Latest Agencies Headlines

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

Investor Panel Eyes Improved Online Background Checks of Financial Professionals

Apr 10 2015 // A panel of investor advocates said on Thursday they were developing a proposal for U.S. securities regulators that will make it easier for retail investors to conduct online background checks of financial professionals...

AmWINS Brokerage Announces Appointments in New Jersey, New York

Apr 9 2015 // AmWINS Brokerage of the Mid Atlantic hired John Carlsen as senior vice president. Carlsen specializes in public entity risks, with an emphasis on CAT/natural disaster exposures. Prior to joining AmWINS, he was executive...

California Independent Agents Group Names New Associate Members

Apr 9 2015 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of California announced its new 2015 associate members. The new associate members join a list companies that make up the IIABCal membership ranks. They are: Heartland Payment...

California Agent Nabbed on Bogus Bond, $100K Premium Theft Charges

Apr 8 2015 // Licensed insurance agent Lars Hedegaard, 63, of Danville, Calif. was arrested on two felony counts of grand theft. Hedegaard was doing business as Westport &Associates Insurance Services Inc. when he allegedly issued...

ANE Adds 2 New Jersey Agencies to Its Network

Apr 8 2015 // ANE (Agency Network Exchange LLC), a network of independently owned and operated insurance agencies, has added two New Jersey agencies to its network: Glenn Insurance Inc. with offices in Absecon and Vineland; and Mile...

How Analytics Technology Can Help Speed Integration Post-Merger Deal

Apr 7 2015 // The record number of merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions involving insurance brokers and agents throughout the United States in the past year underscores the imperative for these firms to accelerate growth and...

Former California Agent Convicted of Stealing School Employee Identities

Apr 7 2015 // Magaly Morales, 51, a former life insurance agent, has been sentenced to three years and four months in state prison for stealing information from school district employees in 13 California counties. Morales last week...

Louisiana’s Eagan Insurance: Carrying on a Family Tradition

Apr 6 2015 // Marc Eagan says he’s fortunate that his four children grew up in and around the insurance business. For Eagan, president of Eagan Insurance Agency located in the New Orleans-area, it means his firm is well-situated...

California Bill Fixes DMV Addendum Affecting Broker-Agents

Apr 6 2015 // After decades of broker-agents sharing driver motor vehicle records with insurers to underwrite and rate personal and commercial automobile policies, the California Department of Motor Vehicles late last year began...

Google Takes the Wheel

Apr 6 2015 // When Google stepped into the insurance ring last month, the industry took note. Some said agents and the insurance industry should be concerned. Others said Google Compare, as the new service is named, is nothing new in...

Lloyd’s Suit, Upcoming NFL Draft Shine Light on Sports Insurance

Apr 6 2015 // As the 2015 National Football League draft approaches, a lawsuit against Lloyd’s of London by former University of Southern California Trojans receiver Marqise Lee has placed a spotlight on sports disability...

Sales & Sales Gurus

Apr 6 2015 // Every day I receive at least a half dozen emails from firms promising to increase my sales if I pay them thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands, of dollars. I see website developers promising to increase my...

New Insurance Players: Disruptors or Duds?

Apr 6 2015 // Those with long careers in the insurance industry have seen newer entrants founder on the shoals of our business. Many well-intentioned outsiders don’t understand the innate complexities of the insurance ecosystem...

Confie Seguros Acquires 3 East Coast Brokerages

Apr 2 2015 // Confie Seguros, a national provider of personal lines insurance based in Huntington Beach, California, announced that it has acquired three East Coast insurance brokerages. Confie Seguros acquired the assets of Your...

XS Brokers Hires Walker as Marketing Rep in Connecticut Office

Apr 1 2015 // Joyce Walker XS Brokers, a wholesale agency based in Quincy, Massachusetts, has hired Joyce Walker as marketing representative. Walker will have responsibility for business and relationship development with independent...

Virginia-Based Brokerage Rutherfoord’s Chairman Announces Retirement

Apr 1 2015 // Thomas D. Rutherfoord, Jr. Thomas D. Rutherfoord, Jr., chairman of insurance brokerage Rutherfoord, a Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC company, announced his retirement after more than 40 years of leadership and service at...

Insurance Agent One of 4 Democrats Vying for Vacant Texas House Seat

Apr 1 2015 // Voters in western San Antonio are choosing a successor for state Rep. Jose Menendez, who left office in February to become a Texas senator. Four Democratic candidates squaring off are former San Antonio City Council member...

New MGA Backed by CGSC Offers Miscellaneous E&O

Apr 1 2015 // CGSC North America has launched STATPro Underwriters, a managing general agency serving the Miscellaneous Professional Liability insurance market STATPro provides underwriting exclusively via Swett & Crawford wholesale...

What Agents Should Know About Flood Insurance Changes in Effect April 1

Apr 1 2015 // Starting today, when flood insurance policyholders go to renew their policies, they could be quoted premium increases ranging from 15 to 18 percent on average if their home is their primary residence and up to 25 percent...

W.R. Berkley Combines U.S. Broker Reinsurance Units

Mar 30 2015 // W. R. Berkley Corp. said it has combined its U.S. broker market reinsurance units, Berkley Re America and Facultative ReSources, into a single operating unit that will trade under the Berkley Re America (BRAM)...