Joseph Indig’s Post

She joined our scheduled call from a hospital bed - with video turned on! I had a call scheduled with an agent to discuss a short-term hotel account. When she joined from a hospital bed I was shocked. An infection put her in the hospital last night but that didn't stop J.R. from putting her clients first. Would I have done the same? To be honest I don't think I'm quite there yet... I have what to aspire to! #insurance #commitment #hotels #motels #propertyinsurance #insuranceagents #insurancebrokers

Rami Levine nailed this super important concept. Thinking about long-term program success is the name of the game - and that's why AIU is still here and strong! 💪 #insurance #insuranceagents #insurancebrokers #capacity #propertyinsurance

The phone should be every agent's and underwriter's most used tool. Some people have an aversion to the phone. -It wastes time. -It's too personal. -It's old school. It's NOT! Last week a client of mine was going back and forth with one of our underwriters via email about some occupancy issues with an assisted living facility we were working on. The underwriter chose to decline based on the information they thought was being transmitted. I had a feeling there was something off - so I called the agent. And guess what? I got the full story - CLEARLY - and passed on that clear information to my underwriter. And we quoted. We're binding today. If there is anything slightly complicated about an account on the table pick up that old-fashioned device on your desk (or in your pocket) and have a real conversation. It works!! #phone #conversation #oldschool #insurance #propertyinsurance #assistedliving #healthcare #insuranceagents #insurancebrokers

This morning consisted of a different kind of risk management than normal. 1st activity - breakfast (mitigate pre-breakfast morning meltdowns) 2nd activity - bike riding (helmets!) 3rd activity - a game of cops and robbers (reduce arguments of game rules) 4th activity - a trip to the bagel store for lunch (keep the spills to a minimum) My wife was overdue for a break during this wonderful in-between school and day camp week so Daddy Daycare took a solo turn today with our three boys. Due to my wonderful abilities to achieve a full morning that resulted in exactly zero broken bones, just one very deliberate spill by the two-year-old, and just a handful of (mostly) non-physical fights between the 4 and 6-year-olds, I hereby ask to be rated an A+ by the AM Best due to superb risk mitigation and loss performance! #dad #riskmanagement #insurance #insuranceagents #insurancebrokers #propertyinsurance

We are not a fit for every hotel or motel that comes our way - even if we can technically write it. I spoke to an agent this morning who described a La Quinta Inn and Suites in MS which can likely be up our alley. Nice risk, built in 2009, no losses - let's do it! The problem was that the incumbent carrier which is a standard market is offering a renewal. As an E&S property-only solution we are not here to compete with standard market options nor are we designed to even attempt to. In this tough hospitality market if you have a standard carrier offering a renewal don't shop - grab it and run!! #insurance #hotels #motels #insuranceagents #insurancebrokers #propertyinsurance #hospitality

Letting go. Such an important concept that's misunderstood by many. A lot of people feel that they need to take on more and more and more to succeed. While that can be true to a certain extent it often comes to a point where letting go is a much better option for all parties involved. I've been handling two roles for the last couple of years. 1 as a producer and 2 as a marketing manager. As my client base grew it recently got to a point where I realized that holding onto both roles would not be a good idea It was beginning to affect my ability to focus on my clients properly plus I didn't have the time to brainstorm and focus on new marketing initiatives. I approached my managers and let them know how I felt and they appreciated me coming forward - and agreed wholeheartedly that focusing all my energy on my own clients is the right path forward at this point. I then suggested that one of my talented co-workers be the one to take over the marketing responsibility - I just felt it was a good fit for him. I'm happy to say that Michael Pirutinsky has taken things over on the marketing front and is learning the ropes quickly - I have a feeling he will outshine me soon with his unique creative and analytical thought process. Letting go will give me the ability to FOCUS and allow AIU to grow in a smarter faster way. It's not easy sometimes. But it's worth it. #letgo #insurance #insuranceagents #insurancebrokers #propertyinsurance #marketing

Well, I've been caught - a risk management professional who did not carry out proper loss control. 😱 I got a new phone a few months ago and like a responsible adult ordered a screen protector from Amazon. It arrived at my house and promptly disappeared before I got around to placing it on my phone (things disappear quite often in a house with three boys 🙄). Then as a not-as-responsible adult, I pushed off getting a replacement for no apparent reason. The inevitable happened as I was walking down my front steps yesterday afternoon - my phone fell flat on its face and well...ya 😰. This $200 lesson will definitely help this not happen to me again. When dealing with a property valued at many millions of dollars, waiting to be taught a lesson about what proper coverage means might be a bit harder to bounce back from... #insurance #screenprotector #losscontrol #riskmanagement #insuranceagents #insurancebrokers

Cover letters. I've been seeing lots of agents on this platform wondering why underwriters don't seem to read them. And it's a very valid question. I'd like to propose an answer. While the reason I will offer may not be a good answer/excuse I think it may just be a fact of today's market that agents need to continue learning and understanding. Underwriters are really and truly absolutely swamped and stressed. I have an interesting seat sitting between my agent clients and our in-house underwriting team so I'm giving myself the go-ahead to share my two cents. When I have a submission hit my inbox (I qualify submissions before giving underwriting the go-ahead) I look for a few things within the email body itself. 1. Clear description of the risk type - hotel, motel, apartments, assisted living, nursing home, etc. (or a risk that is so not within our appetite that I consider not responding - like a warehouse in TX or the like). 2. Confirmation that all standard market property options are off the table - in our case, we are an E&S property-only solution so we need to know where things stand with your other markets. 3. Target rate - this one is so important and rarely included in an initial submission. We need to know if we'll be able to compete - we're not a quoting service. 4. Basic loss breakdown - before I comb through extensive loss runs it's extremely helpful to have an idea of how this property performed over the last 5 years - and if there are multiple properties please provide a detailed per-location loss summary (if there is a million dollar claim that was not mentioned in a submission email it puts a bad taste in our mouth). Now if I get a submission with all of the above information within the email body I can almost guarantee that the cover letter and all pertinent attachments will be carefully reviewed by both me and underwriting. And a prompt response will be forthcoming. Why? Because this submission seems to be a fit on the base level so further engagement makes sense. Underwriters only have so many hours in a day so they need to focus on very well-qualified opportunities. Again, I am not saying that this is a perfect situation at all - but I do feel that it is the fact of today. In a market that is changing so rapidly, I think that the way agents format submissions needs to adapt the same way as so many other moving parts of all of our daily activities. Open to both earth-shattering praise and criticism! 😁 #insurance #insuranceagents #insurancebrokers #submissions #propertyinsurance #hotels #motels #apartments #realestate #healthcare

My visit to Jacksonville, IL yesterday was almost the same as my trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago...NOT! The degree of differences between different parts of our beautiful country is fascinating. After Naftoli Ziet and I drove through about 50 miles of corn fields from St. Louis to Jacksonville we arrived in a small quaint town that is home to one of AIUs newest and fastest-growing agency partners. The efficiency of the relatively small team at Grojean Agency Insurance, Inc. speaks to how they write and successfully maintain hundreds of hotels and motels on their books. Adam Grojean is a fourth-generation insurance veteran and is at the helm of this terrific agency. It was founded by his great-grandfather in the 1940s! By niching down and mastering the complex world of hospitality his agency became the go-to address for many hotel/motel owners across the country - almost all from referrals from other happy clients. Brooklyn Lahey, Miranda Mullen, and Colton Bobb are all integral parts of their smooth process of getting submissions together and working through accounts successfully. The vibe in their office is calm and refreshing. Small town USA has something about it... Conversations with Adam varied between family life, financial advice, parenting, local real estate, hot vs. iced coffee, electric cars, and yes, insurance. 😀 Thank you team Grojean for your wonderful hospitality yesterday. You guys have been rocking with AIU over the past few months and we all appreciate the partnership! #insurance #hotels #motels #propertyinsurance #insuranceagents #insurancebrokers #smalltownUSA #relationships #partnerships

Of course the master renewal for our habitational program comes out the day after Memorial Day. 🤣 We need to keep things exciting! So many renewal bind orders have already hit our underwriters desks. Let's get those last ones over the finish line ASAP!! Things are looking mighty fine for our 24-25 policy term. With the minimal increase we took and great coverage form we kept, more smart and solid growth is on the horizon! #insurance #renewal #insuranceagents #insurancebrokers #apartments #realestate #habitational