Latest Agencies Headlines

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

U.S. Announces $1.4B in Sandy Transit Aid to New York, New Jersey

Apr 1 2013 // The federal government announced $1.4 billion in aid last Friday, March 29, to transit agencies affected by Superstorm Sandy. Most of the aid announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is going to four agencies...

Home Insurance Claimants Who Use Agents Happier Than Those Who Don’t

Apr 1 2013 // Satisfaction among home insurance claimants who file through agents is 50 points higher than it is for those who file claims directly. However, the percentage of customers filing through direct channels continues to...

Project CAP CEO Bacciocco Shares Views on Consumer Agent Portal and 2013

Apr 1 2013 // Independent agents should soon be getting some help with their personal lines sales— better late than never. The delayed Consumer Agent Portal — backed by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Inc....

Astonish’s One-Day Modern Consumer Training Hosted by QQ Solutions on Thursday, April 11

Apr 1 2013 // Warwick, RI, 04/01/13 – Astonish, a leading digital marketing solutions and sales training provider for insurance agencies, encourages local insurance agency principals, CEOs, and presidents in Florida and surrounding...

P/C Mergers Down in 2012 But Private Equity Still Favored Brokers: Conning

Mar 28 2013 // Amounting to just $4.7 billion in aggregate deal value, the 46 merger and acquisition transactions announced in the property/casualty insurance sector in 2012 were near record low levels, according to the latest annual...

Digital Insurance Buys Group Brokerage Insurance Agency in Massachusetts

Mar 27 2013 // Atlanta-based benefits broker Digital Insurance has acquired Group Brokerage Insurance Agency of Cambridge, Mass. The nearly 30-year-old Massachusetts-based benefits firm will now operate under the banner of Digital...

SeaFire Insurance Services Seeks Agency Partners in Wisconsin, Illinois

Mar 27 2013 // Overland Park, Kan.-based SeaFire Insurance Services announced it is actively seeking new agency partners in Wisconsin and Illinois for its exclusive auto dealer and repair insurance program. SeaFire will consider...

Former Eqecat President Keogh Joins Reinsurance Broker TigerRisk

Mar 27 2013 // Bill Keogh, who last week resigned as president of catastrophe risk modeling firm Eqecat, has joined reinsurance broking and risk/capital management firm TigerRisk Partners. Keogh joins TigerRisk as a partner and will be a...

Insurance Agent Takes Stand on Gay Marriage in Supreme Court Case

Mar 27 2013 // Today David Kosar can be considered one of the nation’s most outspoken insurance agents on the issue of gay marriage. Kosar, owner of David Kosar Insurance Agency-American Family in Everett, Wash., has joined an...

Oklahoma Independent Agents Express Support for Work Comp Bill

Mar 25 2013 // Leadership at a statewide association of independent agents in Oklahoma has issued statements publicly supporting workers’ compensation system reform legislation. Dan Ramsey, president and CEO of the Independent...

Last Chance: Young Agents, Tell Us What You Think

Mar 25 2013 // Are you a young insurance agent, 40 years old or younger? Do you know a young insurance agent? Today is the deadline to tell the industry what you think. Participate now in this year’s Young Insurance Agents Opinion...

UK Online Aggregators Now Have 40% of Personal P/C, but not Commercial

Mar 25 2013 // “Online aggregators have revolutionized the distribution of personal lines insurance in the UK,” concludes a study from Finaccord, a market research, publishing and consulting company specializing in financial...

Building Updates: Aging Plumbing Systems

Mar 25 2013 // The Agent’s Role as Advisor and Risk Manager Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part series to explain insurers’ requirements for building updates and to help agents advise clients on mitigating...

2012 Insurance M&A Snapshot

Mar 25 2013 // Here is a snapshot of the property/casualty insurance industry merger and acquisition activity reported byInsurance Journal in 2012. Major carrier transactions included Nationwide’s acquisition of Harleysville, The...

7 Basic Marketing Approaches for Independent Agents

Mar 25 2013 // It’s impossible to market anything successfully without communicating well. There are multiple ways, online and off, to manage this vital activity. Below are overviews of seven marketing methodologies. Social...

Top 10 Hot New Markets

Mar 25 2013 // Insurance Journal examined industries experiencing changes and expansions during the past year. Here are the top 10 market sectors that just might deliver hot opportunities for agents and brokers in the property/casualty...

Zurich Names Quin to Head Investor Relations, Rating Agency Management

Mar 22 2013 // Zurich Insurance Group announced the appointment of James Quin, (44, British citizen), to the position of Head of Investor Relations and Rating Agency Management, effective July 1, 2013, with a transition period starting...

Agents Seek Mobile Apps for Customer Self-Service, Sales Help: Survey

Mar 21 2013 // Independent agents and brokers want their customers to be able to “self-serve” on mobile devices, and sales and quotes are key capabilities for agent-facing applications on tablets, according to preliminary...

Outsourcing Your Digital Marketing Strategy: When do you know it’s time?

Mar 21 2013 // This post is part of a series on insurance marketing and training sponsored by Astonish. Local insurance agency owners wear multiple hats – sometimes, too many! You may want to save money and do it all yourself, but that...

N.Y. Reaches Settlement With Assurant, Largest ‘Force-Placed’ Insurer in U.S.

Mar 21 2013 // The New York State Department of Financial Services investigation has produced a settlement with the country’s largest “force-placed” insurer, Assurant Inc. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced the...