Don't post much any more but needed to get this off my chest somewhere... Carriers and underwriting service are at an all time low. The bar has been reduced so much that even getting a return call is a miracle. I get it, the market has collapsed and everyone is scrambling and there is more work than can be handled; but still. It is pitiful. And it has been trending this way for a while. Some examples I have had recently:
1) 68 days to get a quote from Arch in the E&S market on a petroleum hauler. Full apps, full supplements, MVR's, the whole works provided at time of original submission. 68 days to get a quote. Crazy.
2) An MGA program that I have a fair amount of business with and can't even get a return email for two weeks. During this time I send them multiple bind requests on renewals or new business. Two weeks and I still can't get an answer on if they will be quoting something that I sent them on February 22; it's a 4/27 renewal.
I could go on and on. But it has become unbearable on agents as underwriters have just shown no initiative to provide decent service whatsoever. And then you get non-stop emails from certain carriers (Travelers, in particular; and also Liberty Mutual) begging you to sign up for webinars. Why in the heck would I take 30 minutes to watch a webinar when I can't even get an underwriter to respond? And in the case of personal lines the underwriting guidelines have become so tight that even pristine risks are declined for homeowners coverage (in Kentucky), but they want us to watch a webinar on quoting auto??
I feel like I'm living in crazy land right now.
1) 68 days to get a quote from Arch in the E&S market on a petroleum hauler. Full apps, full supplements, MVR's, the whole works provided at time of original submission. 68 days to get a quote. Crazy.
2) An MGA program that I have a fair amount of business with and can't even get a return email for two weeks. During this time I send them multiple bind requests on renewals or new business. Two weeks and I still can't get an answer on if they will be quoting something that I sent them on February 22; it's a 4/27 renewal.
I could go on and on. But it has become unbearable on agents as underwriters have just shown no initiative to provide decent service whatsoever. And then you get non-stop emails from certain carriers (Travelers, in particular; and also Liberty Mutual) begging you to sign up for webinars. Why in the heck would I take 30 minutes to watch a webinar when I can't even get an underwriter to respond? And in the case of personal lines the underwriting guidelines have become so tight that even pristine risks are declined for homeowners coverage (in Kentucky), but they want us to watch a webinar on quoting auto??
I feel like I'm living in crazy land right now.