I had to read it twice. Hard to believe it. See if you get it the first time. In a motion made by Park Insurance to have the NY State Supreme Court vacate its order placing Park into Liquidation, the initial text reads as follows: Respondent Park Insurance Company (“Respondent” or “Park”) respectfully submits this […]
About 15 years ago, the Professional Insurance Agents of New York State received a call from Phil Gusman, who at that time was the editor of the Insurance Advocate, requesting I write a column for the publication. I was eager to do it. Some people told me this wouldn’t last two months … And here […]
There’s an abundance of quotes about the inevitability of change; against resisting change; and most appropriately about the value of change. The place I’ve heard most of them are at PIA. The organization is always at the forefront of our industry, and the visionaries who have led the organization call repeatedly for agents to be […]
υThe U.S. Labor Department issued a press release this month that’s getting a lot of attention: It said the Bureau of Labor statistics recorded a leveling off of hires and separations for the month of June, 2018. While employment openings seemed to have slowed down, unemployment is up slightly. The reason for this, experts say, […]
Do what you do for the right reason and ask for referrals I always get my continuing education while attending PIA events. I can collect several credits over a single day, while taking advantage of the excellent networking and trade shows on which PIA has built a reputation in the northeast. And, importantly, I always […]
We live in interesting times. While I have been thinking about this column, I’ve noted a dramatic story on the news: The recent shooting at Parkland High School in Florida. Pundits, politicians and even corporate entities have weighed in on the issue of gun control, school safety and mental health. These voices aren’t surprising, as […]
Several years ago at a PIA board meeting, we began to discuss an issue brought to us by a member through PIANY’s bi-annual Advisory Councils. Basically, when the New York State Department of Financial Services and Insurance transitioned its licensing requirements to an agent’s birthdate in 2012, the regulation had unintended consequences: While an agent’s […]
Readers of this column know I am a proud family man. My twin grandsons are entering college in the fall and we could not be more delighted. They are an endless source of pride and an equally great source of stories. Recently, one of my grandsons asked me, “Grandpa, how do you get rich?” I […]
How 2017 is flying by us! I feel like I just finished my last column and the first quarter of the year is almost over. I hate to say it, but my last column in the Advocate warned you this was coming: On Feb. 17, Gov. Cuomo announced that New York is the first state […]
Over the years, I’ve written a lot about how independent agents are burdened more and more by business expenses we just didn’t used to have. Some of these costs can be attributed directly to insurance company cost-transferring: things like reductions in commission and profit sharing; front-line underwriting; loss control and even printing policies ourselves, rather […]
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