Jeff Arnold is the President of RightSure Insurance Group and the author of the book The Art of The Insurance Deal. Jeff spoke with Tony and me about how he locates, finances and buys insurance agencies. We discussed things that can blow up a deal, how sometimes, purchased agencies do not end up being a good fit and in some cases, those same agencies need to be sold to other buyers that can make them a good fit. 

Some important considerations when buying an agency are:

- is it a good fit?
- how should the agency be valued?
- how should the price be financed?
- what are the responsibilities of the sellers upon the sale?
- how do you integrate the newly acquired staff and IT?

HOW TO CONNECT WITH JEFFREY ARNOLD:
LinkedIn
RightSure Insurance Group 
Jeff's Home Page

BOOKS:
The Art of The Insurance Deal by Jeffrey Arnold
E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Napolean Hill Books
Brian Tracy Books

March is Women's History Month. We end March by discussing diversity in insurance with a woman who knows quite a bit about the topic. Diversity in the workplace is an asset according to Deidre Wright. In this episode of Profiles in Risk, Deidre and I discussed, diversity, what it means (it's deeper than I thought), inclusion and how important it is to allow your employees the ability to allow their true, authentic personalities to be a diversifying asset in your organization's success. Even employees with purple hair can be your rock stars!

HOW TO CONNECT WITH DEIDRE WRIGHT:
LinkedIn
Twitter
www.diversityinclusioninstitute.com

BOOKS:
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
Outwitting The Devil by Napolean Hill
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli  

Diversity in the workplace is an asset according to Deidre Wright. In this episode of Profiles in Risk, Deidre and I discussed, diversity, what it means (it's deeper than I thought), inclusion and how important it is to allow your employees the ability to allow their true, authentic personalities to be a diversifying asset in your organization's success. Even employees with purple can be your risk stars!

 HOW TO CONNECT WITH DEIDRE WRIGHT:
LinkedIn
Twitter 
www.diversityinclusioninstitute.com

 BOOKS:
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
Outwitting The Devil by Napolean Hill
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Out of all the insurtech ideas sprouting in the market, I have yet to see anything that has the potential that blockchain has. In this episode of Profiles in Risk, I spoke with Patrick Schmid of The Institutes' RiskBlock Alliance. Patrick is working with the insurance ecosystem to help them co-develop the blockchain platforms and technologies necessary for insurance to blossom in the next wave of innovation.

HOW TO CONNECT WITH PATRICK SCHMID:
LinkedIn
RiskBlock Site
Email 

MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:
Ethereum
GDPR Regulations
HyperLedger
B3i
R3

PRODUCTIVITY:
Slack
Confluence
GitHub
Twitter 

BOOKS:
The Rationale of Central Banking by Vera Smith
Ishmael: A Novel by Daniel Quinn
Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl

In this episode of Profiles in Risk, I spoke with Garrett White, President of Blue Lime Group & Chris Prewit, co-director of the IIASA (Independent Insurance Agents of San Antonio). We discussed the current state of Independent Agencies, the future and how IIASA has piloted outreach programs for college and high school students to experience insurance and gain real-life experience.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
ELITExas - AI in Your Agency: Automate the boring stuff - March 30th, 2018
2018 TRADE FAIR - THE PEARL STABLE - April 5, 2018

CONNECT WITH GARRETT WHITE:
LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH CHRIS PRUITT:
Email

MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:
Embroker
Bold Penguin
Bold Penguin podcast with Ilya Bodner
Ask Kodiak Podcast with Allan Egbert
Cover podcast with Karn Soaroya
BrokerLift podcast with Thomas Accardo
National Alliance CISR Designation
Stephen Covey Daily Planner

BOOKS MENTIONED:
As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney
The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

David Milton is the founder and CEO of TelaClaims, based in Florida. In this episode we discussed the tech advancement of claims from an old paper based system to a modern tech based function. The mission of TelaClaims is to get claims closed properly as fast as possible. According to David, the only good claim is a closed claim and we discussed why that is. We also talked about what technologies are now being used in the claims adjustment process. We closed the conversation on the TelaClaims work culture and he offers free yoga and judo to his employees on the job site!

HOW TO CONNECT WITH DAVID MILTON:
LinkedIn
TelaClaims HomePage

MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:
Licensing Course (LMS Course)

BOOKS:
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh (founder of Zappos)
Insuring Tomorrow by Tony Canas and Carly Burnham

In this episode, Lisa Miller and I discuss regulators, regulations and how the insurance ecosystem can interrelate effectively with regulators. Lisa provides some advice on when (often) and how (engage and discuss) to work with regulators. Her advice is similar to what Trent Cooksley advised on how to pitch to investors...DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Make it easy for them to buy into your idea (rates, forms, products etc). Yes, regulators are human, and yes, they do like coffee.

HOW TO CONNECT WITH LISA MILLER:
LinkedIn
Home Page

MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Assignment of Benefits (Wes Todd & I discussed this for an entire podcast recently)
FHCF - Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
Bryan Koon - Director of Florida Division of Emergency Management

BOOKS:
A Regulator’s Introduction to the Insurance Industry

February was Insurance Careers Month. In this episode of Profiles in Risk, I spoke with Chris Stanley, someone who is literally helping people to build an insurance career. Chris is an author, independent adjuster and the founder of IA Path, an online training company helping those who would like to build their own Independent Adjuster or Appraiser business. We discussed how to become an IA & more importantly, what successful IA's do and DON'T do.  

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:
Jon Nastor & Productivity
Jon & Jerod Morris' Showrunner Podcast

CONNECT WITH CHRIS STANLEY:
IA Path Site
LinkedIn
Twitter

We finish Insurance Careers Month by speaking with an up and coming insurance professional. Cooper Cohen is an International Underwriter at CNA in Chicago. We discussed how he got into insurance, blockchain, insurtech and near the end of the recording Cooper describes the real challenge we as an industry face in trying to recruit college grads into insurance.