance marketing firms representing over 50 companies, they can sometimes do both. Some national firms are so powerful that they can dictate that an insurance policy develop a product only they can distribute. Insurance companies know that they can keep adding new policy features or constantly introduce a rehashed, but now called new policy. Insurance marketers love promoting a familiar product that has new features, a new name, or new commission structure. As insurance marketers like to make money, unfairly some of those where the highest override exists, are the products most heavily promoted . A 35% override sure beats 20% on a similar product in the mind of numerous marketers.

Titles that independent insurance brokerage marketers have on their contract include product distributor, national wholesaler, and exclusive product marketer, along with all independent contractor titles mentioned under one-company marketers. They often distinguish themselves by keeping their personal name out of the firm’s official name. Others insert the word independent or national to separate them. Usually they promote a variety of company insignia trademarks or names in their advertising materials.

It is essential to describe briefly independent insurance marketing organizations. Over 250 independent insurance brokerage firms are associated with to at least one of the top 20 independent insurance marketing organizations. While 250 out of 15,000 to 20,000 separate brokerage titled operations does not seem significant, it really is. The smaller firms combine contracting and some advertising to form the larger independent insurance brokerage marketing organization. The organization thereby is able to obtain a higher compensation level contract with more insurance brokerage companies. Although sometimes members only operate in one state, others cross-territories, even on a national basis. The longevity of profitability for these firms is amazing, especially when compared with brokerage firms overall. The dues and advertising cost sharing is well offset by the extra training tips, bonding, shared marketing tricks, and higher overrides they could receive on their own.

Who’s Who in major league, big-time insurance brokerage is constantly changing. Some are 3-generation family owned firms, and others mightily spring up and disappear just about as quickly. One of the key factors never mentioned above is of great magnitude. That factor is service. What can you do to make sure your broker stays your broker? Regardless of what title you or your firm has, all is irrelevant if the broker writes one case and moves on elsewhere.

Well published author, Don Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don’t know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is.

Watch for his new paperback book debuting on Amazon early this summer. It is loaded with great insurance marketing and recruiting information.

Come and get your FREE “Think and Grow Rich” Ebook by Napoleon Hill instantly. The website address is http://www.agentsinsurancemarketing.com

Author: Donald Yerke
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger