The Independent Agent

Racial Challenges for Producers in the 21st Century... It's Still an Issue

Part 1: A producer tells an account manager they are switching agencies and taking their book. What is the account managers ethical obligation to tell management?

Intermission: Justin tries a Kombrewcha (Hard Kombucha)

Part 2: An agency owner wants to be honest about the challenges an African American producer at his agency may face with clients

How Do I Convince my Agency to Provide Me with a Larger Marketing Budget?

Part 1: A producer receives higher than normal commission splits, but not enough marketing resources

Intermission: Justin tries a Guinness

Part 2: What is the appropriate dress code for agency employees?

How Do I Tell an Employee of the Opposite Sex That They Need to Wear Deodorant?

Part 1: The agency owner brought his son in as a new producer, and I wanted the job

Intermission: Justin tries a Ketel Soda Lime (extra lime!)

Part 2: A male agency owner needs to talk hygiene with a female employee

A Producer Tries to Find the Balance Between New Business Activity and Quote-to-Bind Ratio

Part 1: An office romance at off-site team building activity

Intermission: Justin tries Veuve Clicquot Champagne

Part 2: A producer is getting pressure from the agency owner on his quote-to-bind ratio because the carriers are putting pressure on the agency

Christmas & Chanukah Edition: A Millennial, a Gen X'r, and 2 Mediators Walk Into a Bar (To Save a Family Business)

Justin and Jordan discuss the challenges they faced as brothers who are business partners. What they learned about themselves, each other, and how they overcame the obstacles that almost caused the relationship to dissolve.

Drink of Choice: Joseph Phelps 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon

Help! My Agency is Requiring Me to Pay the SIR on an E&O Claim Caused by My Account Manager

Part 1: We started utilizing an outsourcing company, but my account managers say they are busier than ever

Intermission: Justin tries a Dirty Martini

Part 2: A producer is required to pay the $10,000 SIR on an E&O claim caused by the account manager

Are Account Managers Second Class Citizens?

Part 1: An Account Manager is frustrated because she can't leave work to see her kids play sports, but the producer is allowed to

Intermission: Justin tries a Moscow Mule

Part 2: My staff doesn't want to train the new hires

My New Hire Won't Stop Talking About His Old Agency, And It's Killing Morale

Part 1: A new hire wants to keep talking about the ways they did things at their old agency

Intermission: Justin tries a Grapefruit Goodman

Part 2: An account manager wants to stop getting bulldozed by the client

How Can My Small Agency Attract Talent Without The Budget of Larger Firms?

Part 1: The account manager does the work and the producer gets paid for it

Intermission: Justin tries Green Flash - West Coast IPA

Part 2: An agency owner wants to hire and retain strong talent without the budget of larger agencies

My Top Producer is the Main Cause of Staff Turnover

Part 1: The top producer is causing major staff turnover issues

Intermission: Justin tries Lagavulin 16

Part 2: An account manager has to hand bad news to the insured, and it was the agency's fault