Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Broker Accused of Shocking Behavior
May 1 2000 // Donald Clinton Jones of Walnut Creek, a licensed insurance broker, was arrested for insurance fraud following a September 1999 joint investigation between the CDI’s Fraud Division and Investigations Bureau and the...
International Commmentary
May 1 2000 // China, PNTR and WTOÐRealism and Caution The current phase of American trade and foreign policy towards China, which began with the recognition of the Communist regime by the Nixon administration in 1972, will reach...
Men are from Mars, women from Venus, independent agents from Mercury
May 1 2000 // Bud Wilson, past president of the Independent Insurance Agents of America, has said to agents: “Choose your companies wisely.” Interpreted broadly, the argument supports any company providing competitive prices...
IIAA, NAIFA Outline Concerns with E-Signature Legislation
Apr 26 2000 // A letter was recently sent to House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley (R-Va.) outlining IIAA’s and NAIFA’s concerns with e-signature legislation pending before a House-Senate conference committee. Bliley...
Insuring RVs
Apr 24 2000 // It’s not just your grandparents heading down the road in those Winnebagos these days. As the population of RV owners grows, so does the market and the profit margins for insurers. In the 1950s, those silver,...
Personal WatercraftExpanding the Appeal of Boat Coverage
Apr 24 2000 // Both the marine industry and the insurance industry have witnessed a surge in recreational boating, from mega-yachts to personal watercraft (PWC), over the past few years. According to U.S. Coast Guard estimates, there...
Kenny Waldt is Banking on his Future
Apr 24 2000 // Meet Kenny Waldt, independent agent from Houston. When I last checked in, back in November, he was toying with selling his $1.2 million revenue agency to a bank. Feeling pretty righteous about the value of his agency, he...
CIAB VOICES CONCERN
Apr 24 2000 // The chairman of The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers said much work needs to be done to stop state legislatures from dragging their heels in passing insurance agent/broker licensing reforms. In testimony to the...
Negligent Misrepresentation-Part II
Apr 24 2000 // Editor’s note: The first portion of this article appeared in our April 10 issue, page 28. The tort of negligent misrepresentation protects commerce from loss-producing, negligently supplied misinformation. It is...
Global Risk Exchange to Launch Internet Site for Complex Insurance Transactions
Apr 21 2000 // Global Risk Exchange (GRX) has announced the launch of a new Internet site designed to give “large corporations direct access to top-tier insurance markets.” The program aims to give insurance buyers...
Insure.com Report Tells How Agent Commissions Affect Customer Choices
Apr 21 2000 // Insure.com has issued a report, “Hidden Rivers of Incentive: How Agent Commissions Affect Your Insurance Shopping,” telling consumers how insurance agents are provided incentive through commissions, cash...
Agent-Friendly E-Commerce Meeting
Apr 20 2000 // Top agent leaders of the largest agency management system users groups met at the Independent Insurance Agents of America national headquarters April 19 to share common interests in technology. The meeting, the ACT Agency...
CIAB Chair Concerned Over States Impeding Licensing Reform
Apr 14 2000 // The chairman of The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers said much work needs to be done to stop state legislatures from dragging their heels in passing insurance agent/broker licensing reforms. In testimony to the...
Goapply.com Names Laguna Niguel Insurance Agent as Chairman
Apr 13 2000 // Internet insurance provider goapply.com has named Jim Brakke chairman of the board. Brakke is president of Laguna Niguel-based Brakke-Schafnitz, Orange County’s largest homeowner and auto insurance agency with 65...
SAFECO Launches High-Risk Auto Program in Texas
Apr 10 2000 // SAFECO has launched a new high-risk auto product in Texas called insurQuest, offering agents a multi-tiered compensation program including fee commissions. “With insurQuest, SAFECO’s agents who sell customers...
Bricks and Mortar Agencies Clicking to Compete
Apr 10 2000 // Higginbotham & Associates, Arthur J. Gallagher make dash for the Internet. Being web accessible will be an absolute necessity for insurance agencies and brokerages in the next few years. So says Rusty Reid, president...
PEOs Change Focus by Courting Agents as Partners, not Customers
Apr 10 2000 // As much as 10 years ago, independent insurance agents were being courted by professional employer organizations (PEOs), which viewed the small structure of agents’ offices as ripe for their human resources...
FREE AGENT SITES
Apr 10 2000 // BenefitMall.com, an online exchange for small business employee group benefits programs, is now providing free Internet home page capabilities to all U.S. licensed small group insurance brokers. The free offering will...
Negligent Misrepresentation-Part I
Apr 10 2000 // A primer on how negligence differs from fraud, what constitutes negligence and how Texas law applies For a century and half, or so, tort law was divided into business torts and personal injury. Business torts includes such...
IIAA Study Says Consumers Want It All, All The Time
Apr 5 2000 // Consumers and insurance agents view things differently, according to a recent study. Personal lines buyers, 87 percent of those polled, want 24-hour customer service from their carrier, and 85 percent say having...
