As the proportion of American workers who are 55 years of age or older increases, how will workers’ compensation utilization change? This is a monumental question for small business owners in the United States. According to one study, nearly 25% of the American labor force will be 55 or older by 2018.

If you are working with an underwriter to help make sure your agency clients have the right amount of workers’ compensation coverage, having a working understanding of the process and terminology can be a huge help. To get started, check out our Workers’ Compensation Sell Sheet.

With recent talk of reforming the US healthcare system, those interested in workers’ compensation insurance have been asking a few questions about how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare,” has been affected by the policy. In November 2016, the NCCI completed their study, “Impacts of the Accordable Care Act on Workers Compensation” and the results are very interesting.

Increased regulation, legislative changes, and a changing workforce are all factors influencing the workers’ compensation insurance industry outlook for 2017 and beyond, according to 2017 State of the Line Guide from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI).

The US, as a whole, saw a 2.4% rise in direct written premium volume from 2015 to 2016, which could be due to the 4.5% increase in payroll spend across the country, the 2.5% wage increase, and the 1.9% increase in employment.

LinkedIn* is an online professional hub, virtual calling card, and branding tool for professionals. It presents a huge opportunity for independent insurance agents to connect with clients, prospects, and industry professionals. But before you can start using LinkedIn to grow your independent agency, you first need to make sure your account says all that it should about you and your business.

Earlier this week we talked about 5 ways to win over a small business prospect, which includes bonding personally with your prospects and adding value to their business. While many of the methods of which we suggest our independent agents and agent partners use are new, the purpose behind all of them is the same: to help you write more business.