Page 147 - The UnCaptive Agent

120 THE UNCAPTIVE AGENT

computer systems of businesses of all sizes and stealing
client information and other sensitive information.
Should you have any of your computer systems, includ-
ing your telephone, connected to the Internet, you’re
exposed. The purchase of a Cyber Liability Insurance
policy can help indemnify you against the losses you
could experience, and I recommend that you purchase
such a policy as you open the doors of your new business.

Keeping Track of “Stuff”

The last tool I’d like to recommend before opening your
doors is a record-keeping system. Many of the important
documents that you will need to track, and access easily
will be those created or managed by your agency man-
agement system. But you will also have correspondence,
email, and documents that you create outside of that
system which you will need to store and find quickly.
Your system does not need to be complex. In fact, it
can be as simple as a set of folders in your Outlook™
or other email system and a set of folders on your hard
drive for documents. But it’s worth taking the time to
consider a naming convention for those documents
and a file structure for their storage that can be used
by everyone in your organization. Later, as your agency
grows, you may decide to have shared locations where
documents useful to many people inside the agency are
stored. Having a document storage system including
rules for naming will make finding records much easier.
While it won’t be something you need before opening
your doors, you will need to develop a record retention
policy. You will need to keep payroll, sales, and other
data relevant to filing tax returns for up to seven years.
You will also need to keep copies of client insurance
policies, applications, and materials related to their