The operational backbone - service workflows, renewals, endorsements, billing, compliance, and the daily work that keeps clients and carriers happy.
43 episodes from Craig Pretzinger & Jason Feltman, hosts of The Insurance Dudes Podcast
07/07/2026 · 8 min read
Pre-renewal calls are the top ROI move an owner can build, yet most skip them. Call 45 days before the carrier mails the rate hike so you own the chat before they ever open a new quote on their phone.
06/30/2026 · 9 min read
Call is spam on a lock screen. Not a sales gap. Carrier AI sees six bits you can fix: get A, cap dial rate, match codes, warm lines, sign up, swap old. Fix all six. Lead cash hits a live person.
06/16/2026 · 8 min read
Organic growth for independent agencies has fallen from 11.2% to 7.1% as rate tailwinds recede. The agencies that sustain growth in 2026 are leaning into tech-enabled production, cross-selling their existing book, specializing in commercial niches, and treating retention as a valuation multiplier, not an afterthought.
06/09/2026 · 8 min read
Insurance agencies are racing to deploy AI, with 70% now running it in live operations, but one in five is simultaneously cutting training budgets. The agencies that close the gap between technology deployment and people readiness are the ones that will pull ahead in 2026.
06/02/2026 · 11 min read
Most insurance agencies hire the same way they did a decade ago and wonder why results do not change. A structured five-step system, from outcome-based role definition through a deliberate 90-day ramp, cuts time-to-hire and doubles retention. The process is the problem, not the people.
05/25/2026 · 8 min read
Most insurance agency staff who quit are not chasing money. They leave over burnout, unclear expectations, inconsistent leadership feedback, and no visible career path, and raises rarely move those numbers. Personal-lines voluntary turnover runs above 11 percent. Fix the emotional environment first and you keep your best people without inflating payroll.
05/23/2026 · 9 min read
Producer systems turn a P&C agency from owner-dependent to scalable: a written role scorecard, daily activity tracking, a structured onboarding ramp, and weekly accountability conversations. The Insurance Dudes documented these systems across 800+ episodes. Here is how to build them.
05/16/2026 · 10 min read
Recruiting and training P&C producers is a pipeline, not a gamble: source from defined channels, screen against a scorecard, then run a structured training program with ride-alongs and role-play. The Insurance Dudes covered this across 800+ episodes. Here is the system.
05/10/2026 · 6 min read
When a carrier nonrenews homeowners business in your state, you have 30 days to keep the client. Triage the book by renewal date and risk class, run a structured rewrite cadence to surviving markets, and communicate proactively so clients hear about coverage from you, not their lender.
05/09/2026 · 8 min read
Growing a P&C insurance agency comes down to four levers: sell more policies, build producer systems, recruit and train producers, and keep improving execution. The Insurance Dudes mapped each across 800+ episodes. This is the umbrella playbook that ties them together.
03/16/2022 · 5 min read
Hire when the owner spends more than 20 percent of time on tasks a well-trained staff member could handle, revenue is stable enough to support payroll, or service quality is visibly slipping. Hire in the right sequence: service first, production support second, operations and management roles third.
01/03/2022 · 5 min read
Run four meetings on purpose: a 15-minute weekly standup, a weekly performance review, a monthly training session, and a quarterly planning review. Add ad hoc issue meetings as needed. Use agendas, hard end times, and documented decisions and owners.
10/28/2021 · 6 min read
Turn satisfied insurance clients into loyal ones by designing four stages: an onboarding welcome call that introduces your service model, proactive mid-year and event-based touchpoints, claims conversations that lead with acknowledgment, and rate increase outreach 30 days before renewal instead of after.
10/27/2021 · 5 min read
Agency satisfaction scores measure the absence of friction, not the presence of loyalty, which is why satisfied clients still leave at renewal. Eric Spring says watch retention through rate hikes, referral rate, unsolicited contact, and multi-line ratio instead. The gap between satisfaction and retention is the real strategic problem.
10/25/2021 · 6 min read
Prevent E&O claims with four agency QC practices: structured application review before binding, policy review against the quote at delivery, structured renewal audits with real client questions, and documentation discipline so every coverage discussion lives in the CRM.
10/16/2021 · 5 min read
Mega agency owners operate from a leverage mental model, not personal capacity. They build specialist team architecture (dedicated sales, service, and ops), manage culture as an active leadership function, and evolve the owner role from producer to system-builder to strategic leader.
10/14/2021 · 6 min read
Filter candidates with a follow-instructions test embedded in the job post, use behavioral questions tied to resilience and coachability, and run an observed 30-minute sales simulation before any offer. Then run 30, 60, and 90 day checkpoints. Catch misfits at month one, not month four.
10/07/2021 · 6 min read
Delegation only works when you build the oversight layer. Kirk Baker uses three things: random sampling, visible metrics, and a regular one-on-one. Match the right person to the task, and never delegate culture, key client relationships, or producer hiring.
10/06/2021 · 6 min read
Handing off agency service work requires written process, explicit standards, and repeated observation, not a single walk-through. Kirk Baker explains why the new frontier rewards agencies that document service tasks, train against the document, and inspect what they expect.
09/24/2021 · 6 min read
The agency owners who build great teams share two characteristics: they have high hiring standards and they act on performance problems quickly. Most owners have the first or the second, rarely both.