Simple question…If you could pay $1,000 and turn it into a $25,000 savings, would you? Of course you would…and that’s exactly what a recent Michigan Independent Insurance Agency choose to do. Let me explain.
Having grown from a small Agency in a small Village in Michigan, the “How Can I Help Agency” (name changed to protect their anonymity) was great with listening to Customers and finding just the right solution for Property & Casualty, but not so great at the tedious nature of ensuring all Carrier Appointments, Licensing requirements and State filings were in the same pristine administrative condition. As time evolved, the coming & going of Agents and Carriers grew to be an unruly mess on par with a teenagers bedroom.
Review of the Agency paper trail found issues with the State’s Department of Insurance & Financial Services that included:
- Incomplete & Outdated Address Information from the Agency relocation
- Phone, Email & Contact Information that had not been updated in a decade
- Agents Appointments that remained intact after the Producer had left for a competing Agency
- Multiple Directly Responsible Licensed Persons (DRLP’s) listed for the same single Agency
- Continuing Education requirements on the verge of expiration
Problem? YEAH! (to say the least).
Triggered by an unusual and concerning conversation with a Customer, The “How Can I help Agency” began to try and sort out the long and winding administrative mess that had evolved. With a quick back of the napkin review The Agency felt it would take four (4) man weeks to resolve just for what they knew about, and should the Customer situation escalate, result in additional administrative penalties and fines that could exceed the GDP of most Caribbean nations.
Enter COEUM AUDIT 4Agencies
Built with decades of expertise. COEUM AUDIT quickly analyzed the filings, appointments and requirements of the Agency. Identifying both major and minor violations that would haunt the Agency, Audit produced a full remediation action plan, one that allowed the Agency Licensing & Appointment Administration to soon appear more pristine than the waters of Lake Woebegone.
COEUM AUDIT 4 Agencies Eliminated:
- The appointments of Agents who were no longer in the Agencies Employ
- Completed all Administrative filing, contact and location information
- Reducing the number of DRLP’s associated with the Agency
- Creating a compliance workflow for Continuing Education
- Verified all Appointments with Eligible Carriers at the Agency & Agent level
As was once said “No Job is Complete Until the Paperwork is Done…” and for the “How Can I Help Agency” no truer words could ever have been spoken. With the one time audit complete and the remediation plan executed in a few short days, COEUM AUDIT ultimately saved the “How Can I Help Agency” by all accounts $25,000 in administrative fines and penalties.
That is an ROI worth claiming.
