Carol Marlin
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My first experience in the insurance industry was in the early 1980’s while working at my father’s independent agency, Consolidated Insurance Agencies, in Westwood, CA.
Technology was not nearly as sophisticated as it is today; we didn’t have computers and access to email in the office yet. Because of that, I spent most of the work day on the phone talking to underwriters and clients, which I really enjoyed. I loved getting to know our clients and by providing them with great customer service, I believe our relationship continued to instill confidence in and loyalty to our agency.
After my father sold his agency, I worked for a couple of other independent agencies and grew my knowledge in all aspects of Personal Lines such as quoting new business and servicing current accounts. The latter included rounding out accounts with whatever line of business clients didn’t have through our agency. Working with claims was also part of my job description – obtaining the information from clients and reporting it to the carrier, then being a liaison between the two to make sure the process flowed smoothly.
Working for a smaller independent agency became my niche and I came to work at MDS Insurance in the late 1980’s. I continued to develop great client relationships and being very detailed oriented contributed to my top notch customer service skills. As of today, I still feel that this is one of my best strengths.
In 1992 I left MDS Insurance to be a stay-at-home to my 2 children but came back in 2013 after they were grown. Since that time, I have continued to grow with the agency.
Some of my responsibilities at the office are mundane activities but are extremely important to the daily running of the agency. Since I am very detail oriented, I feel proud and assured by doing them so that things don’t “fall through the cracks”. The following are among my job responsibilities; both commercial and personal lines are included:
• Processing downloads – Sometimes after these come in, the policy numbers do not match up with a corresponding client file, so I manually attach them to the proper file. I go through all the downloads to check for potential items which need further attention such as warning/cancellation notices, large premium increases at renewal, endorsements needing to be sent to clients. Not all policies are downloaded by the carriers; for these
• Answering daily emails & phone calls – involves responding to requests from clients, carriers, mortgagees etc. These include endorsements that need to be emailed to or processed on different carrier websites, sending Certificates & Evidences to mortgagees and clients.
• Processing direct billed renewals – some are sent directly to the client by the carrier. However, for a large number I go to the corresponding carrier website, print out the policy & email to the insured with a renewal letter.
• Processing agency invoiced renewals – When these policies come up for renewal,
I help with obtaining the required information from the insured and sending it to
the carrier, then requesting that the renewal be bound. This is a very important
renewal process since time is always of the essence. I always “suspend” actions to
make sure they are completed in a timely manner. I process invoices to be sent to
clients and process check requests when we receive a payment.
• Quoting new business – I quote new business, such as referrals and call-ins. I also solicit current clients for policies or coverages they don’t have. Once new business become clients, I enter all the pertinent information into our agency management system, Hawksoft. I take pride in making sure those clients, as well as all of our current clients, have their requests & questions answered quickly, now and in the future.
• Reviewing Expiration/Renewal lists – every week I assist in going through this list to see what action needs to be taken.
The admitted carriers that I work with for both commercial and personal lines are: Hartford, Travelers, Safeco, Chubb, AmTrust, American Modern, Progressive, Assurant, GeoVera, Infinity (Kemper), Philadelphia, UFG, California Fair Plan, Zurich, AIG, Aegis, Arrowhead, Stillwater, Republic Indemnity, State Fund First, USLI, Zenith
Among the non-admitted carriers: Lloyd’s, Scottsdale, Guard, Hanover, Kinsale, AU Gold, Mt. Hawley, Heritage, Markel, Mt. Vernon
While Commercial Lines is not my strongest area, I do some quoting of new business and service a large portion of our commercial clients. In 5 years I hope to still be working at MDS Insurance. By that time or before, I will be much more knowledgeable with the details of Commercial Lines and feel confident about soliciting new business. I love working at MDS and feel that my contributions will continue to help keep our client-agency relationships strong and help to grow our book of business.
