Latest Agencies Headlines

Big ‘I’ Markets, ARMR Launch Storage Tank Product

Dec 22 2010 // The Independent Agents and Brokers of America Big “I” Markets launched a new insurance policy option with American Risk Management Resources Network, LLC (ARMR.NET) for above and below ground storage tank...

Heffernan Insurance Brokers Names Gailey Assistant VP in Portland

Dec 22 2010 // Heffernan Insurance Brokers has added atthew Gailey in its Portland, Ore., office as assistant vice president. He will focus on property and casualty insurance, and directors and officers liability for property management...

12 Days of Riskmas: An Insurance Broker’s Story

Dec 22 2010 // In giving her Christmas gifts for 12 straight days, a true love inspires his girlfriend to build a whole new life. It’s a joyful story for the holidays but one that comes with risks. According to the popular...

Top Brokers, Munich Re Pool Efforts to Expand Insurance for Oil Drilling

Dec 22 2010 // The world’s top three insurance brokers have joined reinsurer Munich Re to promote a major expansion in risk coverage for deepwater drilling in the wake of BP’s disastrous Gulf of Mexico spill last April. Their...

Why Top Performing Agencies Focus on Compensation Expenses

Dec 20 2010 // There are a lot of performance benchmarks to focus on to become a top performing insurance agency and to achieve high profitability. One of the areas agencies need to focus on is compensation expenses. With a struggling...

The Agency Salary Blues

Dec 20 2010 // Independent agency salaries maintained or decreased slightly in 2009, but employee morale may be registering at an all time low. And agents don’t expect things to change, at least not anytime soon. Half of all...

Fact or Fiction? Insurance Tidbits of Known and Little-Known Information

Dec 20 2010 // Have you ever wondered what big events helped shape regulation of the current U.S. insurance industry? Or if drivers of certain cars have more risk? What about the most attractive insurance job in the industry? These are...

It Figures

Dec 20 2010 // 4,000 The number of independent agencies founded in 2008, 2009 or 2010, which represents approximately 11 percent of the more than 37,500 total independent agencies in the United States today, according to the 2010 Agency...

Young Agents Survey:

Dec 20 2010 // Why Young Agents Stand by Their Career Choice Most enter the insurance business by accident but for young independent insurance agents, the decision to stick with insurance as a permanent career is a matter of choice. A...

Music and Producer Development

Dec 20 2010 // How to Set the Tune for Sales Success in an Agency Great music combines so many elements. When terrific lyrics are combined with an awesome arrangement, the result is powerful. And sometimes if you separate the two, the...

Reader’s Choice

Dec 20 2010 // Never lose sight of what the reader wants. That has been the motto for Insurance Journal throughout its 85-year history of publishing news and information for our most important customers — independent agents and...

Independent Agency Population Holds Steady as Start-Ups Keep Pace with Mergers

Dec 20 2010 // The total number of independent agencies in the country remains stable at around 37,500 as start-ups have kept pace with agency mergers and closings, according to a new study of agencies. There are today as many agencies...

How an E&O Claim Could Affect Agency Employee’s Career

Dec 20 2010 // Survey Finds Agencies Take a Second Look at Hiring Employees With Past E&O Histories Today’s soft insurance market, reduced commissions and a tough economy for agency owners and their clients might be adding to...

People

Dec 20 2010 // Insurance broker Marsh appointed Peter Mavraganis as U.S. leader of its renewable energy practice. Mavraganis, based in New York, will oversee Marsh’s support for its clients in renewable energy development,...

Lessons Learned and Looking Ahead at Lloyd’s

Dec 20 2010 // December is often a time of reflection on what we’ve achieved, where we’ve stumbled and what lessons we will take forward into the New Year. When Lloyd’s published its three-year strategy earlier this...

Dec 19 2010 // One way that agency owners can keep their employees happy in today’s tough times is by making their compensation more accountable to agency growth. Al Diamond, president of the Agency Consulting Group, says in...

Illinois Agents Call for Quick Action on Workers’ Compensation Reform

Dec 17 2010 // Independent insurance agents in Illinois are urging state lawmakers to pass workers’ compensation reforms in early January, before a new General Assembly will be sworn in. “The facts are alarming,” stated...

Arthur J. Gallagher Buys Ohio Benefits Broker Herbruck, Alder

Dec 17 2010 // Illinois-based global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reports it has acquired Herbruck, Alder & Co., an employee benefit brokerage located in Cleveland, Ohio. Terms of the transaction were not...

Arthur J. Gallagher Buys Wholesale Broker Continental, Marmorstein

Dec 17 2010 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it has acquired wholesale insurance broker Continental Excess & Surplus, Inc., trading as Continental/Marmorstein & Malone, located in Paramus, New Jersey and its affiliate, All...

BrokersLink Appoints Bitner Latin America COO

Dec 16 2010 // BrokersLink, an independent insurance broker alliance, has appointed Paul Bitner as Latin America chief operating officer as it seeks to expand its presence in the region. Bitner joins BrokersLink from Aon where he was a...