Every day we ask a question to our readers on our Daily Dispatch. Here are some of our favorite answers from the last few days:

 

In your opinion what is the most broken thing about insurance?

Direct writers

 

Most broken thing about insurance is that it is viewed by a lot of people as a potential “winning lotto ticket” especially when  a personal injury attorney sinks their claws into the “claimants” thus driving up the cost of claims as we are having to pay to make them go away. The principle of indemnity is being lost.

 

The perception, perpetuated by some of the direct writers, that P&C insurance is a commodity and it’s all about price not value.

 

The biggest failure of our industry is how most have caved in to the pressure of winning

Customers by price rather than quality of coverage. I believe that is mainly due to the

lack of using exposure Questionaries (that show insureds the exposures they do not

know they have) and not have copies of articles to show clients and potential clients

losses that were not covered by insurance that could have been covered. We need to

concentrate on educating clients. The ones who understand make good clients. The

ones who do not understand select the cheapest price and set themselves up for a

possible disaster.

What is your favorite thing about Insurance Nerds? What’s your least favorite? We really appreciate feedback!

My favorite things are the daily emails and reader response columns.

My least favorite thing is that the home page makes it slightly difficult to find the new content (as opposed to a layout akin to something like MTGPrice.com just for comparison, where you instantly see the newest article).

 

My favorite thing about Insurance Nerds is the variety of articles.  I’m subscribed to other insurance related sites and those seem to be mostly related to the agency side of the things or the personal lines side of things.  As an underwriter, I appreciate articles that are geared toward the carrier and commercial side as well.

 

One thing annoys me each day. The address from which your emails are sent isn’t a fixed address – it changes each time due to your list manager. The effect of that, for people who use Outlook, is that I can’t add your address to my address book as “safe” so that it displays all of the images, etc. Each day I have to see an unattractive email (see the example below) and take extra steps to make it look good. If you sent from a static address, I could add it once and never have another badly formatted email. Most modern list managers enable this.

Note from Tony: We are working on a redesign of the website but it’s a slow and expensive process. We were unaware of the issue with the email list, now that it’s been pointed out our IT guy has fixed it!

 

Has social media brought you business or gotten you a new job? How?

Yes, social media – specifically Linkedin – was an element in getting the job I have today.

 

Consistent social media marketing has yet to bring me an actual customer but I haven’t been aggressive with it for very long. I have received numerous interactions that make me feel confident that when those users need insurance, they will be contacting me!

Staying relevant on LinkedIn has brought me many solid opportunities (besides recruiters) which I’ve never pursued because I’m more than happy with my current position!

 

When I was looking for a new job in a different state than I lived in (to return closer to family), I reached out to the connections I was closest to through LinkedIn. It turned out a consultant who knew me well from when I lived here before was working with company who had been trying to fill a unique role for about a year and a half. It required a special blend of skills that most people would not have. They happened to be my exact skills and passions. It was obvious to both me and my employer from our first phone conversation that this was a good fit. We finished the remaining follow-up interviews and I’m now in the most fulfilling role I could even have.

 

I think Indeed.com is a big JOKE. I haven’t even gotten a reply after I submitted my resume. Maybe I’m just don’t have the right connection or something.

 

What were the two most different office environments you’ve worked in? How were they different?

Both are insurance companies:

My last company was a start-up (5 years in business). The staff was very young and diverse, but many didn’t have college degrees and very few had CPCUs. They had a very modern work environment but terrible systems.

My current company is just the opposite – it is extremely stable with over 100 years in business. The staff is very mature, but there is little diversity. All underwriters have college degrees in addition to CPCUs and other designations. Our work environment and culture is very traditional, and our systems are the best I’ve worked with.