Latest Agencies Headlines

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

Background Checks, Fingerprinting of North Dakota Agent Applicants to Begin Sept. 1

Aug 8 2013 // The North Dakota Insurance Department announced that as of Sept. 1, 2013, anyone applying to become a North Dakota resident insurance producer must undergo a criminal background check, including fingerprinting. This...

IRMI Acquires Agribusiness and Farm Certification from IIABCal

Aug 8 2013 // International Risk Management Institute Inc. has entered into an agreement with the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of California to acquire the Agribusiness and Farm Insurance Specialist certification...

Swett & Crawford Appoints Sales Leader for Atlanta Branch

Aug 7 2013 // Wholesale insurance broker Swett & Crawford promoted Matt Brott to sales leader for the Atlanta branch. In addition to his new sales leadership responsibility, Brott will continue to serve as a broker in Swett &...

Boston Insurance Brokerage Appoints VP of Workers Compensation

Aug 6 2013 // Boston Insurance Brokerage Inc. appointed Keith Driscoll as vice president of workers compensation. In his new role, he will further develop the firm’s portfolio of regional and national accounts.Keith...

60% of Direct Buyers Eventually Return to Independent Agents: Study

Aug 6 2013 // Most customers who are lured away from independent agents by direct insurers promising lower prices will ultimately return to an independent agent. According to a recent study commissioned by The Hanover Insurance Group,...

Q2 Revenue Growth Strong for Mid-Size, Large Privately-Held Agencies: Survey

Aug 6 2013 // Median organic revenue growth reached 6.9 percent in the 2013 second quarter for mid-size and large privately held insurance agencies and brokerage firms, according to a survey by Reagan Consulting, a management consulting...

Insurance Broker Hub Intl. Acquired by Funds Manager in Deal Valued at $4.4 Billion

Aug 5 2013 // Global insurance broker Hub International Limited (Hub), said it has agreed to be acquired by funds advised by Hellman & Friedman LLC. The transaction values Hub at approximately $4.4 billion. Under the terms of the...

IIAT Conference Highlights New Officers, Award Winners

Aug 5 2013 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas elected new officers and recognized outstanding members at the association’s recent 116th Annual Conference and Trade Show in Dallas. Bill Henry, chairman and CEO of MHBT...

Relationships, Expertise Drive Successful Partnerships in E&S Marketplace

Aug 5 2013 // During the past 20 to 30 years typical business dealings between wholesale insurance brokers and retail agents have evolved from being purely transactional experiences to those that are highly dependent upon relationships...

Want to Make More Money in the Insurance Business? Specialize.

Aug 5 2013 // Insurance producers who specialize in an industry or insurance product line make more money than those who don’t. Likewise, agencies that encourage their producers to specialize bring in more revenue than those...

Social Media: It’s Here to Stay

Aug 5 2013 // The Most Successful Users Know Their Markets The value of social media as a tool for marketing and selling property/casualty insurance may be a matter of debate but one thing is for certain: While the nature of social...

Insurance Journal’s New and Improved Top 100 Independent Property/Casualty Agencies Report

Aug 5 2013 // Welcome to Insurance Journal‘s new and improved Top 100 Independent Property/Casualty Agencies report. This year’s Top 100 features a number of agencies that are new to the list thanks to a change that ranks...

New and Improved

Aug 5 2013 // For nine years now Insurance Journal has strived to identify the nation’s leading privately held independent property/casualty insurance agencies in our annual Top 100 P/C Agencies special report. This year, we dug a...

How to Manage the Winds of Change for High Net Worth Clients

Aug 5 2013 // Protecting Personal Property in a New Era of Catastrophes As insurance professionals, we’re in the business of anticipating and responding to severe weather. However, heightened activity in recent years points to...

People Pleasers as Agency Owners: On the Periphery of Extinction?

Aug 5 2013 // The insurance agency distribution system model was built around 1900 and is still amazingly similar to agencies of 100 years ago, albeit the monitors and lack of filing cabinets do create a different ambiance. This model...

Prices Up Again in Q2 But Market Hardening May Be Moderating: Council

Aug 5 2013 // Commercial property/casualty pricing continued to gently creep upwards in the second quarter, however signs of some moderating of increases also surfaced. The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers’ quarterly...

Washington Supreme Court: Insurers Liable for Illegal Acts by Agents

Aug 2 2013 // Washington’s State Supreme Court has affirmed that insurers are liable for illegal actions committed by their agents, a decision that will enable the state’s insurance commissioner to continue to go after bad...

SIAA Grows by Five Agencies in West July

Aug 2 2013 // The Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance announced it signed signing of 20 new member agencies during the month of July, five of which were in the West. July’s new members in the West are: Stephen Aragon Insurance of...

Ex-Insurance Agent From Iowa Indicted On Mail Fraud Counts

Aug 1 2013 // A former Marshalltown, Iowa insurance agent has been indicted on federal mail fraud charges after being accused of defrauding customers for nearly a decade. The Marshalltown Times-Republican reported that 65-year-old...

Unlocking prospect information to win business

Jul 31 2013 // Information gathering strategies Unlocking prospect information is a critical skill set that separates the best agents from rest. Recent questions have arisen regarding efficient information gathering. The very best get...