Liberty buys Safeco Insurance 6.2 billion

Liberty Insurance purchased Safeco Insurance for 6.2 billion

Liberty Mutual Group Inc. agreed to buy Safeco Corp. for about $6.2 billion,
taking advantage of a 19 percent drop in the company's stock this year to strike
the industry's biggest transaction since 2004.
Liberty Mutual, owned by its
policyholders, will pay $68.25 a share in cash for Safeco, 51 percent more than
Tuesday's closing price, the companies said. The purchase will create the
fifth-largest U.S. property and casualty insurer, the biggest deal since St.
Paul Cos. and Travelers Property Casualty Corp. combined in a $17.9 billion
merger.
Safeco's sale may signal the start of an industry consolidation
predicted on April 14 by Accenture Ltd. after insurance stocks fell 15 percent
in the first quarter. The Seattle-based insurer's auto unit posted a loss at the
end of 2007 because of rising medical claims and repair costs, leading to a 33
percent decline in Safeco's fourth-quarter profit. ....Insurance

Stop Selling Insurance

Stop Selling Insurance, Good Article about taking the focus of selling your products, listening to the customer first and the offer Insurance Solutions or Insurance Services:

When you adopt the attitude of a professional and take the focus off the
products, guess who the focus falls on? You! You become the service that clients
buy. You become valuable. You become a resource. You become an expert. Clients
don’t look to insurance policies for answers, they look to you! One of the
greatest challenges in arriving at this mindset is becoming clear as to what
makes you unique so you can communicate it effectively to your prospects and
clients. I often work with my clients on clarifying their purpose and
identifying their unique strengths so that their marketing and leadership is
effective. ...... from The Insurance Coach

via Insureme Agent Blog

Insurance Agent's Online Reputation Management for Insurance Agents

Online Reputation Management for Insurance Agents:

Here is some good advice to remember about online reputation management for insurance agnets.



You Tube Video- Online Reputation Management for Insurance Agents

Insurance blog, Insurance Agent Marketing

Internet Marketing for Insurance Agents

Internet Insurance Marketing for Insurance Agents, here is a good post with some valuable marketing for your 2008 Insurance Marketing Strategy:

"What Insurance Agents MUST learn from Auto dealers, real estate agents and
mortgage brokers. if you ask industry leaders, they'll all say there is no
greater pain then the pain of REGRET.
Independent agents will need to adjust
their way of thinking in order to deal with the recent shift in the
market. As consumers increase their use of the internet LARGE direct to
consumer insurance companies will find it easier to steal market share.
This poses a significant challenge for the independent agent....' from Tim's Blog on Active Rain

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About the NAIC

"Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. The NAIC’s overriding objective is to assist state insurance regulators in protecting consumers and helping maintain the financial stability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal, computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise. Formed in 1871, the NAIC is the oldest association of state officials. For more than 135 years, state-based insurance supervision has served the needs of consumers, industry and the business of insurance at-large by ensuring hands-on, frontline protection for consumers, while providing insurers the uniform platforms and coordinated systems they need to compete effectively in an ever-changing marketplace....." NAIC from Insurance News

Four Questions to Get the Right Auto Insurance

Four Questions to Ask to Get the Right Auto Insurance
Using the right tool for a job is the key to success in any profession. Experts say the same principle applies when selecting an auto insurance policy. Having the right type of policy can help ensure that you, your employees and your business are all protected in the unfortunate event that one of your vehicles is involved in an auto accident.

If you are the business owner and you or your employees use a vehicles for business related deliveries or to carry certain materials or passengers to and from a job site you may need a Commercial Auto Insurance policy that is more closely tailored to suit the needs and risks of a business vehicle operator.

• Do you need more liability insurance coverage than your personal auto insurance policies? Generally, a commercial auto insurance policy provides higher limits of liability, but less or not coverage in area that are typically not associated with commercial auto insurance risks.
• Do you need special coverage for situations associated with conducting a business? Commercial Auto Insurance policies usually offer certain coverages such as hired and non owned auto insurance coverage, and coverage for towing a trailer for your business.
• Do you need to list your employees as drivers? You can do this with a commercial auto insurance policy.
• Do you use vehicles for business purposes? If you use your vehicle for things like pizza or newspaper delivery, catering, landscaping, then you migh need a commercial auto insurance policy.

Yahoo Accepts Open ID

Yahoo Accepts Open ID
"lthough no official announcements have yet been made, it appears as though Yahoo is gearing up to implement OpenID, a web authentication standard that eliminates the need to remember multiple passwords to log into different web sites. A subdomain of Yahoo, me.yahoo.com, features a short message that indicates they will act as an identity provider for OpenID...." Search Engine Journal

Small Business Trends of 2008

The number 1 Small Business Trend of 2008:
"No. 1 small business trend for 2008 is …
Networking 2.0: Networking used to be that thing you had to do: Trudging off to the local business mixer to exchange business cards and chit-chat with people you didn't know but whom you hoped needed your services anyway.
Welcome to the new world.
Networking 2.0 is 180 degrees, 100% different. Networking in this new wired world means locating compadres online via a vast network of shared colleagues using sites like LinkedIn, or getting the word out using Facebook, MySpace, or YouTube. Networking today means harnessing the power of the Net to expand your profile exponentially....." from USA Today

SEO Success Pyramid

The SEO Success Pyramid
Excellent information from Matt McGee at Small Business SEM,
factors that could determine your success in Search Engine Optimization
including Commitment, Planning, Design & Usability, and Keyword Research

Great Tips for any Small Business that wants to increase SEM or SEO