My wonderful mother

Marge and my father Andy, married in 1940, founded two insurance agencies, but more importantly, taught their four children strong values. My brothers and I miss them daily.

My most awesome father

Here he is (left) introducing Barry Goldwater at his Rotary Club.

Everything I learned about how to treat people (and most of what I learned about insurance), I learned from my father and my mother.

May they rest in peace.

E-mail ads that work

This is a very interesting article about the development of different typefaces and the logo changes that The Nature Conservancy has undergone in its history. While we aren't type designers, we do develop e-mail advertising for some of the top MGAs in the country, so choosing a type that fits with your corporate image is always part of our design.

How do we design an ad for you? First, we spent quite a bit of time on your website and review any written communications you send out about your program. For example, if you're writing habitational products, we'll look at promotional material you send about your offerings or any links on your website such as where your agency agreements reside to determine the look of your website.

From there, we pick a theme. If our client allows, we try to think outside the insurance box. For example, we developed a hilarious and highly successful e-mail campaign for an insurance education provider. The theme: "I have to take another insurance class?" Then we found a picture of a young man sleeping in his coffee cup.

That particular campaign really generated click-throughs, which is the point. You want to drive people to your website. Even if they don't buy then, they know who you are and, perhaps with some repetition (another ad, because research shows it takes at least seven contacts before someone actually buys from you), they'll make a purchase.

People want to buy from people; not a nameless corporation. So it's vital that we learn a little bit about how you operate so that we can pitch your personality in our ad. We really enjoy designing email ads that help make our customers more successful.

E-mail ads must be expensive, you might think. They are very inexpensive when you consider you're getting thousands of people to see your ad, versus static advertising like an ad in a trade journal, which is not interactive and is often simply branding your corporate identity. As we've discussed before, branding is vital long-term. But if you need to make a sale this week, then e-mail is the best way to achieve that sale.

If you want to read an excellent article on typeface design, click here. And if we can help you, call anytime at 573.638.3738. I'm a writer; I work weird hours.

Google earth

If you want to see some beautiful pictures of the earth and sky, visit http://www.earth.google.com/ and download Google earth. Here's where I'm located, just in case you want to drop by. ;-)
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As technology improves with lightning speed and makes distances seem to disappear, it's good for those of us in customer service (and who isn't in customer service) to remember: The Golden Rule is never outdated in business or personal relationships.
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Thanks for visiting Insurance Writer!

Is it time for your case study?

Case studies are an increasingly popular marketing tool. A case study is a customer success story. For example, your company may have helped a company save money or time by using your product. With that company's permission, you can write a case study that outlines that company's problem and how you helped that company solve their problem.

Case studies are usually short, about 1,000 words maximum. Once a case study is written, it can be posted to information portals that publish management pieces, sent to your potential clients, or posted prominently on your website.

Because of their brevity, case studies generally aren't expensive. The case study is an effective method to carry your message to potential clients or to remind past customers that you can assist them with future problems.

Brain drain

I'm about to release a White Paper on managing the coming information crunch from Brain Drain in the insurance industry. During the process of researching this article, I've talked to a great many insurance professionals to discover ways insurance companies are dealing with the impending talent crunch.

By and large, I've found that few companies are strategically tackling this problem. One company that has impressed me with its efforts to develop a mentoring program to address this issue (among other employment issues they face) is Aon Services Corporation. I spoke at length today to one of their senior managers, who spent almost an hour to assist me by describing steps her company is taking to address important employment issues such as talent loss and inter-generational management concerns.

If you know of any other insurance organizations that are working proactively to address intellectual capital losses whether from retirement or other issues such as downsizing, please let me know. My contact information is found on my website at Insurance Writer.

While not all experts agree that a talent crunch is coming, demographics show with startling clarity what our industry should expect in the next decade. Once I publish the paper, I'll either let you know where to find it or post it on my website.

How to write a thank you

I am a big believer in "thank you" notes. It's the way my mother raised me and it stuck. I have noticed in business that many people don't seem to know when it is appropriate to thank people.

Ann Marie Sabath in her book Business Etiquette offers a great rule of thumb. If someone does something for you that takes longer than 15 minutes of his or her time, a written "thank you" is appropriate. She also counsels against sending an e-mail thanks, except when the effort the other expended on your behalf is minimal.

Some experts argue that a typed letter is more appropriate in business settings. However, I usually send handwritten notes. I keep several boxes of professional looking thank you cards on hand and even if I'm a little late, I still send them.

Write legibly! Many of us write so infrequently now that our handwriting may be difficult to decipher.

Here are some of the reasons I find to send notes.

• When a colleague refers business to me. Many people will not refer business again to colleagues who don't say thanks, at least via e-mail.
• When a client retains your services, especially for the first time.
• When a client pays me for larger projects and from time to time, just to say "thanks" for their continued patronage.
• When a potential client takes time out of his or her busy day to listen to me pitch my services.
• When a colleague provides input or advice beyond casual assistance.

Always keep the tone professional. If you don't think your recipient has your business card, enclose one, otherwise, you can omit your card. Don't enclose more than one card because it may appear that you're looking for more referrals.

If the referral is a major one, a gift may be appropriate such as candy, flowers or a gift card. This varies by company and its corporate policy, so be sure you send something they can accept.

People like to help, but most appreciate being acknowledged for their assistance. It only takes a few moments to write the note, but it is often the right thing to do.

Writing a strong executive summary

Whether you’re writing a proposal or preparing a white paper, an executive summary is an integral part of any lengthy or complex report. An executive summary allows the reader to quickly understand the scope of the report, your major finding and your conclusions. It is a succinct wrap-up of the report or proposal’s contents. Because time is such a precious commodity, people who should read an entire report may only skim it. The executive summary allows the readers to know, in one or two paragraphs, what to expect in the report.

The executive summary should be near the beginning of your document and clearly delineated by a heading and formatting. If you know your presentation will be read by many employees, for example if you’re responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP) for broker services, write the executive summary to the highest ranking person who will read your report.

The executive summary should avoid the nuts and bolts of how to implement a project, but it should give an overview of the problems being addressed, what action to take, and what the benefits of taking that action are.

Your executive summary should be a call to action. Use action phrases such as “We recommend” or “The problems you have faced in prior data conversations can be avoided by utilizing our project management experts.”

Broadly speaking, an executive summary should do the following:

1. Tell your readers what your report contains or what it evaluates.
2. Explain any method of analysis you may have used.
3. Summarize your findings.
4. Succinctly state your recommendations.
5. Briefly state any limitations you encountered that might have impacted the thoroughness of your report.

It may be a good idea to write your executive summary after you have written your report. When you have completed your report or proposal, use a voice recorder and summarize each section of your report. For example, in a white paper, you may have headings such as “problems of integrating technology,” “what to look for in a claims management system,” and “what to expect during data conversion.” Briefly describe the findings of each major section in your white paper, with a strong emphasis in your executive summary of the conclusions that, of course, your company is best positioned to solve. Keep your summary brief—an executive summary should probably be fewer than 1,000 words.

If you’re pitching to a large organization, the executive summary may be the only part of the presentation that the decision makers read. Your report may be passed to lower-level managers to determine whether your proposal has merit. In other words, your executive summary can mean the difference between winning that new account or losing it to your competitor. The extra efforts you apply to develop this summary can reap huge rewards.

Does your client need a risk manager?

In today’s turbulent business client, can your organization afford to ignore risk management? Every organization must consider risks seriously, whether you are a two-person shop or a major corporation reporting to stockholders. Who in your organization performs this function?

Many organizations have an employee who wears many hats, and usually, organizations place insurance, safety and risk management responsibilities with either a finance person or, in larger organizations, a personnel director. That decision may work if you have a small organization, but as your business grows, the greater are your assets at risk and your exposures to loss.

A risk manager analyzes an organization’s core business functions to determine insurance coverage needs and to reduce risk. To analyze coverage, the risk manager must examine the organization’s current and impending activities to determine if those endeavors are covered adequately under its current insurance policies.

For example, a few months ago I heard from a frantic North Carolina business owner. He assumed that, although he had two corporations, all his employees were covered for workers’ compensation. When one of his employees was injured, he found out the hard way that employees under the second corporation were not covered under his workers’ compensation coverage. With thorough risk management and an experienced independent insurance agent, this loss could have been prevented.

The risk manager often becomes to “go-to” person in each organization when employees see trouble on the horizon. “Can we do this?” is a question the risk manager must answer frequently. A risk manager’s job is rarely to say “no.” Instead, the job often requires imagination and innovation to answer the question “How can we do this?”

A risk manager’s job may involve working with line supervisors to ensure employees are following safety procedures. If you have no written personnel or safety procedures, a risk manager will work with peers to develop them for your organization. Personnel issues such as sexual harassment or potential dismissals may, in conjunction with human resource officers, involve the risk manager.

Training, such as supervisor safety training, will probably fall to a risk manager. Safety inspections and adherence to safety policies are a regular part of the risk management function, as well.

Managing claims is an integral part of the insurance function. The risk manager works with other managers to ensure all losses, whether injury or property damage, are reported timely to insurance carriers. Developing a reporting procedure for all claims to guaranty prompt claims reporting is critical to accident management.

Educational backgrounds vary among risk managers. While most hold at least a bachelor’s degree and professional accreditations such as the Associate in Risk Management developed by the Insurance Institute of America, the major issue to consider is the ability to think creatively to either embrace where appropriate or avoid risk. While a risk manager must be able to interact with senior managers and board members, he or she must also be comfortable with line employees, where safety problems occur most frequently. If you must choice, choose excellent communication skills and good common sense over technical training.

When is it time to consider either hiring a risk manager? First, there are “rent-a-risk managers” who will consult with your organization for a monthly or annual fee. However, if the potential savings a risk manager offers your organization exceeds his or her salary, given an acceptable rate-of-return, your organization should strongly consider hiring a risk manager.

How not to talk to a journalist

Because I have no shame, I am going to share my most embarrassing interviewing mistake. I was a new cub freelancer, still green behind the ears, to mix a metaphor. I had read an interesting article in a trade journal that made me realize I could expand on that topic by delving into it more deeply. I really thought one of the insurance executives who was quoted had an astute insight into the issue. This was a bit before Google, so I tracked him down through a couple phone calls.

He agreed to talk to me, making clear he had only a moment for me, and said abruptly, "So, what's your question." I froze. I absolutely could not get one word out of my mouth.

After a couple of seconds, I managed to stutter something like, "Well, I loved what you said in the article in National Underwriter and I wondering if you could elaborate on that."

The fact that I didn't have a specific set of questions for him was my mistake, born of inexperience. But what happened next was his mistake. Instead of taking a moment to ask me to remind him of what he said, or to somehow lead me along a bit (remember, I was new at this and it showed!), he snapped, "I don't have time for this. Either ask a question or get off the phone."

I thanked him for his time and hung up. That was 15 years ago, and guess what? I'll never bother him again and I remember his name. So what's the lesson?

Most reporters have never owned a business, been subject to a profit motive, and except for the few that specialize in insurance and work for the trade journals, don't understand insurance all that well. As your own public relations band, it's your role to become an orchestra leader. You must guide the interviewer when needed. And always, no matter how busy you are, be gracious. People remember jerks.

I have provided a link to an interesting article about how to talk to journalists written by a journalist.

Proofreading

Editing documents is my business, so I have a particular routine down. First, I write the article, often stream of conscious, not worrying about spelling (I use auto correct for the simple errors). Then, on screen, I go back over the document a few times to ensure I've caught the most flagrant errors.
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Next, I print, always double spaced. Then I edit, usually away from my desk, in another room, away from where I created the document, normally using my German shepherd as a footstool. I use a red Precise Rolling Ball red pen, which I buy in bulk. I use standard editing marks, which you can find here.
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Then, I return to the computer and make changes, reread on line again, then print. I often print and edit an article four or five or six or more times before I'm ready to consider it a finished product. In the interest of recycling, for new rough drafts I reuse paper.
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Here's the most important tip of all. If your document is important (and I maintain every one is except the most mundane e-mail to a pal), then lay the document aside overnight and reread it the next morning with a fresh eye. Here is my guarantee--if you do this, your communications will improve a great deal.
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The eye finds many, many errors more errors when you print your document rather than if you edit on-line.
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My favorite spell check error occurred when I was a public sector risk manager. I was on the board of PRIMA-AZ Chapter, and the President that year was the former State of Arizona's Attorney General, and a wonderful, high-profile woman. As president, it was her role to put out the Chapter's newsletter. She apparently relied a little too heavily on spell check, because when I read the newsletter after it arrived in the mail, on the front page in big letters was the word "Public" spelled without the letter 'l'.
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She had a great sense of decorum, but a better sense of humor, so I lost not one minute calling her to crow about her error. There was dead silence on the phone for a moment, then she said flatly, "I'm blaming YOU!"
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We both laughed and learned how to take "public" without the 'l' out of our spellchecks. Come back soon and I'll tell you how to remove words from your on-line dictionary. It may save you some embarrassment.

P.S. One of my sharp-eyed friends just emailed me to point out a typo, which I fixed. That shows Stillman's comment is true: someone else needs to proof your document, too!

A beautiful website

Need a breather from your day? Planning a vacation soon? Then visit my brother's website and visit the "Arizona" link. As you scroll over the various sites, a pop-up will appear of that destination. Of course I'm biased, but I've traveled all over the United States and then some and to me, Arizona is one of the most beautiful places on earth. For diversity, there is no state more varied.

If you reside in the Phoenix metropolitan area and need insurance, give Carol M. Kahn a call at 623-931-5343. Northwest Insurance puts its clients first.

And for another shameless promotion, one of my other brothers, Stillman Thomas, designed both my website and the Northwest Insurance website. You can contact him here or through me (he works with me from time-to-time on technical projects). Isn't he a great designer?

This month's Rough Notes magazine had an article about husband-and-wife insurance teams. Give it a read. If you're tired of struggling to find good employees, why not shake your family tree?