Latest Agencies Headlines

All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Fla. Agents Charged with Issuing Fake Certificates

Jun 24 2004 // Two Orlando agents are facing numerous felony charges for allegedly issuing fraudulent workers’ compensation certificates to employers who needed them to apply for business licenses. Marcia V. Richardson, 40, and...

Bland Named IIAT’s ACSR of the Year

Jun 24 2004 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas named Cherrie Bland of the Grimes Insurance Agency, Lubbock, the IIAT ACSR of the Year during the IIAT Annual Convention held recently in Dallas. Liz Patterson of Myron F. Steves...

Canada’s RSGC Acquires 49% Stake in London Broker

Jun 23 2004 // The Toronto-based RS Group of Companies, Inc. (RSGC), formerly Rent Shield Corp., a provider of pass-through risk specialty insurance and reinsurance products, announced that it has completed the purchase of 49 percent of...

American Agents Alliance to Host Calif. Sen. Cedillo at July 7th Meeting

Jun 23 2004 // The American Agents Alliance will welcome Senator Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) to its July 7th meeting, to be held at 7:00pm at the Best Western Golden Sails Hotel in Long Beach. The meeting, one of several the Alliance...

Independent Insurance Agents of Montana to Hold Conference July 24-27

Jun 23 2004 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Montana will hold its 73rd Annual Convention and Young Agents Conference from July 24-27, 2004 at the Rock Creek Resort in Red Lodge, Mont. Highlights of the event include breakfast with...

Conn. Gov. Rowland, Former Insurance Agent, Resigns from Office Amid Impeachment Inquiry

Jun 22 2004 // John Rowland, a member of a prominent Connecticut insurance and political family and himself a former insurance agent, resigned last evening as governor of Connecticut rather than testify before a legislative panel...

N.Y. Assembly Prepares to Close Today with Budget, Fair Plan, Other Insurance Issues Unresolved

Jun 22 2004 // The Legislature in Albany is scheduled to adjourn today and barring last-minute action will do so without passing a state budget and without addressing a slew of insurance and other key issues. Political observers,...

IIANC Selects Broker, Company of the Year

Jun 21 2004 // The Young Agents Committee of the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC) named Burns & Wilcox/Morehead City as Broker of the Year and St. Paul Travelers as Company of the Year. IIANC says the Broker...

Mo. JUA Starts Taking Med-Mal Applications

Jun 21 2004 // Missouri’s new state-sponsored medical malpractice insurance program has begun accepting applications for coverage effective June 30 or later, the state’s insurance department announced recently. Physicians and...

It’s Real Time for Agency Technology

Jun 21 2004 // Real-time, security, download, paperless to the agent, multiple passwords, proprietary company Web sites, choosing an ASP—there is so much going on that it is hard to know where to start! Every day, independent agents...

MICH. AGENTS URGE ‘NO’ VOTE ON HELMET REPEAL:

Jun 21 2004 // The Michigan Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA) said that any attempt to weaken or repeal the state’s motorcycle helmet law will increase deaths and injuries for cyclists and raise insurance and medical costs....

West Bend Mutual: In With the New, and Hang On to the Old

Jun 21 2004 // Thanks to a hard market, a light catastrophic claims load and consistent underwriting, a little mutual based out of West Bend, Wis., was able to surpass the $1 billion asset mark at the end of 2003 for the first time in...

Wisconsin Big I Gets Visit From New Insurance Commissioner Gomez

Jun 21 2004 // The high point of Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin’s (IIAW) annual convention in May was a lengthy speech from Jorge Gomez, the state’s new insurance commissioner. A February 2003 appointee of...

‘Mutual’ Respect: SECURA Says Agent Loyalty Can Survive Softer Market

Jun 21 2004 // West Bend is far from the only Wisconsin-based regional mutual insurer making a mark. The CEO of Appleton, Wis.-based SECURA Insurance Cos., John Bykowski, took some time recently to talk with IJ during the Independent...

Regional Focus

Jun 21 2004 // Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill once famously said, “All politics is local.” The same could be said for the insurance industry—insurance coverage is definitely local. In addition, there...

Agent Groups Commend Final Vote to Reauthorize National Flood Program

Jun 21 2004 // Both the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (The Big “I”) and the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) commended the House of Representatives’ passage of the...

Regional Focus

Jun 21 2004 // Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill was attributed with the comment that “all politics are local.” The same could be said for the insurance industry—insurance coverage is definitely local. In...

Former Broker Arrested in $4M Fraud Scam

Jun 21 2004 // Richard W. Peterson, 63, of San Francisco, a former insurance broker/agent, was arrested at Miami International Airport on federal fraud charges for allegedly selling approximately $4 million of fake insurance policies...

Program Business Leaders Receive Targeted Advice

Jun 21 2004 // The Target Markets Program Administrators Association held its first mid-year meeting last month and attracted almost 200 program business professionals. In-between scheduled networking sessions and informal meetings at...

The Value of Belonging

Jun 21 2004 // Insurance producers are a busy group, with day-to-day operations that include writing new business, servicing existing policies, taking care of employment issues, etc. Often, there is a myriad of factors—seemingly...