Insurance Banter with Burand & Borup

Chris and Paul are joined by Brant and Matt of Curbow Law to discuss key issues surrounding the buying/selling of an insurance agency. What are the key transaction terms and documents you should be aware of? How do you best share information between parties? Why should you rely on a legal specialist rather than just use your trusted legal provider? Join us to find the answers to these questions on...

In this episode, Chris and Paul are joined by Bob Ford to discuss behavioral styles in selling.  How does a producer gain trust?   How do successful salespeople adapt in an ever changing environment?   Why doesn't the Golden Rule work in insurance sales?   Find out the answers to these questions (and more) in our 40th episode!  

Chris and Paul are joined by Jason Bogart from Deep Customer Connections.  The discussion centered around how insurance carriers can grow legitimately, without tricks, in the independent insurance agency space and what tactics they can use to grow faster than the industry norm.   You can learn more about Deep Customer Connections at www.deepcc.com.  

Chris and Paul are excited to welcome Al Rhodes and Michelle Bradley from Sigma Actuarial Consulting Group and Risk 66 to the podcast.  They discuss current trends in the captive insurance space, how a company can start the journey to forming a captive, and what emerging risks are being addressed.   You can learn more about what Al and Michelle are up to by visiting sigmaactuary.com 

Mark Robinson from Michelman & Robinson joins Chris and Paul to discuss a few business practices that often challenge agencies.  What exactly can an unlicensed employee do in the agency?  Can you pay referral fees for business?  What process should you set up when charging fees to clients?   A lot can be learned from this in depth discussion.  If you'd like to know more, Mark's websi...

Mike Strakhov from Live Oak Bank joins the podcast to talk about consultative finance and the current and future banking products available to independent agents.  For a private buyer competing against publicly traded brokers or private equity backed firms, having a solid financing plan in place can help you win a deal.  Listen in to learn more

Bill Wilson makes his first appearance on Insurance Banter to discuss why insurance isn't a commodity and how agents can stand out from the crowd.  We always learn something new when we talk with Bill...and hope you will come away with a few nuggets from the podcast!  

Jon Persky from Optimum Performance Solutions joins Chris and Paul to talk about his favorite perpetuation horror stories.  It's been said what can go wrong, will go wrong.  Here's a chance to learn from other's mistakes so you don't make them yourself!  

Chris and Paul are excited to be joined by Jeff Albright from the IIABL.  They discuss what the independent agents in Louisiana have learned from the recent hurricanes and get into a discussion about how carrier operations and agency relations have changed over Jeff's 40+ year career.  

Chris and Paul are joined by Mark Robinson and Ryan Hong from Michelman & Robinson, a full service national law firm.   The discussion focuses on the common pitfalls when selling an agency, what goes into a letter of intent, and what advisors you should engage.  Even if you aren't interested in selling your business now there are tips on what you can do day to day to improve your business...

Chris and Paul are joined by Chris Behymer from Markel Specialty.  They discuss how to provide value to clients, the role of education in that process, and end with a discussion on surplus lines.  

Chris and Paul are joined by Jim Caragher from The CIB Group to discuss successful producer recruiting strategies and how to set your agency apart.  

Chris and Paul welcome Connie Kadansky from Exceptional Sales.  This discussion focuses on increasing the chances of success by using the SPQ Gold Assessment at the time of hire and for developing your current producers.  

February 6, 2023 update: Matt Curran and Brandt Bowman have started their own law firm: curbow LLC.  They can be reached at matt@curbowlaw.com and brandt@curbowlaw.com . Chris and Paul welcome Brandt Bowman and Matt Curran from Penwell Bowman + Curran, LLC.  The discussion centered around legal issues during all phases of an agency lifecycle.  We discuss what to look for in a law firm and the vari...

Chris and Paul and welcome Anurag Shah from Aureus Analytics.  The discussion focused on innovation and how technology can impact talent in your organization.  

Chris and Paul talk about management techniques to help minimize staffing challenges.  

Adam Klug from Specialized Recruiting Group joins Chris and Paul to discuss how to attract employees in this environment, the importance of career mapping, and how strong leadership can improve employee retention.

Tracy Goodwin from Captivate the Room joins Chris and Paul to discuss how to use your true voice when interacting with clients and prospects. 

Chris shares the story of how he got started in insurance and then made the move into consulting.  It's a fun and enlightening conversation.  

Jim Gardner, CEO of ViewSpection, joins Chris and Paul to talk about how agents can use the inspection process to help their clients and differentiate them from the competition.  

The vast majority of information around the sale of an insurance agency focuses on financing structures.  In this episode Chris and Paul are excited to welcome Jay Brenneman to discuss the psychology of ownership transitions.  How does an owner decide to move toward a legacy transition or a sale successfully?  Why is it important for an owner to develop personal goals outside of the business?  At...

Chris and Paul are pleased to welcome Brian Turner to the podcast.  Brian shares some great insights into Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).  An ESOP may just be what you are looking for when planning for the perpetuation of an insurance agency.  

Chris and Paul discuss the recent news that P/C Industry surplus was more than $1 trillion for the first time in history.  What is surplus and what does it mean for your agency?  Based on that good news, is the marketplace behaving as one would expect?  Listen in and Chris provides some great insight into those questions.    

Chis and Paul welcome Jacqui Calder from Behavioral Sciences Research Press.  For over two decades Jacqui has helped hiring managers  identify candidates with raw prospecting talent and sales managers elevate the comfort level of their current sales people with the prospecting process.  She references a blog post "Why Personality Testing Often Comes Up Short" in this episode.  That artic...

Chris and Paul explore the most concerning exposures that business owners face: Business income loss, natural disasters, and cyber.