Latest Agencies Headlines

Editor’s Note: Flooding hazard alert: Melting ice and snow increases risk

Feb 25 2007 // We all know that catastrophes come in all forms and shapes, not just as hurricanes, earthquakes, fires and mudslides. In light of the recent devastating winter ice and snow storms that crossed the Midwest and then moved to...

People

Feb 25 2007 // James W. Good, executive vice president of trucking industry insurer Baldwin and Lyons Inc. and president of its subsidiary insurance company, Protective Insurance Co., announced he will retire from the company in May...

Keys to surviving it and thriving from it

Feb 25 2007 // To some outsiders, insurance agents appear to be threatened with obsolescence. Commoditized products, the extensive information available online and the decreasing value placed on personal relationships could lead insureds...

George Dale, Mississippi, Commissioner of Insurance

Feb 25 2007 // A former high school principal, George Dale is now the longest serving state insurance commissioner in the nation. He has been elected by the people of Mississippi since 1975 and recently announced he would run for...

Feb 25 2007 // People The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America named Cliston Brown as the organization’s director of federal public affairs. Brown comes to PCI after three years with the Independent Insurance Agents...

People

Feb 25 2007 // Covington, La.-based First Premium Insurance Group Inc., a regional property and casualty insurance broker, added a new team member, Crystal DePascual. DePascual joined First Premium’s staff as marketing...

Editor’s Note: Should windstorm be added to the NFIP?

Feb 25 2007 // The agents’ association is concerned about lack of markets and affordable windstorm coverage for both homeowners and businesses, which it believes has reached crisis proportions in some states. U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor,...

Keys to surviving it and thriving from it

Feb 25 2007 // To some outsiders, insurance agents are threatened with obsolescence. Commoditized products, the information available online and the decreasing value placed on personal relationships could lead insureds to devalue the...

People

Feb 25 2007 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners named its 2007 committee chairs and vice chairs. The new committee assignments are for one year. International Insurance Relations Committee: Chair Diane Koken,...

Washington’s 2007 Legislative agenda targets license reform

Feb 25 2007 // The commissioner’s office feels the current process for licensing insurance agents and brokers in Washington is an antiquated, paper-dependent system lacking efficiency and interstate consistency rooted in a...

News Currents

Feb 25 2007 // Agents welcome windstorm debate; insurers warn against subsidies The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (the Big “I”) says the debate over windstorm coverage is crucial for consumers and...

Morris Chavez, New Mexico, State Insurance Superintendent

Feb 25 2007 // After replacing two insurance superintendents in less than a year over allegations of questionable activities, New Mexico’s Insurance Department seems to sorely need some ethics training. The latest appointed...

8 Agents welcome windstorm debate

Feb 25 2007 // Insurers warn against subsidies 10 Safeco to cut homeowners, commercial rates 200,000 Calif. customers to benefit, company says 10 Ariz. lawmakers move to raise burden of proof on ER suits Identical bill vetoed by Gov....

Congress gets bipartisan bills to repeal insurance antitrust immunity

Feb 25 2007 // News Currents Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, joined with Senate Democratic and Republican leaders earlier this month to introduce a bipartisan bill that would strip the insurance industry...

Five casual ways to pump up CSR sales

Feb 25 2007 // CSR selling doesn’t happen by decree. Principals can’t simply declare a sales quota and expect instant results. It is a long-term process getting customer service representatives involved in selling. Management...

Coming To The Rescue

Feb 25 2007 // Bernd (Bernie) G. Heinze, executive director of the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA), recalls a perfect example of the regulatory difficulties the surplus lines industry faces. A colleague at a...

D&O experts show little tendency to drink from a glass ‘half full’

Feb 25 2007 // Things are about as good as they can get right now in the directors and officers liability environment but that doesn’t necessarily comfort D&O brokers and underwriters in this high-profile segment; instead it...

A new direction for directors and officers coverage

Feb 25 2007 // Even though they may not be compelled by law to buy locally admitted D&O insurance, many companies may find that the global solution they’ve purchased for years is no longer satisfactory. A company that acquires...

IMS Starts New Healthcare Wholesale Division

Feb 23 2007 // Houston-based Wholesale broker IMS Insurance Market Solutions has started a Healthcare Division. Leading the division is Linda Morse, who most recently was vice president and Houston Healthcare manager for U.S. Risk...

Progressive Drops ‘Drive’ Brand Name…Except in Calif.

Feb 23 2007 // The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies today announced a change in its brand names for products sold through its agents. The company said it is putting the Progressive name first in the names of all of the products...