Latest Agencies Headlines

Dec 10 2006 // People The van Aartrijk Group LLC, a Washington, D.C.-area marketing and communications firm, is augmenting its branding and public affairs capabilities with the promotion of one executive and addition of another,...

Dec 10 2006 // People The Texas Surplus Lines Association Inc. announced the election of the following officers and directors: President Len Kaplan, executive vice president and CFO, Delta General Agency, Houston; Vice President Lana...

Declarations

Dec 10 2006 // Are the elves at work? “Just because it’s close to Christmas doesn’t mean the governor has to be Santa Claus. That’s not what the special session should be.” — Louisiana State Rep. Steve...

People

Dec 10 2006 // The Des Plaines, Ill.-based Property Casualty Insurers Association of America announced that Deirdre Manna, former acting director of the Illinois Division of Insurance, has joined PCI as vice president of industry and...

Zurich agrees to terms to close multi-state bid-rigging probe

Dec 10 2006 // News Currents Ten states, led by Texas and its Attorney General Greg Abbott, have come to terms with Zurich American, closing their probe into the insurer’s involvement in alleged bid-rigging and unfair compensation...

Five keys to captive success

Dec 10 2006 // Whether you’re talking about road contractors or hospitals or agents and brokers, every organization has in-house expertise. And you want to use it. You need to bring members together to share best practices. The...

It’s ‘haves’ vs. ‘have-nots’ in insurance technology race for survival

Dec 10 2006 // News Currents Spurred by intensifying competition, breakthroughs in analytics are transforming insurance markets, according to an industry leader. Sophisticated insurers able to harness large volumes of high-quality data...

More Punch for Programs

Dec 10 2006 // Today’s managing general agencies and carrier partners in the specialty program marketplace are enjoying profitable times while looking over their shoulders at new carriers and agents eager to enter the ring,...

Bolton & Co: Providing resources for customers produces profits

Dec 10 2006 // Developing a Web presence is not the primary focus at Bolton & Co. Insurance Brokers — developing the skills of employees and building relationships with customers is the chief concern. After all, when employees...

Florida Agents’ Communications Director Honored with Award

Dec 8 2006 // The President’s Award – The Professional Insurance Agents of Florida’s top honor – went to Communication Director Mary Frederick during a recent board of directors meeting in Key West,...

Calif.’s Strongwood Buys N.Y.-Based Northeast Agencies Network

Dec 7 2006 // California-based Strongwood Insurance Holdings Corp., owner of Networked Insurance Agents in the western states, has acquired Northeast Agencies Inc., a Buffalo, N.Y.-based aggregator of commercial and personal lines for...

S.D. Agent Sentenced to Prison

Dec 7 2006 // An insurance agent who had his license revoked was sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding clients out of $43,875. The judge handed down a 10-year prison sentence, of which eight years were suspended if Clifford...

Networked Insurance Agents Appoints McIntosh Territorial Sales VP

Dec 7 2006 // Grass Valley, Calif.-based Networked Insurance Agents, has appointed Tony McIntosh as territorial sales vice president, in San Francisco’s East Bay and Napa Valley regions. The new territory includes Solano, Contra...

Higginbotham-Austin Adds Benefits Broker

Dec 6 2006 // Higginbotham & Associates announced it has added Account Executive Cynthia Brown to its Austin, Texas, office to provide commercial clients with employee benefit plan brokerage and account support. Brown, who is...

Atlantic Specialty Lines of Florida Announces Asset Acquisition of Gary Markel Surplus Lines Brokerage

Dec 6 2006 // (Clearwater, FL and Richmond, VA) …Robert M. Bryant, President, and Martin H. Kanipe, Executive Vice President of Atlantic Specialty Lines of Florida, Inc. (ASL – FL) and Paula Ross, Executive Vice President, Gary...

California To Rule on Industry Petition Becoming “Precedential Decision”

Dec 5 2006 // The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has decided to accept a petition filed by Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West (IBA West) requesting review of the former Insurance Commissioner John Garmendi’s...

Fox Point Programs Offers E&O Product for Security Broker Dealers

Dec 4 2006 // Fox Point Programs based in Wilmington, Del., has partnered with underwriters at Lloyds of London to offer errors and omissions insurance for securities brokers-dealers. The coverage provides protection against allegations...

Zurich Agrees to Terms to Close Multi-State Bid-Rigging Probe

Dec 4 2006 // Ten states, led by Texas and its Attorney General Greg Abbott, have come to terms with Zurich American, closing their probe into the insurer’s involvement in alleged bid-rigging and unfair compensation practices in...

Texas Agents’ Group Says Personal Lines Market is Competitive

Dec 4 2006 // With the exception of coastal areas, the outlook for auto and homeowners coverage is positive in Texas, according to a study conducted by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas. The IIAT Personal Lines Market Survey...

Brown & Brown Acquires Two Dallas Agencies

Dec 4 2006 // Florida-based Brown & Brown Inc. reported the asset acquisition of two insurance agencies headquartered in Dallas, Texas. ProTexn Inc. and Best Practices Insurance Agency Inc. were acquired by a wholly owned...