By Laura Gookin | November 21, 2022
Independent insurance agencies with a blended remote and in-person work environment are discovering errors and omissions (E&O) issues that were rarely seen when everyone was in the office. Whether it’s employees working longer hours than intended from the comfort of home or fewer checks and balances because there is less face-to-face interaction, the latest trends have created new risks since pre-COVID 2020. At the same time, the market hardening that followed the pandemic is challenging agencies, prompting leaders to adjust their approach to E&O risk management.
Agency Operations
Once upon a time agency staff members could gather around the water cooler to discuss the issues of the day. Agency leaders could be reasonably confident that staffers were up to speed and understood current industry trends. Now it can be more difficult to get all of the agency’s players together to cover timely topics in a half-hour, and it might not be as apparent when someone is not on the same page — particularly if they are calling in from home, off camera.
Agency employees who are processing binders, policies and certificates of insurance from home may not be able to quickly turn to a supervisor or co-worker with a question. If the remote worker doesn’t get a timely response to a phone call, email or IM, they might not get the process right. Delays in getting answers also can lead to increased processing times and risks of errors.
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