Page 12 - COVID-Proof-Your-Agency

Chapter 2 – It’s a Pandemic. What’s Next? | Blew, Caldwell, Masiello

If you didn't have a plan, the truth is that you just built one on the fly. And if the digital

agency you just built looks more like a pup tent than a fortress, you still have more work to do.

Fortunately, information about operating a virtual agency is readily available from forward-

thinking insurance companies as well as from independent agent’s associations and agency

management vendors. However, it is up to you and your staff to implement the plan, so you

really must work on the fly.

Now is the opportunity to document your experiences and to identify what worked and

what didn't work. Now is the time to create or update your disaster plan. It's a good business

practice and carriers are beginning to require it in their agency agreements. Fortunately, those

that had a plan, even if not a very comprehensive plan, were able to implement it and to pivot the

staff safely and efficiently to their new office in their home. Just make sure to adapt, evolve, and

grow that plan to take it from good to great.

If you would like to review the elements of a properly prepared plan, and perhaps save

time by adopting it yourself, one of our businesses (One Agents Alliance) has prepared an

excellent one you may download and use. Click this link for the “Business Continuity

Preparedness Plan”.

ACTION TO TAKE NOW

Since experience is the best teacher, whether it is your own experience or that of another

agency or agency owner, it is important that we look at what has been done successfully to

respond to this crisis. We talked to many of our top agents and here is what they recommended.

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