When hiring insurance agents for your agency, you will have to decide whether to set them up as employees or independent contractors. Whatever setup you choose will affect how you pay them, the tax forms to fill out, and the benefits and other resources you must...
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Insurance Agency Handbook – Why You Need One
Every insurance agency should have an employee handbook, which will clarify matters for both you and your employees. Take a closer look at some of the most important reasons to create a handbook for your insurance agency. It Outlines Responsibilities and Expectations...
JenesisNow Product Updates: January 2023
A County field has been added to addresses. DOT number and MC number have been added as fields to commercial auto policy vehicles. Producers on policies can now only be changed by Admin-type users (they can still be set for the first time by any user). Added the...
10 Ways to Refresh Your Website in 2023
Take advantage of the new year to refresh your website. No matter how long it’s been since you last updated your website, it’s worth taking a closer look at it. This way, you can make sure it is still aesthetically pleasing and has up-to-date information. Start by...
Why Insurance Agents Quit (And What You Can Do to Prevent It)
Managing insurance agents is just one of many challenges you face when running an insurance agency, but it is crucial. After all, your insurance agents are responsible for selling your policies and are the people your clients most closely interact with. As such, you...
Quarterly Marketing Calendar – Social Media and Email Marketing Ideas for Your Insurance Agency
Coming up with content for your insurance agency’s marketing calendar can sometimes be a challenge. Brainstorming is easy at first, but you start to run out of ideas at some point. But you don’t want to neglect social media or emails, as they are important...
Start the New Year Off Right
With the new year approaching, now is the time to make sure your insurance agency is organized and ready to handle what 2023 throws your way. With the right preparation, you can start the new year off right and set yourself up for success. You don’t have to follow all...
JenesisNow September Updates
For Memorized Reports, Date Ranges now save as actual Date Ranges instead of "hard-coded" dates. To save actual dates instead of something like "Last Month," just leave the Date Range dropdown set to the "(Custom)" value. Added Concrete (Solid) as an option for...
Often Overlooked Insurance Agency Management System Features
Every modern insurance agency needs a management system. The right system will help you and your team stay organized and meet your goals. While some features are common to most insurance agency management systems, others are often overlooked or forgotten about. Some...
How to Maximize Your Renewals
Renewals are a crucial part of running an insurance agency. After all, retaining an existing client is more cost-effective than attracting a new one. You likely already have some ideas of how to boost renewals, but there is always room for improvement. Keep the...
Improving Productivity – Getting The Most Out of Your Day
Any company is always in search of ways to improve productivity. While it’s easy to find general advice for boosting productivity, not every method you find online will apply to an insurance agency. While some general tips will be helpful, you will get the best...
5 Things You Can Do to Make Your Insurance Agency’s Website Stand Out
Your insurance agency’s website is the first source of impression that many people will have of your insurance agency, so you want to make it stand out. At the same time, you don’t want it to be overwhelming. Follow these tips to make your website stand out. Follow...
Insurance Moves Fast! Learn To Embrace Change
Some industries change more quickly than others, and insurance is one of them. This means that successful insurance agencies are those that embrace change. Take a closer look at some of the ways that you can embrace change and help your agency continue to adapt to the...
August Product Update
JenesisClassic Jenesis will now make a note when changing a policy status to quoted, quote pending, and quote declined. We updated Acord 140 to prefill Subject of Insurance, % Sprink, Central Station Checkbox. Can now delete signature in user setup. Both the first and...
Insurance Agency Metrics – What Should You Be Tracking?
Running an insurance agency is complicated, and you should track crucial metrics to ensure that you meet your goals. The only issue is that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of metrics you could theoretically track. So, which ones are the most important? We’ve...
Ways To Create a Winning Insurance Agency Culture
Creating a winning insurance agency culture puts you well on your path to success. Successful leadership will inspire your team, helping them deliver excellent service and make sales. That’s not the only way that your agency culture affects clients. Your insurance...
Empower Your Team, Don’t Micromanage
There are two main leadership approaches for any insurance agency - micromanaging and empowering. As a rule of thumb, it is almost always better to empower your team members instead of micromanaging them. But what does empowerment mean, and how do you implement this...
4 Ways the Client Portal Can Save Your Agency Time and Money
When running an insurance agency, you are always in search of ways to save time and money without sacrificing the quality of service you offer clients. One excellent tool for doing this is the client portal from Jenesis. What Is the Client Portal? The Jenesis client...
5 Ways to Keep Your Customers Engaged
Customer loyalty is a crucial part of any insurance agency, and part of that loyalty will come from engagement. But it can be overwhelming to figure out how to keep your customers engaged. Understanding How to Boost Client Loyalty Before getting into how you can keep...
Common Insurance Agency Growing Pains (And How to Avoid Them)
Most insurance agencies hope to expand their operations, but this will come with some growing pains. While there will be struggles as you grow, each of those will also present an opportunity to improve your agency and your revenue streams. Learn some of the most...
Customer First – How to Anticipate Your Clients’ Needs
To build client loyalty in your insurance agency, you want to have a customer-first approach and prioritize the needs of your clients. But how do you do this? Take a closer look at what a customer-first strategy is and how to create one by anticipating your clients’...
July Product Update
JenesisNow Improved a better date of birth calendar to make it easier to enter a date of birth. We have added all policy types to the Acord 75 policy selection. We have added a Descriptions field to All Medicare Policies, All Life Policies, and All Health Policies....
Insurance in the Metaverse: Virtual Assets, Real Risks
For your insurance agency to grow, you must constantly look toward the future. One of the ways to do so is by thinking about what types of insurance products to offer. A perfect example of something that is essentially non-existent but will be incredibly widespread is...
Cyber Liability Insurance – An Easy Way to Round Out Accounts
Every insurance agency should always look for ways to deliver a better client experience and boost sales. You can do both by offering cyber liability insurance on top of what you currently offer your business clients. This is one of the newer types of insurance, but...
MUM’s The Word – What Your Agency Should Know About Google’s Multitask Unified Model
Your insurance agency likely has numerous components in its marketing strategy. But no matter what the rest of your strategy looks like, Google’s algorithms play a crucial role in your digital marketing. As such, you need to keep up to date on all the changes Google...
A Recap of Google’s May 2022 Core Update
Your insurance agency needs to stay on top of all the various Google updates. After all, Google’s search engines are a crucial part of your digital marketing strategies, especially SEO. Because of the importance of Google for your marketing, it’s smart to take a few...
June Product Updates
JenesisNow The login page has been adjusted to be more responsive to various screens with info at the top. Your 2FA method will now be remembered from your last log-in. One less click to get you where you are going! Custom Payment Types and Fees can now be manually...
6 Ways Your Insurance Agency Can Leverage AI
Every insurance agency constantly strives to deliver a good client experience and improve efficiency. The right AI tools can help you do both at the same time. Chatbots, in particular, are among the most useful tools that your insurance agency can leverage. Take a...
How Many Touchpoints Is Enough?
When prospecting new clients for your insurance agency, touchpoints play an important role. There is no solid rule on how many touchpoints are enough, but there are some good guidelines to follow. What Are Touchpoints? As a refresher, a touchpoint refers to the...
Google Analytics 4 – Is Your Agency Ready?
Growing your insurance agency’s online presence requires collecting and analyzing data about your traffic. Do you know how people get to your website? What do site visitors do when they get to your website? Are prospects getting to your service pages? Not looking into...
Insurance Agency Branding Basics
A key part of marketing your insurance agency is creating a brand. Branding helps you overcome the fact that shopping for insurance isn’t necessarily fun; it’s a necessity. Your clients aren’t coming to you because buying insurance is exciting. They’re there because...
JenesisNow – It’s Time to Make the Switch
Whether you are currently using JenesisClassic or another insurance agency management system, it is time to make the switch to JenesisNow. This is the most feature-filled and efficient, as well as the newest, management system from Jenesis. Created by insurance...
What Is Reputation Management and Why Does It Matter?
As you market your insurance agency, don’t forget to include reputation management strategies. Reputation management is crucial for any company, but it is especially important for insurance agencies, as your clients need to trust you. Discover more about reputation...
The Importance of Balancing Your Book of Business
As an insurance agency, you almost certainly have a book of business. Even if you haven’t heard the term book of business, you most likely have one. This is simply the list of clients that you maintain. You probably have your insurance agency management software...
6 Ways Your Agency Can Thrive Despite Rising Inflation
Before getting into the details of how you can thrive despite inflation, make sure you understand why it is such a concern. Overall inflation across all sectors means that the items for which you offer insurance will cost more. With autos and homes having higher...
May Product Updates
JenesisNow Product Updates Now when you change the drivers license # or state for a client it will update the driver on the business auto policy. Also, if you update the driver on the business auto policy it will update the person on the client. Lienholders now...
Role Playing to Increase Your Insurance Agency’s Sales
To maximize your insurance agency’s sales, you need to ensure that your team has sufficient training. One of the best ways to prepare your agents for various scenarios is to engage in role playing. This will let them practice some of the most common scenarios. It will...
Effectively Manage Claims
One of your key roles as an insurance agency is managing claims. You need to do so efficiently and effectively. Not only does this ensure client satisfaction, but it is also essential to running your agency smoothly. The following tips should help you manage claims...
4 Ways Your Agency Can Target Seasonal Businesses
You know your insurance agency should always be in search of new clients, but you may be overlooking a crucial segment. If you sell any type of business insurance or insurance that could be applicable to businesses, you should be targeting seasonal businesses....
April Showers Bring May…Floods? 8 Ways to Sell More Flood Insurance
If your insurance agency offers flood insurance, this is the perfect time of the year to work to sell more of it. Doing so will help your bottom line and protect your clients from the financial impact of flood damage. We’ve gathered some of the best ways to sell more...
Your Agency Still Hasn’t Gone Paperless? What’re You Waiting For?
If your insurance agency hasn’t already gone paperless, you need to start working on the transition. Going paperless is much more than just an environmental concern. It also provides plenty of benefits for your agency, employees, and clients. You Help the Planet The...
9 Ways to Engage Your Community This Spring
Advertising your insurance agency comes in many forms, including engaging with your community. Spring comes with plenty of great opportunities to do just that, some of which are unique to the season and others that work all year round. Remember that engaging with the...
How to Leverage Videos
If your insurance agency is not already leveraging videos in your insurance agency’s marketing, then you are missing out. Videos are a great way to boost engagement with clients and potential clients and to share information. Take a closer look at some of the ways...
How to Decide on a Marketing Budget
Marketing is a crucial part of running your insurance agency. You need to recruit new clients and retain your current ones. But how do you know how much to budget for your marketing efforts? It can be challenging, especially as you have to consider every part of your...
April Product Updates
JenesisClassic Bridging to any carrier from Stored Quotes in Quote Control now opens in the default browser which for our hosted users will be Chrome. We have added Other Ins as an option to the Principle/Occasional drop down options on the Drivers form. Now, only a...
A Guide to Leveraging LinkedIn
Between networking opportunities and prospecting, there are plenty of ways for insurance agencies to leverage LinkedIn. The following guide will help you get the most from your LinkedIn marketing and networking. Optimize Your Profile Before you do anything else on...
Agency Website Migration Mistakes to Avoid
At some point, your insurance agency may need to migrate your website. As with the initial process of building your website, there are numerous potential issues to be aware of. By familiarizing yourself with these potential website migration mistakes, you will be...
When’s the Right Time to Sell Your Insurance Agency?
Just because you went through the hard work of starting an independent insurance agency, that doesn’t mean you want to keep it forever. At some point, you may want to sell it. Maybe you want to move on to another phase of your life or you have another reason. Every...
13 Ways Our Insurance Agency Management System Will Save You Time
When choosing an insurance agency management system, one of your primary goals is to save time. This, along with staying organized, are the main reasons that you need a system in the first place. With Jenesis, you get a long list of features specifically designed to...
How to Write Job Descriptions That Attract the Right Candidates
To provide the best service to your clients, your insurance agency needs to have a solid team with the right employees. The process of finding the right people for your insurance agency’s team starts with your job posting. Job descriptions are an especially important...
The Perfect Insurance Agency Tech Stack
As technology has advanced over the years, so has its ability to make your insurance agency run more smoothly. From tools to craft your insurance agency’s website to software to streamline everyday tasks, having a tech stack is now crucial for any insurance agency....
How to Ask for Feedback – From Your Team and Your Clients
Getting feedback is crucial for any business – especially insurance agencies. There are likely areas for improvement that you are not aware of, and you can’t correct them if you don’t know what the problem is. When looking for feedback, be sure to get it from both...
7 Ways to Build Customer Loyalty
Loyal customers are crucial to your insurance agency. After all, you will typically spend fewer resources and less time getting an existing client to renew their policies with you than attracting a new client. Given the urge clients have to comparison shop as a way of...
March Product Update
JenesisNow A field for Certificate Holder Description has been added when generating Acord 25. We have added the ability to text receipts. We have added the ability to use dynamic data fields in user email templates. When entering zip code for mortgagee information in...
Stories Sell – How to Sell Insurance Using Stories
Over the years, you have likely come across various strategies to sell insurance. Out of all of those, most insurance agencies develop a set of strategies that they rely on daily. If you don’t already have storytelling on your list, now is time to add it. Stories Work...
Hiring Insurance Agents to Grow Your Agency
Part of running a successful insurance agency is having the right people on your team. Just like you need to know when to fire an agent, you need to know the best strategies to hire insurance agents. This lets you expand your agency as your community’s demand for your...
Our Favorite Insurance Agency Management System Features
We recently asked our team to tell us which Jenesis features were their favorites. Take a look at what they had to say and learn a bit more about the features that make our software unique in the process. Access From Any Device Derek Honeycutt is our Product...
Building Your Referral Network
Part of running a successful insurance agency is building a strong referral network. This should consist of both happy clients as well as others in related industries. For example, you will likely want to have mortgage brokers, realtors, and more in your referral...
What to Do If a Client Cancels
It is something that every insurance agency has to deal with - some clients will decide to move on and cancel their policies at some point. Learning what to do when a client cancels can sometimes help you change their mind and prevent the cancellation. At the very...
Master the Onboarding Process
You want to make your client experience as seamless as possible right from the start. By offering a smooth onboarding process, you will be on your way to improving your insurance agency’s retention rates. Of course, mastering the onboarding process will also ensure...
6 Ways to Generate More Reviews
Every insurance agency needs to focus on growing its client list. Part of this involves maintaining a strong online reputation. Reviews play a key role in this. Most people will read reviews before signing up for any service or making a major purchase. This is...
6 Ways to Show Your Clients Some Love This Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day offers the perfect opportunity to show your clients how much you appreciate them. You can take advantage of this special day just like you would any other holiday. Remember that holidays offer an opportunity to reach out to your clients naturally. This...
February Product Updates
JenesisClassic The Active policy reports by company and by broker for both Personal and Commercial lines have been altered to reflect the company name rather than the parent company. The following Acord forms have been updated: ACORD 80 NV (2022/01) Nevada...
Jenesis Spotlight with Deirdre Rushin
Recently, Lisa Price with Jenesis Software had the opportunity to sit down with Deirdre Rushin, a rising star in the insurance field, and we couldn’t wait to share the experience with you! Deirdre spent the first portion of her career as a social worker. For over 25...
Email Marketing for Insurance Agents: How to Get Started
Running an insurance agency can be daunting, especially when you consider all of the marketing that you have to do in addition to meeting with clients and maintaining your industry knowledge. The following tips will help you figure out how to start and maintain your...
Insurance Agency Commission Structures Explained
Insurance agencies typically operate on a combination of salaries and commissions. Anyone who owns an insurance agency has to thoroughly understand the various commission structures so they can figure out which one is appropriate for their agency. Those still working...
Insurance Agency Marketing in 2022
Part of running an independent insurance agency is constantly marketing to grow your client base. That continual growth requires you to stay up to date with the latest marketing strategies and tips. Optimize Your Website Start by optimizing your website. Make sure...
Social Media Marketing for Insurance Agents
Gone are the days when social media was only used for posting pictures of what you had for lunch. Now any insurance agency that doesn’t use it as part of its marketing strategy is missing out on a significant opportunity. You can use social media to connect with...
Best Insurance Agency to Own
When it comes time to open your own insurance agency, you will have multiple decisions to make, including whether you should open a captive or an independent one. Either type of agency will let you serve clients by offering insurance and a high level of customer...
Why Free Insurance Agency Management Software Isn’t Right for You
You know that you need software of some sort to help you manage your insurance agency, but choosing the right one can be a challenge. It can be very tempting to consider free software, especially if you are on a tight budget as a smaller or independent agency. No...
6 Insurance Agency Website Design Mistakes to Avoid
One of the first things you need to do when starting your insurance agency is to create a website. You also want to take the time to regularly make sure that it continues to run smoothly and check all of the boxes. Whether you are designing your agency’s first website...
January Product Update
JenesisNow The user has the ability to hit the enter key after inputing password to login instead of using the mouse to click on login. Page 2 of ACORD 125 now transfers over GL Listing Locations addresses for a General Liability policy when selected. You can now send...
5 Reasons to Avoid Insurance Agency Website Builders
You know that your insurance agency needs a website but building one may be intimidating. The effort required to make a website means that many agencies are tempted to use website builders. While these are convenient, they are far from the best idea. In fact, there...
Insurance Agency Software – Must-Have Features
Choosing the right insurance agency software is important, as you want to ensure that it has everything you need to run your agency smoothly. If it doesn’t have the features you need, you will have to purchase additional programs to get all of the necessary...
How to Build the Best Insurance Agency Website
One of the most important steps when setting up your insurance agency is to build your website. You also want to make sure to periodically make relevant changes as your agency changes. But building an insurance agency website does not have to be intimidating. You can...
How Well Do You Know Your Target Customers? Define Your Insurance Agency’s Target Personas
No matter the type of insurance you sell or what carriers you offer, it is crucial to know your target customers. Without being aware of these customers and their requirements, it is impossible to address their needs. You won’t know what types of insurance to carry or...
Insurance Agency Management Systems for Small Insurance Agencies
Every insurance agency needs to have an agency management system, but the features that a small insurance agency will require are very different than those that a bigger one will. Smaller agencies may not have the budget to pay for multiple pieces of software or the...
Goal Setting 101: Start the New Year Off Right
New Year’s resolutions aren’t just for individuals; they can also be great for businesses. Even if you don’t make it an official resolution, starting the new year off with the right goals can be great for your insurance agency. As you set those goals, keep the...
Close Out the Year Strong
With December more than halfway done, it’s time to take a look back at the last year in your insurance agency and figure out what you can do to finish the year strong. Even with just a couple of weeks left in 2021, there is still more than enough time to end the year...
Make It Easy for Your Customers
Part of running a successful insurance agency is ensuring that your customers are happy with the experience of working with you. In addition to offering friendly service and great coverage at fair prices, you can do this by making things as easy as possible for your...
How to Advertise Your Insurance Agency: Content Marketing
Like any other business, your insurance agency should combine various marketing strategies to see the best results. This includes content marketing. You likely know that content marketing is related to your blog, but how do you create a content marketing strategy, and...
How to Find Insurance Agents
Part of running an insurance agency is attracting the right agents to help you. Building the right team to help you take your agency to the next level can be a challenge, but these tips can help! Always Be Looking for Talent Perhaps the most important thing to keep in...
December Product Updates
JenesisNow Using a Rater? Using a rater outside of Jenesis? No problem! Sending the data is super easy. We've allowed the ability to send data to other rating systems by being able to download the Policy XML located in the Policy Info box on the policy screen. Take a...
SEO Myths Debunked
There are a lot of things to keep track of as you design and optimize your insurance agency’s website, including search engine optimization (SEO). While it is easy to find information on SEO tips, you want to make sure to avoid the myths and bad advice. If you are a...
Lead Nurturing 101
To understand a bit more about how to best nurture your leads, you need to have a better idea of what lead nurturing is. This is the marketing process that helps educate your prospects and build a relationship with your leads that aren’t ready to commit to buying yet....
Insurance Agency Retention Tips
One of the most important parts of running your insurance agency is attracting and retaining clients. Retaining clients is crucial, as you already put in the time, effort, and money to attract them to your agency. Luckily, retaining clients can be easier than you may...
10 Books Every Insurance Agent Should Read
Every insurance agent should strive to be the best in their field. This means working hard at continuing your education. You can do this with little to no financial investment by going to your local library. Reading good material can be a powerful tool in growing your...
6 Processes Every Agency Should Master
One of the topics most thoroughly discussed amongst industry experts is what procedures and processes you should have in place for your insurance agency to run smoothly. Every insurance agency should have their processes clearly defined in several formats so that the...
November Product Updates
JenesisNow Added ability to populate city and state based on zip code anywhere an address is entered. Filter modified for the Policies / Pending Renewals main dashboard box to include "Policies where I'm the Producer" and "Policies where I'm the user". Added Mobile...
Give Thanks to Your Community
Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity for your insurance agency to give thanks to your community. Doing so will help cement your agency as part of the community and also show your commitment to the well-being of others. The following ideas should give you some...
The Importance of Insurance Agency Networking
To achieve success in the insurance industry, you have to network. Insurance agency networking is important even for agents who are good at sales and consider themselves to be a “people person.” The importance of networking is even greater if you’re just starting an...
Overcoming Objections in Insurance Sales
Working in the insurance industry can be a rewarding career option. But, if you’re on the sales side of insurance, you need to be prepared to handle roadblocks from time to time. One of the keys to excelling is knowing how to deal with objections in insurance sales....
Giving A New Leash on Life!
What’s your passion? Volunteer work? Helping others? Helping animals? Have you acted on that passion? Lisa Gibson, our Jenesis and Agency Advantage Implementation & Support Manager, has found a way to do it all and her story will inspire you! Lisa volunteers...
How to Sell Insurance Over the Phone: Getting Over the Fear and Closing More Policies
Working in the insurance industry can be very rewarding. Those who are successful can also have very lucrative careers. But it is not uncommon for insurance professionals to have difficulty talking to clients and selling policies over the phone. Phone skills can be...
How to Become an Insurance Agent: 7 Things to Know
If you plan on working in insurance, then you will need to learn how to become an insurance agent. Becoming an insurance agent is a great career choice, as it gives you plenty of flexibility, and you can typically complete the entire process of becoming an agent in a...
How to Create Your Insurance Agency Mission Statement
Part of creating an insurance agency is having an insurance agency mission statement. This is an important part of your business plan and your ability to attract both investors and clients. After a quick refresher on why an insurance agency mission statement is so...
A Guide to Starting an Independent Insurance Agency
Starting an independent insurance agency gives you an opportunity to be your own boss and get the satisfaction of growing your business. It lets you choose which products to offer and allows you to set your own schedule and rules. However, it also takes a great deal...
Keeping It Festive: 5 Ways Your Agency Can Celebrate Halloween
So many people look forward to Halloween. It is widely considered the beginning of the holiday season, so there is a reason to celebrate. Many companies opt to celebrate Halloween throughout the month of October. Bringing Halloween into your insurance agency can boost...
Which Insurance Designations Matter Most?
Every insurance agent wants to market themselves in the best way possible, as that helps attract the most clients. One of the first ways to market yourself is by considering what insurance designations to work toward. Clients will feel that the more designations you...
October Product Updates
JenesisNow On the Client List when you click the next page it now takes you back to the top of the page. Added the pages to the top of the page as well. We added Acord 90 - Personal Auto Application for Georgia We have added fields under each user for Date of Birth,...