Every day our newsletter includes a question to the readers. Here are our favorite answers from the last few days.

 

What are some of the most confusing terms and concepts in insurance that we should write intro articles for?

General Liability vs. professional liability. Motor truck cargo forms.

 

There is always confusion in my office regarding loss assessment on standard HO policies and on a PUP.

 

Which technological change in the last few years has had the most effect on your ability to do your job well?

Website builder type sites that don’t require a lot of technical know how have really allowed me to take personal ownership of my brand.

 

Sending sensitive information secure/encrypted between insurance carriers and insured’s. Many insurance carriers are not able to open due to IT constraints on their end. This has taken a large amount of wasted time trying to work around this roadblock. Faxing is of the stone age now nor do we want to send a large 100+ page submission file via fax.

 

Have you seen/heard/read about any interesting uses of Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) in the insurance ecosystem? Where?

Insurance education can greatly benefit from VR/AR technology. This is something the National Alliance has been working on for a bit, here’s a link to one of their 360 videos: https://vimeo.com/275140572

They visit worksites and film 360 degree videos, then build these videos somewhere in their class curriculum. They also want to begin testing VR with some of these videos.

 

Would you support Bring Your Dog to Work Day at your office? Why or why not?

I would not support this because I have SEVERE allergies to cats and non-hypoallergenic dogs and have to carry an epi pen at all times.

 

Yes! Our office has Bring Your Dog to Work Day every day. We have two 1 year old dogs at our office that grew up here. They bring all of our employees joy and most clients that visit us love them! If anyone doesn’t like dogs or there is an important meeting, we put them in the back office. As long as dogs are well trained, I think they are great In the workplace!

 

Yes, but there would need to be a place where they could all be safely placed like a play area so that there would be no mass ‘accidents’ in the office and that the dogs could play together.  Those persons who don’t like dogs or who have a fear of dogs, would be a there normal work station and would not need to have any interaction with the dogs.  The person who would bring their dog to work would also need to sign a wavier stating the employer is free from any liability and that the owner is responsible for the actions of their dog.

 

TYDTWD is an interesting idea, but I don’t see the correlation between take your kids to work day and take your dog to work day.

• I can see the supervision need for smaller children, but many companies only allow a specified age range (e.g. 6^th to 12^th grade) to take kids to work. Children this age generally don’t require the level of supervision that a dog would.
• Quite a few people are allergic to dogs (or dog hair / dander). Unless the work is outside, taking a dog to work could cause significant health or discomfort issues to someone in the next cubicle.
• The kids are potty-trained and don’t need to be walked outside to relieve themselves.

A little outdoor event at work for dog-lovers to show off their canine friends at the end of a work day might be great fun, but to have them around for a significant chunk of the day in an indoor office environment could cause some problems for others well beyond that bring a 14-year old would.

 

The office at which I work has around 120 employees on 4 floors. I used to bring my Golden Retreiver into the office (I am President so didn’t really have to ask for permission) and she was very well loved. She wasn’t trained to be a therapy dog but she became one. She literally wanted to say hello to every person and be petted (and get snacks and treats) and it made everyone smile except for a few exceptions.
The exceptions were a great problem.

1. Two people who were allergic to dogs, one even to breathing air near the dog. The other only if she touched her (hard not to when the dog wants to come over and nuzzle you!).
1. One person who had been attacked by a big dog when they were a child and who was deathly afraid.

It was very difficult to balance the great benefit my dog provided to our employees while respecting the impossible challenge of those who have valid reasons that they cannot be near dogs even though they would love too have them around.

I had to stop bring her in which was sad but the right thing to do.

While people may not like children, at least they are not allergic to them!

 

What kind of training do you wish you were getting that you’re not?

As a trainer of insurance, I seek more information on the latest regulations and updates to the products that my company sells.

 

Training – Internal and external focused Negotiation skills

 

Time Management for CSR’s

 

Data analytics

 

Processes and Procedures

 

What do you wish you had done differently in the first half of your career?

I wish I had started working towards designations/graduate school sooner in my career.

 

I wish I had found a mentor – someone to discuss both industry activities and interpersonal/management issues with. It would have helped me smooth the rough edges faster, and understand my own career path options.

 

Learn a specialization

 

How long did it take you so you could live on referrals and didn’t have to cold call anymore?

Newer to sales- still interested in the results. Thanks!

 

1 year. But we still make cold calls just don’t pay for leads anymore.

 

At least 12 years… and I still work at it every day. Meeting with Centers of Influence, asking new clients for referrals, doing lots of referrals, much easier to get if you give first!!!