Conn. Agents Told to Brace for Bill to Ban Contingent Pay

November 17, 2006

  • November 17, 2006 at 1:41 am
    Agent says:
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    Clearly a waste of time.

    What makes them think that agents won\’t demand higher commissions from the carriers that will not pay contingent commissions?

    Contingent commissions make up a good portion of an agency\’s income and in some cases could put an agency in the red without this income.

    Are they also going to shut down hot dog vendors that give their business to a specific hot dog maker becasue of lower pricing and better quality???

  • November 17, 2006 at 1:43 am
    Ray says:
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    This ia a bunch of crap. You get a couple of the really big players pulling illegal and unethical tricks and who is really going to suffer but the small agency who has been ethical. Those contigency fees, representing payment for stability of books and low loss ratios (equating to profitability for the carrier), are an important part of their income. With those contingencies gone, the insurance companies will realize greater profit and the big brokers (who caused all of this) will find other ways to bolster their income, like dropping a lot of their smaller business and imposing fees on those huge customers.

    Once again the little guy gets it in the shorts and the big guys just keep on raking in the cash.

  • November 17, 2006 at 2:43 am
    Little Guy says:
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    Dems take control the small business gets whacked. Why doesnt Dicky B go after some of his lawyer buddies with all they get away with. The Big I, PIA, and Trusted Choice better get there Big guns out and fight like hell…or kiss my dues good bye. Who else gets their income legislated out! Why doesnt Dickie B tell the Insurance Co CEOs not to take any more bonus money? Is that Contingency money? This is truly unbelievable.

  • November 17, 2006 at 2:52 am
    MArk says:
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    Contingency is what the quality agency works for at year end. If Connecticut wants to play this game they better look at 2 additional areas. 1) the future of agency system in state will disappear and direct writers will be only choice. 2)If you are going to attack the backbone of Amercian Sales you better apply these rules to all salespeople (auto, retail stores, or should I say 90% of the people we deal with). Goodbye middle class!

  • November 17, 2006 at 3:15 am
    Southern Agent says:
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    Here go the Demo\’s taking away incentives and going against human nature by rewarding mediocrity.
    This is not what makes our Country great.

    Contact the PIA and Big-I.

  • November 17, 2006 at 3:33 am
    vfc says:
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    In states like Conn, Calif, Ill negotiations won\’t help. It has to be handled in the courts. This whole thing should have been settled by the courts. Then it would have come down to what we all already knew. Bid rigging bad continent not bad. But this industry runs like hell when you say \”court\”. How long were countersignature fees paid in states like florida until it went to the state supreme court and were the fees were halted. Our industry leaders want to handle this on the golf course. But you have politicaly motiveted people driving this and only the courts can stop it. This type of legislation has nothin gto do with busines or ethics it\’s POLITICS. Go to court we can\’t loose. If they say stop so what the state is already saying it. If they say it\’s ok then we win. Laws do not operate in a vacumn they affect everything they touch. State supreme courts will have to really think on this one as a decission to ban will affect all busines not just insurance. How much you want to bet our industry does not fight this where it matters in the court. There are so many insurance regs that would be kicked at State supreme or fed level it\’s not funny. Yes fed it may be insurance but federal commercial codes apply as well.

  • November 17, 2006 at 3:39 am
    Hawk says:
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    The problem originated from the fact that large Brokers were representing their clients as brokers. Their clients engaged them to purchase coverage and paid them to do so. However, without the knowledge of the client, the Broker received contingent commissions from the insurance companies for placing the business with them. What sense does it make to ban contingent commissions for agents, who represent their insurance companies as agents, and are paid by their insurance companies and not paid by the consumer. Legally an agent represents his insurance company, he is not representing the client.

  • November 17, 2006 at 3:51 am
    Southern Agent says:
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    Its really got nothing to do with human nature. If our system reflected human nature every CEO and Bill Gates out there would have been lynched a long time ago for taking excessive profit. Logically why would mob rule allow one smart nerd to have SO MUCH more than the rest of us?? Its not gods system, its a system created by greedy humans and it favors rich people. We only have a modified version of capitalism in the US anyway because we found capitalism to be too brutal, it just didnt work. Remember in true capitalism there is no FDA, FAA, and monopolies are legal.

  • November 17, 2006 at 4:00 am
    Southern Agent #1 says:
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    It\’s got EVERYTHING to do with human nature. Demo\’s want and advocate Socialism, which by it\’s very nature, goes against human nature , which is why it has never worked and will never work.
    Further, there\’s no PURE anything, I was speaking realistically not figuratively from out of a book.
    What\’s with the duplicate name?

  • November 17, 2006 at 4:02 am
    VFC says:
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    Good point. I agree. However, is that still true. Does your state still have a broker\’s license or just \”Producer\” How can you apply differing rules for agents and brokers when the state doesn\’t even use the term. Does each state have written description of when an individual is a broker or agent. If you hold a brokers license are you always a broker? If yes can I have a copy of that. If not can I have a copy of when I\’m an agent and when I\’m a Broker, other then broker represents the insured which is on the old agents exam.

    Politically motivated insurance commissioner will hammer us. Even if we loose in the courts will be no worse off and can only do better.

    A big part of what Spitzer said and I\’m not a fan, was your industry is a mess you need to fix and clarify. It the main reason why he didn\’t go to criminal court. The state laws are a MESS, unclear, undefined. The agent/broker community needs to have the states define agent and broker. Of course the states look stupid since the change to producer is new and really confused the works. I could go on but I hope you get my point.



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