Latest Agencies Headlines

All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Gorst & Compass in California Names Mulford Senior Transportation Broker

May 23 2019 // Chatsworth, Calif.-based Gorst & Compass has named Kristi Mulford a senior transportation broker/underwriter. Mulford, who is based in San Marcos, has 18 years of commercial auto insurance experience. She was...

Texas Insurance Department: Continuing Ed Service for Agents, Adjusters Improved

May 23 2019 // A year ago, it took months for insurance agents and adjusters to get continuing education transcripts, course credit and other information from the Texas Department of Insurance. Today, it takes about two weeks, according...

North Carolina Department of Insurance Releases Smartphone App for Agents

May 23 2019 // The North Carolina Department of Insurance has released a smartphone app for insurance agents offering information such as educational opportunities, NCDOI agent services contact info, and agent notifications from the...

Winning the Race to the Bottom

May 22 2019 // “The car’s just not worth anything.” “The state only requires…” “I don’t owe on it, so I don’t have to have it.” I’ve heard these sentences recently when...

Employee Charged with Stealing $900K from New Jersey Insurance Broker

May 22 2019 // A former accounting specialist in the Ridgefield Park, N.J., office of an insurance broker was arrested and charged with allegedly defrauding her employer of approximately $900,000, Acting U.S. Attorney William E....

North Carolina Insurance Fraud Round-Up: April

May 22 2019 // The North Carolina Department of Insurance announced multiple fraud enforcement actions during the month of April 2019. Insurance fraud costs American consumers approximately $80 billion dollars a year. According to North...

Arthur J. Gallagher Buys Minority Stake in India’s Edelweiss Insurance Brokers

May 21 2019 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced it has purchased a minority stake in Edelweiss Insurance Brokers Ltd. (EIBL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Edelweiss Group, the Indian diversified financial services...

Protecting Your Agency and Educating Your Clients On Cybersecurity

May 20 2019 // It’s no secret that having the right technology is critical to being a successful independent agent. But as independent agents embrace technology, they must also be aware of the risks for cyberattacks and know how to...

Connecting the Dots in Agency Technology

May 20 2019 // To say the agency technology space is robust is an understatement. Right now, the industry is seeing an “onslaught of technology available to enable agents and brokers to better manage, not only their business, but...

Why Agencies Should Ramp Up Value-Added Services

May 20 2019 // Let’s face it, insurance is a commodity. The insurance consumer will not see any significant value difference between insurance companies and insurance agencies. Products, price and service are roughly the...

Cyber Confusion: What’s Needed to Create a Sustainable Cyber Market

May 20 2019 // There has been plenty of talk about how cyber continues to evolve in an ever-changing technology landscape, how cyber risks have become increasingly sophisticated and how the insurance industry needs to keep...

People

May 20 2019 // National Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) announced that Baptiste Ossena, global product leader of Hull and Marine Liabilities (HML), is assuming additional responsibility as the North American regional head...

Why Agent Response Time Is More Critical Than Ever

May 20 2019 // Two years ago, I wrote a column on “speed-to-value,” in which the time agents took to respond to and resolve inquiries/requests from policyholders and prospects had become an important factor in customer...

California Agent Allegedly Steals $65K from Small Business Owners

May 16 2019 // California Insurance agent Francis Okyere, 67, self-surrendered this week at the Los Angeles County Superior Court after being charged with four felony counts of grand theft. The charges arose from an investigation by the...

Renaissance Alliance Insurance Services Expands to Florida

May 16 2019 // Renaissance Alliance Insurance Services, a membership alliance for independent insurance agencies, has expanded into Florida and has added two Miami agencies to the group, as well as made two senior appointments in the...

SLTX Adds Purchasing Group Flag Function to Electronic Filing System

May 15 2019 // A new feature allowing agents and brokers to indicate whether or not an insured is a purchasing group is now available within the SLTX Electronic Filing System (EFS), the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas reported. A...

Driggers to Lead J.M. Wilson Florida Branch

May 15 2019 // J.M. Wilson has added Keith Driggers as branch manager of its newly renamed Hollywood, Fla., office. Located at 5555 Hollywood Blvd, Ste. 200, the former “Enright & Wilson” office became an official J.M....

Vacant Property Program Webinar to be Held Wednesday, May 15

May 14 2019 // Atlanta, GA, May 14, 2019 — Jared Mathis, executive vice president and head of the Blue River Underwriters’ specialty property program group will be presenting an informational webinar on vacant property insurance...

Schmidt Named Director, Business Development at Illinois’ Associated Agencies

May 14 2019 // Associated Agencies Inc. in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, has hired Jim Schmidt as director of business development. Most recently, Schmidt worked as commercial lines manager for USI Insurance Services since 2016. There, he...

Arthur J. Gallagher Buys Swiss Broker Verbag Versicherungsberatungs

May 13 2019 // Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Swiss insurance broker Verbag Versicherungsberatungs AG. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Based in Zug, Switzerland, Verbag...