Exclusive Agents Research Articles

The conflict and burden of insurer appointments for brokers and the need for regulatory reform

Brokers are supposed to be independent to represent the insured, rather than the insurer; yet, the law in many states still requires insurers to appoint a broker as an agent actually to transact insurance with the insurer. This dual agency creates well-known conflicts and burdens. We contend that the requirement that insurers appoint agents in each state with the department of insurance (DOI) has outlived its usefulness and should be abolished for independent insurance brokers, at least those of a minimum size. Insurers with exclusive agents should retain the appointment requirement. Protection of the insured against rogue brokers is not accomplished by this appointment requirement. Protection against rogue brokers is already achieved by malpractice claims and malpractice insurance, which can be strengthened by requirements for higher malpractice insurance limits. Removing the appointment for brokers will further the goals of simplified regulatory burdens, business efficiency, and customer protection by removing one conflict of interest of the dual agency situation.

The status quo of digital transformation in insurance sales: an empirical analysis of the german insurance industry

In this paper, we focus on the impact of digital transformation on traditional ways to sell insurance products. Our goal is to investigate how widespread the use of digital technologies in insurance sales is and which values of these digital technologies are perceived by insurance intermediaries. Moreover, we aim to analyze underlying influencing factors in this regard. We conducted a survey in July 2020, i.e., after the first wave of COVID-19, in which 671 exclusive agents from various insurance companies, independent agents and independent brokers from Germany participated. Our results show that even at this point of time, in a high proportion of sales workforces, digital transformation is not yet very advanced. Further analyses show that exclusive agents and younger people are further ahead in digital transformation even though COVID-19 pushes digital life across all ages and social classes. Based on our results, we derive initial recommendations for action for the insurer.

A study on the opinion of internal and external stakeholders on growth of insurance sector after increase in FDI

Insurance companies collaborate with a diverse range of market actors, including the insurance companies' owners, managers, and employees, as well as their exclusive agents and independent brokers, private and institutional clients, banks and reinsurers, outsourcing companies, and other insurance organizations and community members. Insurance companies must address the unique needs of each stakeholder group. Owners, managers, staff, and exclusive agents all contribute to the internal environment of an insurance company. The surrounding environment of an insurance company is composed of the following. An insurance firm is made up of individual and institutional clients, brokers and other insurers, research and development groups, and community members.

Hematological features of visceral leishmaniosis (kala-azar) of infected children in Baghdad, Iraq.

Leishmania donovani complex are the exclusive causative agents of systemic and fatal visceral leishmaniosis. In Iraq however, the case numbers of this fatal disease continue to be sustained. The present study aimed to characterize the prevalence and the hematological features of Iraqi children hospitalized cases with fatal visceral leishmaniosis. Hospitalized children considered positive for fatal visceral leishmaniosis depending on bone marrow aspiration and indirect florescent antibody test IFAT titer 1/34 and up. Prevalence of fatal visceral leishmaniosis in 115 children at Baghdad city revealed male were higher infected (54%) than female (46%). The 1–3 years age was the most affected (53.3%). The most prevalence (74.9%) in cold season in compare with lowest prevalence (26.0%) at hot season. Hematological features examination of infected children revealed hypochromic and microcytic anemia with leukopenia and neutropenia and lymphocytosis.

The Development of Social Exclusion Detection in Early Childhood: Awareness of Social Exclusion Does Not Always Align with Social Preferences

ABSTRACTStarting in the preschool years, children show socially exclusive behaviors, such as intentionally leaving out another child from a ball game. Prior research investigating social exclusion understanding in preschoolers primarily used interview methods and it is clear that the verbal and cognitive skills necessary to identify and reason about social exclusion become more sophisticated with age. Yet it is unknown how children’s ability to identify social exclusion relates to their own behavior, such as their social preference for socially inclusive or exclusive individuals. Further, whether such social preferences remain stable or change across development is an open question. Thus, the current study investigated whether the ability to identify social exclusion develops in tandem with social preference behavior by assessing 3- to 6-year-old children’s (N = 256) identification of social exclusion and preferences between socially exclusive and inclusive agents. Five- to six-year-old children correctly identified social exclusion and preferred inclusive agents over exclusive agents across two experiments. Three- to four-year-old children could correctly identify social exclusion, but did not show evidence of a preference for inclusive agents over exclusive agents. Children were also able to detect implicit, nonverbalized social exclusion equally well as explicit, verbalized social exclusion across development. These findings suggest that young children’s social preferences are not wholly dictated by their ability to identify socially exclusive agents. This divergent pattern of social preference from identification has implications for interpreting social preference behavior in young children.

Changing Concepts and Current Definition of Majocchi's Granuloma.

Dermatophytic granuloma characterized by perifollicular granulomatous inflammation was first described by Domenico Majocchi and was later named after him, Majocchi's granuloma (MG). Although the initial description was related to a dermatophyte Trichophyton tonsurans, later reports linked MG to non-dermatophytes (Phoma, Aspergillus, Malbranchea), which led to a confusion of disease patterns caused by cutaneous pathogens and general opportunistic microorganisms. Furthermore, several causative agents of MG described in the literature were not confirmed as such. Our review addressed the following aspects: (1) significance of histopathological finding for MG diagnosis, (2) dermatophytes as exclusive agents of MG, (3) spectrum of etiological agents causing different types of invasive dermatophytic infections, and (4) treatment options.

Stakeholders on the Insurance Market

The aim of this study was to identify and describe the stakeholders on the insurance market and their expectations towards insurers. Insurance companies conduct operations on the financial market by collaborating with various market actors, including the owners, managers and employees of insurance undertakings, exclusive agents, independent agents, insurance brokers, private and institutional clients, banks, reinsurers, outsourcing companies, market competitors, insurance organizations, providers of business support services, research and development organizations and members of the community. Each stakeholder group has specific expectations towards insurers.

Missionaries and Indigenous Education in the 19th‐Century British Empire. Part I: Church‐State Relations and Indigenous Actions and Reactions

AbstractMissionaries were major providers of education in the colonial world, and in many cases were the initial and exclusive agents of education for Indigenous and non‐European people, whom they hoped could be converted to Christianity through religious schooling. However, by the end of the 19th century many governments in colonial lands were keen to take more active roles in providing secular education for their subjects, which, in turn, engendered tensions between missionary groups, governments, and the Indigenous communities for whom education was provided. Although the article of missions has received increasing attention in the last few decades, especially with the advent of postcolonial studies, there are still many aspects of missionary schooling that are understudied. This research overview examines the debates and research directions which are evident in the article of missionaries and their education of Indigenous and non‐European peoples in the 19th century, and focuses particularly upon major themes emerging from the literature: Two of these themes—Church‐State relations and Indigenous action and reaction will be examined in this article, whilst the themes of race, class, and gender will be examined in the second part.

Randomised clinical trial of a family-based lifestyle intervention for childhood obesity involving parents as the exclusive agents of change

Parent-centred interventions for childhood obesity aim to improve parents’ skills and confidence in managing children’s dietary and activity patterns, and in promoting a healthy lifestyle in their family. However, few studies assess changes in parenting over the course of treatment. This study describes the evaluation of a lifestyle-specific parenting program (Group Lifestyle Triple P) on multiple child and parent outcomes. One-hundred-and-one families with overweight and obese 4- to 11-year-old children participated in an intervention or waitlist control condition. The 12-week intervention was associated with significant reductions in child BMI z score and weight-related problem behaviour. At the end of the intervention, parents reported increased confidence in managing children’s weight-related behaviour, and less frequent use of inconsistent or coercive parenting practices. All short-term intervention effects were maintained at one-year follow-up assessment, with additional improvements in child body size. The results support the efficacy of Group Lifestyle Triple P and suggest that parenting influences treatment outcomes. Further research is needed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the intervention and to elucidate the mechanisms of change.

The Quality of Insurance Intermediary Services—Empirical Evidence for Germany

AbstractCompeting insurance intermediaries provide heterogeneous services that are difficult for incompletely informed consumers to assess. Transaction cost economics, search theory, and principal‐agent theory provide arguments on product quality differences between exclusive agents and independent intermediaries. This article uses a sample of 927 insurance intermediaries in Germany. By performing OLS estimations, we test the impact of the different distribution channels and other factors on intermediaries’ service quality. Depending on the proxies used for service quality, we find mixed evidence for the product quality hypothesis. Service quality depends to a large extent on the information‐gathering and processing activities of the individual intermediaries, independent of the respective distribution channel.

Allstate Corp.

AbstractInsurance (MIC: 8.2 SIC: 6331 NAIC: 524126)Allstate is a holding company for Allstate Insurance Company. Co.'s business is conducted principally through Allstate Insurance, Allstate Life Insurance and their subsidiaries. Co. is engaged, principally in the U.S., in the personal property and casualty insurance business and the life insurance and savings business. As of Dec 31 2006, Co. provided insurance products to more than 17.0 million households through approximately 14,800 exclusive agents and financial specialists. Co. operates in four business segments: Allstate Protection, Allstate Financial, discontinued lines and coverages, as well as corporate and other business.

The Quality of Insurance Intermediary Services - Empirical Evidence for Germany

Insurance intermediaries help consumers to economize on information and transaction costs in insurance markets. However, competing insurance intermediaries provide heterogeneous services, which are difficult to assess by incompletely informed consumers. Transaction costs economics, search theory and principal agent theory provide arguments on product quality differences between the two main distribution channels in insurance markets (exclusive agents vs. independent intermediaries). The present paper uses a sample of 927 insurance intermediaries in Germany. By performing OLS estimations we test the impact of the different distribution channels, but also of other factors relating to the information processing activities on intermediaries’ service quality. Depending on the proxies used for service quality, we find mixed evidence for the “product quality” hypothesis according to which independent intermediaries provide better service quality than exclusive agents. We find that service quality depends also to a large extent on the information gathering and processing activities of the individual intermediaries.

Allstate Corp.

AbstractInsurance (MIC: 8.2 SIC: 6331 NAIC: 524126)Allstate is a holding company for Allstate Insurance Company. Co.'s business is conducted principally through Allstate Insurance, Allstate Life Insurance and their subsidiaries. Co. is engaged, principally in the U.S., in the personal property and casualty insurance business and the life insurance and savings business. As of Dec 31 2006, Co. provided insurance products to more than 17.0 million households through approximately 14,800 exclusive agents and financial specialists. Co. operates in four business segments: Allstate Protection, Allstate Financial, discontinued lines and coverages, as well as corporate and other business.

Allstate Corp. (THE)

AbstractInsurance (MIC: 8.2 SIC: 6331 NAIC: 524126)Allstate is a holding company for Allstate Insurance Company. Co.'s business is conducted principally through Allstate Insurance, Allstate Life Insurance and their subsidiaries. Co. is engaged, principally in the U.S., in the personal property and casualty insurance business and the life insurance and savings business. As of Dec 31 2006, Co. provided insurance products to more than 17.0 million households through approximately 14,800 exclusive agents and financial specialists. Co. operates in four business segments: Allstate Protection, Allstate Financial, discontinued lines and coverages, as well as corporate and other business.

Allstate Corp. (THE)

AbstractInsurance (MIC: 8.2 SIC: 6331 NAIC: 524126)Allstate is a holding company for Allstate Insurance Company. Co.'s business is conducted principally through Allstate Insurance, Allstate Life Insurance and their subsidiaries. Co. is engaged, principally in the United States, in the personal property and casualty insurance business and the life insurance and savings business. As of Dec 31 2006, Co. provided insurance products to more than 17.0 million households through about 14,800 exclusive agents and financial specialists. Co. operates in four business segments: Allstate Protection, Allstate Financial, discontinued lines and coverages as well as corporate and other business.

Allstate Corp. (The)

AbstractInsurance (MIC: 8.2 SIC: 6331 NAIC: 524126)Allstate is a holding company for Allstate Insurance. Co.'s business is conducted principally through Allstate Insurance, Allstate Life Insurance and their subsidiaries. Co. is engaged, principally in the U.S. and Canada, in the personal property and casualty insurance business and the life insurance and savings business. As of Dec 31 2005, Co. provided insurance products to more than 17.0 million households through about 14,100 exclusive agents and financial specialists. Co. operates in four business segments: Allstate Protection, Allstate Financial, discontinued lines and coverages, and corporate and other business.

Allstate Corp. (The)

AbstractInsurance (MIC: 8.2 SIC: 6331 NAIC: 524126)Allstate is a holding company for Allstate Insurance. Co.'s business is conducted principally through Allstate Insurance, Allstate Life Insurance and their subsidiaries. Co. is engaged, principally in the U.S. and Canada, in the personal property and casualty insurance business and the life insurance and savings business. As of Dec 31 2004, Co. provided insurance products to more than 16.0 million households through about 13,600 exclusive agents and financial specialists. Co. operates in four business segments: Allstate Protection, Allstate Financial, discontinued lines and coverages, and corporate and other business.

Allstate Corp. (THE)

Mergent's Dividend AchieversVolume 3, Issue 3 p. 8-8 U.S. Company Reports Allstate Corp. (THE)† First published: 30 June 2006 https://doi.org/10.1002/div.4234 † Contact: : Edward M. Liddy — Chmn. C.E.O. Address: : 2775 Sanders Road, Northbrook, IL Web Site: : www.allstate.com AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Business Summary: Insurance (MIC: 8.2 SIC: 6331 NAIC: 524126) Allstate is a holding company for Allstate Insurance. Co.'s business is conducted principally through Allstate Insurance, Allstate Life Insurance and their subsidiaries. Co. is engaged, principally in the U.S. and Canada, in the personal property and casualty insurance business and the life insurance and savings business. As of Dec 31 2005, Co. provided insurance products to more than 17.0 million households through about 14,100 exclusive agents and financial specialists. Co. operates in four business segments: Allstate Protection, Allstate Financial, discontinued lines and coverages, and corporate and other business. Volume3, Issue3Summer 2006Pages 8-8 RelatedInformation

Allstate Corp. (The)

Mergent's Dividend AchieversVolume 3, Issue 2 p. 8-8 U.S. Company Reports Allstate Corp. (The)† First published: 20 April 2006 https://doi.org/10.1002/div.3816 † Contact: : Edward M. Liddy — Chmn., C.E.O. Address: : 2775 Sanders Road, Northbrook, IL 60062-6127 Web Site: : www.allstate.com AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract Insurance (MIC: 8.2 SIC: 6331 NAIC: 524126) Allstate is a holding company for Allstate Insurance. Co.'s business is conducted principally through Allstate Insurance, Allstate Life Insurance and their subsidiaries. Co. is engaged, principally in the U.S. and Canada, in the personal property and casualty insurance business and the life insurance and savings business. As of Dec 31 2005, Co. provided insurance products to more than 17.0 million households through about 14,100 exclusive agents and financial specialists. Co. operates in four business segments: Allstate Protection, Allstate Financial, discontinued lines and coverages, and corporate and other business. Volume3, Issue2Spring 2006Pages 8-8 RelatedInformation

Parents as agents of change in childhood obesity – from research to practice

The home environment is undoubtedly the most important setting in relation to shaping children's eating and physical activity behaviors. Family-based behavioral treatment is the most well-established intervention for the treatment of childhood obesity. Historically, family based interventions target the obese child and at least one or both parents. Presented here is a review of the literature on parents as exclusive agents of change, with the addition of some recent results indicating the effectiveness of this approach when implemented in public health programs. Targeting parents as the exclusive mediator has resulted in a better reduction in children's percentage overweight, and improvement in the obesogenic environment and behaviors, in comparison to a setting in which parents attended sessions with the obese child, or only children attended sessions. The findings from these studies were subsequently implemented in a national community-based survey. Both children's and parents' weight status were significantly improved, although only parents attended the group sessions. A significant reduction in the obesogenic load at home was also found. Permissive parenting style was associated with less reduction in obesogenic load at home (p < 0.01) and with less weight loss (p < 0.05). Omitting the obese child from direct intervention and targeting parents only is a cost-effective approach with integrated messages for the management of weight-related problems.