The Insura-Preneur Podcast

Bill Wilson - Founder of InsuranceCommentary.com

Insurance education advocate shares how agents can do more for themselves, and their customers

Bill Wilson is a walking knowledge-base of everything insurance. Formerly the Associate Vice President of Education & Research at The Big I National, as well as the Founder & Director of the Big I's Virtual University, Bill is now the Founder and CEO of InsuranceCommentary.com, and is the recent recipient of the Jeff Yates Lifetime Achievement Award - The Big I's highest honor for non-agents. Bill Wilson has been published by nearly every major industry publication, and has been a featured speaker at so many industry events, it's more likely you've been a part of his audience. In this discussion Bill and Michael discuss the disruption in the industry caused by outside start-ups and why many of them are just a novelty, and the importance of insurance education among industry professionals, and what insurance agents & brokers can do to better educate themselves - and their customers.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

John Nemo - Keynote Speaker, Best-selling Author, LinkedIn Guru

LinkedIn expert delivers great advice on creating a profile that will generate leads

John Nemo is not an insurance guy - he's a lead generation expert. And what he has to tell you about using LinkedIn will transform the way you write your profile, and it will change the way you reach out to potential new connections. In this discussion John shares why 99% of all LinkedIn profiles are written all wrong - and exactly how to shape a profile that will have leads excited to talk to you. Not only that, John shares must-use advice for how to turn those leads into real connections, and a few tricks on how to leverage LinkedIn's search to becoming the Google of professional leads.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

 

 

Dan King - Former Director of Agency Development at Travelers Insurance

Travelers Insurance Veteran Shares Secrets to Long Term Profitability

Dan King worked at Travelers Insurance for over 40 years as everything from Underwriter, and Agency Manager, to Regional Vice President of Personal Lines and ultimately Director of Agency Development. Throughout his career Dan has helped independent agents find long term growth and profitability by focusing on business planning, job design, mergers & acquisitions, perpetuation planning, and staff compensation plans. You've likely seen his byline in trade magazines or even seen him speak at events across the country to a room full of agents like you. In this discussion, Dan and Michael talk about compensating for long term profitablity, the distinction between customer services and customer experience, best practices in hiring, and critical analytics to track.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Rosalie Donlon - Managing Editor at National Underwriter, Property & Casualty, PropertyCasualty360.com

Insurance Journalist Shares Detailed Survey Data About Industry

Rosalie Donlon is the Managing Editor at National Underwriter, Property & Casualty, and PropertyCasualty360.com. She has more than 20 years of professional publishing experience as a writer, editor and content acquisition strategist. Before joining ALM Media LLC in-house, Rosalie was the contributing author and editor of several insurance industry and legal publications, including Employment Practices Liability, Guide to Captives and Alternative Risk Financing, and 2015 Retirement Plans Facts. In this discussion Rosalie comes armed with data from a survey conducted in partnership with PIA National, National Underwriter, and NMG Consulting, about how agents & brokers are feeling and responding to trends and issues in the industry such as dealing with succession and perpetuation, growth plans, reduced commissions, relationships with carriers, the aging of the industry, and more.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Jim Schubert - President & CEO at Southern States Insurance, Inc

2^nd generation owner shares how he grew the agency by leveraging modern tools & tactics

Like a lot of insurance agency or brokerage owners today, Jim Schubert was pulled into the family business through the circumstances of life - and during his time there he has helped Southern States Insurance grow into one of the largest independent insurance agencies in the Southeast United States. So how do his agencies emails achieve over a 50% open rate? How did he receive almost 450 referrals in one year? How did he develop a blog that generates leads? Listen to this fantastic discussion and discover how Jim Schubert is taking old-school tactics and making them new again.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Barry Rabkin - President of Market Insight Group

Veteran Insurance Analyst Shares How Technology is Changing How the Industry Attracts and Retains Customers

Barry Rabkin’s forty plus-year insurance career has been driven by curiosity and passion to analyze the “why and what” about technology’s potential impact on insurance commerce, markets, customers, and channels. Rabkin worked for insurers for 17 years mostly in marketing and market research departments across all major lines of business; consulted to insurers for 8 years while employed with Arthur D. Little, IBM, and BearingPoint; and led insurance strategy analyst practices at technology analyst firms in the US (IDC, Meta Group) and UK (Ovum). His areas of analysis include customer experience, marketing and distribution, channel management, mobility, geospatial, and the Internet of Things. Rabkin has delivered presentations to insurance audiences across the globe (including London, Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, Stockholm, and Zurich) concerning the role technology could play in the industry to get and keep customers.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Tony Cañas - Co-Founder of insnerds.com, Best-Selling Author, Speaker, and Middle Market Underwriter

Insurance industry's 'Voice of Millennials' shares what insurance must do to capture the hearts of this crucial generation

Tony Cañas is a young insurance nerd, blogger, and speaker. Tony has been a leading voice in the industry's effort to recruit and retain millennials in insurance - helping the industry understand how to engage this demographic that will soon make up more than 50% of the workforce. In this eye-opening discussion with Michael Jans, Tony Cañas shares a 5 step plan for the industry to attract this crucial generation - and keep them engaged. Get a pen and paper ready - you're going to want to take notes!

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Brett Allen - Assistant Director of Social Enablement at The Hartford

Social Selling Expert Delivers 3 Step Plan to Generate Leads from Social Media

Brett Allen enables insurance agents & brokers to connect with their marketplace using authentic content and proven engagement tactics built upon social psychological compliance principles and strengthened by years of real-world experience. For over a decade Brett has been helping small businesses and marketing specialists expand their online reach, increase credibility, stay in front of their marketplace, and convert social traffic into warm-market leads. In this discussion Brett shares a 3 step process to leverage social media to produce leads, practical tips for generating traffic through LinkedIn and Facebook, and valuable insight on blogging and content creation to drive your marketplace to you.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Lucas Jans - Vice President of Product & Co-Founder of Agency Revolution

Insurance technology mastermind reveals how agents & brokers can use email better than any other industry

How do you write automated messages your customers want to receive? What are technologies do agents & brokers need to pay attention to today? With everything that's been changing - what has stayed the same? Discover these answers and more in surprising and informative discussion with Lucas Jans, Vice President of Product & Co-Founder of Agency Revolution. In 1999 Lucas created ZipDrip, the first automated email system for insurance agencies & brokerages, he later went on to build The Quantum Navigator, the first social media network for agents & brokers and has been at the center of developing some of the most important technolgies in our industry. Don't miss this discussion.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Chuck Blondino - Director of Agency Capabilities and Programs at Safeco Insurance

Cutting-edge Safeco research reveals how top agencies achieved 86% growth

Take notes. Chuck Blondino joins the podcast for a can't-miss episode armed with hard data about what the fastest growing agencies working with Safeco are doing to rise to the top of the marketplace. Chuck has been at Safeco Insurance for 23 years, as a commercial underwriter, underwriting manager, assistant director of commercial sales, region manager, marketing director, and now as director of agency capabilities and programs. Throughout Chuck’s career the one constant has been helping independent agents grow. Chuck’s team at Safeco today includes the Bricks and Clicks team, the Customers For Life team, and Safeco’s Marketing Solutions Center. Chuck believes independent agents can take back market share and grow in personal lines business just as they do in the commercial market.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.