Latest Agencies Headlines

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

Keystone Insurers Adds 2 More Kentucky Agencies; Total Now 13

Feb 16 2010 // Keystone Insurers Group (KIG) is continuing its expansion in Kentucky. The company announced it has added Rowland Insurance and Rudd Insurance to its growing list of partner agencies in Kentucky. These two firms join...

2 Nebraska Agents Sentenced

Feb 16 2010 // Two insurance agents in Nebraska have been handed sentences for unlawful conduct, the Nebraska Department of Insurance reported. A previously licensed insurance agent, Bobby L. Hoeft, sentenced by District Court Judge...

Mass. Supreme Court Rules Against Agents in Auto Insurance Lawsuit

Feb 16 2010 // The Massachusetts Supreme Court has sided with the state’s insurance commissioner in a heated lawsuit brought by the state’s insurance agents and Arbella Mutual Insurance Co. over how new companies are assigned...

North Carolina Agent Sentenced for Embezzlement

Feb 12 2010 // A North Carolina insurance agent has been sentenced to 48 months supervised probation with one year of electronic house arrest after pleading guilty to five counts of embezzlement, according to state officials. Insurance...

Study: Agent Satisfaction Rises According to Size of Business Placed

Feb 11 2010 // The more personal lines business an agency places with a particular carrier, the more satisfaction the agency reports having with that same carrier. That’s according to a new industry study which states that insurers...

Wholesale Insurance Broker Towerstone Adds to Staff

Feb 11 2010 // Dallas-based Towerstone Inc., a wholesale insurance broker and managing general agency, announced that Rachel Blais, Jennie Conditt, J.B. Hill, Amy McCarty and Ryan Taylor have joined the company. Conditt is an assistant...

New York Requires Agents to Reveal How Much They’re Paid

Feb 10 2010 // The New York Insurance Department has officially released a new set of rules that will require insurance agents and brokers to provide some detailed information to clients about how agents are paid. The new regulation,...

New York Agents Group Suing State over Pay-Disclosure Rules

Feb 10 2010 // A trade group for New York insurance agents says it will sue the state over newly issued rules that would force agents to reveal to clients how much they are paid. The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York...

New York to Issue Watered-Down Disclosure Rules for Agents

Feb 9 2010 // New York regulators are expected to release new rules tomorrow that require agents to disclose to clients some aspects of their compensation, although the rules are more palatable to agents than previous proposed...

Keystone Insurers Continues Kentucky Expansion; Adds 5 Agencies

Feb 8 2010 // Five more insurance agencies have joined the Keystone Insurers Group in Kentucky, bringing to 11 the total number of KIG agencies in the state. The latest to join are Hayes-Utley-Hedgspeth, Moore Insurance, Cambridge...

Four Steps to Using Agency Technology for Target Marketing

Feb 7 2010 // Conducting a target marketing campaign used to be cumbersome and expensive. Today, with an up-to-date agency management system, getting started is a snap. It still takes persistence to succeed, but getting going...

Four Steps to Using Agency Technology for Target Marketing

Feb 7 2010 // Conducting a target marketing campaign used to be cumbersome and expensive. Today, with an up-to-date agency management system, getting started is a snap. It still takes persistence to succeed, but getting going...

On Average, Texas Homeowners Rates Are Down, Agents Group Says

Feb 7 2010 // Reduction Is in Cost per $1,000 in Property Value There’s a common perception that homeowners insurance rates in Texas go up and up, and never come down. That’s not necessarily true, however, according to the...

2010 Will Challenge Calif. Insurance Agents, But Bright Spots Ahead

Feb 7 2010 // In 2009, independent insurance agents and brokers faced a “perfect storm” with the economic downturn, premiums at a fraction of what they used to be, and unemployment and home foreclosure rates up. But 2010 may...

IBA West Pacific Northwest Chapter Joins Big ‘I’ Washington

Feb 7 2010 // Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West (IBA West) has disbanded its Pacific Northwest Chapter and joined forces with the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Washington (Big “I” Washington). According...

Social Service Organizations in Tough Times

Feb 7 2010 // Brokers Keep Watchful Eye as Tough Economy Forces Workforce, Program Changes It’s no secret that nonprofits are feeling the effects of a battered economy. Donations are down. State and federal funding is also down....

Dos and Don’ts of Errors and Omissions Lawsuits

Feb 7 2010 // How to Respond and React When Threatened With an E&O Suit Ask any agent who has suffered through an errors and omissions (E&O) suit, and he or she will provide sage-like insight into the professional and even...

Hales Reports Brokerage M&As Down 40% in 2009; Expects Better 2010

Feb 7 2010 // A prolonged soft market coupled with the worst economic period since the Great Depression as well as uncertainty related to national health care reform, caused insurance brokerage buyers and sellers to struggle with how to...

Property Casualty Market’s Love Affair With Main Street Business

Feb 7 2010 // Why Small Business Means Big Business for Insurers and Brokers Alike Main Street business often means different things to different people, but it generally refers to small commercial establishments that would be found in...

Age and Wisdom

Feb 7 2010 // Top 100 Agency Profile Agency Name: Marshall and Sterling Enterprises Inc. Headquarters: Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Year Founded: 1864 Additional Locations: 17 2008 Total Premium Volume: $342 million Property/Casualty: $289...