Latest Agencies Headlines

Agents Again Urge Passage of Surplus Lines Reform Legislation

Jul 25 2006 // As the Non-Admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2006 (HR 5637) makes its way to full committee of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services, the American Association of Managing General Agents sent a call to...

Mich. Offers New On-line Payment Option for Agents’ Licenses

Jul 25 2006 // Individuals wishing to become licensed as insurance agents in Michigan may now pay online for their license, Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) Commissioner Linda A. Watters announced. The online payment...

Utah Agent Charged with Pocketing Premiums

Jul 25 2006 // Ryan Webb, a Salt Lake County, Utah, insurance agent, was charged with insurance fraud, a second degree felony, unlawful dealing by a fiduciary, a second degree felony, theft by deception, a second degree felony, and...

Riding out soft and hard market cycles with quality relationships

Jul 24 2006 // Analyzing the economic rhymes and reasons of soft and hard market cycles in the insurance industry would make for a challenging university-level business course. Theories abound on why and when these cycles occur, but no...

Pay less attention to delinquent accounts, call your good customers

Jul 24 2006 // Agents can make a difference in the perception of the insurance business if, instead of tracking and billing delinquent accounts, they turn everything around and call good customers, Kat Davis of Tower Hill Insurance in...

Getting your commercial producers to prospect

Jul 24 2006 // Some producers never seek out fresh prospects. Instead, their managers employ list services and telemarketers to spoon-feed them their leads. Still, this is the exception in the agency business and not the rule. Most...

Safeco CEO: ‘We will sell to consumers in the way they want to buy’

Jul 24 2006 // Explaining Seattle-based Safe-co’s recent announcement that it would sell its products directly to the consumer over the Internet, president and CEO Paul Rosput Reynolds said the company previously had been not...

The virtual, global economy humbles insurance leaders

Jul 24 2006 // Insurance professionals have a lot to worry about as the fast-paced virtual economy takes hold. According to futurist Edie Weiner, they are right to be worried. She says there are a lot of risks ahead and given the speed...

Former FEMA director promotes government-industry disaster mediation

Jul 24 2006 // Federal and state governments should work with private insurance companies to sponsor disaster mediation programs, according to a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. James Lee Witt, president of James...

Agency compensation reflects organic growth, profitability and retention

Jul 24 2006 // With fewer large books of business changing hands recently, insurance agencies are relying on staff-driven, organic growth to expand their operations. Compensation packages and new recruitment and training strategies have...

Former FEMA director promotes government-industry disaster mediation

Jul 24 2006 // News Currents Federal and state governments should work with private insurance companies to sponsor disaster mediation programs, according to a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. James Lee Witt,...

Maximizing your agency’s ROI – Return on internet

Jul 24 2006 // Is your insurance agency investing in Web initiatives? If so, you are in the minority. While many independent insurance agents have a virtual presence on their insurance carrier sites, most independent insurance agencies...

Industry cannot ignore Hispanic buying power

Jul 24 2006 // As might be expected, diversity was discussed in virtually all lines — employment practices liability insurance, commercial, health, Mexican and life — among other agency management topics at the recent Latin...

Why surplus lines reform makes sense in 2006

Jul 24 2006 // The AAMGA is an international trade association comprised of 503 member agents, brokers, insurance, captive and reinsurance companies, Lloyd’s of London syndicates and underwriters, state stamping and surplus line...

Csiszar tells agents major shift essential to entice carriers to Florida

Jul 24 2006 // Insurers look at Florida’s government as a heavy-handed, intrusive, oppressive regulatory regime that does more harm than good to property insurance markets. According to Ernie Csiszar, president and CEO of the...

Excess flood market steps up when national flood program falls short

Jul 24 2006 // The historical lessons learned from Katrina and Rita, and looming predictions of a future with bigger and stronger storms, have made flood insurance popular these days — even in locations where it was previously...

California revises proposed mileage verification regulations

Jul 24 2006 // The California Department of Insurance has revised its proposed “odometer verification” regulations, deleting provisions that would have authorized insurers to require agents to verify the mileage if they met...

Why surplus lines reform makes sense in 2006

Jul 24 2006 // The American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) commends efforts to modernize commercial insurance markets while maintaining the state-based system of insurance regulation and the surplus lines market’s...

Jul 24 2006 // People The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big ‘I’) has added Thomas C. Koonce as assistant vice president for federal government affairs in its Capitol Hill office. He joins two fellow...

Riding out soft and hard market cycles with quality relationships

Jul 24 2006 // Having quality relationships with clients takes commitment and discipline, but it pays off in reliability and client retention. Analyzing the economic rhymes and reasons of soft and hard market cycles in the insurance...