Insurance Journal » Operations

AmWINS Forms Non-Standard Auto Specialty Division

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:43:27 +0000

AmWINS Group, Inc. has combined its various non-standard auto operating entities to create AmWINS Specialty Auto (ASA), a new operation within the AmWINS Underwriting Division. The combined entities include Newport General Agency (acquired in April 2010), American Southwest Insurance Managers, …

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Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford Names Southwell to Head Group Operations

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:10:02 +0000

Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford (CGSC), the global wholesale and reinsurance brokerage group, has appointed Gavin Southwell as head of operations. He previously served as CGSC’s head of risk management. In his new role Southwell will “focus on providing best …

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Venezuelans Threaten Mass Lawsuits for Faulty Breast Implants

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:05:50 +0000

Some 2,000 Venezuelan women are threatening to sue doctors, private clinics and distributors for faulty PIP breast implants if they do not get free replacements in one of the world’s hottest markets for plastic surgery. The image-conscious South American country …

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Best Reports on Bermuda’s Challenges; Torus’ O’Donohoe Comments on Diminished Role

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:31:04 +0000

A special report from A.M. Best highlights the “challenging conditions” facing Bermuda’s insurance and reinsurance market, despite what Best described as “resilient financial results despite challenging conditions that include heavy catastrophe losses.” As of Sept. 30, 2011 the Bermuda/insurance market …

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Willis North America Names Elliott as Operations Director

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:39:13 +0000

Insurance broker Willis North America has appointed Jeff Elliott as director of operations. He will be based in Charlotte, N.C. In this newly created role, Elliott will help refine Willis North America’s target operating model and oversee its major technology …

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Capgemini/Efma Report Urges ‘Re-focusing,’ ‘Operational Efficiencies’

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:58:03 +0000

In their recently released 2011 World Insurance Report Capgemini and Efma explore how insurers can “dissect their business to identify opportunities that will make fundamental and lasting improvements to their core operations, with a focus on enhancements to claims transformation. …

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Krisanits Joins Old National Insurance as Regional President

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Frank Krisanits has joined Indiana-based Old National Insurance as its Evansville region president. He will lead the insurance teams in the tri-state area. Before joining Old National, Krisanits held senior management roles including chief operating officer, president and CEO at …

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Marsh Agency Buys Georgia Benefits Brokerage

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC reports it has acquired Strategic Benefit Solutions, Inc. (SBS), a $4 million benefits brokerage and consulting firm based in Alpharetta, Georgia. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. SBS will operate within the Rutherfoord division …

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Hallmark Financial Completes Acquisition of State Auto National

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Fort Worth, Texas-based Hallmark Financial Services Inc. says it has completed the previously disclosed acquisition of State Auto National Insurance Co. State Auto National is an Ohio domiciled insurance company which annually writes approximately $37 million in non-standard personal automobile …

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Poisson to Lead New Atlanta Office for ISU Agency Network

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The ISU Agency Network has added a Southeast regional office in Atlanta. The office will be lead by Gary Poisson, who will manage the development of the ISU network in 11 states from Virginia to Louisiana. Poisson has 25 years …

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Six Keys to Harleysville’s Turnaround

Kenneth J. St. Onge — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Six years ago, Harleysville Group was in need of a big change. The Pennsylvania-based insurer had just come out of the worst performing year in its history. That’s when newly appointed CEO Michael Browne — who declared the company’s performance …

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Test Your 2010 Insurance News IQ: 25 Questions

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Are you an insurance news hound? Test your insurance news IQ and find out. The following questions and answers (at bottom of the page– don’t cheat!) were developed based on news stories published by InsuranceJournal.com in 2010. Good luck! 1. …

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Miller, Shoemaker Join InVEST Board

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

InVEST, the insurance industry program that brings insurance education to classrooms, has appointed Peter Miller and Loren P. Shoemaker to its national board. Miller is president and CEO of The Institutes and Shoemaker is senior vice president and chief operating …

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Liberty Mutual Paying $7.5M to Settle Bid-Rigging Charges

Kenneth J. St. Onge — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Boston-based insurer Liberty Mutual will pay a combined $7.5 million to New York and Connecticut to settle allegations that it steered insurance contracts by paying kickbacks large insurance brokers. In settling the suits, New York will receive $5.5 million and …

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Insurance Year in Review: East Edition

Kenneth J. St. Onge — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The touchy subject of agents’ commissions dominated headlines in 2010 — particularly in New York where regulators unveiled new rules that will force agents to reveal to clients how much they are paid. That decision struck a major nerve within …

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Customer Acquisition 101: Grading Insurance Carriers

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Internet leads have become an essential element of doing business for insurance companies in this day and age. However, despite working hard and spending considerable amounts of money on marketing to pull in these leads, most insurance companies don’t do …

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The Hartford Selling Third Party Claims Unit for $278M

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Hartford said it has inked a $278 million deal to sell its third-party claims administration business, Specialty Risk Services (SRS), to Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. The Hartford said the deal is expected to close in the first quarter, …

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2010/2011 Buyer’s Guide

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Insurance Journal’s 2nd annual Buyer’s Guide, a tear-out directory of services, products and solutions for the insurance industry. Companies are listed within eleven different categories; Agents, Agent Networks, Agency Services, Claims, Construction/Restoration, Education/Training, Human Resources, Insurance Associations, Marketing, …

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The Agency Salary Blues

Andrea Wells — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Independent agency salaries maintained or decreased slightly in 2009, but employee morale may be registering at an all time low. And agents don’t expect things to change, at least not anytime soon. Half of all agencies responding to Insurance Journal’s …

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Why Top Performing Agencies Focus on Compensation Expenses

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

There are a lot of performance benchmarks to focus on to become a top performing insurance agency and to achieve high profitability. One of the areas agencies need to focus on is compensation expenses. With a struggling national economy, it’s …

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Reader’s Choice

Andrea Wells — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Never lose sight of what the reader wants. That has been the motto for Insurance Journal throughout its 85-year history of publishing news and information for our most important customers — independent agents and brokers. To accomplish this mission, editors at …

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2010 Insurance Entrepreneurial Award Winners Selected

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

When it comes to innovation in the insurance industry, Ace Private Risk Services, Work at Home Vintage Employees (WAHVE) and FirstBest Systems top the list, according to a competition that identified companies that successfully implemented new underwriting, distribution or technology …

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Lessons Learned and Looking Ahead at Lloyd’s

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0000

December is often a time of reflection on what we’ve achieved, where we’ve stumbled and what lessons we will take forward into the New Year. When Lloyd’s published its three-year strategy earlier this year, it was clear that one of …

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How an E&O Claim Could Affect Agency Employee’s Career

Andrea Wells — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Survey Finds Agencies Take a Second Look at Hiring Employees With Past E&O Histories Today’s soft insurance market, reduced commissions and a tough economy for agency owners and their clients might be adding to agency errors and omissions (E&O) exposures. …

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Sun, 19 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

One way that agency owners can keep their employees happy in today’s tough times is by making their compensation more accountable to agency growth. Al Diamond, president of the Agency Consulting Group, says in agencies where owners have decided to …

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Study: Texting Bans Don’t Reduce Crashes

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

It’s illegal to text while driving in most U.S. states yet a new study finds such bans do not reduce car accidents and may actually increase insurance claims. Researchers at the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) found no reductions in …

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Do Today’s Entry Level Employees Lack Professionalism?

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Students aren’t making the grade as professionals in the workplace, according to an annual survey on the state of professionalism among young workers. In 2009, 37.3 percent of corporate leaders felt that less than half of all new graduates exhibited …

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Pinnacol CFO Named to National Wellness Board

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Jeff Tetrick, chief financial officer for Pinnacol Assurance, has been appointed as a national board member to the San Francisco-based Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI). IBI programs, resources and expert networks advance the understanding and the impact of health-related productivity on …

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Personal Internet Use Becoming Part of Employee Record

Andrew G. Simpson — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Those photos on Facebook showing you palling around with drunks, the raunchy joke you posted on Twitter, and those links to politically incorrect groups on your personal Web site —all of this information can now become part of your job …

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Ho-Ho-Holidays Can Be Problem for Small Businesses

Joyce Rosenberg — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The holiday season isn’t necessarily the most joyous time of the year for small businesses. Holiday parties and celebrations can turn unpleasant if employees or guests misbehave. Productivity can drop when employees are distracted by all the personal things, including …

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