Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Ames & Gough Names Senior Broker in Virginia Office
Jun 27 2013 // Ames & Gough, an insurance broker and risk management consultant serving design professionals, law firms, associations/non-profits and other professional service firms, appointed Allison Barefoot as assistant vice...
Ex-Kansas Insurance Agent Accused of Stealing $2M
Jun 27 2013 // Federal prosecutors have charged a former Kansas insurance agent with stealing nearly $2 million from policyholders. The U.S. attorney’s office says a 51-count indictment unsealed June 25 alleges 41-year-old Jason...
How Should Insurance Agencies use Twitter?
Jun 26 2013 // This post is part of a series on insurance marketing and training sponsored by Astonish. Twitter is a social media platform that all insurance agencies should be using in this day and age. Why? Because it is free to use,...
Safeco Begins Selling Personal Lines Insurance Products in Massachusetts
Jun 26 2013 // Safeco Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Insurance company, announced this week it began selling its personal lines insurance products in Massachusetts this month. This is the first time Safeco Insurance products are available...
Social Media Is Here to Stay, Texas P/C Professionals Say
Jun 26 2013 // 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 media may be evolving, it’s not going...
EPLI in Southern California Playing ‘Hard’ to Get
Jun 25 2013 // Employment practices in California is a known and growing concern for insurers, agents and employers, and that concern has some carriers ramping up rates dramatically or quietly pulling back from the area, say those...
Insurance Agencies CAN Take Advantage of Image-based Social Media!
Jun 25 2013 // This post is part of a series on insurance marketing and training sponsored by Astonish. We’ve been hearing it for a long time now – insurance agencies need to adapt to the modern consumer in order to survive. This...
Relationships, Expertise Drive Success in Texas E&S Marketplace
Jun 21 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...
