One of the biggest challenges agencies have is hiring and retaining quality underwriters.  There are many ways to identify good potential employees; you just have to know what to look for.  We’ve compiled a few tips to help you sort through all of those resumes and choose the right underwriter for your agency!

 

1. Use behavioral testing for initial screening of new candidates. Omnia and Caliper tests have proven to be successful in helping find the right type of Underwriter an agency is looking for.
2. Take a look at your interview process. Is it as thorough as it could be? It’s helpful to use different interviewers and several follow up interviews for the position to get a good feel of the interviewee.
3. Once you’ve hired for the position, make sure to give them the best training possible. It can be very overwhelming to start off in this industry for someone with little or no insurance background. If you choose to go this route, make sure your newbies get the most thorough training possible. It also helps to put them on a schedule. Give them a deadline to finish their training that way the new underwriter or assistant can be held responsible if they are not catching on as quickly as you’d like. This helps you weed out anyone who is not motivated or seriously interested in the position.
4. Be sure the training process includes training not only on your systems and products, but also on your sales culture. If you are hiring someone who has never done underwriting before, they may not be familiar with how much a sales mentality is essential to the underwriting process.
5. Keep a close eye at first and make sure they are reporting to an Underwriting Supervisor. This way you can catch any small quirks and fix them before they become serious issues.
6. Set goals for the new underwriter as soon as they finish their training. Have a meeting once they finish their training to go over their individual goals and again, set deadlines for these goals. It will motivate them to stay on track and focus on continuing to learn more about the industry and your products and programs.

Recruiting the right people will make or break your agency.  Remember, a great team is comprised of a wide range of diverse people all working towards the same goal.

Check out the great Insurance Programs for Condominium Insurance, Cooperative Insurance, Apartment Insurance and Property Manager’s Insurance that New Empire Group, Ltd. offers!

To learn more about New Empire Group, Ltd. visit our website, www.NewEmpireGroup.com or find us onFacebook, LinkedIn & Twitter!