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Askins joins Iroquois in South Carolina Mark Askins, a Columbia, S.C. native with more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, has joined Iroquois South as a regional manager for South Carolina and western North Carolina. Askins spent more than 20 years with The Hartford, most recently as their Richmond, Va., branch manager. Although finishing his career with The Hartford in Virginia, Askins began it in Columbia, S.C., and he held auditing, underwriting, and management positions in their Charlotte Office. He graduated from Clemson University but is a Gamecock at heart. "Mark has worked for years with Iroquois in Virginia," said Iroquois South managing partner, David Ward "so he knows and appreciates our business model and the ways in which Iroquois adds value to our member agencies. When Mark announced that he was retiring from Hartford about the time our South Carolina Regional Manager announced he was leaving, I jumped at the chance to add Mark to our team." In addition to servicing existing member agencies in the Carolinas and enrolling new ones, Askins will lead a special initiative to further develop Iroquois' capabilities for Middle Market accounts. "Mark brings valuable expertise in the Middle Market arena," said Ward, "and we are excited that he can help our members write and retain more Middle Market accounts." Iroquois South is part of The Iroquois Group®, one of the oldest and largest networks of independent agencies, with more than 2,200 members in 41 states. Agencies of all sizes and shapes join Iroquois to increase revenue, profits and agency value. For more information, go online to www.iroquoisgroup.com

Insurance Management Solutions (IMS) by Xanatek -a powerful, innovative and affordable system that offers comprehensive insurance agency management, document imaging capabilities, ACORD, Real Time, carrier downloads for policy and commission, and so much more! http://www.iroquoisgroup.com/content/agency-management-system-ims-xanatek

When you decide to go for outsourcing policy management services to Cogneesol you reap a number of benefits that will optimize profitability, ROI and lead to exponential growth and development.

The following questions can help you identify areas where insurance agency management fine-tuning may be beneficial in increasing revenue, profit, productivity or insurance agency value. Some questions are very basic (Agency Management 101) while others are more challenging. http://www.iroquoisgroup.com/sites/default/files/TOOL-Sept%202016.pdf

Do you 'throw away' too many referrals? A producer I was working with was ecstatic one hot summer day because he had just obtained 10 referrals from a client. I was excited too and the producer was going to begin working those new referrals right away. Well, in tracking the success of those 10 referrals, only one got written. Is that good or just normal? Let's just say, both of us felt it should have been better. So, analyzing what took place led to the following results: * 2 were not reachable; the producer never connected with the decision-maker. * 2 were messy businesses that the producer realized would be declined if submitted * 3 had strong to severe loss issues * 1 failed to provide all the needed information * 1 was presented, but not sold * 1 was sold Could this one out of 10 scenario have been prevented? That is what we took it upon ourselves to evaluate. The first evaluation made was really there were only three the producer was either able to, or wanted to, quote. So, of that group, he was really one for three. But, what about the rest of the referrals - the ones not quoted? Preventable? In our analysis, many of those were preventable so that you wouldn't end up with 70 percent being "thrown away." The two that the producer was unable to reach were determined to be a problem based on the "introduction" he got from his client to those two prospects. (Note: You do ask to be introduced, don't you, when you obtain a referral?) The person calling their customer (our prospect) from the business was not someone known to them and thus, the call carried little weight. It was not a powerful introduction; it wasn't even a lukewarm introduction, so it was not surprising the producer couldn't get an appointment following that call. The five that were either messy businesses or had heavy losses weren't quality businesses. Was that the luck of the draw and he just accepted that when he asked for referrals, or could

Associated Risk Managers of Illinois (ARM) and The Iroquois Group Inc® of Allegany, N.Y., announced on March 28 a joint marketing agreement that allows ARM members in Illinois access to Iroquois insurance group carriers, benefits and services. "ARM has always been about finding unique ways to help our members increase their access to the insurance marketplace and boost their revenue. We looked at a number of possible partners and selected Iroquois to move forward with" says Gary Semmer, a principal at the Esser Hayes Group and President of ARM of Illinois. The Iroquois effort in Illinois will be headed by regional manager Christian Rebello. "Adding 28 new ARM members in one transaction will significantly grow and add quality to our book of business in Illinois. We have met with the ARM membership throughout the past year and we are very excited about this new relationship," said Rebello. ARM of Illinois joins ARM groups in New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia in working with The Iroquois Group.

In most agencies, holding customers accountable seems to be one of the bigger frustrations. Have you ever thought or said "why is it always our fault when a customer has a loss that is not covered? They knew that they didn't have that coverage." For agents serious about minimizing the potential of their agency facing an E&O claim, achieving a high level of customer accountability is a great goal to strive for. To achieve this goal may require some hard work and some new initiatives. Documentation is a key but documentation is more than just words in the system. Any agency will be hard pressed to hold their customers accountable without a file that is well documented. However, documentation by itself will not get it done. Agents need to fully understand that when an E&O claim happens, the E&O carrier will look to secure the actual file in question (paper or electronic) to see what it looks like and what it contains. Solid documentation that is handled promptly, is accurate and professional will make the E&O carrier's job much easier. Conversely, a file with sketchy documentation could prove to be a problem in an E&O matter. Effective handling of client interactions is very important. Every day, customers are asking questions, modifying coverages, etc. The questions (and the answers provided) should be fully documented in the agency management system. In addition, requests to delete or decline coverage or to modify coverage in some manner should be documented as well. But documentation only in the system may not be enough. The agency should have a procedure for confirming / memorializing the discussion. Without this, mistakes can occur. Possibly, what the agency heard is not what the customer requested or possibly what the customer advised is not what they really meant. Let's take the scenario that the agency has provided a personal lines umbrella proposal and the customer calls to advise your agency that they are not going to purchase this coverage. W

Iroquois adds Agency Revolution as preferred vendor partner The Iroquois Group® has added Agency Revolution as a preferred vendor for marketing automation for their member agencies. "We're committed to support the growth and profitability of our member agencies," said David Ward, Managing Partner of The Iroquois Group. "We all know the insurance consumer has changed, and we think Agency Revolution's latest marketing automation software can help our agencies bridge the gap with today's consumer." Michael Jans, Founder and CEO of Agency Revolution said, "The Iroquois Group is one of the great insurance organizations in the United States today. We're honored to be selected by them and thrilled to be working with their member agencies." Agency Revolution's latest platform, AR Connect™, is designed to automate communications with clients/prospects and streamline internal workflows, while helping the agency engage with their customers. It integrates with most industry management systems, such as AMS360, Applied TAM, QQ Catalyst, Hawksoft and more. Their software has been awarded the esteemed 5 Star Best of the Best Award by Insurance Business America. About The Iroquois Group: The Iroquois Group® is one of the oldest and largest networks of independent agencies, with more than 2,200 members in 41 states. Members of all sizes join Iroquois for assistance in increasing their revenue, profits and agency value. About Agency Revolution: Agency Revolution is the leading provider of marketing automation and communications technology for independent agents and brokers in the US and Canada. For 20 years, AR has leveraged its expertise in marketing, insurance, and technology to help today's Independent Agent AUTOMATE, ENGAGE, and GROW their agencies. Agency Revolution 888.208.9239 grow@agencyrevolution.com www.agencyrevolution.com David Ward The Iroquois Group 843-568-5543 dward@iroquoisgroup.com

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When it's time for your customer to add a youthful driver to a Safeco Insurance® Auto policy, make sure you take advantage of everything Safeco offers youthful drivers. Teen Safety Rewards, part of the Safeco® Safety Rewards™ Program, consolidates all of our solutions for parents with teens - including insurance benefits, discounts, and tools - to help them manage the cost of insuring their teen driver and improve driver safety.

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The Iroquois Group has long working relationships with many other companies that work in the insurance industry, companies that offer services such as agency management systems, publicity and financing, to name a few. Iroquois members are afforded certain discounts or advantages with many of those companies.

An operations review is a review of the processes, procedures, work flow and job design of your back shop. It is conducted through interviewing the CSRs/account managers and observing them as they perform various functions. Its purpose is to find specific opportunities for change that will lead to greater efficiency, service or production.

Your E&O policy is one of the most important coverages that an agency should have. Here are some key tips to help determine which coverage is the best fit. Do some homework on the various E&O carriers. Things to look at include: - How long have they been writing this coverage - What is their AM Best rating - What resources do they have to help you manage your E&O exposure

Auburndale, FL - Iroquois South® announced that Pat Truax has joined the company as a regional manager for Florida. Truax brings over twenty five years of P&C insurance experience in Florida to his new position with Iroquois. He previously served in underwriting and sales positions with Appalachian Underwriters, Allstate, and Zurich. "Pat is very well known within the agency and carrier community in Florida and he will be a great asset to our Members there," said David Ward, Regional Vice President of Iroquois South. Iroquois South is part of The Iroquois Group®, one of the oldest and largest networks of independent agencies, with more than 2,100 members in 39 states. Agencies of all sizes and shapes join Iroquois to increase revenue, profits and agency value. For more information, go online to www.iroquoissouth.com or contact Truax at

What is a Prospect Pipeline Iroquois groupA prospect pipeline is the term loosely used to describe all the contacts a producer is actively working on and moving from one stage in the sales process to another. It typically resides in some form of software program the agency has or is kept in a manual list form. Stages in the sales process are defined differently by different agencies, but generally include terms like "initial contacts, qualified leads, initial diagnostic appointments made, solution proposals delivered, sales won, or sales lost." The prospect pipeline usually shows the potential revenue expected from each sale, the products potentially to be sold, the probability of the sales (as a percentage), the date and explanation for the latest status, and the timing for the next step in moving towards the sale.