Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Agents Need to Know: Texas Workers’ Comp E-Mods Changing
Jun 11 2015 // The number 1.00 means different things to different people. In baseball, 1.00 represents a perfect batting average. But in college, a 1.00 grade point average is about as bad as it gets. In workers’ compensation, a...
Willis Taiwan Acquires Specialist Broker Elite Risk Services in Expansion Move
Jun 11 2015 // Willis Group Holdings plc announced its agreement to acquire Elite Risk Services Limited of Taiwan. The bulletin said the “move almost doubles the size of Willis’s existing business in Taiwan and strengthens...
High-Growth Agencies Build Business Differently: Survey
Jun 10 2015 // A survey of high growth insurance firms conducted and released late last year by a Texas-based consultant found that such organizations hire differently and produce business differently than low growth firms. They also...
Does This Sound Like YOUR Underwriter?
Jun 10 2015 // Two weeks ago we posted an article titled, “Are You One of THOSE Agents?” The article centered around some of the strange questions, comments or requests underwriters have received from their agents. Near the...
B Corp Status Gives California Agency Conscientious Bragging Rights
Jun 8 2015 // Already considering itself a socially and environmentally minded business, Burnham Benefits Insurance Services took the next logical step and went for an official designation that would help alert others to their...
VAIA Offers Free Insurance License Training for Veterans and Their Spouses
Jun 5 2015 // The Virginia Association of Insurance Agents (VAIA) — an affiliated organization of the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia (IIAV) — has announced that it will provide free pre-licensing insurance training...
The Risk of Data Breach in Agencies Today
Jun 5 2015 // Data breaches pose a serious threat to agents even though incidents involving large companies such as Target and Sony produce all the headlines. All agencies are vulnerable to breaches, no matter what their size, location...
What Agents Want for Future Growth: Channel Harvest Survey
Jun 4 2015 // Most independent insurance agents are interested in adding new carriers to those they place business with – but very few independent agents are interested in adding new products to the selection of products and services...
Former Mass. Brokerage Owner Pleads Guilty to Stealing $10M From Aetna
Jun 3 2015 // A former insurance brokerage owner has pleaded guilty on June 2 in federal court in Hartford, Connecticut, to wire fraud and money laundering charges stemming from her theft of more than $10 million from Hartford-based...
Bad Companies Feel Shake-Out in Energy Sector the Most
Jun 3 2015 // While the per barrel oil price has rebounded somewhat after it plunged to under $45 per barrel in March 2015, the energy industry — and by extension the energy-focused insurance sector — continues to adjust to the...
RSA Appoints Gray as Marine Sales & Broker Manager, London Market, Europe
Jun 3 2015 // RSA, one of the largest UK marine insurers, has appointed Calvin Gray to the newly created role of marine sales and broker manager, London market and Europe. Reporting to Richard Turner, marine director, Gray will be...
Confie Seguros Acquires 2 Brokerages in New York
Jun 2 2015 // Confie Seguros, a national provider of personal lines insurance based in Huntington Beach, California, announced that it has acquired two insurance brokerages in New York State, including its first location in New York...
Marsh to Acquire UK-Based Broker, SME Insurance Services
Jun 2 2015 // Marsh announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire SME Insurance Services (SMEi), a UK independent broker which provides specialist commercial insurance to small and medium-sized enterprises. Terms of the...
Willis Completes 85% Stake Buy in UK Wholesale Broker Miller
Jun 1 2015 // Willis Group Holdings announced that following receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, it has completed its investment in Miller Insurance Services LLP, thereby creating a major London wholesale specialist insurance...
China Broker Says Clients Can No Longer Borrow to Buy Ping An Shares
Jun 1 2015 // The brokerage unit of Chinese financial firm Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co Ltd will stop lending money to clients to buy shares in Ping An Insurance Group, the latest move in China’s drive to tighten margin financing...
Brokers, Insurers Ready to Tackle Small Business Market
Jun 1 2015 // There is a shift happening in the small business segment and the insurance industry is aware and ready for it. The small businesses that survived the recession are different now, say underwriters. They have had to invest...
California Court Says Staffing Agencies Can’t Self-Insure Workers’ Comp
Jun 1 2015 // A California Court of Appeals has upheld the state’s decision to exclude temporary staffing agencies from self-insuring for workers’ compensation, a ruling that upholds one of the provisions in the...
Progressive Appointing New Agents in Massachusetts
Jun 1 2015 // The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies announced it is actively appointing new independent agents for its auto product in Massachusetts. Progressive said Massachusetts became the 50th and final state in...
Burns & Wilcox Brokerage Taps Olson in California
May 28 2015 // Burns & Wilcox Brokerage has named Karl Olson vice president and professional liability regional practice leader in its San Francisco team. Olson will be responsible for delivering professional liability brokerage...
Michigan Agent Charged with Felony Embezzlement
May 28 2015 // A Michigan insurance agent faces felony embezzlement charges following an investigation by the the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS). After receiving a complaint from an insurance company, DIFS...
