Latest Agencies Headlines

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

Independent Agencies Showing Signs of Recovery, Says Big ‘I’ Study

Oct 13 2011 // Things are looking better for the nation’s property/casualty independent insurance agencies. Organic growth for these agencies improved somewhat last year and their profitability held constant across most of the six...

NIF Group, Ironshore Partner to Insure Health, Human Service Agencies

Oct 13 2011 // NIF Group, Inc., a program administrator and specialty brokerage firm, joins with Ironshore Programs unit to insure health and human service agencies. Coverage will be provided for general and professional liability, on an...

New Billing, Commission System at Texas Windstorm Pool Starts Jan. 1

Oct 13 2011 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) will be implementing a new billing and commission system beginning Jan. 1, 2012. In a bulletin to insurance agents, TWIA said under the new system it will assume the...

2,100 Jobs Lost in Insurance Industry in August

Oct 13 2011 // The latest U.S. jobs data show the insurance industry lost 2,100 jobs overall in August. The industry employs some 2,211,000 workers according to the latest numbers. The Insurance Information Institute reported that most...

Oklahoma’s Bramlett Installed as Chairman-elect of Big ‘I’ Executive Team

Oct 12 2011 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) announced that Robert “Bobby” Bramlett has been installed as chairman-elect of the IIABA’s executive...

Confie Seguros Enters Florida Market, Buys Trustway Agencies

Oct 11 2011 // Confie Seguros, a group of insurance agencies targeting Hispanic customers, has acquired the Miami, Florida-based Trustway Insurance Agencies. Founded in 1998, Trustway has 28 locations in the state and additional offices...

Jackson to Represent BrokersLink’s Latin America Interests

Oct 11 2011 // BrokersLink, the independent insurance broker network, announced changes to its representation in Latin America. The bulletin said: “Following a decision by Alinter, the international arm of Mexican insurance and...

Washington Insurance Agent Who Sold Fake Policies Sentenced

Oct 7 2011 // An insurance agent who sold hundreds of thousands of dollars in fake business-insurance policies has been sentenced to more than two years in prison and ordered to pay back $532,659 in restitution. Brenda MacLaren-Beattie,...

Allstate Closes on $1 Billion Acquisition of Esurance, Answer Financial

Oct 7 2011 // The Allstate Corp. said it has obtained all required regulatory approvals and closed its acquisition of Esurance and Answer Financial from White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd. The purchase price was approximately $1...

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires S. A. Freerks & Associates

Oct 7 2011 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced it has acquired S. A. Freerks & Associates Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, Mo. Founded in 1979, S. A. Freerks & Associates (SAFA) is a managing general agent and wholesale...

Michigan’s JM Wilson Named 2011 MGA of the Year by PIA National

Oct 7 2011 // The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents has named Michigan-based JM Wilson Corp. as recipient of its 2011 Managing General Agency of the Year Award. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in...

SIAA Adds Midwest Agencies in September

Oct 6 2011 // Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance (SIAA) announced it has added 11 new member agencies from the Midwest. The new Midwest agency members include: Insurance Agency of Michigan of Waterford, Mich.; Independent Insurance...

Mass. Agents Gathering Signatures for Insurance Credit Score Ban

Oct 6 2011 // A Massachusetts independent agents group said it is confident that banning auto insurers’ use of credit scores and other socioeconomic factors will become a state law in coming months. The Massachusetts Association...

Ark Assurance Joins SPMP Group of Agencies

Oct 4 2011 // Ark Assurance Group in Tyler, Texas, has joined SBMP Inc. Ark Assurance was established in 1977 and is owned by Criss Sudduth and John Hinsley Jr. SBMP is a group of agencies based in Texas and currently has 30 locations...

Federal Flood Insurance Program Extended Until Nov. 18

Oct 4 2011 // The U.S. House of Representatives today passed legislation that keeps the government – and the federal flood insurance program– running until Nov. 18, 2011. The House vote (352-66) extends the National Flood...

Lockton Hires New Producer for D.C. Brokerage Team

Oct 4 2011 // Lockton Companies, a Kansas City, Mo.-headquartered insurance broker, hired Jenna Kirkpatrick Howard for its Washington, D.C., brokerage team as a producer. Prior to joining Lockton, she was construction practice leader in...

Brown Signs Insurance Bill to Clarify Bond Requirements

Oct 4 2011 // California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that makes several changes to various state insurance code sections regarding agent licensing and training, administrative processes and previously enacted...

ISU Network Adds Midwest Agencies

Oct 4 2011 // Great Northern Insurance of Sterling Heights, Mich., and Davidson Insurance Agency of West Plains, Mo., have joined the ISU Network, the San Francisco-based organization announced. Established in 2010, ISU Great Northern...

LexisNexis Insurance Exchange Buys MarshBerry Sales Portal

Oct 3 2011 // LexisNexis Risk Solutions has acquired the Sales Portal from MarshBerry, the insurance consulting and merger and acquisition advisory firm. The Sales Portal is a sales management automation tool used by larger brokerages...

Burns & Wilcox Acquires South Carolina Wholesale Broker

Oct 3 2011 // Wholesale broker Burns & Wilcox has purchased Kimbrell Insurance Group Inc., a wholesale broker and underwriting manager in South Carolina. Kimbrell was founded in 1986 and is located in the Myrtle Beach, S.C. area....