Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Merger & Acquisition Activity Continues to Climb
Apr 20 2015 // Acquisition activity for the first quarter of 2015 reached 90 deals, a record for the first three months of the year. We saw the same number of transactions announced during the fourth quarter of 2014, typically the most...
Former California Agent Charged with Scamming Elderly Church Members
Apr 20 2015 // Constance Gail Fortune, 61, was arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court in California in April and charged with three felony counts of grand theft and one felony count of financial elder abuse for allegedly scamming...
California Agent Nabbed on Bogus Bond, $100K Premium Theft Charges
Apr 20 2015 // Licensed insurance agent Lars Hedegaard, 63, of Danville, Calif. was arrested on two felony counts of grand theft in April. Hedegaard was doing business as Westport & Associates Insurance Services Inc. when he...
Bill Giving California Agents Access to Vehicle Records Passes Committee
Apr 17 2015 // A bill that would direct the California Department of Motor Vehicles to give insurance agents and brokers better access to motor vehicle records was unanimously approved by the Assembly Transportation Committee. Assembly...
Independent Agents Identify Business Opportunities for Carriers: Survey
Apr 17 2015 // Most independent insurance agents are impressed by the carriers they place business with – but most also are interested in adding new company partners. This is one of the preliminary findings of a recent national survey...
All Risks South Central Adds Producers in Dallas, Houston, New Orleans
Apr 16 2015 // Insurance wholesaler All Risks Ltd. has added three new producers in the South Central region: Zach Burdine in Dallas; Alan Doyle in Houston; and Aaron Ross in New Orleans. Burdine joins the Dallas office as a broker and...
Brokerslink Restructures Board to Drive New Global Growth
Apr 16 2015 // Independent insurance broker network Brokerslink announced that it has “restructured its Board of Directors to drive growth and revenue generation following its change from a not-for-profit association to a...
Reid to Become CEO of UK Retail at Arthur J. Gallagher
Apr 16 2015 // Arthur J. Gallagher announced that Stuart Reid will join Arthur J. Gallagher’s international brokerage operation as CEO for UK Retail. Reid will take up the position at Arthur J. Gallagher later this year, subject to...
Obama Labor Rule Would Shift Legal Duty of Retirement Plan Brokers
Apr 15 2015 // Brokers and insurance agents providing retirement-savings advice would have to put clients’ interests ahead of their own under an Obama administration plan that will face stiff opposition from Wall Street and...
What Insurance Agents Want from Carriers
Apr 15 2015 // Agents like what they get already but see room for improvement in field operations, agent education and marketing support provided by carriers, according to a 2014 national survey of more than 1,400 agents conducted by...
XS Brokers in Massachusetts Announces 3 Promotions
Apr 15 2015 // XS Brokers, a wholesale agency based in Quincy, Massachusetts, announced three promotions. Gabe Carrieri has been promoted to executive vice president. Carrieri joined XS Brokers in 2005 after a 13-year career in the...
Audit Problems Leading to Additional Premiums
Apr 15 2015 // Let’s dispense with the niceties and all attempts to eloquently ease into a discussion on the troubles surrounding workers’ compensation audits. Rather let’s jump right into the problem — assignment of...
Hot Insurance Markets for 2015
Apr 14 2015 // This year’s “Hot Markets” report for property/casualty insurance agents and brokers includes some not-so-usual suspects along with tried-and-true markets enjoying growth. Insurance Journal examined...
AmWINS Announces HPR/Engineered Risk Practice
Apr 14 2015 // Specialty broker AmWINS Group Inc. has launched an Engineered Risk Practice within its brokerage division. The Highly Protected Risk (HPR)/Engineered Risk practice handles property placements for insureds with generally...
Florida Insurance Agent Found Guilty of Racketeering, Money Laundering
Apr 14 2015 // A jury has found Cantonment, Fla., insurance agent Randall Petersen guilty of racketeering and money laundering. An investigation by the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud revealed that...
Nonstandard Auto Insurance Market Is Not For Everybody
Apr 13 2015 // The nonstandard auto market is not for every carrier or agency. Since 2007, carriers writing nonstandard auto policies have reported deteriorating operating performance and many have struggled to maintain market share. But...
Former California Agent Charged With Scamming Elderly Church Members
Apr 13 2015 // Constance Gail Fortune, 61, was arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court in California and charged with three felony counts of grand theft and one felony count of financial elder abuse for allegedly scamming seniors, many...
Former Maryland Agent Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud
Apr 10 2015 // Authorities announced that a Hagerstown, Maryland, woman pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court for Washington County to one count of felony insurance fraud having a value of $300 or more. Maryland Attorney General Brian...
Vertafore, Microsoft Partner to Provide Agents Access to Dynamics Platform
Apr 10 2015 // Insurance software provider Vertafore has partnered with Microsoft to give insurance agents access to the capabilities of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM (customer relationship management) platform. The partnership is designed...
Bill Giving California Agents Access to Vehicle Records Heads to Committee
Apr 10 2015 // A bill that would direct the California Department of Motor Vehicles to give insurance agents and brokers better access to motor vehicle records will be heard before the before the Assembly Transportation Committee on...
