Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Health, Benefits Market Offers Growth Opportunities for P/C Agents
Jul 2 2012 // Revenue Compression, Client Demand Drive Expansion of Services For many independent property/casualty agencies, one bright spot of opportunity in an era of otherwise lackluster growth has been the health and benefits...
10 Things Agencies Do Right (and Wrong) with Agency Management Systems
Jul 2 2012 // Records, Reporting, Value Creation As a volunteer engaged with a network of agency management system vendor clients, I have an opportunity to hear from my peers about their experiences and compare this with what goes on in...
Agents Seek Diversified Role in Group Health/Benefits Arena
Jul 2 2012 // In recent years, a growing number of independent property/casualty agencies have begun offering group health/benefits services to their clients. In interviews with Insurance Journal, agency executives in the Northeast...
Business Moves – Southeast
Jul 2 2012 // Gallagher, Whitehaven Illinois-based global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Whitehaven Insurance Group, Inc. in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in...
Some P/C Agencies See Potential in Dynamic Health, Benefits Market
Jul 2 2012 // Alignment of Resources Essential for Success The South Central region of the country, particularly Texas, has been a hotbed of activity when it comes to mergers and acquisitions of smaller health and benefit agencies. The...
Business Moves – East
Jul 2 2012 // USI, Lynch, Beretta and Bucci USI Insurance Services completed the acquisition of Lynch, Beretta and Bucci Insurance, a Pawtucket, R.I.-based P/C insurance agency that specializes in a wide range of personal lines,...
Benefits: Boon or Bust?
Jul 2 2012 // By the time this edition of Insurance Journal is printed and distributed, the U.S. Supreme Court likely will have issued its ruling on the challenges to federal healthcare reform legislation passed in 2010. No matter how...
Nebraska Insurance Agent Admits Fraud
Jul 2 2012 // One of three former Nebraska insurance agents accused of defrauding more than 250 investors out of $29 million has pleaded guilty and agreed to help prosecutors. The Grand Island Independent reported that Kenneth Mottin,...
‘One Way or Another’ Agencies See Growth in Group Health
Jul 2 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...
Employers Fighting the Rising Cost of Healthcare Turn to Holistic Benefit Planning as a Solution
Jul 2 2012 // The nation’s largest employers don’t anticipate finding cost-relief any time soon when it comes to health and benefits coverage. But they have been listening more and waking up to ideas from their brokers that...
Increasing Agents’ Online Visibility Is Goal of New Internet Marketing Service
Jul 2 2012 // Aiming to provide its independent agent members with an avenue to enhance their online presence, the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) has formed a partnership with an Internet marketing firm on...
A Year Later: The Growth and Outlook of the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange
Jul 2 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 in June. The Exchange,...
Agents, Insurers Cheer Congress OK of Flood Insurance Reform Bill
Jun 29 2012 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America today praised Congress for passing the “Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2012.” The legislation will extend the National...
Reactions to Healthcare Ruling Coming In; What’s Yours?
Jun 28 2012 // Industry and other reactions to the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have been coming in. Readers are encouraged to offer their own reactions in Comments...
The Hartford Enhances Sales Support For Small Business Benefit Brokers
Jun 27 2012 // A new team at The Hartford is offering specialized services for benefits brokers, in order to meet the changing needs of small business owners and their employees. The Hartford recently launched a small business center...
Vertafore Unveils Agency Management System with Mobile Capabilties
Jun 26 2012 // Vertafore, an insurance industry software provider, has made available its insurance agency management system, AMS360 v6.5. The new version provides agencies with new capabilities for every staff member, including: Agents...
Va.-Based Broker Rutherfoord Appoints Employee Benefits Leader
Jun 25 2012 // Rutherfoord, a Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC (MMA) company, appointed Guy Morrison, a 20-year veteran of the employee benefits industry, as executive vice president of employee benefits.Guy MorrisonIn this newly created...
Sullivan Brokers Enhances Casualty Practice with Addition of Jim Viera
Jun 25 2012 // Los Angeles, CA, 06/25/12 – Sullivan Brokers Wholesale Insurance Solutions is pleased to announce that James Viera has joined the firm’s Casualty Practice Group in the position of Senior Broker. “Jim is...
Texas-Based Agents Alliance Services Adds 9 Agencies
Jun 22 2012 // James King, CEO of Agents Alliance Services Ltd in Denton, Texas, announced that nine new agencies have joined the group during the first half of 2012. They are: Arcadia Insurance Agency LLC of Forney, Texas Benson...
Looming Agent Retirements: Carriers Face Major Turnover
Jun 21 2012 // More than 25 percent of independent agency owners and principals are planning to retire or change careers and sell their firms sometime in the next five years, according to a new survey that explores agent attitudes about...
