Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Swanson Joins United Group Alliance as Regional VP for Ohio
Feb 7 2019 // United Group Alliance (UGA), an alliance of independent insurance agencies, has hired Dianne Swanson as regional vice president for Ohio. Swanson will be responsible for membership service and business development for all...
What do you mean, I have to cover YOUR property?
Feb 6 2019 // The Academy Journal is pleased to present the following article by our friend, Craig Andrews. As questions come to me from property-casualty practitioners all over the country, one situation in particular seems to popping...
Being Independent, Nimble and Niche: Keys to SSL Endeavour’s Aim to Put Clients First
Feb 6 2019 // By creating an innovative and nimble operating platform, SSL Endeavour, London-based Lloyd’s broker, aims to attract and retain the best entrepreneurial brokers who are freed up to create innovative client solutions,...
Former Agents in Washington Charged with Theft for Writing Fake Policies
Feb 5 2019 // Three Pierce County, Wash. residents were charged with crimes related to insurance fraud in Pierce County Superior Court The charges follow investigations by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal...
USI Insurance Services Acquires New York’s GFI Insurance Brokerage
Feb 5 2019 // USI Insurance Services (USI), a provider of insurance brokerage and risk management, has acquired New York-based GFI Insurance Brokerage Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2003, GFI provides...
Mass. Insurance Agency to Pay $5M Restitution for Agent Overcharging Customers
Feb 4 2019 // A Peabody, Mass.-based insurance agency has been ordered by a Massachusetts judge to pay more than $5 million in restitution to its small business customers after they were overcharged for insurance products. The final...
Insurance Tries to Keep Up with Sharing Economy
Feb 4 2019 // As more and more consumers click for services and borrow rather than buy, the sharing economy is benefitting. According to Harvard Business Review, the sharing or on-demand economy is attracting more than 22.4 million...
Independent Agent Group Taps Texas Mutual as Endorsed Work Comp Carrier
Feb 4 2019 // Texas’ largest independent insurance agent association and the state’s leading workers’ compensation insurance carrier have formed a strategic partnership. The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT)...
CAUTION: Safety U-Turn for Truckers with Animals
Feb 4 2019 // Hours of Service, Other Safety Exemptions for Livestock Haulers Raise Concerns Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting It was sometime around 4 a.m. on a cool, spring morning when James McGilvray lost control of his...
Big deals
Feb 4 2019 // Marsh/JLT, Brown & Brown/Hays Topped 2018 P/C Agency Mergers A handful of big deals dominated the very busy property/casualty insurance agency and broker merger news cycle for 2018. Based on Insurance Journal...
People
Feb 4 2019 // AmTrust Financial Services announced leadership changes as it moves forward as a private company. Its $2.95 billion privatization plan was finalized on November 28, 2018 after receipt of all approvals. AmTrust announced...
Taking a Page from the Insurtech Playbook
Feb 4 2019 // How Insurtechs Can Help Attract Millennial Talent to Agencies, Carriers The rules of the game are changing for companies wishing to attract top, young, qualified talent. Millennials, Generation Y, Gen Next, Boomerang...
Navigating Today’s Nonprofit Insurance Market
Feb 4 2019 // Nonprofits are a lot like most insurance clients; there’s not much difference. They seek trusted and consultative relationships with their agents, brokers and carriers. They seek partners that understand their...
Agencies Promote Soft Benefits to Gain A Distinct Recruiting Advantage
Feb 4 2019 // It’s Part of Who We Are “When I first brought up some of these new ideas you would have thought I suggested we all go to the moon,” said Michelle Trueblood, chief human resources officer at The Horton...
Insurance Agents Assured of Trump Pass-Through Tax Break Under Final Treasury Rule
Feb 4 2019 // The U.S. Treasury issued final regulations and other guidance on a provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that allows owners of sole proprietorships, partnerships, trusts, and S corporations to deduct up to 20 percent of...
Reaching the Moonshot Goal in Flood Insurance Coverage
Feb 4 2019 // The private flood insurance industry made significant strides to insure more households against the peril of flood in 2018. Factor in recent major flood events and an ever-changing regulatory landscape, and the role of...
Wishes & Predictions… in their own words
Feb 4 2019 // Ely Kaplansky, President, Kaplansky Agency, MA Increased market share. Rate increases. Continued profitable growth. Crag Shink, Managing Partner, C.H. Shink & Associates, NY A harder market in some segments. Increasing...
Nonprofits Prove to be a Growing and Loyal Niche
Feb 4 2019 // Nonprofits are growing, which is good news for agents and brokers specializing in this diverse niche market. Data released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in August 2018 shows that the...
How One Agent Adopted a Niche within a Niche
Feb 4 2019 // Phillip Hawley, president of Hawley & Associates in Bellevue, Wash., understands the power of referrals in the nonprofit insurance world. His entire agency’s book of business took root with nonprofit referrals...
Texas Brokers Have Until Feb. 28 to Correct Late-Filed Surplus Lines Policies
Feb 3 2019 // Brokers who file Texas surplus lines policies with SLTX will have until Feb. 28, 2019, at 5 p.m. central time to file any necessary adjustment forms or make corrections before the annual late filers report is produced, the...
