A View from the Press Box

While insurers need to do a better job involving their producers in strategic and operational decisions, such communication must be a two-way street, with agents and brokers keeping their partners in the loop about where they stand. (more…)

Insurers are their own worst enemy. They just keep shooting themselves in the foot! The latest example is how they’ve handed their foes on health insurance reform fresh ammunition, right after President Obama and his allies were left shooting blanks. (more…)

While my first experience last week as a juror in a civil suit (after serving only on criminal trials before) wasn’t exactly something out of “Law & Order,” the case did provide some interesting insights into how difficult it is to decide who is telling the truth on the witness stand, and how fair our judicial system ultimately is. (more…)

I am thrilled to announce that my blog has been nominated as a finalist for an American Business Media Neal Award–sort of the Oscars for business-to-business journalists! (more…)

Did you folks happen to catch the premiere episode of “Undercover Boss” on CBS Sunday night, after the Super Bowl? It’s about CEOs taking on lower-level jobs in their companies, where they get their hands dirty and see how their operation really functions. I think it would be a great idea if insurance industry CEOs did that at least once a year–on- or off-camera! (more…)

Thanks to the Senate rule requiring a 60-vote super-majority to get any bill to a vote, this country has become virtually ungovernable. Is it time to do away with, or at least modify the fillibuster rules that has brought the federal government to a political standstill? (more…)

They say the first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one. If that’s true, then insurers took a giant leap by confronting their reputational troubles during a recent conference. (more…)

Times have changed, even when serving jury duty. It used to be that all the judge had to do was warn jurors not to read about the case to which they were assigned in the newspapers, listen to any reports about it on radio or watch any related discussion on TV. The multimedia world holds far greater threats to jury impartiality these days! (more…)

I posted my first video on NU’s Web site today, part of a monthly series of interviews on “Serving The Modern Consumer” with the top execs at Astonish Results, talking about digital marketing for independent agents. Check it out at http://property-casualty.com/astonish/Pages/default.aspx, and read on for more about this fascinating firm. (more…)