Latest Agencies Headlines

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

ACE Private Risk Survey: High Net Worth Families Overpaying to be Underinsured

Mar 14 2013 // Most wealthy individuals and families who insure their assets with carriers geared primarily for the average U.S. household overpay for coverage that leaves their wealth unnecessarily exposed to the risk of severe...

Basso Joins The Council of Agents and Brokers

Mar 14 2013 // Phil Basso is joining The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers as senior vice president for Leadership and Management Resources, the commercial insurance brokers’ group said. Basso will be responsible for...

Feds Bust $100M North Carolina Crop Insurance Fraud Scheme

Mar 13 2013 // Federal investigators have unraveled a massive scheme among dozens of insurance agents, claims adjusters, brokers and farmers in eastern North Carolina to steal at least $100 million from the government-backed program that...

Calling Young Insurance Agents: Tell Us What You Think

Mar 12 2013 // Are you a young insurance agent, 40 years old or younger? Do you know a young insurance agent? Insurance Journal is once again searching for young insurance agents to participate in this year’s Young Insurance Agents...

Agency M&A Advisory Firm Sees ‘Lack of Quality Acquisition Opportunities’

Mar 12 2013 // A mergers and acquisitions advisory firm focusing on the insurance agency sector says it is hearing more this year about “a lack of quality acquisition opportunities,” which could lead to fewer deals this year...

Insurance Veteran Looks to Capitalize on Need for Experience

Mar 11 2013 // Looking back at the beginning of his career in the late 1960s, Steve Stonehouse recalls when there were no perpetuation issues and insurance was a much simpler industry. There were young agents aplenty. That was when he...

Agents Hang Onto P/C Market But Lose Ground in Personal Auto: Study

Mar 11 2013 // After experiencing dwindling premiums for years, the property/casualty insurance industry managed to grow substantially in 2011. Independent agents and brokers hung onto their share of the market with some independent...

Project CAP Launches Year-Long Agency Preparation Tool: Agency 2020

Mar 11 2013 // Project CAP has launched Agency 2020, a new program to provide independent agencies with insights and resources to help them create and implement a successful long-term agency strategy. Each month during 2013, the Agency...

Agency M&A Landscape

Mar 11 2013 // Insurance Journal recently had a chance to chat with executives from MidCap Advisors, a New York-based mergers and acquisitions firm. The firm focuses on small- and mid-size brokers and agencies, offering advice on issues...

How Process Improvement Drives Agency Profitability

Mar 11 2013 // To boost their profitability, agencies make investments all the time in people and technology, as well as in other businesses through acquisitions. But Dan Epstein, CEO of ReSourcePro, says there is another often...

The Woodlands Financial Group Has a Focus on Growth

Mar 11 2013 // The Woodlands Financial Group Has a Focus on Growth Richard “Gordy” Bunch, president and CEO of The Woodlands Financial Group, readily concedes that starting a personal lines-focused insurance business in Texas...

The Acquisition Cycle

Mar 11 2013 // Insurance agency mergers and acquisitions were up last year, at an all-time high in fact, according to the Chicago-based M&A advisory firm OPTIS Partners. A recent survey conducted by the financial services consulting...

How Benefit Professionals Can Help Small Public Entities Save When Complying With GASB 45

Mar 11 2013 // The sluggish economy has left many struggling in recent years – individuals, families, small businesses, large corporations, states, and even entire countries. One group that’s been particularly hard hit –...

Fine Art’s Place in the Insurance Market

Mar 11 2013 // Whether it’s in a museum, gallery or in a high-net-worth customer’s home, fine art and collectible items hold special places in the hearts of insureds. Andrew Gristina, the national segment leader for fine art...

Project CAP 2013

Mar 11 2013 // Independent agents should soon be getting some help with their personal lines sales – better late than never. The delayed Consumer Agent Portal – backed by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Inc....

High-Tech Personal Lines

Mar 11 2013 // How technology is changing the way agents do business Many believe there is still opportunity for independent insurance agents and their carriers to grab personal lines market share. But to do so they must find a way to...

Insurance Agency M&As Hit All-Time High in 2012: Survey

Mar 11 2013 // A survey of insurance agencies in the United States and Canada shows that agency mergers and acquisitions hit an all-time high in 2012, according to a Chicago-based M&A advisory firm. There were 291 reported agency...

Jones on License Fee Hike, Affordable Care Act

Mar 7 2013 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones treaded lightly when discussing a fee increase on insurance licenses to be announced officially next week, but didn’t pull any punches when delivering his thoughts on...

USG adds Angi and Van Zanten to California Operations

Mar 7 2013 // USG Insurance Services Inc., a national wholesaler and managing general agent added producers/brokers Joyce Chambers and Angi Van Zanten. Chambers has more than 20 years of experience in insurance. Most recently Chambers...

UK’s Direct Fleet Insurance Names Cassidy to New Post of Renewals Manager

Mar 7 2013 // Direct Fleet Insurance, the UK market’s specialist insurance trading platform offering brokers a reverse bidding process for their commercial fleets, announced the appointment of Joanne Cassidy to the newly created...