Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Marsh Completes Acquisition of Bluefin Insurance from AXA
Jan 3 2017 // Marsh, the wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Cos., said it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Bluefin Insurance Group Ltd., a subsidiary of AXA UK plc, from AXA Group. Founded in 2008,...
How Agents Feel About Their Compensation from Carriers… and Other Matters
Dec 30 2016 // On a first quarter results call W.R. Berkley Corp. President and CEO Robert Berkley cited a growing and alarming level of tension between carriers and distributors, driven by what he called a fight to grow margins in the...
Why Young Insurance Agents Are So Optimistic
Dec 29 2016 // It’s no secret that the insurance industry is facing a huge talent gap. Almost half of all insurance professionals are over age 45, with 25 percent of the industry expected to retire by 2018. That’s a...
Report: Vast Majority of Surplus Lines Filings in Texas Come in on Time
Dec 29 2016 // An overwhelming majority of surplus lines policies are filed on time in Texas, according to the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas. SLTX is required by statute to file an Annual Late Filers report with the Texas...
Top 12 Insurance Trends and News Stories of 2016: Countdown
Dec 27 2016 // In the year 2016, as in past years, there were the familiar or continuing stories including reinsurers still wishing and hoping for a hardening market; property/casualty insurance carriers reporting financial results...
Authorities Say Ex-Insurance Agent in New Jersey Stole Clients’ Identities
Dec 27 2016 // State authorities say a former insurance agent assumed the identities of former clients to fraudulently apply for new life insurance policies in their names. Marta Cristina Cunha is charged with insurance fraud, identity...
Hong Kong Agents, China Insurers Face Tech-Related Disruptions: 2017 Predictions, Part 4
Dec 22 2016 // The twin forces of regulation and technology will see the emergence of new distribution models in 2017. This sounds like a commonly heard disrupter scenario for the U.S. and European markets, but it’s actually a...
All Risks to Provide E&O Coverage to PIA of Florida Members
Dec 22 2016 // All Risks, Ltd. has partnered with the Professional Insurance Agents of Florida (PIA of Florida), to provide professional liability errors and omissions insurance to its members. Effective Jan. 1, 2017, All Risks will...
Higginbotham Expands with Insurance Associates of the Southwest Merger
Dec 20 2016 // Fort Worth-based independent insurance broker, Higginbotham, and Insurance Associates of the Southwest (IAS) have merged their operations in Houston. IAS is an independent broker with 38 commercial, personal, life, health...
Acrisure Acquires Alaska USA Insurance Brokers’ Commercial, Benefits Business
Dec 20 2016 // Acrisure LLC has acquired Alaska USA Insurance Brokers’ commercial insurance and employee benefits books of business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The new company will operate under the name Insurance...
Maine’s BroGue Insurance Under New Ownership
Dec 20 2016 // The current owners of several insurance agencies, Patrick Maguire and Paul Tracy, acquired ownership of BroGue Insurance & Financial Services in Bangor, Maine, on November 1, 2016. Established in Bangor in 1983, BroGue...
What Drives Satisfaction in Large Commercial Insurance Market?: J.D. Power
Dec 19 2016 // The profitability of an insurance company and the quality of advice given by an insured’s insurance broker make the most difference in customer satisfaction for commercial insurance, a new study revealed. According...
Wanted: Young Insurance Recruiters
Dec 19 2016 // Insurance industry executives and groups working to attract millennials to the sector are now actively targeting their younger colleagues to help get the word out. On Dec. 2, the recruiting initiative held a webinar...
Why it Sucks to be a Sales Manager in Most Agencies
Dec 19 2016 // While it’s not always true, most sales managers get stuck with dealing with under-performers. Under-performers come in a lot of different packages. It could be the underwriter who was hired to be a producer. This...
3 Common Strategies Found in the Fastest-Growing Independent Agencies
Dec 19 2016 // Over the past several years, despite some dire predictions, the independent agency channel overall has held its own against other distribution channels. In a recent internal research study, for example, Safeco Insurance...
Why a Unique Perpetuation Model Still Stands Strong
Dec 19 2016 // In the insurance agency system, it’s no secret that right now many agencies are merging or being acquired, increasingly by private equity firms. For some, this is a blessing because they have not been able to keep up...
California’s Surplus Export List Getting Interest Ahead of Upcoming Hearing
Dec 13 2016 // Ben McKay, executive director of the Surplus Lines Association of California, said his phone has been quite a bit busier lately ahead of a public hearing on Friday on the state’s export list. People in the insurance...
Heffernan Insurance Brokers Adds Skarin as AVP in St. Louis
Dec 13 2016 // Heffernan Insurance Brokers has hired Matthew Skarin as Assistant Vice President in the commercial lines department of its St. Louis, Missouri, office. Skarin comes to Heffernan with eight years of insurance experience...
Former Oklahoma Insurance Agent Charged with $64K Theft
Dec 12 2016 // A former Tulsa insurance agent was charged on Dec. 8 with embezzling more than $64,000, the Oklahoma Insurance Department announced. The charges against Michael W. Hefner, 47, are the result of a joint investigation by the...
Keystone Insurers Group Adds More Michigan Agencies
Dec 9 2016 // Keystone Insurers Group announced the addition of three more agency partners in Michigan: Nulty Insurance Agency, Ottawa Kent Insurance and Mason-McBride Inc. Keystone recently expanded into Michigan, adding Saginaw Bay...
