Nine years after the passage of a law governing the issuance and contents of insurance certificates, I am still getting new and interesting questions about those documents. In the past few weeks, callers to the Free Legal Service Program I operate for members of the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia have posed two questions that […]
Read more...Category: Practical Tips
Record of Insurance Transactions – How Long Must They Be Kept?
A recent caller to the Free Legal Service Program I operate for IIAG members told me about a conversation he recently had with an insurance company representative regarding the above question. The representative told the caller that, at least with respect to motor vehicle liability policies, Georgia law required an agent to keep every copy […]
Read more...Re-Opening Agency Offices – Legal Issues
Last week I participated in a webinar put on by the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia (“IIAG”) that addressed the many issues that need to be considered by insurance agencies before they re-open their offices. A link to a recording of that webinar should appear on the IIAG’s Coronavirus Member Resources webpage in the near […]
Read more...Sample Insurance Certificates – Can They Be Issued?
My last few posts have been about the legislative actions taken to assist employers and employees who are dealing with Covid-19 related issues. I thought it would be a good time for a change of pace. What better non-Covid-19 subject to address than one of the most enduring subjects of this blog, insurance certificates. However, […]
Read more...Video Surveillance of Office Interior-Is It Legal?
A couple of years ago, I wrote a post that discussed the legality of recording incoming and outgoing telephone calls made to and from an agency. The recording of such calls is legal if the requirements discussed in my post are satisfied. I recently received a question from an IIAG member on the Free […]
Read more...Data Breaches – What Your Agency Can Do To Protect Itself
It seems like every few weeks there is a report of another massive data breach at a well known company. Toyota, Dunkin Donuts, and Walmart are just some companies that have reported data breaches of one kind or another this year. However, what does not get reported publicly are the thousands of data breaches that […]
Read more...What Law Governs Sharing of Commissions?
I received a call on the Free Legal Service Program I operate for members of the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia that raised the above question. It was one I had never considered before. Most of the questions I receive from agents using that program revolve around ways to compensate people who do not have […]
Read more...Does Agent Have Duty to Notify Insured of New Coverages?
Before addressing the above question, I have to acknowledge that I have already failed in my New Year’s resolution to make a post to this blog at least once a week in 2019. That is the fastest I have ever failed to live up to such a resolution and will give me pause before making […]
Read more...Is Your Agency’s Culture What You Want It To Be?
Every agency has a culture, a way of doing business and interacting with its customers, whether intended or not. As the end of the year approaches and planning for the new year is underway, it’s a good time for an agency’s owners to think about their agency’s culture and decide if it’s what they want […]
Read more...Surplus Lines Policies – Are You Doing Your Due Diligence?
I received an e-mail recently from a client complaining about the forms he was being asked to complete by brokers through whom he had placed surplus lines policies. Those forms asked him to name the admitted insurance companies from whom he had tried to obtain the insurance coverage sought before obtaining the surplus lines policy […]
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