Chicagoland SIA Blog

Did you know that cybercrime has now surpassed illegal drug trafficking as a criminal moneymaker? It’s true. That’s why it’s critical to know how to protect yourself while you’re using your computer, on and offline. Here are some important tips designed to keep you and your data safe:

We all know we should be using strong passwords. But studies show that many of us are still using passwords like ’123456.’ That was the most-used password nationwide last year, followed by ‘password,’ ’123456789,’ ’12345678′ and ’12345′. Rounding out the top 10: ’111111,’ ’1234567,’ sunshine,’ ‘qwerty,’ and ‘iloveyou’. Chances are, even if your password skills are much better than average, they could still use some improvement. That’s why we wanted to share with you four simple steps to a stronger password.

In the insurance business, there are a lot of things you don’t have control over — market conditions, what your competitors are doing and the economy, for example. But you do have control over what type of working environment you can offer your agency’s employees.

Feedback is critically important in any business because it helps employees identify areas in which they need to improve and to develop their skills. It’s especially important in the insurance business, where agents need guidance and support to succeed. Yet providing face-to-face feedback remains one of the most challenging aspects of managing other people.

It’s New Year’s Resolution time! What are your agency’s goals for the new year? Here are some ideas for helping your agency to grow and succeed in 2021:

How many Zoom meetings do you participate in each week? Probably more than you used to. The use of Zoom and other video conferencing technology has skyrocketed during the global pandemic as a way to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and as many businesses adapt to remote work. Unfortunately, all of those video calls can lead to “Zoom fatigue.”

Cultivating a strong personal brand can yield a lifetime of benefits. Yet many people mistakenly believe that personal branding is mostly about things like choosing stylish clothing and memorizing an effective elevator speech. They don’t realize that successful personal branding is less about how you look and more about what you do each day and the bonds you create with other people. The real power of personal branding lies in demonstrating qualities such as diligence, kindness, compassion and graciousness.

Is data security, online privacy and identity theft a top concern? If it’s not, it should be. More than ever, we’re seeing increasingly sophisticated attempts from hackers to steal information from organizations, and use it to commit identity theft and fraud.

How would you rate your listening skills? Listening to your clients — truly listening to what they are trying to tell you — is an important way to increase customer satisfaction and to help prevent misunderstandings, including those that can lead to E&O claims.