Latest Agencies Headlines

Even Best Practices Agencies Struggle To Grow in Soft Market

Nov 30 2008 // Revenue Growth Proves Challenge; Hiring New Producers Remains Priority The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (the Big “I”) recently released its annual Best Practices Study. The independent...

Former Agent Ends His Second Career as Florida Gators’ ‘Two Bits’ Cheerleader

Nov 30 2008 // After more than 50 years of urging on Florida football fans, one the Gators most enthusiastic supporters is retiring. George E. Edmondson Jr., a retired insurance agent who is known to UF fans as Mr. Two-Bits, says...

Nov 30 2008 // Peter Lauve, of Abilene, Texas, has been named president of Texas-based Insurors Group. As Insurors Group president, Lauve, also a partner with CBS Insurance located in Abilene, will lead a network of Texas agents that...

Wanted: Agencies Focusing on Hispanic Market

Nov 30 2008 // Texas on the List of States for Agency Acquisitions by Consolidators Behind Confie Seguros The brains behind the insurance agency consolidation firm Confie Seguros say they are well-positioned to meet their goal of a $300...

A Good Win in North Carolina for Experience

Nov 30 2008 // New Chief Plans a Blog, Statewide Agent Meetings and a Solution for Coastal Property Owners and Insurers On Nov. 4, Democrat Wayne Goodwin won election as North Carolina Insurance Commissioner with 52 percent of the vote,...

The Importance of Being Earnest

Nov 30 2008 // Insurance Agency Profile Agency Name: SullivanCurtisMonroe Headquarters: Irvine, Calif. Year Founded: 1931 Additional Locations: Corona and Pasadena, Calif. Total Property/Casualty Premium Volume for 2007: $186.6...

What the 2008 Election Means for Independent Agents

Nov 30 2008 // With incoming President-elect Barack Obama and major increases in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, the Democrats will now control both chambers of Congress and the White House. The changing of the...

Program Market’s ‘Best in Class’

Nov 30 2008 // Four Program Administrators Join the Ranks of Best Practices Organizations Just two years ago the Target Markets Program Administrators Association launched the TMPAA Best Practice designation as a way to encourage members...

Welcome to Encryption Nation

Nov 30 2008 // Stop putting passwords on sticky notes, require passwords for desktops and encrypt all backups. For those that haven’t done so already, insurance agents and agencies are going to have to get smart about encryption...

Steady Habits Make for a Stable Market

Nov 30 2008 // Regulator Says Nutmeg State Will Take AIG and Catastrophe Problems in Stride Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan considers himself something of an insider when it comes to the insurance industry –...

People

Nov 30 2008 // The Insurance Marketing and Communications Association (IMCA) named Richard Look as president. He is a marketing communications veteran with both agency and insurance company experience, and currently serves as vice...

Former Insurance Agent, Florida’s ‘Mr. Two-Bits’ Retires His Cheer

Nov 26 2008 // After more than 50 years of urging on Florida football fans, one the Gators most enthusiastic supporters is retiring. George E. Edmondson Jr., a retired insurance agent who is known to UF fans as Mr. Two-Bits, says...

Safeco, Montgomery Insurance Unveil Southeast Regional Operations

Nov 25 2008 // The effects on the Southeast of Liberty Mutual’s acquisition of Safeco Insurance became clearer as the insurer announced its regional line-up of companies and personnel. Montgomery Insurance and Safeco are part of...

Wholesale Broker Advanced E & S Group Acquires Florida’s Symons

Nov 24 2008 // Hollywood, Florida-based insurance wholesale broker Advanced E & S Group has acquired Symons International Group of Boca Raton and merged it into its Florida operation. Symons is a wholesale broker and underwriting...

Willis’ Faber Unit Consolidates Fine Art, Jewelery, Specie, K&R, Bloodstock

Nov 21 2008 // Faber & Dumas, the newly formed third-party wholesale brokerage division of Willis Group Holdings, announced that three additional Willis specialty businesses – Fine Art, Jewelry & Specie (FAJS), Special...

Louisiana Agent Charged with Pocketing Fraudulent Commissions

Nov 20 2008 // A Baton Rouge, La., insurance agent has been arrested, issued a cease and desist order, a notice of license revocation and a fine for insurance fraud, theft and forgery. The Louisiana Department of Insurance alleges...

RJF Agencies’ Fleming Named to Board of Directors for Agents’ Council

Nov 20 2008 // Tim Fleming, president of RJF Agencies, has been named to a three-year term on the board of directors of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), a trade association representing domestic and international...

Safeco and Colorado Casualty Announce New Mountain Region Operations

Nov 19 2008 // Safeco Insurance and Colorado Casualty, both Liberty Mutual Agency Markets companies, announced key management appointments to lead their respective personal and commercial lines operations in their Mountain...

Has the Declining Economy and Soft Market Affected Your Marketing Plans for 2009?

Nov 19 2008 // Beacon Marketing – “Helping to guide your prospecting needs to new destinations” Orange, CA – November 19, 2008: With the current economic conditions, a lot of agencies have had to reduce and/or cut...

Willis China Launches Single Broker Retail OfficesTechnology Platform

Nov 18 2008 // Willis Group Holdings has launched a single broking technology platform for its 20 retail offices across China and has established a new operations center in Shanghai. Willis said the initiatives would “further drive...