Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Okla. Commissioner Flexes Regulatory Muscle in Marketing Flap
May 22 2007 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland is flexing her regulatory muscle in an investigation of Medicare marketing that has uncovered misconduct by some insurance agents, The probe led to an appearance before a U.S....
Fla. Agents Send Response Vehicle to Tornado-ravaged Kan. Town
May 22 2007 // The Florida Association of Insurance Agents’ state-of-the-art catastrophe response vehicle (CRV) arrived in Greensburg, Kan. earlier this week to assist insurance agents whose offices were demolished by the tornado...
Infinity Accepting Applications for Agent/Broker Award
May 22 2007 // Infinity Insurance Companies based in Cerritos, Calif., is accepting applications for its third annual Infinity Cares Agent/Broker Award (formerly known as the Confianza Award) to recognize independent brokers and agents...
Medicare Fraud on Rise in Mississippi
May 22 2007 // Insurance agents have sold fraudulent Medicare plans to an estimated 1,000 Mississippians over the past year, forcing them to spend months untangling the mess to regain coverage under a traditional Medicare program. State...
New Orleans-area Agent Shut Down by Regulators
May 22 2007 // A New Orleans/Metairie, La., insurance agent was issued a cease and desist order and summary suspension of her license by the Louisiana Department of Insurance for alleged misappropriation of insurance funds. Quiana...
Tough products don’t need to be an underwriting challenge
May 21 2007 // Skis, ladders, pacemakers and nutra-ceuticals may be different products at first glance, but all share challenges in finding coverage. According to Nan Meyer, product manager for Shand-Morahan and David Rosenburg,...
West Va.’s Summit Financial Acquires Kelley Agencies of Va.
May 21 2007 // West Virginia-based Summit Financial Group, Inc. has agreed to acquire Kelly Insurance Agency, Inc. and Kelly Property and Casualty Inc. headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia for $6.2 million in stock. The acquisition of the...
Where have all the underwriters gone?
May 21 2007 // The commercial insurance industry is not what it was 20 years ago. Clients present deeper risks and greater needs for cost control, and large brokerage houses and carriers are being challenged to respond. But the challenge...
The Courage to Compete
May 21 2007 // In 1968 when the Maurice “Hank” Greenberg took over what was to become American International Group (AIG), it was an insurance agency selling other insurers’ policies around the globe. Within years, AIG...
Agent Association Says Wash. Fair Conduct Act Bad Idea
May 21 2007 // The Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) of Washington has issued a statement, noting it is discouraged by the decision of Governor Chris Gregoire to sign Washington’s ESSB 5726 into law. The law, which will take...
Are you truly independent?
May 21 2007 // Given today’s business environment, is it possible for independent agents to truly be “independent?” When we talk about an independent agent, we simply think of a producer who has access to many different...
Are you truly independent?
May 21 2007 // Given today’s business environment, is it possible for independent agents to truly be “independent?” When we talk about an independent agent, we simply think of a producer who has access to many different...
Claims against insurance agents and brokers: Timing is everything
May 21 2007 // Flood policies at heart of many cases against Gulf Coast producers In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many insurance agents and brokers in Louisiana and Mississippi and, to some extent, in Texas have found...
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TEXAS’ FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM
May 21 2007 // Is personal information of insureds protected? Yes, data from insurance companies is encrypted before it is sent to the vendor, and anytime the vendor sends information electronically it, too, is encrypted. “We put a...
Where have all the underwriters gone?
May 21 2007 // The commercial insurance industry is not what it was 20 years ago. Clients present deeper risks and greater needs for cost control, and large brokerage houses and carriers are being challenged to respond. But the challenge...
Agents young and old can benefit from bridging the age gap
May 21 2007 // When many young agents first start working in the insurance industry, they believe success is about making money. While they may focus on developing strategies to reach out to clients, they often do so with the goal to...
Declarations
May 21 2007 // Every opportunity “Independent agents continue to hold their own in terms of market share despite unprecedented advertising campaigns from direct writers. The independent agent distribution model is viable, flexible...
Status quo on Capitol Hill may be best
May 21 2007 // IIABA’s leader Bob Rusbuldt hopes Congress does nothing, except on TRIA Insurance Journal’s Andrew Simpson, at the IIABA’s National Legislative Conference and Convention in Washington, D.C., in April,...
‘Big 3’ brokers still feeling effects of Spitzer attack, Standard & Poor’s says
May 21 2007 // The October 2004 attack by then New York Attorney General, now Governor, Eliot Spitzer against bid rigging and contingent commissions generated significant losses, both in income and competitiveness, for the world’s...
What it takes for an agent to be truly independent
May 21 2007 // Given today’s business environment, is it possible for independent agents to truly be “independent?” When we talk about an independent agent, we simply think of a producer who has access to many different...
