Toolbox of Resources for Agencies

By Bryan Bernier, PIIAC CEO

I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE that even in “normal” times there are a lot of moving parts in working or running an insurance agency. We can all also agree that the need for resources has been pushed into overdrive during the COVID-19 pandemic. I talk to agents every day and discuss the challenges that they face and PIIAC often has a helpful solution that may make their agency more efficient and more profitable. We are always adding new resources to the tools available to our members and I wanted to discuss a couple of the benefits we have recently used at PIIAC.

Recently I fielded a question on certificates of insurance, an area that most of us would agree is as clear as mud when it comes to who, what, where and how. The agent reached out to us and we reached out to local experts for advice. After getting the local feedback, we went to the National Big “I” website (independentagent.com) and used the Ask an Expert feature, which is a benefit included in everyone’s membership. I typed in the same question that was posed of me and within three business days I had answers from experts all over the country. This is a great resource that is there for your use at any time.

Not only can you submit new questions, but you can search the Research Library for questions that have been asked and answered previously. It is a resource that will help you and your team get counsel from people with extensive knowledge in the industry. It is basically a team of experts working for you.

Finding and hiring qualified individuals is always a challenge. Navigating the hiring process is never easy. There are so many questions and so little time to figure them out. Questions like “which websites are best?”, “do we pay the extra to post?”, “will people find my post?”, “how do we keep track of all the resumes?” Just over a year ago the Big “I” launched a program in collaboration with IdealTraits to make finding new employees easier. When you sign up with Big “I” Hires (www.bigihires.com) they help write job descriptions, post the job to numerous websites, provide a portal to monitor all the incoming resumes, and even give candidates a test to identify what type of personality they have to ensure a good fit with your organization. The cost for this is very reasonable and will save a hiring manager tremendous time and stress. We have used it here at PIIAC many times and it has always delivered for us.

I thought it appropriate to highlight a couple of key member benefits that I have utilized in the last 30 days alone. They are benefits that increase the value of your membership with PIIAC. We have many more, with more coming soon (think technology resources!) If you or your agency are in the need of a resource, ask us for it. If we don’t have it, we will research it and collaborate with you and your agency to determine if we can find a solution and if it is widely needed. I think it is important to ensure maximization of your PIIAC membership and we will be there to help you do that. Let me know when you are available to chat and we will go through all our benefits and discuss how we can help your agency!

Bryan Bernier, PIIAC CEO

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