April 20, 2009 by Steve.

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September 2, 2008 by Steve.

Approximately 80 people gathered in Vail, Colo. in July to spend 2½ days exploring how the insurance industry can bridge the many gaps that stand in the way of continued success. I always return home from HIGH-TECC amazed and humbled.

I am amazed by the creativity, passion, and willingness to explore new ideas that is demonstrated by the people who attend. I’m also humbled by the knowledge and breadth of experience that is represented in such a unique group of people. I received the following from one attendee. It’s just one example of the creativity and open-mindedness I saw.

HIGH-TECC to-do list

I am looking forward to setting up my iGoogle and Facebook pages, using GoToMeetings, and uploading a Flip video to YouTube. Or, maybe I’ll use Silverlight for the HD and agree to work on my “Pillow Talk” blog. Hmmm, I wonder what actress to “walk onto” that page, as I contact Greenleaf with a Jott. I’m sure that name will get plenty of hits, but will West Bend approve?

I better actually accomplish some business before the week goes by! So, I will definitely iDictate, order DYMO Stamps, and follow up with Postful and FlyDoc to get certificates automatically rolling out. Now, if I could just stop Twirling and Twittering with my wiki…

To get all of this done before Friday, I may need to hit Provide Support to Get Satisfaction. Ahhh, maybe in a Second Life. Where did I put that Amazon Kindle?

— Jim Tuisl, “Satisfied HIGH-TECC customer”

That letter may seem a little weird—but every bolded word is a product, Web site, or service that we discussed during HIGH-TECC.

This year, I opened HIGH-TECC with a general session titled Communicate, Collaborate, Connect. It is my belief that the insurance industry as a whole needs to embrace new communication technologies that are already being used by younger generations. During the session, I highlighted several reasons for my belief and delved into specific technology and ways it is being used by others to create relationships in an electronic world.

I explored social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. I talked about how wikis can be used to facilitate conversation and collaboration. I ended the session by showing AVIVA insurance company’s Second Life Island. (Second Life is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents.)

Agencies and companies need to explore and experiment with these types of communication options to determine how these technologies can and should be used to further customer interaction and enhance business.

The conversations ranged from “this seems really stupid” to “if college graduates are using these tools, we should learn how to use them—especially if we want to hire the younger generations.”

That’s what HIGH-TECC is all about: helping the industry explore what tools are on the horizon and how to use them to make your organization more effective. Make sure you don’t miss out next year. Mark your calendar now for HIGH-TECC 2009, July 19 to 22 in Vail, Colo.

Posted in Marketing, Events, Cool Tools, General, Agency Management Systems, Benefits Management Systems, Opinion | Print | No Comments »

August 21, 2008 by Steve.

The latest version of the Firefox Internet browser was recently released with over 8 million downloads achieved in one day. This release is significant due to Firefox’s continued increase in market share. According to Net Applications, Firefox had a 5.5% increase in browser share in the last year, paralleling a 6% drop in IE use and leaving Firefox poised to hit 20% of the browser market.

With 1 out of 5 browser hits being from Firefox, we are at the point where Web designers can no longer afford to build “IE only” sites. This change is important for Web developers in the insurance industry to recognize. In our own limited test, we have found Firefox to be significantly faster in displaying Web pages. At the same time, we find sites that don’t quite work right in Firefox.

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August 18, 2008 by Steve.

International Risk Management Institute, Inc. (IRMI) has made access to the Glossary of Insurance and Risk Management Terms available on its public Web site, www.IRMI.com.

There is absolutely no cost to access definitions of the 3,000-plus insurance terms it contains. Previously, this resource was only available to those who purchased it.

In addition to definitions of more than 3,000 risk management and insurance terms, the IRMI Glossary translates 860 acronyms and abbreviations, making it one of the most comprehensive and up to date insurance and risk glossaries available.

The IRMI Glossary provides quick answers to questions involving unfamiliar terminology used in insurance policies, submissions, proposals, and risk management reports. It also cross-references to specific sections in IRMI for occasions when more information is needed on selected topics.

The risk and insurance community can contribute by suggesting improvements in existing definitions or suggesting new terms and definitions to include. If your definition is accepted, you will be listed in a special contributors section on IRMI.com, and this listing will include a valuable link to your Web site.

The index to the IRMI Glossary is also available to put on other Web sites in the risk and insurance community. This allows organizations to easily add a glossary feature for their Web site visitors to use, and also include more than 3,000 key terms on a Web site to assist with search engine rankings.

The IRMI Glossary is listed in the Free Resources section of www.IRMI.com on the left-hand side.

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April 16, 2008 by Steve.

I’ve been around this industry a long time. Over the years, I have had the privilege of participating in many projects that attempted to work on improving how agents, agencies, insurance companies, and vendors work. While I believe that progress has been made, there are many gaps in our industry. The industry as a whole needs to work on closing these gaps in order to make a profound difference in the profitability and viability of independent insurance agents.

Every problem we encounter in the industry also presents an opportunity for those willing to take bold steps to fill in the gaps. Here are a few examples:

The communication gap and opportunity—how do we build trust and develop deeper relationships with our prospects and clients in a fast-paced, even frenetic, world?

The generation gap and opportunity—how do we understand the coming generations and provide products and services that they embrace?

The expectation gap and opportunity—how do we begin to understand and respond to the changing expectations of our clients?

The workflow gap and opportunity—how do we streamline workflows so that we spend less time simply processing transactions and more time meeting client needs?

The training gap and opportunity—how do we help our staff learn new software and keep up with the constant changes we need to make to stay current?

The systems gap and opportunity—how do we get all of the hardware and software systems we need to use to communicate with each other so that data and information can be shared with whomever needs it?

This year’s HIGH-TECC conference in Vail, Colo. is specifically designed to help you explore these gaps and maximize the opportunities that are available to agents, insurance companies, and vendors that are willing to look forward. As we begin to fill in the gaps, our organizations are better positioned to meet the needs of clients, staff, and business partners.

At HIGH-TECC, you’ll also discover ways to:

• Develop new strategies to attract and keep customers.
• Sell successfully against low-priced competition.
• Build a strategic long-term plan.
• Reduce your chances of failure.
• Boost your profits and your bottom line.

If you’ve ever thought about attending HIGH-TECC and wondered if it is really worth the time, effort, and money, I would suggest you talk with some of the agents who come year after year. These agents attend repeatedly because they understand the value of working “on” their agency, not just “in” it. They take the time to focus on the big picture, including where they want their agency to be in the future. HIGH-TECC enables you to get answers and solutions from both experts and other agents. It’s a platform where you can get “tried and true” answers to your real- world problems.

Some people have asked, “Why Vail?” The answer is simple: 1) It’s a great place to get away and focus on your business, and 2) Vail in the summertime is a wonderful place to vacation with your family, if you choose.

Again this year, we have a stellar group of presenters—a “dream team” if you will, that you’ll find informative, stimulating, and instructive. And since we value one-on-one interaction, we intentionally keep HIGH-TECC small in size. (Because of that, I encourage you to register early. We’ve even included incentives for you to do so—including a discount—just so it gets to the top of your “to do” list.)

It’s not too early to plan for your summer now. As we all know, July will be here before we know it so go to www.HighTecc2008.com and register now.

I look forward to seeing you at HIGH-TECC 2008!

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