As the owner of an insurance agency, it is your job to understand every aspect of your industry. Having a wealth of knowledge about your products will allow you to translate sometimes complex or confusing terms to your clients. It is important for your community to know their rights when it comes to the insurance they buy.

This is why having a conversation with them from an ethical standpoint will allow them to feel comfortable and trust your services. It is crucial that your insurance agents, producers, and brokers understand their professional, legal, and ethical responsibilities in dealing with customers. Whether an agent is writing for life insurance, car insurance, commercial insurance, or another product, they should support the client in every way possible so they thoroughly comprehend what each insurance package covers.

Ethics are a foundation of a strong, reliable company and should not be forgotten about. To maintain good ethical behavior in your agency, keep these elements in mind:

• Respect You need to respect yourself and others, including your employees and customers. Take the time to coach, train, and support your team as they grow to understand the ever changing insurance industry and how they can better service your customers through trust and respect.

• Integrity Maintain your reputation by being honest with clients. Keep your promises and when you’re wrong about something, own up to it. Make sure everyone in the agency holds themselves in a professional manner.

• Passion If you are passionate about what you’re doing, this will reflect positively in your work ethic. If you lack enthusiasm, your customers will notice and feel you are not working to protect them in the best ways possible.

• Persistence Continue to work hard whether your results are good or bad. This is related to the passion you have not only for your industry but for your customers. Focusing on their needs and wants should be a priority. As you know, an insurance agency is nothing if it does not have customers. In order to provide services that are reliable, you need to do so in a moral, ethical manner.

Continue to reinforce the responsibility you have to your community and industry because, at the end of the day, your decisions affect everything and everyone.

Kenneth F. Petersen, CPCU, is CEO of Encharter Insurance and a 20 year veteran of the industry. Encharter offers insurance services in MA, CT, and NJ with eight offices total. Petersen has worked both as an insurance producer and as an insurance company underwriter for many years prior to starting Encharter.