Latest Agencies Headlines

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

Indy 500 Drivers Race Past Talk of Their Insurance, Says Agent

May 18 2017 // At least half of the Indianapolis 500 field will share more than steely nerves and a love of speed. They have the same agent for insurance, including some policies they’d rather not contemplate. Life...

Texas Wholesale Insurance Broker LevelFirst Promotes Innocent to VP

May 17 2017 // LevelFirst, the Dallas-based wholesale broker and MGA binding facility owned by IIAT Services Co., has promoted Kate Innocent to vice president. The promotion coincides with Innocent receiving a life/health insurance...

Travis Named VP at Texas Wholesale Broker LevelFirst

May 16 2017 // LevelFirst, the Dallas-based wholesale broker and MGA binding facility owned by IIAT Services Co., has appointed Mary Travis as vice president. Travis is based in Houston. She will service new and existing clients in the...

Big ‘I’ Virtual University’s Boggs Gets Award for Reinsurance Research

May 16 2017 // Big “I” Virtual University Director Christopher “Chris” J. Boggs has received a prestigious award in London for a paper he and a group of industry professionals authored about the disconnect between...

Brian Reid of OSC Recognized for Exemplary Contact Center Leadership by inContact

May 16 2017 // Atlanta, GA, May 16, 2017 — OSC, an established lender-placed insurance and tracking company and part of Breckenridge Insurance Group, announces Brian Reid, director of Escrow & Call Center Operations, was a recent...

Brightway Adds 5 Women-Owned Insurance Agencies

May 15 2017 // Insurance agency franchise operator Brightway is opening five new personal lines insurance agencies that are owned by women, two of which are the first Brightway agencies to open in California. In addition to California,...

Survey: Agents Suggest How Carrier Partners Can Move from ‘Good’ to ‘Great’

May 15 2017 // You might expect to see high levels of satisfaction between an independent agency and its top carrier, but that isn’t always the case. Peeling back the layers usually reveals fertile ground for improvement and shows...

As Auto Insurance Sales Stagnate, Carriers Turn to Agents: J.D. Power

May 15 2017 // Amid a second straight year of stagnant auto insurance shopping activity and modest rate increases, auto insurance companies have grown increasingly reliant on great customer service, personalized advice and strong agents...

Top 10 Technical Fouls to Avoid When Filing Environmental Claims

May 15 2017 // Benzinger is chief broking officer and managing director at Aon Risk Solutions Environmental Practice. Claims are where the rubber meets the road for an insurance policy. For some lines of coverage, like workers’...

Organic Growth Under Pressure: Agencies Show Weakest Growth Since 2011, Reagan Consulting Reports

May 15 2017 // Agencies and brokerage firms reported that their organic growth fell to 3.9 percent in the first quarter of 2017, the weakest growth rate since 2011. According to Reagan Consulting’s Organic Growth and Profitability...

Wholesale Associations NAPSLO, AAMGA Merging to Form WSIA

May 15 2017 // Things are moving forward for a new insurance industry trade association for the wholesale, specialty and surplus lines insurance industry. The new Wholesale and Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA) is being formed by...

Tech Talk: How to Use Digital Body Language

May 15 2017 // “When the eyes say one thing, and the tongue another, a practiced man relies on the language of the first.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Agents pride themselves on their sales skills — to meet a prospect...

Producer Compliance in California: The Top Three Regulatory Danger Zones

May 15 2017 // Like Big Brother, California’s Department of Insurance is watching you. Okay, perhaps not literally — and certainly not all of you, but the department definitely has its antennae up when it comes to the...

American Family Disagrees with Jury Finding that Agents Are Employees

May 15 2017 // A federal jury in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 18 determined that thousands of agents with Madison, Wisconsin-based (AmFam) are employees, not independent contractors. The insurer stands by its classification practice and...

Illinois’ Árachas Group Joins Keystone Insurers Group

May 12 2017 // Árachas Group of Bartlett, Illinois, created by the merger of two local insurance agencies, has joined Keystone Insurers Group, becoming the network’s 18th partner in the state. Sullivan & Associates, led by...

Texas Public Safety Agencies Embracing Drone Use

May 12 2017 // Government use of aerial drones became much easier when the Federal Aviation Administration flipped the switch on new regulations last year. The Austin American-Statesman reports since then, a number of Austin-area public...

TMK Offers Construction Insurance in UK, Ireland via Online Broker Portal

May 12 2017 // Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), the international specialist insurance business, has added construction to its One TMK broker portal. The tailor-made construction insurance product is underwritten through a fully automated...

BIG Independent Group Names 2017 Biggie Award Winners

May 12 2017 // Independent Agents Association Honors Insurance Industry Stars. Indian Wells, CA, May 12, 2017- The BIG Independent Group, a leading association of independent agent and brokers, was pleased to bestow its BIGGIE Awards for...

Bunker, Startup Broker for Small Business, Contractor Insurance, Raises $6 Million

May 11 2017 // Bunker, a startup digital insurance broker focused on independent contractors and small businesses, has raised $6 million in Series A funding that will help fuel product development and expansion. Hiscox and American...

TWFG Taps Cordone in New Jersey to Lead Expansion Efforts

May 11 2017 // The Woodlands Financial Group (TWFG), a national agency based in The Woodlands, Texas, is launching an effort to expand into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Vic Cordone, a...