Latest Agencies Headlines

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

Hull & Company Names Dumag as Underwriter, Broker in California

Jan 13 2014 // Jennifer Dumag has joined Hull & Company Inc. in its Stockton, Calif. office as a commercial lines underwriter and broker. Dumag will be responsible for marketing, underwriting and placement of excess and surplus and...

AIG Rebranding, Expanding Retirement Services As Others Retreat

Jan 13 2014 // American International Group Inc. plans to add 600 advisers and expand their offerings to boost sales as rivals retreat from some retirement products. The insurer will increase the number of career agents at its newly...

The Best Quotes of 2013

Jan 13 2014 // A new year is a chance to look back and review the past. Here’s a view at some of the best quotes found on InsuranceJournal.com in 2013. What was your favorite quote of the year? “If you like your health care...

The Profit Compression

Jan 13 2014 // The bad news is independent agency profits are and will continue to be compressed. The good news is that for independent agencies willing to abandon the traditional model, great opportunity exists. Profits will stay...

Allstate Insurance to Expand in Midwest with New Agencies

Jan 9 2014 // Allstate Insurance Co. has announced plans to appoint new agency owners in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio this year. The company plans to appoint 21 new insurance agency owners in Indiana. Additionally, Allstate’s new...

Insurance M&A Trends That May Lead to ‘Perfect Storm’ in 2014

Jan 9 2014 // Encouraged by a vigorous period of insurance M&A activity in the second half of 2012, many in the industry had high expectations of robustness in 2013. It’s clear now that 2013 M&A activity did not reach the...

Willis to Acquire Specialist Broker Charles Monat Limited

Jan 9 2014 // Willis Group Holdings announced that it has agreed to acquire Charles Monat Limited, a life insurance solutions adviser to high net worth clients. Willis said: “Charles Monat Limited has placed over US$13 billion in...

Senate Bill Seeks More Disclosure of Government Settlements with Firms

Jan 8 2014 // Two U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled a new bill that would force enforcement agencies to provide more details about deals to resolve corporate misconduct by U.S. companies. Senators Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts...

Insurance Broker and Former Toms River, N.J., Mayor Get Prison Sentence

Jan 7 2014 // A New Jersey insurance broker and the former mayor of Toms River, N.J., were each sentenced Monday for separate schemes involving officials of Toms River and the former insurance broker for the Toms River regional school...

Michigan Suspends License of Lapeer-Area Insurance Agent

Jan 7 2014 // The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) has suspended the license of James J. Carnaghi, previously licensed to sell property and casualty, accident and health, and life insurance in the...

Big ‘I’ Independent Agents’ InsurPAC Topped $1M in 2013

Jan 7 2014 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) said its political action committee, InsurPac, raised a total of $1,007,668 during the 2013 calendar year. “Surpassing the...

Insureon to Acquire Insurance Noodle Wholesale Site from Willis

Jan 7 2014 // Insureon, an online insurance delivery platform for small business owners, said it has agreed to acquire Insurance Noodle, an online wholesale insurance broker, from Willis Group Holdings. The transaction is expected to...

Swett & Crawford Adds Broker to Casualty Practice Group in Boston

Jan 6 2014 // Swett & Crawford, part of Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford (CGSC), a global wholesale and reinsurance broking group, appointed Ed Frackiewicz as broker for the casualty practice group in Boston. Frackiewicz began his...

Wisconsin Agencies, AVID Risk Solutions and Kellenberger-Landsee, Merge

Jan 5 2014 // Independent insurance agencies AVID Risk Solutions of Madison, Wis., and Kellenberger-Landsee & Associates LLC of Brookfield, Wis., have merged effective Jan. 1, 2014. The two property/casualty agencies will remain in...

USG Insurance Services Hires Swellie as Producer/Broker in Pennsylvania

Dec 31 2013 // USG Insurance Services Inc., a Tampa, Fla.-based national wholesaler and managing general agent, appointed Margi Swellie as producer/broker for the national brokerage team based in Canonsburg, Penn. Swellie most recently...

USG Insurance Services Appoints Nehls as Producer/Broker in Florida

Dec 31 2013 // Katie NehlsUSG Insurance Services Inc., a Tampa, Fla.-based national wholesaler and managing general agent, appointed Katie Nehls as producer/broker. She is based in Tampa. Nehls most recently held the position of...

Check-Up Service Helps Insurance Industry Navigate Licensing Maze

Dec 24 2013 // Some insurance professionals and agencies have been known to fall behind on the paperwork required for licensing and, in some cases, not even know what licenses they have in effect at any given time. It’s...

Former California Broker Charged With Identity Theft And Forgery

Dec 19 2013 // Former insurance agent Eugene Shy-Ren Hsu, 31, of West Covina, Calif., was arrested by Department of Insurance officers and charged with multiple felony counts. The charges include grand theft, forgery, and identity theft...

The PIA Partnership Launches Growth Tool For Agency Members

Dec 19 2013 // The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) and its agency-company council, The PIA Partnership, have designed a new tool to help independent insurance agenciesgrow and increase profits. “Closing...

Agents Say Getting More Carriers to Offer ‘Real Time’ Is Among Top Tech Priorities

Dec 19 2013 // The industry should place its highest priority on “getting additional carriers to offer real-time capabilities,” according to a survey of insurance agency and brokerage professionals in the United States and...