Latest Agencies Headlines

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

Business Moves – Midwest

Jul 23 2012 // Pro Insurance Group, Falvay-Counihan Insurance Pro Insurance Group, a Troy, Mich.-based independent insurance agency, announced the acquisition of Falvay-Counihan Insurance Inc., of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. InPro gains...

Benefits Revolution

Jul 23 2012 // In this issue starting on page 22, several Southeast-based brokers talk about how dramatically the benefits brokerage market is changing and what they are doing to capitalize on it and grow with it. The benefits market is...

Business Moves – East

Jul 23 2012 // Allied World U.S. Switzerland-headquartered Allied World Assurance Company Holdings AG has expanded its U.S. casualty operations with the launch of a new construction casualty division. The new division will be run from...

Insurers Warn Restaurants on Exposures that Could Interrupt Recovery

Jul 23 2012 // The restaurant industry has endured a difficult few years and while some establishments didn’t survive the economic storm, those that did are anxious to see their business grow again. They may not have to wait too...

Competing in the New World of Benefits Brokerage

Jul 23 2012 // Costs Drive the Benefits Market; Focus Turns to Aiding Individuals Group health insurance brokerage is changing but the changes are not primarily due to Congress or the courts. Rather the changes are being driven by costs...

What to Know About the NEW & IMPROVED Flood Program

Jul 23 2012 // Now with Fewer Subsidies, Minimum Deductibles, Multifamily Coverage and More If it were a dam or a levee, it would have been replaced ages ago. Yet the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has stayed afloat despite a...

Virginia Begins Enforcing Proper Usage of Certificate of Insurance

Jul 23 2012 // Widespread misunderstanding regarding the proper use of certificates of insurance has led to new changes relating to their use, according to Virginia’s Bureau of Insurance. The changes went into effect July 1. The...

North Dakota Insurance Agent Charged With Stealing from Customer

Jul 20 2012 // A Dickinson, N.D., insurance agent is accused of stealing $30,000 from a customer three years ago to buy gold coins and make a payment on his credit card. Scott Biggs is charged with five felonies. The most serious carries...

Montana Agent Pleads Guilty To Stealing Premiums

Jul 19 2012 // An insurance agent from Butte, Mont. who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $7,200 of his client’s premiums has been given a three-year deferred sentence and ordered to pay restitution. State Insurance Commissioner...

Burand’s Agency E&O Blog: Tip# 7

Jul 19 2012 // Voice mail disclaimers. Most agencies today have standard voice mail disclaimers that state something to the effect of, “No coverage can be bound or obtained by leaving a voice mail.” I support this...

Whitfield’s United Insurance Agencies Join the Leavitt Group

Jul 18 2012 // Everett, Wash.-based Whitfield United Insurance Agencies Inc. has joined The Leavitt Group. The agency will now do business as Whitfield-Leavitt Insurance Agency. Local agency leaders Ted Schlatter, Randy McDonald, Don...

Former Louisiana Deputy Insurance Commissioner Convicted of Racketeering

Jul 17 2012 // United States Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux, Jr. announced that a former Louisiana deputy insurance commissioner has been convicted on racketeering charges. Richard L. Chambers, Sr., age 67, of LaPlace, La., pled guilty to...

Finaccord Survey Finds Growth in EU Commercial Non-life Brokerage Receipts

Jul 17 2012 // Newly released data from Finaccord, a London-based market research consultancy specializing in financial services, reveals that the market for commercial non-life insurance broking reached a value of €9.89 billion...

‘One Way or Another’ Agencies See Growth in Group Health

Jul 16 2012 // “One way or another.” Is that the best way to describe a sound investment strategy nowadays? Yes. If you’re talking about the growing number of agencies investing in group health benefits...

Why Workers’ Compensation Leads in E&O Claims

Jul 16 2012 // Every year, errors and omissions (E&O) claims arising out of the placement of workers’ compensation account for approximately 10 percent of all claims. Many of those workers’ comp claims are well in excess...

A Year Later: Growth and Outlook of LexisNexis Insurance Exchange

Jul 16 2012 // The LexisNexis Insurance Exchange — an online single-entry submission system that streamlines the flow of application data among agents, brokers and carriers — celebrated its first anniversary last month. The Exchange,...

Bondurant Rejoins Independent Insurance Agents of Texas

Jul 16 2012 // After a hiatus of nearly two years, Rick Bondurant has rejoined the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) staff as director of management resources. In this role, Bondurant is responsible for developing,...

7 New Agencies in Northeast Join Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance

Jul 13 2012 // The Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance (SIAA) — a national alliance of over 4,000 independent insurance agencies — said seven new agencies in the Northeast region joined the partnership in June. The new...

Arthur J. Gallagher Buys Employee Benefits Broker Triad USA in Penn.

Jul 13 2012 // Itasca, Ill.-headquartered global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it acquired Pittsburgh-based Triad USA Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Formed in 1998, Triad USA offers employee benefits...

Dulle to Succeed Ronk as Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana Executive VP

Jul 13 2012 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana announced that Carol L. Dulle will become the group’s executive vice president upon the retirement of Roger Ronk on Feb. 1, 2013. Dulle, who has served as the vice...