Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Former Oklahoma Insurance Agent Sentenced for Wire Fraud
Jul 16 2013 // A former Bixby, Okla., insurance agent has been sentenced to ten months home confinement after pleading guilty to wire fraud that allowed him to illegally take commissions earned by other insurance agents, the Oklahoma...
Astonish Hosts Sales & Marketing Training for Insurance Professionals in Los Angeles on July 18, 2013
Jul 16 2013 // Warwick, RI April 2013 – Astonish, a leading technology, digital marketing, and training provider for insurance agencies, encourages local insurance agency principals, CEOs, and presidents in California and surrounding...
Reinsurance Brokers Holborn, Lehrke Merge
Jul 15 2013 // Reinsurance brokers Holborn Corp. of New York and W.J. Lehrke Co. of Edina, Minnesota, have agreed to merge. Details were not disclosed. The combined firm is operating under the Holborn name, and all current Lehrke...
Leavitt Group to Buy United Valley; a Collective 150 Agencies in West
Jul 12 2013 // United Valley Insurance Services and Leavitt Group Enterprises have agreed to a merger, giving the two firms a collective 150 insurance agencies and counting under one owner. The deal was announced late Friday. Under the...
Georgia Regulators’ Meals, Golf Paid by Insurance Agents Under Scrutiny
Jul 12 2013 // Georgia’s top insurance regulator and two senior staffers accepted $100-per-head meals and, in one case, a round of golf last month funded by the industry they oversee, according to recent financial disclosures. That...
Kaufman Financial Taps Brady To Lead Burns & Wilcox Brokerage
Jul 11 2013 // The Kaufman Financial Group named Denis Brady president of Burns & Wilcox Brokerage, an independent business unit that will be solely dedicated to wholesale insurance brokerage. Brady joins Burns & Wilcox Brokerage...
Randall Named ACSR of the Year by Texas Independent Agents
Jul 11 2013 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) has named Delia (Dee) Randall, personal lines ACSR at Duncan Fraser & Bridges Insurance Agency in Pampa, the Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR) of the...
As Political Risks Proliferate, Insurers Increase Coverage Options
Jul 10 2013 // Could it happen to us? Tourism, manufacturing and resources companies surveying an unpredictable world are increasingly having to consider insurance against political risks, and the insurance industry is gearing up to...
Lockton Adds Milwaukee Insurance Brokerage Operation
Jul 9 2013 // Insurance and employee benefits advisor, Lockton, has opened a new operation in Milwaukee, Wis., appointing two veteran employee benefits consultants as senior executives. John O’Connor and Bill Crowley have joined...
Former Texas Insurance Agent Sentenced to 20 Years for Theft from Elderly
Jul 8 2013 // A Harris County District Court has convicted Leon “Randy” Sinclair III, of Houston, of first-degree felony Misapplication of Fiduciary Property, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. Sinclair was...
Zurich’s Broker Relationship Leader Moves to Berkshire Hathaway Specialty
Jul 3 2013 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance — the new commercial P/C insurance unit of Berkshire Hathaway — appointed Lori Spoon Rafkin as senior vice president, customer and broker engagement. Spoon Rafkin was...
MHBT’s Henry Named Top Insurance Agent in Texas
Jul 2 2013 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) announced that Dallas independent insurance agent Bill Henry, chairman and CEO of MHBT Inc., is the winner of the Drex Foreman Award presented at IIAT’s 116th Annual...
Attention Agencies: Swing Your Attention on Over to Vine
Jul 1 2013 // This post is part of a series on insurance marketing and training sponsored by Astonish. Aaaaaah! Nope, that is not the call of Tarzan that you hear. That is the sound of excitement coming from myself and insurance agents...
Whitaker Elected Chair of Independent Insurance Agents of Texas
Jul 1 2013 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) elected Don Whitaker, president and owner of Whitaker Insurance Associates Inc. in San Antonio, to serve as chair for 2013-2014 during IIAT’s 116th Annual Conference...
Confie Seguros Acquires CW Baker, Lewiston Insurance Agencies in New York
Jul 1 2013 // Hispanic market-focused insurance agency network Confie Seguros announced the acquisition of CW Baker Insurance Agency and Lewiston Insurance Agency, two providers of standard and preferred personal insurance located in...
Australian Insurance Broker Network Plans Nation’s Biggest IPO Since 2010
Jul 1 2013 // Steadfast Group Ltd., Australia’s largest network of insurance brokers, plans to raise as much as A$562.8 million ($515 million) in the country’s biggest initial public offering since 2010. The Sydney-based...
Survey Explores How Carriers Support Agency Growth Strategies
Jul 1 2013 // Carriers can be instrumental in helping agencies grow through referrals, expanded coverages, and clear business line or geographic expansion planning. And despite the challenges facing the industry and the broader economy,...
Effort versus Success
Jul 1 2013 // I wrote two columns in the summer of 2012 that elicited more online comments and emails than any article, out of the hundreds, that I’ve written. One column’s subject was that producers are paid to produce. If...
Across the Pond: Managing General Agents in the UK
Jul 1 2013 // The past two years have seen interesting developments unfold on both sides of the Atlantic with regard to managing general agents and their representation, albeit electing to move in slightly different directions. In May,...
Former North Dakota Insurance Agent Gets 10 Years for Theft
Jun 28 2013 // A former Dickinson, N.D., insurance agent convicted of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a client has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. A jury in April found Scott Biggs guilty of five counts of felony theft...
