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Strategic Planning for Independent Insurance Agencies
By: admin|Published on: Aug 29, 2018|Categories: |
Strategic Planning for Independent Insurance Agencies
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2021 – To Infinity and BeyondAs the last 20 years have demonstrated, Angela Adams has a knack for knowing what agency owners need to succeed. As newer owners enter the market and owner responsibilities grow, Angela Adams Consulting’s expert team of Advisors has crafted a program specifically geared to tackle the challenges ahead. Angela Adams Consulting Services is renowned in the industry for our exceptional understanding of agency operations and automation. We help busy agency owners focus more time on what they do best and less time chasing problems behind the scenes. The Agency Coaches work closely with owners and senior managers to keep them out of the weeds and laser-focused on goals.
2001 – FoundedIn August of 2001, Angela Adams formed Angela Adams Consulting. Her husband, Mark, and sister, Joann Horton, joined in to help with building the foundation of what is today Angela Adams Consulting Services. With a strong desire to obtain the elusive work/life balance, she embarked on her first speaking engagement with her two-month-old son in tow. This was the beginning of what would transform the lives of the many who followed!
2017- It is a Virtual WorldAs competition and costs rise, the independent insurance agency must adapt business operations to be as efficient and effective as possible. Compounding this growing issue, more seasoned professionals are exiting the workforce leaving gaps of knowledge and experience. Enter the services Virtual Chief Financial Officer, Virtual Operations Manager, and Virtual Human Resources. Agencies have as-needed access to experienced experts who’ve worked in agencies and understand what they need to succeed. These services are an alternative to hiring a full-time employee or fractionalizing your management to an outside firm or individual that doesn’t have your whole strategy in mind.
2003- Pioneered Remote Accounting“They,” said agencies would never want someone in their books… But Angela knew that agencies needed expert guidance and support. She knew the agency owners who spent more time developing their team, nurturing client relationships, and growing their business were more successful. With the help of the internet and cloud computing, she revolutionized back-office operations in independent agencies, relieving them of the burden of monthly accounting, direct bill processing, reconciliation, financials, and more. Today, hundreds of agency owners are still confident in their finances due to remote Accounting Solutions by Angela Adams Consulting.
2006 – Clients’ Wishes are Our Command!As fanfare grew for remote Accounting Solutions, so did the desire to outsource account management functions. Angela listened to the demand and developed our CSR branch, now called Insurance Specialists Solutions. The service allowed agency account managers to handle larger books of business and more responsibilities in the agency while we provide all the back office support. Today, our Insurance Specialist Division is as strong as ever as we are one of the only exclusively US-based firms offering the service with licensed, experienced professionals who understand what it is like to work in an agency!
2018 – Welcome to the AcademyThe variety and sources of on-demand learning have grown, but organizing that content into material relevant to insurance agency operations, sourced from expert experience, and assignable and trackable was impossible before the introduction of Lighthouse Academy. Angela Adams Consulting introduced this platform to help agencies access our growing library of software-specific, on-demand, and live lessons. Then, our experts curated a large selection of Microsoft Office, leadership, and sales classes to include that are ideal for agency personnel. For more advanced agencies, a subscription option is available. The Academy can be branded and customized for subscription clients, including the addition of the agency’s content, custom learning plans, and the ability for agency supervisors to assign training and track progress. Training and development with Lighthouse Academy is streamlined, focused, and geared specifically for independent agency personnel.
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Account Manager | Hayden, ID
Judy Chandler has 26 years of experience in Insurance accounting and full charge bookkeeping. She has earned her degree in Accounting and Business. Judy worked for a California agency for 8 years after graduating college and advanced to Assistant to the CFO. Judy’s experience also includes working as the sole accounting person for 4 divisions in an Idaho Agency after relocating to NW. She has been an Angela Adams Consulting’s Account Manager since 2011.
Central Region, Trainer | Houston, TX
Miranda began her career in the insurance industry with a mid-sized independent insurance agency. Her primary focus was on accounting and system administration. She has been instrumental in assisting senior management with agency acquisitions, data migration projects, and building custom reports. She has been beneficial in creating efficiencies within agency work by developing and implementing agency workflows, procedural documentation, and training of agency employees. Miranda has more than twenty years of experience in the insurance industry, assisting agencies in achieving their goals by training and sharing knowledge about AMS360, Reference Connect, Benefit Point, Vertafore Platform, and PL Rating. Miranda was active and served on the Board in her local NetVu Chapter for many years.
Account Manager | Summerville, SC
Senior Accounting Manager | Panama City, FL
John graduated from Florida State University in 1996, with a BS degree in Accounting. He began his insurance career in 2002 working as the accounting/operations manager of a mid-size agency in Florida. The agency was on the AFW system for his first 4 years before converting to AMS360. John’s experienced in all daily functions of the accounting department , handling HR issues, and solving problems that arise in the daily operations of the agency. John currently has a 2-20 general lines agents license in Florida.
Senior Account Manager | Virgina
Trainer | Ankeny, Iowa
Joan started in the insurance industry shortly out of high school, working in small to mid-sized independent agencies. Her primary focus has been in the customer service areas of both the Personal and Commercial Lines departments. She also has experience in agency operations which includes developing procedures and workflow processes and assisting management in retrieving necessary information from agency management systems. The part of her job she has been most passionate about is the training of new employees and sharing new features and software releases with all agency employees.
Joan has led education sessions at various NetVU events, including the annual Accelerate conferences as well as the local NetVu chapter.
Presented by: Elizabeth Rodriguez
Are you tracking your agency and producer commissions in QQCatalyst? Come join us! This session will cover how commissions function in QQCatalyst. We will be covering everything from setting up rules for how agency commissions and producer commissions should be calculated, to reconciling when commissions have been paid to the agency or its producers. Topics will also extend to how to reset commissions for existing policies, editing reconciliation statements, and reports that will be important for tracking commissions in QQCatalyst.
Presented by: Elizabeth Rodriguez | Angela Adams Consulting
Join us for this session as we review the Agency Intelligence (AI) automated marketing feature inside of QQCatalyst.
This includes setting your system preferences, automated Smartflow setup, editing Smartflow emails and tasks. We will also review how AI and the Salesroom work together to help you manage pending quotes, renewals, and employee goals.
Presented by: Elizabeth Rodriguez
How do I post payments in QQCatalyst? This session will cover topics such as creating bills, taking payments, reconciling premium sent, printing invoices/receipts, and the correct way to setup a policy based on how it is being paid and how commission is received. We will look at specific reports that will help you keep track of your billing information.
Advisor|Alabama
Renee has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. Her agency experience includes agency operations, system implementation/administration, staff training, and commercial lines/personal lines management. Renee is passionate about working with the unique variety of agencies in our industry and helping them solve challenges with creative and out-of-the-box solutions. She works with agencies of many sizes to develop customized solutions to reach agency goals of increased profitability and efficiency. She has been a regular speaker at the NetVu National Conference and NetVu Chapter meetings nationwide.
President | Charleston, SC
Angela has 30 years of experience working in all aspects of insurance agencies. Starting in agency accounting in 1985, Angela has worked as an Agency Owner, Chief Financial Officer, and Commercial and Marketing Manager. With 19 years of insurance agency consulting experience under her belt, Angela has also been a regular speaker at the AMS National Users’ Group Conferences and teaches local AMS Users’ Groups throughout the country.
Junior Account Manager | Mississippi
Account Manager|Ozark, Missouri
Mary began her career in insurance agency accounting in 2006. Since 2008, Mary has worked and managed accounting processes in independent insurance agencies.
Consultant| South Beach, Oregon
Since 1998, Kevin has spent his time building and supporting the technology infrastructure of independent insurance agencies. He is enthusiastic about the many benefits technology has in improving the overall quality of customer service and employee morale. Kevin specializes in ensuring agency employees are able to obtain, and rely on, the data needed for their jobs, and being able to use all of their software features including download, product integration, workflows, form letters, and proposals. He’s well versed in the software agencies use and understands how third-party providers can integrate with primary systems for customization or increased performance. Kevin has been a NetVU speaker and board member for many years. He is active in the AMS360 and WorkSmart PM&E groups where he has particular expertise.
Account Manager | Anaheim, CA
Account Manager | Cleveland, GA
Penny has been in insurance industry for 14 years. She has worked as the front office manager as well as a sub-agent assisting customers. The last 11 years, Penny has worked with Angela Adams Consulting Services. She began first as a processor and currently as an account manager. Penny is able to assist clients with vendor and company payables, agency receivables, bank reconciliations as well as numerous other agency accounting functions.
Account Manager | Diana, TX
Melissa has worked in insurance for since 1989 spending time in three different independent insurance agencies. She has worked in various departments, starting in personal and commercial lines, and then moving to HR, payroll & accounting. Melissa has enjoyed working in independent insurance agency accounting since 2002.
Account Manager | McDonough, GA
Bridgett began her career in 1977 where she spent 8 years on the insurance company side in rating and underwriting. She was on the Independent Agency side of the business for 22 years. She was an Assistant Vice President to a regional agency for 9 years where she managed the day-to-day service of large commercial accounts. Her experience includes Commercial Lines account management, marketing, agency accounting and systems administrator. She has been an Associate at Angela Adams Consulting since 2004.
New Client Advisor | Chattanooga, TN
Debbie started her insurance career in 1978 at Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Chattanooga, Tn. She processed claims until 1979 and then became a trainer for new employees. Debbie began agency work in 1984 where she held positions from assistant bookkeeper to operations manager and system administrator. In 1995, she assisted her agency in moving from AMS/ARC’s accounting batch system to Aetna’s Gemini System to AFW. Debbie has 13 years experience with AMS360, specializing in accounting.
Consulting Coordinator | North Charleston, SC
Robin earned her Bachelors of Science Degree in Mathematics from The College of Charleston and is scheduled to complete her Masters in Project Management from The Citadel in 2018. She has been working in the insurance industry for over 25 years, attained AIAM and CISR designations, and has held positions in software programming, IT management, and operations management. She has insurance systems experience with Insurnet, Policy Management Systems, Applied TAM and Epic, AMS AfW Online and Sagitta. She was a founding member of the SC Insurnet Users Group and a member of the PaperWise Users Group National Advisory Committee.
Most recently, Robin oversaw agency operations for HUB International Southeast in SC and NC focusing on agency acquisition and system migrations, compliance, client services, accounting, procurement, facility management, and business continuity planning.
Trainer | New Boston, Texas
Her passion for the independent insurance agency started in 2001. Experiencing agency life in all aspects of agency operations from bookkeeping, to IT, to directing marketing and employee benefits, she truly found her passion in transforming her agency through software conversions and training/coaching employees. She is excited about the possibilities of increased efficiency by marrying smart agency processes with AMS360, BenefitPoint, and thoughtful improvement plan execution. She is looking forward to transforming agency clients with her variety of software/operational and real-life experience, creative approach to problem-solving, and enthusiasm for seeing others achieve success.
Account Manager |
Account Manager |
Advisor | Dike, TX
Margaret began her insurance career in 1978 as a policy typist at an Independent Insurance Agency. Since this time she has been involved in all aspects of the agency including Personal Lines Account Manager and System Administrator. Margaret worked in Agency Management and when the agency was purchased by a local bank in 2004, Margaret took on the role of Operations Manager of three agency locations. This position included HR, policies and procedures, compliance and training. In addition to the role of IT / System Administrator, Margaret has been involved in the implementation of several AMS system and hardware upgrades. Margaret served on several Company committees, was an active member in the Red River Users Group and a member of the AMS360 NetVU Education Committee.
Consultant | Cleveland, OH
She is an accomplished client manager/account executive with over 30 years of industry experience in various capacities including managing middle market to large national accounts. Her management experience includes overseeing a large commercial lines staff at a middle market agency. She was a successful Quality Control Manager for an Assurex E & O Program creating a 100% automated and highly efficient renewal checklist to all personal lines and small commercial clients resulting in a significantly reduced E & O exposure for the agency. Over the last 10 years, she has been project lead involved in several agency migrations and conversions. She is conversant with AMS360, PLATFORM, WORKSMART/IMAGE RIGHT, BENEFIT POINT and the integration between the systems. She has been a member of NetVu for over 10 years, attending National Conference and some power user groups. Her key to success is her thorough knowledge of the system and what it can do for you in cutting cost and improving efficiencies as well as employee satisfaction.
Accounting Manager | Charleston, SC
Processing Manager | Farnham, VA
Kristy began her career in 2001 in a independent insurance agency. She then came on board with Angela Adams Consulting in 2014 as a Direct Bill Team Leader and specializes in Direct Bill Processing.
Processing Manager |
Processing Manager | Glenwood, AL
Cary began her career in 2005 in an independent insurance agency. She has been with Angela Adams Consulting since 2006, where she specializes in Direct Bill processing and procedures in AMS360 and BenefitPoint, as well as downloads. While currently serving as a Processor Manager, she also has experience as an Account Manager and Processor.
Accounting Department Coordinator |
Impressions Coordinator |
Marketing & Administration Manager | North Charleston, SC
CSR Coordinator & Concept Implementation | North Charleston, SC
Insurance Specialist | Greenville, SC
Megan joined Angela Adams Consulting bringing over 6 years of independent agency experience. She began working in Marketing and Prospecting in 2011, then moved into Group Life & Health and servicing Commercial Lines at the same agency. In 2016, Megan moved to another independent agency working as a Producer and Account Manager for both Commercial and Personal Lines. She graduated with her B.A. Psychology in December 2014.
| North Charleston, SC
Consultant | Fort Pierce, FL
Tammy has been in the insurance business since 1990, spending most of that time in the Accounting field, and also in Systems & Operations Management. She received the AAI designation in 1999. She was instrumental in forming the Sunshine State AMS Users’ Group and previously served as President. Tammy has been active in National Conference AfW/AMS 360 Education, where she served on the committee as Co-Chair as well as being a presenter at National Conference for the past several years. In 2005 Tammy was awarded the Presidential Citation from the AMS National Users’ Group.
Consultant | Ramseur, NC
Stephanie has over 23 years of experience in the insurance industry. She has bachelor’s degrees in finance and economics, and in information technology. She began her career at Brown & Brown Insurance in 1991 gaining experience in all aspects of agency operations. During her time at Brown & Brown she completed two computer conversions – one of which was to Sagitta. During her career with Vertafore, she gained additional expertise in Sagitta, Worksmart, and the entire Vertafore product suite. She worked with large-scale agencies up to 2,000 users, assisting them with conversions, implementations, and migrations. Stephanie has a combined background in agency operations and software that can assist all types of agencies from the start-up, the growing, and the mature. She focuses beyond the software, placing her emphasis on being a true strategic partner. Stephanie is rated by attendees as a Top Speaker at NetVu for many years!
Consultant | Seattle, WA
Angela is a popular speaker at NetVU conferences whether it be a local Chapter meeting, virtual webex session or National Conference. This is due to her experience with the Insurance Industry and passion for Insurance Agency Professionals. Angela has been in the Insurance Industry since 1980. She has held various positions with Carriers including System Interaction Specialist, Personal Lines Underwriter, Commercial Lines Underwriter. In 1992 Angela became a Licensed Property & Casualty agent for a large Brokerage firm in the Washington area specializing in Financial Products before joining Vertafore in 1996. While at Vertafore Angela Painter worked primarily in Development as a Senior Business Analyst and Product Manager on AfW and the AMS360 product since its inception. As the AMS360 Product Manager Angela worked closely with Agencies, Sales, Support, Implementation, Training and Development Teams to analyze, research, prioritize, design, and implement features within the AMS360 system.