Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Building Momentum in the Construction Market
Dec 5 2012 // After four years of one of the most challenging construction markets, construction insurance experts are beginning to see signs of a slow recovery with some of their contractor and builder accounts. The current...
Spotlight: CIWA Looking for Resurgence in Changing Market, Lawsuit
Dec 4 2012 // The California Insurance Wholesalers Association is in prime position to benefit from trends and events that its board members expect to be unfolding in the next year or two – including an improved surplus lines outlook...
Court Finds Rating Agencies Not Liable on Toxic Mortgages
Dec 4 2012 // Major credit rating agencies won a fresh legal victory on Monday when a federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit by Ohio pension funds that sought to recoup millions of dollars of losses on risky mortgage debt they said...
Confie Seguros Buys Florida, Nevada Agencies
Dec 3 2012 // Confie Seguros, a national provider of personal lines insurance focused on Hispanic consumers, has acquired four regional insurance brokerages in Florida and Nevada. Confie Seguros completed the acquisitions of...
Business Moves – East
Dec 3 2012 // Onex Corp., USI Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. agreed to acquire insurance brokerage USI from Goldman Sachs Group’s GS Capital Partners private equity fund in a transaction valued at $2.3 billion. The deal...
Genstar In Hunt for Another Confie-like Brokerage
Dec 3 2012 // Now that it has sold its equity stake in Hispanic-focused auto insurance broker Confie Seguros, Genstar Capital LLC is hunting for another insurance concern. The San Francisco, Calif.-based private equity firm recently...
Penn.-Based W.N. Tuscano Buys Special Risk Solutions From Utica Mutual
Nov 30 2012 // W. N. Tuscano Agency, a wholesale broker located in Greensburg, Penn., acquired Special Risk Solutions Inc. (SRS), the brokerage division of Utica Mutual Insurance Company. Utica Mutual Insurance Company is a member...
Willis North America to Acquire Canadian Benefits Broker Avalon Actuarial
Nov 30 2012 // Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Avalon Actuarial Inc., a Canadian employee benefits brokerage and actuarial...
California Department Insurance: Streamlined Licensing
Nov 29 2012 // The California Department of Insurance announced a new process for professionals submitting insurance agent, broker, adjuster and bail agent license applications to CDI. The new process “enhances customer service and...
Associated Agencies Names Herz President and Schrayer CEO
Nov 28 2012 // Associated Agencies Inc., based in Rolling Meadows, Ill., has promoted 35-year-old Joshua Herz to president, making him the fourth person in the same family to hold the position. Herz succeeds his cousin, Max (Skip) R....
Agency E&O Outlook: Competition, Hard Market, Healthcare Effects and More
Nov 27 2012 // Firmer insurance prices and an upward trend in agency revenues are signs of good times for most independent agencies. These same trends, however, are reflected in today’s insurance market for agency errors and...
Onex Corp. of Canada to Acquire USI for $2.3 Billion
Nov 26 2012 // Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. said today it has agreed to acquire insurance brokerage USI from Goldman Sachs Group’s GS Capital Partners private equity fund in a transaction valued at $2.3 billion. The deal...
What’s in a Blog? Insurance Blog Topics That Get You Traffic – Part 1
Nov 21 2012 // This post is part of a series on insurance marketing and training sponsored by Astonish. Having a website without blogging is like putting up a billboard in the middle of nowhere. Doesn’t matter how cool the...
Mass. Independent Agents Have Over $1B Impact on State Economy: Report
Nov 19 2012 // Five years ago, Massachusetts introduced its “managed competition” program — and since then, there has been an influx of direct writing and direct response companies coming into Massachusetts and...
OneBeacon Cuts Ties with Hagerty Agencies, Selling Essentia to Markel
Nov 19 2012 // OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd. is selling its Essentia Insurance Co. unit to Markel Corp., according to company announcements. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in January...
Business Moves – Midwest
Nov 19 2012 // Arthur J. Gallagher, Coyle Insurance Agency, Unison Inc., Aires Consulting Group Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently announced acquisitions of three Midwest-based firms — Coyle Insurance Agency Inc., Unison Inc....
Business Moves – Southeast
Nov 19 2012 // Confie Seguros, ABRY Partners Confie Seguros has been acquired by Boston-based private equity firm ABRY Partners in a deal under which the rapidly expanding auto insurer focused on the U.S. Hispanic market says will help...
Calif. Broker Charged with Defrauding Tom Hanks, Ex-‘Police’ Musician
Nov 19 2012 // A Southern California insurance broker was arrested on allegations he overcharged Tom Hanks, musician ex-Police band member Andy Summers and others hundreds of thousands of dollars for insurance premiums. Broker Jerry B....
Former Oklahoma Insurance Agent Headed to Prison
Nov 19 2012 // Former Oklahoma insurance agent Marshall Virden has been sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding senior citizens in Wagoner County, the Oklahoma Insurance Department announced. The punishment comes after a lengthy...
Q&A With ELANY Executive Maher on Surplus-Lines Industry’s Resiliency
Nov 16 2012 // The Excess Line Association of New York (ELANY) plays a vital role for New York’s surplus-lines industry. The group, a non-profit advisory association created by the New York statute in 1988, is charged with the duty...
