Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
PGI Commercial Acquires Assets of Michigan’s Underwriters & Brokers
Feb 11 2009 // PGI Commercial has acquired the assets of Underwriters & Brokers, Inc. of Troy, Michigan. PGIC said it will merge the platform and staff of UBI with its existing Michigan office. Underwriters & Brokers, Inc....
New Jersey Agents: Allow Fees for Some Commercial-Lines Services
Feb 11 2009 // A trade group for New Jersey Insurance Agents is applauding proposal that would let agents collect fees from commercial-lines clients for some specialized services. The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey (PIANJ)...
Higginbotham Adds 2 in Austin Office
Feb 10 2009 // Independent insurance and financial services firm Higginbotham & Associates added two brokers to its Austin, Texas, office. Higginbotham named Chris Camero an executive vice president for group benefits and Travis...
Senior Market Sales, CalSurance Offer Discounted E&O for Insurance Agents
Feb 9 2009 // Senior Market Sales, Inc. has partnered with CalSurance (Brown and Brown of California, Inc.) to offer errors and omissions insurance at discounted rates for life and health insurance agents who do business with Senior...
Declarations
Feb 8 2009 // No Scapegoats in Mississippi “We will continue to work with all companies in providing an available, accountable and affordable market in Mississippi, and look for solutions, not scapegoats, in solving the insurance...
Dream Agents
Feb 8 2009 // We Insurance Journal writers are fortunate in that we get to speak with a lot of good folks from company CEOs and agency principals to state regulators and experienced underwriters. They come in all accents, ages and...
People
Feb 8 2009 // Former Iowa Insurance Commissioner Therese M. Vaughan, Ph.D., has been named chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), effective Feb. 18, 2009. Vaughan replaces Catherine J....
Cautiously Optimistic
Feb 8 2009 // A recent development may have agents feeling cautiously optimistic that they will have an opportunity go after a larger slice of the mid-sized business pie as Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group shuttles direct distribution...
Systematic Sales Strategy Should Be Priority No. 2 for Agency Managers
Feb 8 2009 // In this hard economy coupled with the soft market, most agencies expect sales and revenues to go down. Even the best performers feel the downward trend in premiums. According to Juan Andrade, executive vice-president for...
Start-Up Stories: How New Agencies Are Competing
Feb 8 2009 // A Crop of Newly-Formed Agencies Is Defying the Hard Economy and Soft Market The independent insurance agency system is enjoying a resurgence. For years, the number of agencies in the country had been declining but that...
Certificates of Insurance and Agency Liability: What Agents Should Know
Feb 8 2009 // A common practice by insurance carriers is to inform their agents that they should not send the company copies of certificates of insurance when they are issued. This is most likely the result of mail-flow issues with the...
Liberty Mutual Drops Direct Sales to Middle Market Businesses
Feb 8 2009 // Puts Faith in Independent Agents Liberty Mutual Group is throwing in the towel on direct distribution of insurance to middle market businesses. Because it couldn’t beat independent agents and brokers — who...
Start-Up Stories: How New Agencies Are Competing
Feb 8 2009 // Crop of New Agencies Is Defying the Hard Economy and Soft Market The independent insurance agency system is enjoying a resurgence. For years, the number of agencies nationwide declined, but that trend has halted. There...
It Figures
Feb 8 2009 // 37,500 The number of number of independent agencies nationwide, according to the “2008 Future One Agency Universe Study,” sponsored by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, Trusted Choice and...
Certificates of Insurance and Agency Liability: What Agents Should Know
Feb 8 2009 // A common practice by insurance carriers is to inform their agents that they should not send the company copies of certificates of insurance when they are issued. This is most likely the result of mail-flow issues with the...
Systematic Sales Strategy Should Be Priority No. 2 for Agency Managers
Feb 8 2009 // In this hard economy coupled with the soft market, most agencies expect sales and revenues to go down. Even the best performers feel the downward trend in premiums. According to Juan Andrade, executive vice-president for...
How to Avoid Agency Errors and Omissions Claims
Feb 8 2009 // Advising Clients on Specific Dollar Values of Coverages They Need to Consider May Create Unnecessary Exposures There have been an increasing number of lawsuits brought against agents in situations where the...
Pros and Cons of Running a Small Business Unit
Feb 8 2009 // Agencies Say SBUs Take Dedication, Technology But Offer Profitability Going for the big fish may bring in big returns but some agencies think having a strategic plan to go after all those little fish is just as important....
Human Services Agencies Can Benefit from Agent Advice, Especially in Challenging Economic Times
Feb 8 2009 // Custom Coverages and Loss Control Can Help Non-Profits Survive While today’s economic environment presents some challenges for many companies large and small, independent agents who understand and embrace those...
5 Business Owner Policy Gaps and Pitfalls Agents Should Watch Out For
Feb 8 2009 // Business owner policies, traditionally referred to simply as BOPs, were introduced in 1976 and significantly revised in 1987. The BOP evolved gradually since the 1987 revisions to include risk classification and sizes not...
