Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Houston Insurance Agents Honor Dean with Outstanding Service Award
Apr 7 2014 // Bob Dean, former president and CEO of Houston-based Dean & Draper Insurance Agency LP, has received a posthumous award for his unparalleled service to the insurance industry throughout his career. The Independent...
Delaware Bill Adds Teeth to Certificate of Insurance Rules
Apr 7 2014 // Delaware legislature on March 25 passed HB 104 (“An Act to Amend Title 18 of the Delaware Code Relating to Certificates of Insurance”) that aims to curtail the improper use of certificates of...
Agents Can Help Small Businesses Stay on Top of New Risks
Apr 7 2014 // Small businesses face a myriad of challenges throughout the business life cycle as they embark on new ventures and grow their operations. And insurance agents can serve as their guide and help them understand risks and...
Hiring That First Good Producer
Apr 7 2014 // Hiring that first good producer may be the most difficult single step/achievement an independent agent undertakes. It is so difficult, at least 60 percent of agencies, based on size surveys, never hire a single successful...
Diversity and Youth: The Independent Agency System’s Challenge and Opportunity
Apr 7 2014 // Like many of my peers, I grew up in family-owned independent insurance agency and sort of inherited the insurance bug. Unlike most of my peers, our family’s agency is minority-owned and I’m younger than 40. The...
Young Agents Survey – Why They Chose Insurance
Apr 7 2014 // The call to become an insurance agent is different for everyone. For Matthew Ostrow the call to become an independent agent came via social media. Thirty-year old Ostrow entered insurance just five months ago after a...
What Young Agents ‘Like’ Most
Apr 7 2014 // Insurance may not be at the top of the list for college graduates when it comes to career choices, but the young professionals that do take a stab at it have some good things to say. This special issue of Insurance Journal...
Agency M&A in 2013 Reverted to Norm After Busy 2012: OPTIS Partners
Apr 7 2014 // Mergers and acquisitions of insurance agencies fell in 2013, with 248 reported transactions in the United States and Canada, according to a new semi-annual survey by OPTIS Partners, an investment banking and financial...
Arthur J. Gallagher to Buy Australian Wesfarmers’ Insurance Brokerage
Apr 6 2014 // Perth, Australia-based conglomerate Wesfarmers has agreed to sell the insurance brokerage and premium funding operations of its Insurance division to subsidiaries of U.S.-based broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for...
Confie Head Eyes Commercial Acquisitions for Rest of 2014
Apr 4 2014 // Confie Seguros’ president wants it known that the agency made good on its promise a year-and-a-half ago to up its buying spree and expand into standard personal and small commercial lines, all while broadening its...
Arthur J. Gallagher Buys New Zealand’s Mike Henry Brokers
Apr 4 2014 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited (MHIB), headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. MHIB has annualized revenues of approximately $4.5 million and 30 staff operating from its...
N.J. Regulator Offers Tips on Shopping for Insurance Coverage
Apr 2 2014 // New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Ken Kobylowski this week provided advice to consumers when shopping for insurance coverage. Whether buying and insuring a new car, starting a small business or...
Dallas Agents Group Names Sammons Young Agent of the Year
Mar 31 2014 // Adam Sammons has been recognized as the Young Agent of the Year by the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas (IIAD). The award recognizes an independent agent in the Dallas area under the age of 40 who has displayed...
Vertafore, DocuSign Partner to Offer E-Signature Services to Technology Users
Mar 27 2014 // Insurance technology provider Vertafore and digital transaction manager DocuSign have teamed up to offer e-signature services to Vertafore’s insurance clients. DocuSign’s Digital Transaction Management Platform...
Delaware’s New Legislation Adds Teeth to Certificate of Insurance Regulations
Mar 27 2014 // Delaware legislature on Tuesday passed HB 104 (“An Act to Amend Title 18 of the Delaware Code Relating to Certificates of Insurance”) that aims to curtail the improper use of certificates of insurance. Delaware...
Texas Insurance Agent Sentenced to 4 Years for Premium Theft
Mar 26 2014 // A Houston-area insurance agent whose company included the word “integrity” in its name has been sentenced to four years in prison for stealing from about 40 clients. A judge in Galveston sentenced Christopher...
Business Risk Partners, LIU Launch New E&O Policy Form for Agents, Brokers
Mar 26 2014 // Program administrator Business Risk Partners (BRP) has launched a new insurance agents and brokers professional liability form through Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), a division of Liberty Mutual Insurance....
Workers’ Compensation Fraud and the Insurance Producer
Mar 24 2014 // There are essentially two types of workers’ compensation fraud — premium fraud and claimant fraud — and insurance producers can play a role in the discovery and resolution of both, according to one investigator...
Agents’ Use of Technology Is About Attitude
Mar 24 2014 // Technology overload is a common lament among independent agents, who face a growing list of challenges in how to use it effectively. According to leaders on the front lines, however, the number one technology issue is not...
Top U.S. P/C Agency and Brokerage Acquirers in 2013
Mar 24 2014 // Insurance Journal‘s review of property/casualty agency and brokerage mergers and acquisitions occurring in 2013 found that Arthur J. Gallagher was the most active agency acquirer – as was the case in 2012. Hub...
