Latest Agencies Headlines

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

Colorado Bill Gives Regulator Authority to Demand Insurance Compensation

May 9 2008 // Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has signed a bill that will allow the state Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), and its Division of Insurance the legal authority to demand that insurance companies or agents compensate...

New York Agents Want to Rein in State Workers’ Comp Insurer

May 9 2008 // A trade group for New York insurance agents wants to rewrite the laws governing the New York State Insurance Fund – a nonprofit state agency which is New York’s largest workers’ compensation insurer...

Execs Say More Can Be Done to Attract New Industry Talent

May 8 2008 // Young agents today face a number of challenges, including the soft market, a downturn in the economy and learning the skills necessary to become a profitable and successful agent, while the industry continues to struggle...

Top Agencies Have Strategies to Weather Soft Market

May 7 2008 // Insurance Journal readers were reminded by our recent coverage on how agents are faring in the recession that the effects of the economic downturn vary by agency and region. Some agencies and customers are feeling the...

Insurance Brokerage Barney & Barney Completes Merger with Saylor & Hill

May 7 2008 // Barney & Barney LLC, a San Diego-based insurance brokerage, has closed its merger with Saylor & Hill Co., an Oakland, Calif.-based brokerage. The combined companies will work together to provide insurance, risk...

Mass. Agents Take Aim at Progressive Online; Insurer Defends Site

May 6 2008 // Independent agents in Massachusetts have charged that Progressive Insurance, which began selling auto insurance online in the state May 1, is skirting state regulations and misleading consumers with its Web site quoting...

Willis Keen on China Growth

May 5 2008 // Willis Group Holdings Ltd, the world’s third-largest insurance broker, expects to maintain its annual revenue growth in the China market at at least 20 percent for the next five years and will increase its stake...

California Assembly Insurance Committee Passes Agent-Broker Bill

May 5 2008 // California’s Assembly Insurance Committee has passed Assembly Bill 2956 by a vote of 7-0, moving one step closer to codifying the traditional “totality of the circumstances” test for determining whether...

Insurance Agent, Educator Boggs Joins MyNewMarkets.com

May 5 2008 // MyNewMarkets.com, the Web site with a searchable online directory that brings together agents seeking property/casualty insurance markets with the market providers, is expanding its content to include in-depth analysis and...

Penn National Sells ESL Inc. Subsidiary to Atlantic Specialty Lines

May 5 2008 // Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based Penn National Insurance said it has completed the sale of its wholesale insurance brokerage subsidiary, ESL Inc., to Atlantic Specialty Lines of Pennsylvania for an undisclosed...

Main Street Insurance Agents Facing ‘Trojan Horses,’ Says Agent Leader

May 5 2008 // Main Street insurance agents are facing an onslaught with a number of “Trojan Horses” suddenly appearing, all designed to help their competitors win over market share. That is the assessment of the...

La. Suspends License, Fines Agent Accused of Pocketing Premiums

May 5 2008 // Jennifer Mason Hudspeth, a Lacombe, La., area insurance agent facing charges that she misappropriated insurance premiums has been served with a cease and desist order, summary suspension and a $5,000 fine notice for...

Mutuals and Stocks Behave Differently in Insurance Cycles

May 5 2008 // Difference is tied to how mutual insurers build market share, Conning researcher says When it comes to managing through a soft cycle, mutual companies behave in a way that is different than their stock-owned brethren,...

People

May 5 2008 // Patrick G. Ryan, founder and executive chairman Aon Corp., said he intends to retire Aug. 1, 2008. Ryan said the firm’s transition to a new management team under CEO Greg Case is complete. Ryan founded Aon, which has...

Match-making: What Retail Agents Want From Wholesalers and MGAs

May 5 2008 // Exclusive Insurance Journal survey: successful relationships depend on markets and service in soft or hard cycle Like the love-lorn users of match.com, independent agents hunting for business partners among surplus lines...

Industry Progressing With Real Time Technology and Downloads

May 5 2008 // Independent agents and carriers see gains — in some cases doubling — in real time transactions Just one year into the making, supporters of the Real Time/Download Campaign (www.getrealtime.org), a campaign to improve...

People

May 5 2008 // Charlotte, N.C.-based wholesale insurance broker AmWINS Group, Inc. has named James Drinkwater president of its AmWINS Brokerage division. Drinkwater will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the division. Prior...

People

May 5 2008 // Grange Mutual Casualty Co. announced that Randy Montelone will retire at year end after 29 years of service with the company. Tom Welch, current president of Grange Life Insurance Co., a Grange subsidiary, assumes the role...

How to Successfully Market yourself as a Car Insurance Agent

May 2 2008 // Becoming a successful car insurance agent has a lot to do with the marketing plan that you have in place. If this is something that you take seriously, you will find that your business is growing at a higher pace than ever...

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires N.J. Employee Benefit Broker RSI

May 2 2008 // Insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reports it has acquired RSI of Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1980, RSI offers employee benefit consulting and brokerage...