26 Jan Develop an E&O Library
Without question, training staff is an integral element in every agency. Many industry forecasters have noted that an agency’s focus on training and education will play an ever-increasing role in the agency’s future success.
An important component of this training should include E&O education and awareness. The E&O Plus program is continuously exploring new opportunities to help agencies in this regard. This includes initiatives such as this E&O blog, the quarterly webinars, the articles in the quarterly E&O Plus Report, and the virtual sessions that were held last fall when the annual E&O Plus seminar was converted to a virtual setting. In addition, the Operations Guide is a great resource that provides detail on every one of the 22 E&O Plus Key Components.
Let me ask you this – to what degree is your agency taking advantage of these tremendous resources? How many of your agency staff are even aware of these resources?
Let’s look at the number of webinars that are available (in a recorded version) to you on Passport. These webinar topics include:
- Do Your New Hires Know What a Strong E&O Culture Looks Like?
- Producers – A Key Player in Developing a Strong E&O Culture
- How Are You Promoting Your Agency?
- Issues That Often Arise from Claims Made Policies
- Analyzing Actual E&O Claims and the Lessons to be Learned
- Commercial Lines – A Significant Driver of E&O Claims
- Is a Good E&O Culture Good Enough?
These are all very timely topics that can play an important role in complementing the other training your agency provides. When I visit the agencies (on-site or virtual) that I am honored to work with, the topic of claims-made coverage is always discussed. When I mention that there was a webinar done on this topic, the staff always inquire how they can get access to that session. On this topic, are all of the staff in your agency that deal with claims-made coverage aware of this one-hour session?
With producers having a role in many E&O claims, wouldn’t it be beneficial for all producer staff to be required to view the webinar dedicated to this topic?
A growing number of agency CEOs have advised me that they are including a link to this E&O Plus blog in their weekly electronic newsletter to their staff. This ensures all staff are getting this information. It has been frequently noted that the link to the blog is typically the most clicked link. One of my favorite statements is, “A strong E&O culture is built one person at a time.” Providing this weekly tip is a great way to enhance each person’s E&O awareness.
Consider building an E&O library that provides every agency staff member with information that will help them better understand the issues they can control to reduce the agency’s E&O claims potential. The E&O Plus resources should be included in your library. The goal is to ensure that staff are aware and take advantage of the resources long before an issue develops that has the potential to turn into an E&O claim.
The E&O Plus resources are all designed to help agency staff know the “why” of E&O loss prevention. Developing an E&O library will provide staff with easy access to these resources.