Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Flood Insurance ‘Sticker Shock’ Hits Floridians with New, Secondary Homes
Sep 26 2013 // When Colin and Joyce Elston bought their Florida dream home in May, they were confident they could afford the three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch with a pool and a backyard overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. Now they are...
MetLife: Lack of Car, Home Insurance Sales ‘Ridiculous’
Sep 26 2013 // MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer, is pushing agents to sell more car and residential coverage after the head of the company’s main retail business said they’ve been missing an opportunity to...
Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford’s CEO Toby Esser on its Global Business
Sep 26 2013 // Toby Esser is a truly global executive. As the CEO of Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford (CGSC), he coordinates the broker’s far flung operations in the UK, Europe, Asia and South America, as well as North America,...
Ash Brokerage Corp. Moving Into Fort Wayne, Ind., Mixed-Use Project
Sep 25 2013 // An insurance brokerage will relocate its Fort Wayne, Ind., headquarters to a new $71 million downtown mixed-use project and create 115 jobs by 2017, Mayor Tom Henry said. Ash Brokerage Corp. will move into an eight-story...
Tech Firm Trōv Promises to Reinvent ‘Insurance to Value’ for P/C Industry
Sep 25 2013 // A high tech start-up is promising to raise the standard for determining “insurance to value” by giving property/casualty insurance companies and brokers access to real-time data on their upscale insureds’...
Louisiana Insurance Agent Arrested
Sep 23 2013 // A Slidell, La., insurance agent was served by Louisiana Department of Insurance Fraud Division investigators with a summary suspension and cease and desist order for alleged misappropriation of insurance premium funds and...
Cooper Gay and Swett & Crawford Acquires Lloyd’s Broker NMB
Sep 23 2013 // Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford (CGSC) has announced the acquisition of independent Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance brokerage group Newman Martin and Buchan (NMB), subject to regulatory approval from the UK...
Midwest Politicians Work as Insurance Advocates
Sep 23 2013 // Three individuals who have worked in the insurance industry and now practice politics in the Midwest — Indiana State Representative Matt Lehman, Michigan State Senator David Robertson and U.S. Congressman Tom Latham...
Third Time’s a Charm for Producer Licensing Bill?
Sep 23 2013 // Will the third time be the charm? Insurance groups and lobbyists in Washington are hoping so, after the House of Representatives this month overwhelmingly passed a bill (H.R. 1155 ) to streamline the insurance producer...
Wholesale: More Special Than Ever
Sep 23 2013 // Savvy wholesalers are meeting the demand for specialized knowledge Everyone loves the wholesale insurance business these days, or so it seems. “We’ve seen the entrance of a lot of other people coming into the...
Bloggers Beware: Defamation Claims Brought by Public Figure Plaintiffs
Sep 23 2013 // It takes thick skin to be in the public eye. As Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once observed, “harsh criticism, short of unlawful action, is a price our people have traditionally been willing to pay for...
Changing Realities of the Wholesale Market
Sep 23 2013 // Throughout our history, the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) has retained its mission and identity while adapting to changes in the insurance industry. We began in 1926 as the Association of Fire...
10 Ways to Help Producers to Promote Their Own Identity
Sep 23 2013 // Non-owner P/C producers help drive the independent agency system. They account for a significant share of the commercial lines business written through this channel. Yet too often, these employees must find their own path...
E&O Insights: Mother Nature’s Effect on E&O Claims
Sep 23 2013 // It seems that practically every time you turn on the news, a part of the United States is being threatened by a significant weather-related event. It’s sometimes anyone’s guess when and where the next...
Agent Ted Gaines Eyes California Commissioner Seat
Sep 23 2013 // Editor’s note: This is part of a series on insurance professionals in politics. This is a national series. Some of the articles focused on the Western U.S. region can be read in the pages of this issue of Insurance...
Insurance Good Training Ground for Political Leadership
Sep 23 2013 // When it comes to current or former occupations of state and federal lawmakers, that of insurance producer is not one of the most commonly listed, but perhaps it should be. The variety of skills one necessarily develops...
Houston Insurance Agent Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
Sep 23 2013 // An insurance agent from Houston has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for pocketing more than $250,000 in customer premiums, the Texas Department of Insurance reported. TDI said McKinley Shumate, 59, of Houston was...
Georgia’s Kingston Brought His CPCU to House, Now Eyes Senate
Sep 23 2013 // Jack Kingston is U.S. Representative for the First Congressional District of Georgia, which encompasses 17 counties in Southeast Georgia including the entirety of the state’s coastline. He has represented the...
JLT to Acquire Towers Watson Reinsurance Brokerage Unit, Expand Into U.S.
Sep 20 2013 // UK-based broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc (JLT) said it is acquiring the reinsurance brokerage business of New York-based Towers Watson for $250 million. JLT said the acquisition would provide “a very strong...
Opinion: Insurance Industry Changes to Follow Wicked Colorado Weather
Sep 20 2013 // As the sun peaked out of the normally bright blue Colorado sky, homeowners and businesses began to assess the damage done by the 100-year flood, as weather experts have labeled the devastating rain that pummeled the...