Where Insurance is an Art
My Allbusiness blog, Risk Management for the 21st Century, is going strong.
My Allbusiness blog, Risk Management for the 21st Century, continues to gather readers. Some are agents and other risk management types, but many readers are business managers seeking better ways to manage risk. I post a new entry, usually about 500 to 600 words in length, about every ten days. Here is the link. Take a look.
What do you do for fun? My dog and I chase bad guys in our spare time.
I spent an amazing weekend with my German shepherd, Asland, training with the famous Jiri Novotny, the principle trainer and breeder of the famed Czech Republic border patrol dogs. The seminar was hosted by my good friend, Hans, who owns Alpine K9. I have been raising and training German shepherds for many years and find these imports undoubtedly the finest. The top photo is of my dog, Asland, biting “the bad guy.” The bottom photo is of Jiri and yours truly.
I wonder what other insurance professionals do for fun? Let me know!
Community service should be as much as part of life as is getting up and going to work.
2010 has been an interesting year. I’ve been blessed with a variety of projects including one that I think most agents will find very interesting. I know from talking to agents throughout the country how hard they struggle to stay in contact with their clients. Now, there is a solution, and I am happy to be a part of it. It is called Easy Insurance Newsletters and it allows agents to stay in touch with their clients in just a few minutes per month without “spamming” them. Visit the Easy Insurance Newsletter website or more information, or call me or email me for more details. I was pleased to be selected as the principal copywriter and would love feedback from agents who join up about articles they need for future issues.
Additionally this year, I developed a customer service training for CSRs in agencies, which has been well received. Contact me for more details if you are interested. I grew up in this industry and understand how difficult it is to provide the level of service we need to provide as we continue to lose business to the geckos of the world. I believe that the only way to compete in this era of instant communication is to outcommunicate. That means we treat our customers so well with exemplary customer service that they will not consider going elsewhere. However, we also have to have the markets available to price shop and move clients where needed. How often are we reviewing our clients business and trying to 1) place them more competitively with comparable or better coverage and 2) mining their needs to ensure they have all the coverage they need, whether they know they need the coverage or not?
In 2011, I will emphasize increased training offerings. While I know that many agencies and carriers now utilize mainly online training (and I am an Insurance Journal Academy trainer), I believe there is nothing like a trainer completing an on-site needs assessment and delivering training tailored to the problems your organization faces.
Finally, this year I continue to be active in my community. At least one night a month, I go into our County jail system and spend time with women who are struggling with many challenging life issues, to put it mildly. Several days a month I focus on providing public relations support to a non-profit and work individually with several women facing challenges. This is what really keeps me in touch with how much I have to be grateful for. My parents, two fine agents, and my brother, also an agent, set the example for me that community service should be as much as part of life as is getting up and going to work. There are always needs to fill in a world that is increasingly disenfranchised from friends, relatives and the larger community.
2010 has been a great year. I know that 2011 will be that much better. I hope to get to know you in the near future.
I recently realized just how passionate I am about this industry.
Recently I presented a customer service training for CSRs at a large agency. What I realized as I began the presentation is just how passionate about this industry I am. It has provided me with a decent living, an ability to buy a home, time and the resources to travel to several countries, a career that constantly challenges me, and an ability to obtain an education without significant debt. Mainly, though, the insurance industry has provided me with a host of colleagues and friends I can turn to for support both professionally and personally.
I get up each day eager to begin work. In fact, often at midnight I find myself lying in bed with my phone checking tweets and email. Am I a workaholic? No, I’m simply someone who has found her niche and incorporated that niche into her life. This doesn’t mean that all I do is work, because I have balance in my life. I have friends I spent time with, animals I cherish, family members who mean much to me, and a family legacy with wonderful (now deceased) parents who brought me, albeit reluctantly on my part, into this industry.
Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. My turkey is roasting in its bag and my dog is lying near me. In an hour, I will gather with some of my closest friends (family this year is somewhat occupied) and celebrate the most important part of life to me: gratitude.
I hope your day is blessed and if you have found your career niche and have gratitude for an industry that has provided for you and your family, you are truly blessed.
Germond earns the Senior Professional in Human Resources
Phoenix, AZ, July 9, 2010.
Nancy Germond, President of Insurance Writer, recently earned certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
The certification, awarded by the HR Certification Institute, signifies that Germond possesses the theoretical knowledge and practical experience in human resource management necessary to pass a rigorous examination demonstrating a mastery of the field.
“Certification as a human resource professional clearly demonstrates a commitment to personal excellence and to the human resource profession,” said Mary Power, CAE, Executive Director of the HR Certification Institute.
To become certified, an applicant must pass a comprehensive examination and demonstrate a strong background of professional human resource experience. “I find that in today’s difficult financial climate, employment issues top the list of risk exposures insurance organizations face,” Germond said. “The SPHR simply assures seniors managers of my dedication to the employment arena.”
The HR Certification Institute is the credentialing body for human resource professionals and is affiliated with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest organization dedicated exclusively to the human resource profession. The Institute’s purpose is to promote the establishment of professional standards and to recognize professionals who meet those standards.
Insurance Copywriter blog is now live on its own URL.
We’ve finally arrived at our own blog space!!!
An incredibly heartfelt “thank you” to my brilliant, hilarious, handsome, devil-may-care flying fool of a brother. [Can you tell he wrote this himself?]
