Latest Agencies Headlines

Should windstorm be added to the NFIP?

Feb 26 2007 // U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., recently introduced the Multiple Peril Insurance Act, which would offer windstorm coverage as an option for consumers within the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The bill has sparked...

Keys to surviving it and thriving from it

Feb 26 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...

The Commissioners: George Dale

Feb 26 2007 // Battered but not beaten, Mississippi focuses on helping people 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...

Why a regional carrier might be an agent’s best friend

Feb 26 2007 // The old saying “all politics is local” is born of the realization that the things that most directly affect us are local issues. In that respect, one could say that insurance is a local business. Risk...

Washington’s 2007 Legislative agenda targets license reform

Feb 26 2007 // Washington Insurance Com-missioner Mike Kreidler recently promulgated his agency’s proposals for the 2007 Legislative session. Of nine proposals, Sandi Peck, deputy commissioner of public affairs for the Washington...

The Commissioners: Morris Chavez

Feb 26 2007 // Regulator committed to restoring ethics 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...

Agents welcome windstorm debate; insurers warn against subsidies

Feb 26 2007 // The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (the Big “I”) says the debate over windstorm coverage is crucial for consumers and independent agents and brokers in many regions around the...

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

Feb 26 2007 // Corporate governance, stockholder activism, pricing discipline, a surprise event to define next D&O cycle Things are about as good as they can get right now in the directors and officers liability environment but that...

Coming to the Rescue: States get ready to modernize surplus lines regulation

Feb 26 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...

Congress gets bipartisan bills to repeal insurance antitrust immunity

Feb 26 2007 // 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 of its limited...

Five casual ways to pump up CSR sales

Feb 26 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...

A new direction for directors and officers coverage

Feb 26 2007 // Changes in attitudes, lawsuits, statutes worldwide force global companies to buy locally-admitted D&O A company that acquires a new property in a foreign country will usually review its property and casualty insurance...

Jim Poolman, North Dakota, Commissioner of Insurance

Feb 25 2007 // Currently serving in his second term as North Dakota Insurance Commissioner, Jim Poolman has focused his efforts on working for and protecting insurance consumers across the state. He served eight years in the North Dakota...

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,...