Latest Agencies Headlines

Aon Selling Auto Insurance Broker in California to Mercury General

Nov 2 2008 // Mercury Casualty Co., the largest insurance subsidiary of Los Angeles-based Mercury General Corp., agreed to buy Auto Insurance Specialists Inc. from Aon Corp. AIS is an independent broker and producer of automobile...

Avoiding Errors in Your Agency’s E&O

Nov 2 2008 // Is the Savings Worth Sacrificing Your Business? There have been significant changes in the insurance marketplace recently, as prices are down and carrier competition is fierce. Independent insurance agents may be shopping...

Nov 2 2008 // Pete Garvey, current president of Integro Ltd., assumed the additional responsibility of CEO for the insurance broker, succeeding Roger Egan, who has left the company. Garvey has served as president of Integro since 2005....

Oregon Insurance Division Administrator Kipper Steps Down

Nov 2 2008 // Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) announced that Scott Kipper, administrator of the Insurance Division, left his position on Oct. 31, 2008, to pursue other interests. Yet before he left,...

Binders: A Short Primer

Nov 2 2008 // Understanding the Limits of Oral and Written Binders Insurance Code Section 382.5(a) defines a binder as a “writing” that “temporarily obligates the insurer to provide … insurance coverage pending...

Joe and Jo, Intrepid Agents

Nov 2 2008 // First there was GI Joe, then Joe the plumber. Now, though, there’s Insurance Agent Joe, or Josephine (Jo), if you prefer. Participating in the exclusive 2008 Insurance Journal Agency E&O Survey, Joe and Jo had a...

AIG Crisis Highlights the Need for Insurance Professionalism

Nov 2 2008 // Are You an Insurance Professional or an Insurance Hack? Editor’s Note: The following commentary was originally published on InsuranceJournal.com. The Letter to the Editor, on page N41, is in response to this...

Agents Joe and Jo on AIG and E&O

Nov 2 2008 // The federal government’s recent bail out of American International Group Inc. (AIG) via a $122 billion-plus loan to keep the company afloat set the insurance industry on edge. AIG’s insurance entities are...

More Lawsuits, Firmer Prices on the Horizon for Executive Liability

Nov 2 2008 // Property Premiums Fall Sharply; P/C Insurers Post Q3 Losses; Some Sell Stock to Raise Cash for Surplus Woes More lawsuits and firmer rates for directors and officers liability coverage are almost certainly ahead as a...

The Battle to Preserve Agency/Broker Value

Nov 2 2008 // As economic stagnation and current rate pressure weakens performance and as supply starts to outstrip demand for acquisitions, agencies and brokers must be prepared for deteriorating valuations. As the next few years will...

A Winning E&O Defensive Strategy

Nov 2 2008 // How Agents Block Claims In sports, the best offense is a great defense, right? When it comes to preventing errors and omissions claims defensive measures are also the best offense in protecting an insurance agency....

Quality Counts!

Nov 2 2008 // How to Keep Problems From Turning Into Claims We have all had experiences in our lives where we look back and realize our very life was almost extinguished. If not for the difference of a few seconds or inches this column...

More E&O Coverage for a Reasonable Price Suits the Average ‘Joe and Jo’

Nov 2 2008 // Joe the “insurance agent” wants a reasonably priced errors and omissions insurance policy for his independent agency that covers all the business activities his operation engages in, whether they are revenue...

How Independent Agencies Reduce E&O Exposure

Nov 2 2008 // 40 Risk Management Steps Independent Agents Implemented to Lower Their Risk The exclusive 2008 Insurance Journal Agency E&O Survey asked independent agents what risk management steps their agency has implemented to...

2008 Insurance Journal Agency E&O Survey at a Glance

Nov 2 2008 // The 2008 Insurance Journal Agency E&O Survey, conducted Oct. 3 through Oct. 16, drew 1,042 respondents from 50 states; there were no respondents from the District of Columbia. The five states with the highest...

Why Agents Choose Other Markets Rather Than Their Preferred Markets

Nov 2 2008 // While independent agents have their favorite carriers for certain risks, on occasion they end up choosing a carrier other than their preferred carrier. Most often the reason they do is pricing. Independent agents named...

Aon Reports 6% Revenue Boost in Q3

Oct 31 2008 // Aon Corp., the world’s largest insurance brokerage by assets, posted better-than-expected quarterly profit Friday, helped by growth in fees and commissions. Excluding items, profit from continuing operations rose 33...

Wisconsin Dilweg: State Regulation Best for Agents, Consumers

Oct 30 2008 // From flooding and tornado catastrophes to the impact of the AIG bailout or the federal versus state regulation debate, Sean Dilweg has a lot on his plate as Wisconsin’s insurance commissioner. Appointed by Wisconsin...

Connecticut Insurance Broker to Fill GOP Slot as Honorary Candidate

Oct 30 2008 // A Bristol, Connecticut insurance broker says he’s filling in as the Republican candidate in the 76th Assembly District race to honor the original candidate who apparently took his own life last week. David L. Norton...

CEO of New Marsh Retail Agency Sees Lean, Nimble Operation

Oct 30 2008 // Global insurance broker Marsh, known for handling large and complex accounts, is out to win a share of the $80 billion in insurance premium paid by smaller and emerging growth companies in the U.S. The firm announced last...