Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Players on the Block – YouZoom.com expands into Texas; Progressive unveils homeowners market
Mar 19 2001 // Two companies made substantial entries into Texas last week. YouZoom.com will offer Texas agents the opportunity to sell insurance products online. Progressive, which up until now only offered auto coverage in Texas,...
Safeco Considers New Distribution Channels In Rebound Efforts
Mar 19 2001 // Circumventing independent agents. Undermining agents’ sales. These are phrases that don’t set well with Safeco CEO Mike McGavick. And it’s no wonder. Appointed as the man to turn the struggling...
How To Sell Umbrellas to Everybody
Mar 19 2001 // Selling personal umbrellas is a nuisance, yes? Some agents say, “Forget the $15 or $20 commission; it’s the perception of value-added service to the client. It helps round accounts and keep accounts. And a lot...
Hanging On to Market Share (Sell ‘Em More Stuff)
Mar 19 2001 // As a distribution channel, independent agents are doing a fairly good job of holding down the fort. The Independent Insurance Agents of America recently examined market share among the three channels: direct response,...
“Operator, Give Me Progressive”
Mar 16 2001 // Progressive Corp. customers can now make insurance payments, find local agents and get information about Progressive products by connecting to progressive.com using Web-enabled cellular phones. In a recent survey,...
Workers’ Comp Hearings Continue in Sacramento
Mar 15 2001 // The dire condition of California’s workers’ comp market was reaffirmed Wednesday during the second in a series of hearings held by Assembly Insurance Committee Chairman Thomas Calderon. ABL Lobbyist John...
CPIA Holds Sales, Marketing Conference in San Diego
Mar 14 2001 // Members of the Certified Professional Insurance Agent Society attended an educational National Sales & Marketing Education Conference March 7-10 in San Diego. With a smaller-than-anticipated turnout, attendees had the...
Shopping for Insurance Can Be a ‘Progressive’ Experience
Mar 12 2001 // It’s getting to be that time of year again. March Madness? Maybe. Tax time? Too early. No, for me it’s my yearly auto insurance renewal for my two cars: the Sienna minivan and the crusty Tercel. Each year, I...
Crusader, Wash. OIC Settle Policy Fee Dispute
Mar 12 2001 // Less than a week before they were scheduled to be in court for the beginning of what could have been a long and bitter legal fight, the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) and Woodland Hills,...
Hanging On to Market Share (Sell ‘Em More Stuff)
Mar 12 2001 // As a distribution channel, independent agents are doing a fairly good job of holding down the fort. The Independent Insurance Agents of America recently examined market share among the three channels: direct response,...
Wells Fargo Purchases ACO Brokerage Holdings
Mar 9 2001 // Wells Fargo & Co. and ACO Brokerage Holdings Corp. have signed a definitive agreement for Wells Fargo to purchase ACO, parent company of Acordia, Inc., one of the nation’s largest independent...
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Three Insurance Agencies
Mar 9 2001 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Has completed three acquisitions; MDM Insurance Associates, Inc. of Los Angeles, California; SKANCO International, Ltd. of Scottsdale, Arizona; and Madison Scott & Associates, Inc. of...
InsuranceNoodle.com Unveils Options for California Agents
Mar 8 2001 // InsuranceNoodle announced yesterday that it is licensed to sell insurance in California, bringing its total to 34 states and nine of the 10 largest states in which the online company is doing business. Licensing in...
IIABA of Los Angeles Installs 2001 Officers
Mar 7 2001 // Betsey Brewer, past president gives Eloise Williams, parent/teacher coordinator at Walton Middle School in Compton, Calif. a $500 check for school supplies. Left to right: Jeff Lang, vice president; Steve Cooley, Los...
Texas Legislature Moves Few Bills
Mar 5 2001 // It will likely come as no surprise to those who have been following the Texas Legislature this session that very few insurance-related bills are expected to make it out of committee. At least it’s no surprise Bo...
When Your Insureds Remodel Their Homes, You Should Remodel Their Coverage
Mar 5 2001 // One in three American homeowners have recently remodeled their home or are planning to do so within the next year. That could make for a lot of financial risk exposure, according to a recent study commissioned by the...
Agent Commission on Insanity is Nuts
Mar 5 2001 // “How’s business?” “Don’t ask.” “What’s wrong?” “You’ve heard of underwriting?” “I’m familiar with the concept.” “Well,...
Agents Sue New York Life
Mar 1 2001 // A group of ten current and former New York Life agents filed suit against the company yesterday claiming the insurer held back retirement benefits and unfairly fired more than 1,300 agents. The agents allege that when the...
Progressive Survey Finds Agents Still in the Driver’s Seat
Feb 27 2001 // Results of an extensive countrywide survey by Progressive Insurance show that while people ages 18 to 34 were more likely to use the Internet to purchase auto insurance than people ages 35 to 64, a majority of consumers...
PIIAI Disaffiliate with PIA National
Feb 26 2001 // At its meeting on Nov. 30, 2000, the Board of Directors of the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois voted to disaffiliate with the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, pending...
