Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Washington Insurance Commissioner Fines Insurance Producers
Apr 10 2014 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued fines totaling $23,050 against insurance companies, agents and brokers who violated state insurance regulations. The disciplinary actions and fines were levied from...
N.J.’s Consolidated Insurance Agents Changes Name to ANE, Eyes Expansion
Apr 10 2014 // Consolidated Insurance Agents, a network of independent insurance agencies in New Jersey, is changing its name to ANE, Agency Network Exchange. It also unveiled a plan to add resources and staff to expand its network of...
Why Agencies Need to Pay More Attention to Insurer Insolvency
Apr 10 2014 // A myth is sneaking into the industry that insurer insolvency is not as important today. Belief in this myth is important to many entities. To put it more simply, a number of companies, agencies, and other firms benefit if...
Montana’s Sen. Tester Awarded Big ‘I’s’ Legislator of the Year 2013
Apr 10 2014 // U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) has been named the Gerald Solomon-IIABA Legislator of the Year for 2013 by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”). The award was presented Tuesday...
Carriers Being Selective with Florida’s Citizens Clearinghouse Agency Appointments
Apr 9 2014 // Florida’s state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. says the initial opening of its new web-based clearinghouse designed to make it easier for private insurers to write its policies has been promising, although...
Brazilian Lender BTG to Launch Insurance Units in Latin America
Apr 8 2014 // Grupo BTG Pactual SA, the Brazilian lender controlled by billionaire Andre Esteves, plans to start an insurance business in Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico. The first step will be to enter Chile’s annuity market,...
Nebraska Court: Agent Breached Contract but Client List Not a Trade Secret
Apr 8 2014 // The Nebraska Supreme Court recently upheld the finding of a lower court that a crop insurance agent breached the terms of her contract with a former employer when she went to work for another agency. However, in First...
Arthur J. Gallagher: Q1 Revenues Up 20%; 10 Mergers in Pipeline
Apr 7 2014 // Illinois-based global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported 20 percent growth in total revenues for its brokerage and risk management units combined along with four percent growth in organic commissions...
Houston Insurance Agents Honor Dean with Outstanding Service Award
Apr 7 2014 // Bob Dean, former president and CEO of Houston-based Dean & Draper Insurance Agency LP, has received a posthumous award for his unparalleled service to the insurance industry throughout his career. The Independent...
Delaware Bill Adds Teeth to Certificate of Insurance Rules
Apr 7 2014 // Delaware legislature on March 25 passed HB 104 (“An Act to Amend Title 18 of the Delaware Code Relating to Certificates of Insurance”) that aims to curtail the improper use of certificates of...
Agents Can Help Small Businesses Stay on Top of New Risks
Apr 7 2014 // Small businesses face a myriad of challenges throughout the business life cycle as they embark on new ventures and grow their operations. And insurance agents can serve as their guide and help them understand risks and...
Hiring That First Good Producer
Apr 7 2014 // Hiring that first good producer may be the most difficult single step/achievement an independent agent undertakes. It is so difficult, at least 60 percent of agencies, based on size surveys, never hire a single successful...
Diversity and Youth: The Independent Agency System’s Challenge and Opportunity
Apr 7 2014 // Like many of my peers, I grew up in family-owned independent insurance agency and sort of inherited the insurance bug. Unlike most of my peers, our family’s agency is minority-owned and I’m younger than 40. The...
Young Agents Survey – Why They Chose Insurance
Apr 7 2014 // The call to become an insurance agent is different for everyone. For Matthew Ostrow the call to become an independent agent came via social media. Thirty-year old Ostrow entered insurance just five months ago after a...
What Young Agents ‘Like’ Most
Apr 7 2014 // Insurance may not be at the top of the list for college graduates when it comes to career choices, but the young professionals that do take a stab at it have some good things to say. This special issue of Insurance Journal...
Agency M&A in 2013 Reverted to Norm After Busy 2012: OPTIS Partners
Apr 7 2014 // Mergers and acquisitions of insurance agencies fell in 2013, with 248 reported transactions in the United States and Canada, according to a new semi-annual survey by OPTIS Partners, an investment banking and financial...
Arthur J. Gallagher to Buy Australian Wesfarmers’ Insurance Brokerage
Apr 6 2014 // Perth, Australia-based conglomerate Wesfarmers has agreed to sell the insurance brokerage and premium funding operations of its Insurance division to subsidiaries of U.S.-based broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for...
Confie Head Eyes Commercial Acquisitions for Rest of 2014
Apr 4 2014 // Confie Seguros’ president wants it known that the agency made good on its promise a year-and-a-half ago to up its buying spree and expand into standard personal and small commercial lines, all while broadening its...
Arthur J. Gallagher Buys New Zealand’s Mike Henry Brokers
Apr 4 2014 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited (MHIB), headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. MHIB has annualized revenues of approximately $4.5 million and 30 staff operating from its...
N.J. Regulator Offers Tips on Shopping for Insurance Coverage
Apr 2 2014 // New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Ken Kobylowski this week provided advice to consumers when shopping for insurance coverage. Whether buying and insuring a new car, starting a small business or...
