Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Program Brokerage Corp. Acquires South Carolina’s Sirles
Feb 3 2014 // Program Brokerage Corp. (PBC), a wholesale subsidiary of insurance broker Hub International Limited (Hub), sad it has acquired the assets of Sirles Insurance Group Inc., a South Carolina-based commercial insurance...
Austin Agents Honor Watkins Insurance Group President with Service Award
Jan 30 2014 // Patrick Watkins, president of Austin, Texas-based Watkins Insurance Group, has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award by Independent Insurance Agents of Austin (IIAA. The award is not offered every year, only when a...
Senate Passes Flood Insurance Delay, Agent Licensing Bill
Jan 30 2014 // The Senate passed a bill Thursday to delay certain flood insurance rate hikes and create a national registry for licensing insurance agents by a vote of 67-32. (See how senators voted at end of story.) The bill delays the...
The Hartford School Of Insurance Launches Small Commercial School
Jan 30 2014 // The Hartford School of Insurance has introduced a small commercial training program designed to educate new agency professionals on technical insurance and sales knowledge focused on the needs of a small business...
Oklahoma-Based INSURICA Acquires Joe West Co., Related Agencies
Jan 30 2014 // INSURICA Insurance Management Network, based in Oklahoma City, has acquired Tulsa-area agency, Joe West Company, and related agencies, Lon T. Jackson Agency and McMasters Insurance Counselors/Keystone Insurance Agency,...
Texas-Based MHBT Recognized as Top Performing U.S. Insurance Brokerage
Jan 30 2014 // MHBT Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, was recently recognized as the “Top Performing Agency” in the country in its revenue category in a prestigious report by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers...
Texas Insurance, Vietnam Veteran Lyle Ashley Passes Away
Jan 30 2014 // Lyle Ashley, decorated Navy veteran, insurance agency founder, and well-known professional in Texas insurance circles, passed away Jan. 24, 2014. Ashley, 69, received The Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze stars for his...
Senate Begins Amending Bill to Halt Flood Insurance Rate Increases
Jan 30 2014 // The Senate has begun adopting amendments to the bill (S.1926) that seeks to delay flood insurance premium increases called for under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. The Senate bill would halt premium...
N.Y. Gov. Orders Agencies to Review Emergency Response Plans for Oil Trains
Jan 29 2014 // New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday ordered state agencies to review and update emergency response plans for rail shipments of crude oil that pass through the state in the wake of recent derailments out of North...
Oasis Consortium of 21 Insurers, Brokers Launches Independent Cat Model
Jan 28 2014 // The Oasis Loss Modelling Framework has unveiled what it describes as “the most significant development in the modelling of natural catastrophe losses for 20 years”— the launch of an independent, global, open...
White House Balks at Flood Insurance Delay, Agent Licensing Bill
Jan 28 2014 // The Obama Administration has problems with the Senate bill that would delay flood insurance premium increases and create an agent licensing registry. The bill, S.1926, was cleared for debate on a procedural vote, 86-13,...
Senate Takes First Step on Flood Insurance, Agent Licensing Bill
Jan 27 2014 // The Senate voted 86-13 early Monday evening to proceed with debate on a bill to both delay some flood insurance premium increases and establish an optional national registry for insurance agent and broker licensing. That...
Key Flood and Crop Insurance Votes Could Come This Week
Jan 27 2014 // This week could see important Senate votes on a bill on the federal flood insurance program that is linked with an agent and broker licensing measure, as well House approval of a farm bill that includes crop insurance and...
House Dampens Prospects for Broad Flood Insurance Delay
Jan 27 2014 // The Senate (72-26) recently joined the House of Representatives (359-67) in passing a $1.1 trillion compromise omnibus spending bill that contains a delay for an estimated one quarter of those facing flood insurance...
Encourage Your Inexperienced Agent to Find a ‘Production Peer’
Jan 27 2014 // Inexperienced P/C producers frequently feel that they are working alone, lost in a sea of expectations. Their response, especially if they are young, is often to redouble their online activity. But today’s impersonal...
McKinsey Report Gets It Wrong on Independent Agents
Jan 27 2014 // For decades the experts have been betting against independent insurance agents, yet they keep winning. Why? The consultants, finance guys, and others who populate the skyscrapers on Wall Street discount the power of the...
Insurance Industry Trends for Agencies to Exploit in 2014
Jan 27 2014 // In order to be a step ahead of the competition it is best to be proactive. One can do this by understanding and exploiting current and future trends. It is easy to predict trends by understanding recurring cycles and...
Agency Models: What Defines Today’s True Independent Agency
Jan 27 2014 // The conventional definition of an independent agent is an entrepreneur who owns his or her book of business and offers multiple carriers to service their clients. That is the simplified version, and it falls short of...
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Emerges From 2013 As a Serious Player
Jan 27 2014 // Last year was quite a year for Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) – or half of a year, anyway. Since opening its doors for business in June 2013 with much fanfare, the new venture has gone from four to nearly...
Judge Puts Missouri Law on Healthcare Navigator Licensing on Hold
Jan 26 2014 // A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against Missouri’s law requiring a state license to serve as a navigator to help consumers sign up for coverage through the new health insurance marketplace. U.S....
