Professional insurance proofreading

Most of us believe we spell, write and communicate better than we do. If you're relying on your spellcheck capabilities to proofread your article, or assuming that your administrative help will catch your errors, you may be sadly mistaken.

When I was the Vice-President of the Arizona chapter of Public Risk Manager's Association, the President wrote the newsletter. This woman, who we held in high esteem, had been the Attorney General for the State of Arizona and was a consummate professional. She sent out the quarterly newsletter and, as I was reading it, I was horrified to find "public" spelled without the "l."

I immediately called to warn her. There was a long silence on the phone and she said seriously, "I'm blaming you!"

This incident points to the unreliability of spell check, but wait, there's more! Grammar checks don't pick up all grammar mistakes, syntax errors, poor paragraph placement, unclear sentences or the many problems plaguing business writing.

Today's technology offers fast solutions. Utilizing e-mail, for a small fee, a proofreader will either check your work for errors, or, for a little more, edit your documents for greater clarity. Not many proofreaders know the difference between a retention and a deductible, so it pays to hire one with insurance knowledge.

Important decisions, like whether to hire you again or take critical business action, are often made based on our written presentations, so clarity is critical. When you're writing to a sophisticated audience such as insurance industry executives, why risk alienating your audience with errors or confusion?