Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Massachusetts Agents Drop Ballot Effort on Credit Ban
Oct 27 2011 // The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA) has agreed to a request from state lawmakers to withdraw the ballot initiative it filed in August to prohibit the use of credit scoring, education, and occupational...
High Hopes for High Tech: Interview with New Applied Systems CEO
Oct 27 2011 // Insurance agencies are under pressure to quickly adopt new technologies in order to keep up with competitors, according to a newcomer to the insurance industry who is now positioned to help agencies do just that. Reid...
Marsh Says Workers’ Comp Rates Fell 1.1% on Average in Q3
Oct 25 2011 // Workers’ compensation rates decreased an average of 1.1 percent and a median of 1.5 percent at renewal during the third quarter, according to Marsh. The New York-headquartered brokerage firm released the data on Oct....
California MGA Yates Adds Broker
Oct 24 2011 // Barbara Carey has joined Tustin, Calif.-based managing general agent Yates as an underwriter and broker. Carey spent the last eight years as senior broker and vice president of another California wholesale brokerage. Carey...
South Dakota Deputy, a Former Insurance Agent, Indicted on 4 Counts of Grand Theft
Oct 24 2011 // A Minnehaha County, South Dakota, grand jury has indicted a Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy on four counts of grand theft. Court documents say that while licensed as an insurance producer, 41-year-old Rob Hotchkiss...
Pennsylvania Agent Accused of Stealing $255K From Clients
Oct 21 2011 // A Berks County, Pennsylvania, resident has been charged with theft of more than $255,000 in insurance premiums from clients. The charges were brought against Joseph Maurer, 58, who owned and operated Commonwealth...
ShakeOut in West May Raise Disaster Awareness
Oct 20 2011 // Today may be a good day to sell disaster insurance in the Western United States. A massive earthquake drill set for 10:20 a.m. PDT today is designed to raise awareness of the disasters that can be posed by a massive...
Baker Joins Texas Agent Group as Director of Health Insurance Information
Oct 20 2011 // Misty Baker has joined the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas as director of health insurance information. In this newly created role, Baker will serve as a member resource for agency personnel working in life and...
Gumtree Wholesale Insurance Hires Cota in Missouri Office
Oct 20 2011 // Vicki Cota has been named underwriter/broker at Gumtree Wholesale Insurance Brokers Inc. in its Springfield, Mo., office. She previously served as professional liability underwriter for Bohrer-Croxdale & McAdoo...
N.J. Insurance Agent Indicted for Allegedly Stealing $176K
Oct 20 2011 // A Camden County, New Jersey, insurance agent was indicted for allegedly stealing more than $172,000 from insurance purchasers and for allegedly failing to remit insurance premiums worth over $3,200. The indictment was...
French Broker Filhet Allard Joins BrokersLink in Expansion Move
Oct 20 2011 // Filhet Allard, the 6th largest corporate broker in France, has become a member of BrokersLink, the independent insurance broker network, whose members manage premium volumes in excess of $14 billion, as part of the...
Florida’s Ranew, Ranzino Agencies Merge
Oct 18 2011 // Two Florida insurance agencies have merged as part of a plan to increase their business in southeast Florida. Ranew Insurance President Barry Ranew and Ranzino Insurance President Marion Ranzino announced they are merging...
Insurance Technologies Corporation Introduces AgencyBuzz
Oct 18 2011 // Carrollton, Texas, 10/18/11 – Insurance Technologies Corporation today introduced AgencyBuzz, the premier drip marketing tool created for independent insurance agents. AgencyBuzz allows agents to automate their online...
Kephart Joins IIAT as E&O Marketing Specialist
Oct 17 2011 // Gunnar Kephart has joined The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas as E&O marketing specialist. In this newly created role, Kephart will advise agents on errors and omissions issues and assist with their E&O...
The Entrepreneurial Spirit: Turning Ideas into Reality
Oct 17 2011 // What is an entrepreneur? The exact characteristics that comprise an individual with the ability to bring new ideas to the marketplace and foster their success may be difficult to define. But it’s not much of a...
People
Oct 17 2011 // Wells Publishing Inc. has named Young Ha as its new East editor for its flagship Insurance Journal online and print property/casualty insurance publications. Ha, based in New York, will cover the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic...
Predictive Analytics Being Used to Manage Agencies, Curb Fraud
Oct 17 2011 // Earlier this year, experts at WallStreet & Technology (wallstreetandtech.com) identified predictive analytics and cloud computing as two of six hot technologies that will transform the insurance industry in 2011 and...
Why Agents Need Workers’ Comp Manuals
Oct 17 2011 // Workers’ compensation is a game of rules. Like all other games, from Monopoly to football, if you don’t know the rules, you’re going to find it difficult to win. We don’t normally think of insurance...
Washington Insurance Agent Who Sold Fake Policies Sentenced
Oct 17 2011 // AWashington 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...
Real Estate Professionals: Exposed & Unaware
Oct 17 2011 // As real estate professionals know well, most signs point to slow progress in real estate industry growth. Professionals are left to manage their costs, make cuts where possible, keep up-to-date on industry trends, fight...
