Latest Agencies Headlines

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

How to Use Lead Scoring to Prioritize Lead Follow-Up

Mar 22 2010 // If you’re not living in a cave, you’ve probably heard about the benefits of lead scoring. But what you probably don’t know is that there are different types of lead scoring. There are essentially three...

Insurance Agents, U.S. Chamber Unhappy with Healthcare Reform

Mar 22 2010 // Independent insurance agents are among those today expressing their disappointment with the health care reform bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The House approved the Senate-passed bill and also approved a...

Atlanta’s ‘Only Live Insurance Agent’ Having Fun

Mar 22 2010 // He bills himself as Atlanta’s “only live insurance agent” – and he brings insurance to life on his Atlanta Insurance Live video blog and Web site at atlantainsurancelive.com. Insurance entrepreneur...

People

Mar 22 2010 // Cheryl Celcer has joined wholesale insurance provider Swett & Crawford after a nearly 30-year career with The Hartford, in which she held the position of executive select customer sales representative. Celcer will work...

Professional Insurance Agents Name Melancon Legislator of the Year

Mar 19 2010 // The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) has named Louisiana Congressman Charlie Melancon its 2010 Legislator of the Year. The award was presented March 17 during the 2010 PIA Federal Legislative...

Florida’s Market and How Surplus Lines Agents Are Faring

Mar 19 2010 // Hurricane Andrew, for all of the grief it delivered, gave wholesale broker Hull & Co. and Bruce Bowers a big opportunity. “Prior to ’92, there wasn’t much of a need for personal lines in the excess...

Ethics Awareness Month Lesson: Don’t Follow Greed Down the Wrong Path

Mar 19 2010 // Insurance producers should be leery of managers who push them to “find the gray areas to increase the corporate bottom line,” John Borbi warned them recently. Borbi should know. A former financial advisor and...

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires California’s Winn & Co. Insurance Brokers

Mar 18 2010 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Winn & Company Insurance Brokers Inc. in Hollister, Calif. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Established in 1910, Winn & Company is a retail insurance broker...

Winners and Losers Under Dodd Financial Reform Proposal

Mar 17 2010 // U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd introduced his latest bill to overhaul the financial system on Monday. The committee is expected to work on the bill next week and it will likely change dramatically....

Virginia Agents Must Now Print Their Own Producer Licenses

Mar 16 2010 // Virginia’s insurance regulator says it will no longer mail licenses to producers and companies, since they can print the licenses out themselves online. The Virginia State Corporation Commission announced the change...

Property/Casualty Insurers Have Issues with Dodd Financial Reform Bill

Mar 16 2010 // Even though they are largely excluded from the federal financial regulatory overhaul proposed in the Senate, property/casualty insurers say there are some elements they fear could negatively affect them and their...

Young Agents Survey: Why Agents Stand By Their Career Choice

Mar 15 2010 // 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 healthy 84 percent of young insurance agents say...

USI Holdings Acquires Business from Seattle Broker RA Bench

Mar 12 2010 // USI Holdings Corp. has reported the closing of the acquisition of the insurance and financial services business of RA Bench, a Seattle, Washington, based wealth management, executive and group employee benefit insurance...

Who’s Worth What in the Independent Agency System? Join IJ’s Survey

Mar 12 2010 // Once again, Insurance Journal is polling insurance agents and brokers nationwide in its annual search to find out who’s worth what in the independent agency system. The 2010 Agency Salary Survey results will be...

How New York Insurance Broker Has Used Social Media

Mar 12 2010 // To the 77 percent of independent insurance agencies that don’t have a social media presence, creating a profile and trying to form “friendships” via a computer can be daunting. Once an agency gets online,...

Florida Insurers Pin Hopes on Broad Bill Passed by Senate Panel

Mar 11 2010 // With the prospects for a controversial rate deregulation bill dimmed by Gov. Charlie Crist’s threat of a veto, the insurance industry is betting on a new wide-ranging insurance proposal to bring some reform to...

Ohio Casualty Introduces New Learning Center for Appointed Agents

Mar 10 2010 // Ohio Casualty, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company, has introduced its comprehensive online Agent Learning Center for its appointed agencies. Ohio Casualty appointed agents can now register for classroom...

Lobell Joins Insurance Marketing & Sales Society Designation Programs

Mar 10 2010 // Rhonda Lobell has signed on as sponsor for the American Insurance Marketing & Sales (AIMS) Society Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) designation programs in Louisiana and Mississippi. A 30-year insurance...

Ark. Regulators Suspend Agent License of Standridge for Dishonest Practices

Mar 10 2010 // Arkansas’ Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford has immediately suspended the resident producer license of Steve Standridge, founder of the Steve Standridge Insurance Inc. based in Mount Ida, Ark., for allegations that...

California Regulator Considering Regs to Alleviate Underinsurance

Mar 8 2010 // The California Department of Insurance is considering proposing new regulations governing standards and training for estimating replacement value on homeowners’ insurance. Among the ideas that was floated at a recent...