Where to start?

I've been meaning to do this for a long time. One thing that always stopped me was deciding where to start so I decided I'll just start with what's on my mind today.

One reason for creating this blog is to expose life insurance marketers to thoughts, ideas and resources that you might find useful. I'll probably go off on tangents and talk about stuff unrelated to life insurance but maybe you'll find some of those things interesting too.

I urge you to come back often, tell us what's on your mind and let your colleagues know about my blog.

So today I'm thinking about all the great stuff on the web that life insurance marketing people don't know about and should. I'll add links to these kind of places and try to keep them current.

Sure there are raw news feeds like Insurance News Net, but, if you're like me, you'd be lucky to find 1 or 2 things a day of interest and it's mostly press release stuff.

What about the A.M. Best website? Everyone knows AM Best. You probably read Best Review, but have you been to their website? It's a fantastic resource. Although much of the content is for subscribers (if you get Best's Review in print, you can get access to the site), some of it is for free. One thing you might like is their Life/Health Center news feed. They also have a great selection of podcasts. A.M. Best produces a series of podcasts on a variety of topics. They're ideal for listening to on a plane, commuting or listening at your desk. Here's what's available today:

BestDay Audio -- Get a recap of the day's major insurance news and rating announcements, along with in-depth interviews on timely industry topics. Available each weekday morning.

The E-Fusion Podcast -- Share the thoughts of leading insurance technologists, researchers and participants in A.M. Best's annual E-Fusion Insurance & Technology Conference.

The Insurance Law Podcast -- Hear leading attorneys and legal experts discuss current developments in insurance law, significant court cases and legislative issues. The discussion is led by the editors of Best's Directory of Recommended Attorneys and other members of A.M. Best's communications team. Produced biweekly.

The Insurance Marketing and Advertising Podcast -- Hear best practices in product, brand and image marketing from the top insurance marketing firms, insurance leaders, agents, brokers and other participants in the Insurance Marketing and Advertising Summit, an event co-sponsored by A.M. Best and the Insurance Media Association.

I found the interviews with Jay Jaffe ("Why Insurance Marketers Need to Take an Actuary's View of Products and Promotion") and Don Jackson ("Don Jackson Reviews the Highs and Lows of Direct Marketing by Insurers") particularly interesting.

Well that's it for today. Drop me a line.