Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Soft P/C Market Flattens Independent Agencies’ Organic Growth in Q2: Reagan Consulting
Aug 5 2014 // Independent insurance agents and brokers reported median organic growth of 5.8 percent for the second quarter of 2014, a weakening from 6.2 percent for the first quarter of 2014 and 6.9 percent for the second quarter of...
Wholesale Trading Co-Op Hires Casualty Broker in New York
Aug 4 2014 // Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services (WTCI) has hired Jennifer Terra as vice president/casualty broker. Terra joins WTCI from Partners Specialty Group, where she specialized in the analysis and placement of complex...
Why risk it?
Aug 4 2014 // Effective Non-Piracy Agreements Protect Your Business Owning an insurance agency does not equate to “owning” the customers it services. If the agents who have the relationships with those customers leave, the...
10 Things to Know About Auto
Aug 4 2014 // State Farm, the largest private auto insurer in the U.S., reported $33.6 billion in direct premiums written for private passenger auto in 2013, representing 18.5 percent of the market share. —The National Association of...
Small Commercial Lines: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Aug 4 2014 // Small commercial lines is suddenly the Cinderella of the insurance industry. The previously unwanted stepchild turned beauty queen is being courted, pursued, and being offered dowries for marriage. Dowries and marriage are...
Privately-Held Independent Property/Casualty Agencies
Aug 4 2014 // About This Report: Welcome to the 10th annual Insurance Journal Top 100 Independent Property/Casualty Agencies report. The Top 100 list is ranked by total property/casualty agency revenue for 2013 and comprises only those...
Top 100 and More
Aug 4 2014 // This year marks the 10th annual publication of Insurance Journal‘s Top 100 Independent P/C Agencies report. In our effort to identify the nation’s leading privately-held independent property/casualty insurance...
Opportunities Abound in High-Value Home, Condo Segment
Aug 4 2014 // The high-value homeowners and luxury condo markets have become competitive arenas to play in, with several new programs and companies in the past few years. But experts say agents and brokers shouldn’t be deterred by...
Rebates, Referrals and Rewards in Texas – What’s OK and What’s Not?
Aug 4 2014 // What are the rules governing insurance agents in Texas on rebates, referrals and rewards, and why do they matter? For starters, at a minimum, agents could lose their license for violating rules regarding such activities....
Allstate Seeks Agents in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii
Aug 4 2014 // Allstate Insurance Co. plans to add several local agency owners in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii in 2014. Allstate’s plan is to recruit 51 new exclusive agents, 13 financial specialists and the company...
Broker-Dealer Buys Alabama Wholesale Broker for $42M
Aug 1 2014 // Miami-based broker-dealer Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. said it has acquired Highland Capital Brokerage Inc., an independent life, annuities and long term care insurance brokerage, for $42 million. Highland,...
Louisiana Agent Booked with 29 Counts of Insurance Fraud
Jul 31 2014 // Louisiana State Police have booked a 58-year-old West Monroe man with 29 counts of insurance fraud and one count of theft. Trooper Albert Paxton tells The News-Star that John Whittington, a licensed insurance agent,...
Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Benefits Brokerage, Insurance Point
Jul 31 2014 // Itasca, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Insurance Point LLC in St. Charles, Ill. and Salt Lake City, Utah. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Insurance Point offers employee benefit...
Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Flood Claims Process After Sandy
Jul 30 2014 // A U.S. Senate committee today conducted a hearing titled “The Flood Insurance Claims Process in Communities After Sandy: Lessons Learned and Potential Improvements,” where lawmakers had a chance to listen to...
Last Chance to Participate: Take the Market & Financial Survey Now
Jul 30 2014 // How are agencies targeting new business today? Will historical growth rates be sustainable? And just how much do agencies need to reinvest to achieve desired growth and enable perpetuation? These are some of the questions...
Loar Gets IIABCal’s Ramsden-Sullivan Memorial Award
Jul 30 2014 // IIABCal Past President Stan Loar received the association’s Ramsden-Sullivan Memorial Award last week. The award is the highest IIABCal gives, and a recipient is said to exemplify the highest caliber of service to...
Independent Agents Drawn to Tablet Applications: Channel Harvest
Jul 29 2014 // Many independent insurance agents say that tablet devices are going to be more important in the next couple of years — particularly for sales presentations and accessing carrier-based training. This is among the many...
With Premium Refunds in Process, Washington Criticism of Flood Insurance Ebbs
Jul 28 2014 // Insurance agent, insurance carrier and real estate lobbyists praised federal regulators in charge of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) last week on Capitol Hill, agreeing that the process of issuing flood...
Fees Plus Commissions Allowed for Retail Insurance Agents in Texas
Jul 25 2014 // Retail insurance agents in Texas are allowed to charge certain fees in addition to a commission in relation to selling an insurance policy, but those fees must be disclosed to the customer. “Texas is one of the few...
Allstate Seeks Agents in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii
Jul 24 2014 // Allstate Insurance Co. plans to add several local agency owners in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii in 2014. Allstate’s plan is to recruit 51 new exclusive agents, 13 financial specialists and the company...
