Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Upside of the Downside: P/C Brokers Serve Distressed Property Market
Aug 2 2010 // The vacant and distressed property segment has been a beacon of light for insurers and brokers as the economy has forced the closure of businesses and halted construction projects, resulting in a number of vacant buildings...
People
Aug 2 2010 // MarketScout Wholesale (MSW) has expanded operations opening a new location in Tampa, Florida. Greg Lyons joined MSW to lead Florida operations as a senior broker. Prior to joining MSW, Lyons was a property broker with...
Risk Managers Not Satisfied With U.S. Insurance Providers’ Service
Aug 2 2010 // Corporate risk managers report a serious and growing disconnect between themselves and their insurance brokers and carriers. At a time when U.S. companies are enhancing internal risk management capabilities and elevating...
How Program Partners Can Help Agents Sell Value
Aug 2 2010 // There is a quote from Warren Buffet that I want to put on my wall and send to all my colleagues: “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” Agents, brokers and underwriters should heed Mr. Buffet’s...
Risk Managers Not Satisfied With U.S. Insurance Providers’ Service
Aug 2 2010 // Corporate risk managers report a serious and growing disconnect between themselves and their insurance brokers and carriers. At a time when U.S. companies are enhancing internal risk management capabilities and elevating...
Top 100 2010 Privately-Held Independent Agencies
Aug 2 2010 // About This Report: The economy and soft insurance market continued to hammer some of the nation’s leading independent insurance agencies in 2009. Property/casualty premiums written fell for 37 percent of the...
Aon Will Begin Accepting Contingent Commissions Again
Aug 2 2010 // Giant insurance broker, Aon Corp., said it will resume taking contingent commissions from insurers where they are permitted – reversing its policy on the controversial compensation just six months after a legal...
8 Traits Top 100 Agencies Have in Common
Aug 2 2010 // Being One of the Largest Privately-Held Agencies Means Having Higher Overhead Costs Over the course of the past decade, our firm, C. R. Ekern & Co. has worked closely with over 25 percent of the Insurance Journal Top...
Illinois Insurance Agency, Agents Face Steep Fines; Licenses Revoked
Jul 30 2010 // The Illinois Department of Insurance revoked the insurance producer licenses of a Lake Bluff-based insurance agency and three insurance agents, including two from Antioch and one from Chicago, for the improper marketing...
Aon’s Q2 Results Boosted by Acquisitions, Brokerage Business
Jul 30 2010 // Aon reported net income of $153 million in the second quarter 2010, compared to $149 million for the prior year quarter. Net income from continuing operations increased 22 percent to $179 million, compared to $147 million...
Agent Gets 3 Years for Pocketing Premiums in New Jersey
Jul 29 2010 // A former Pennsylvania insurance agent has been sentenced to three years in prison for his role in scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in premiums, according to the New Jersey attorney general’s...
Smith Named Missouri Insurance Agents’ Person of the Year
Jul 29 2010 // Dennis Smith of Columbia, Mo., has been honored as the Missouri Association of Insurance Agents’ Insurance Person of the Year. The award was given at MAIA’s annual Leadership Conference on July 22. Smith...
Agency Employee Charged with Stealing $22K from New York Agency
Jul 28 2010 // The owner of a Woodside, New York insurance brokerage has been arrested for allegedly stealing $22,300 in commissions from an insurance agency that fired her. New York fraud investigators said Gohar Parunakyan, 40, of...
Whitney Joins Fremont’s Advisory Council, Technology Committee
Jul 28 2010 // Michigan-based Fremont Insurance Co. has appointed Ashley Whitney of Harbor/Brenn Agencies in Petoskey, Mich., to the company’s Agent’s Advisory Council. Whitney has also been asked to serve on the recently...
Big ‘I’ Markets Introduces Fine Arts, Valuables Product
Jul 28 2010 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Big “I” Markets program can now offer access to a new stand-alone fine arts and valuable articles policies. The new program offers tailored products and...
Kansas Suspends Insurance Agent’s License Amid Federal Probe
Jul 26 2010 // Kansas regulators have suspended the license of a Wichita insurance agent in a rare emergency order spurred by a federal investigation over alleged fraud linked to the trust of an elderly woman. The action was taken...
Texas Insurance Agencies Enjoy Growth Through ‘Niche Power’
Jul 26 2010 // Texas independent insurance agent Gordon Sorrel, credits the power of niche marketing with contributing to the growth his agency has experienced during the last year, despite the soft market and general economic...
Best Comments on Impact of Dodd-Frank Act on Rating Agencies
Jul 23 2010 // The recently enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has specific provisions applicable to rating agencies. A comment on the Act’s potential impact from A.M. Best notes that the...
Second Indictment Charges Maryland Broker with $2.5M Theft
Jul 23 2010 // A New Jersey grand jury has indicted a Maryland insurance broker, his companies and an accomplice on charges they conspired to steal $2.5 million from the Perth Amboy school system, the state’s attorney general...
Worldwide Facilities Names Saflor VP, Casualty Broker
Jul 23 2010 // Worldwide Facilitieshas named Carlota Saflor a vice president and casualty broker in its San Francisco office. Saflor was formerly with Crump in San Francisco for almost 14 years, and ACE Westchester for 10 years.
