Latest Agencies Headlines

BB&T Insurance Services To Acquire Union Bank of California Brokerage

Apr 24 2008 // Raleigh, N.C.-based BB&T Insurance Services has reached an agreement with Union Bank of California North America to purchase its San Diego-based insurance subsidiary, UnionBanc Insurance Services Inc. The acquisition...

North Carolina Insurance Agent Charged with Embezzlement

Apr 24 2008 // North Carolina officials arrested a Newport, N.C. woman and charged her with one count of embezzlement by an insurance agent, according to Insurance Commissioner Jim Long. Heather Dawn Cagle, 34, who worked as an agent for...

The Gibraltar Group Opens Central Texas Office, Adds New Broker

Apr 24 2008 // The Gibraltar Group will open an office in Goldthwaite, Texas, on May 5 to serve businesses in Central Texas, the company reported. Warren Blesh, who has more than 25 years of commercial insurance experience, will lead...

Report: 2008 Insurance Agency-Broker Value Forecast

Apr 24 2008 // Marsh, Berry & Company Inc. has released an overview of the state of the insurance distribution system for 2008 and beyond. This research report documents historical and projected insurance agency/broker value, merger...

Breitstone Named CEO of Aon’s ASPN

Apr 23 2008 // Aon Corp. announced that Peter Breitstone, an independent agent, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of its marketing affiliate to independent agents, Agency Specialty Product Network Insurance...

NSM Insurance Group Acquires Insurex Workers’ Comp Brokerage

Apr 23 2008 // NSM Insurance Group has acquired Insurex, a California-based workers’ compensation brokerage. The acquisition “immediately expands our ability to provide new national workers’ compensation markets to our...

New Website Launched for Insurance Agency Buyers and Sellers

Apr 22 2008 // Los Angeles, CA. – April 22, 2008 – Ganis Consulting, a California based Insurance Consultancy Firm, has launched its new website www.ganisco.com The site was developed to be a reference tool for insurance...

Southeast Agents Fear Recession as Construction Woes Continue

Apr 22 2008 // Southeast insurance agents do not all agree the economy is in a recession or on the causes of the slumping economy, but they do agree the dominoes are in place that could trigger a serious economic chain reaction. Roger...

Agents in the East Find Recession Hurts Others More

Apr 22 2008 // Insurance agents across New England and the Mid-Atlantic are worried about how their customers and they will fare as the region’s economy continues to slow. “An agent’s business is a direct reflection of...

Agents and the Recession: Agents Tend to Fare Better Than Their Customers

Apr 22 2008 // Main Street independent insurance agents could take a bigger hit than their larger counterparts as an economic recession lands on top of the soft market. The soft market coinciding with a bad economy is a real challenge...

In Midwest, Recession Makes Soft Market Even Tougher

Apr 22 2008 // When it comes to dealing with a recession, independent agents in Michigan carry the dubious distinction of having more experience than their counterparts in other Midwestern states. Michigan has been knee deep in a...

Recession, Soft Market Forcing Western Agents to Refocus

Apr 22 2008 // Whether the nation is in a true recession may still be up for debate, but it’s difficult to ignore the signs of economic slowdown throughout the West — and its effect on the insurance industry. New home...

American E&S Appoints Broker in Vacaville, California

Apr 22 2008 // Carole Brown has rejoined American E&S Insurance Brokers as vice president and financial services broker. She will be working in the Vacaville, Calif., branch and has more 15 years experience specializing in directors...

Recession? In South Central States It Depends On Location

Apr 22 2008 // With some notable exceptions – southern Louisiana for one – the economies of the South Central states seem to be holding steady against the looming prospect of a nationwide recession. Populations are growing in...

Mass. Agents Balk Over 6-Month Auto Policies

Apr 21 2008 // Massachusetts will permit auto insurers to sell six-month policies in another change under the state’s newly operational managed competition system that gives insurers more freedom. Independent agents have balked at...

Mass. Auto Web Site Misleads Consumers, Say Agents and AG

Apr 21 2008 // A state Web site intended to educate consumers about Massachusetts’ newly deregulated auto insurance market instead gives them inaccurate rate comparisons, according to Attorney General Martha Coakley. Coakley argued...

Soft On Top

Apr 21 2008 // We were reminded in our last issue’s stories on how agents are faring in the recession that the effects of the economic downturn vary by agency and region. Some agencies and customer are feeling the slowdown more...

Soft On Top

Apr 21 2008 // We were reminded in our last issue’s stories on how agents are faring in the recession that the effects of the economic downturn vary by agency and region. Some agencies and customer are feeling the slowdown more...

Apr 21 2008 // People Michigan-based J.M. Wilson recently announced three new staff members, Danielle Crandell, Eric Maus and Jeanne Callan. Crandell was hired as a transportation underwriter. She will service commercial trucking...

Insurers Keen on NCAA’s Basket-full of Opportunities

Apr 21 2008 // The Hartford and XL Insurance pursue insurance industry’s love affair with sports-related, 360-degree marketing The University of Kansas men’s basketball team may have been the big winner in the recent NCAA...