CREATING AN AGENCY PROCEDURES MANUAL
WHAT ARE THE KEY COMPONENTS ? written by Beth Smoller , KAIA
You may have recently seen that IIABA ( the Big “ I ”) released a sample agency procedures manual ( see info in the sidebar of this article ). Available for free to KAIA members , the manual is a great starting point for any agency looking to implement a procedures manual . Your agency could also use the template manual as a resource to update your current procedures manual and / or make it more robust .
As KAIA ’ s resident “ bad guy ” ( I ’ m an attorney and we all get the bad guy rap ; don ’ t worry , I can usually handle it ), I typically preach the importance of all agency employees being consistent in their practices and procedures . If you ’ ve taken a class from me , you know I repeatedly discuss the E & O benefits of consistent procedures , as well as the training and redundancy benefits those procedures can provide . But you ’ ve also probably heard that if you have an agency procedures manual , you need to make sure you follow it .
If you aren ’ t going to follow it , then don ’ t bother to have one . Attorneys love to find inconsistencies in the treatment of agency clients and use them as fodder in lawsuits against agencies .
There are many benefits to incorporating an agency procedures manual in your operations – and too
20 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER