Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
News Currents
May 21 2007 // Miss. producers go the extra mile for their community Meridian agents find time for defending their community’s economy, culture and architecture While many independent agents make it a point to become involved in...
Agents young and old can benefit from bridging the age gap
May 21 2007 // When many young agents first start working in the insurance industry, they believe success is about making money. While they may focus on developing strategies to reach out to clients, they often do so with the goal to...
Declarations
May 21 2007 // Declarations Furious pace “Despite the well-known vulnerability to hurricanes and rapidly escalating property values, coastal development in vulnerable areas continues at a furious pace. Adding billions of dollars in...
May 21 2007 // People Patricia Smith has joined InsurBanc, a financial services provider for independent insurance agencies, as vice president of sales and business development. Smith will focus on the needs of independent agencies and...
News Currents
May 21 2007 // Agents advised: fundamental shift in compensation coming Contingent commissions for agents and brokers should be watched by regulators but these profit-sharing arrangements do not necessarily have to be eliminated,...
Claims against insurance agents and brokers: Timing is everything
May 21 2007 // In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many insurance agents and brokers in Louisiana and Mississippi and, to some extent, in Texas have found themselves being sued for allegedly failing to advise their customers...
People
May 21 2007 // Liberty Northwest, a member of Liberty Mutual Group based in Portland, Ore., appointed Larry W. Becker president and chief operating officer. Becker most recently was executive vice president, sales and marketing for...
Agents young and old can benefit from bridging the age gap
May 21 2007 // When many young insurance agents first start working in the insurance industry, they believe success is about making money. While they may focus on developing strategies to reach out to clients, they often do so with the...
Where have all the underwriters gone?
May 21 2007 // The commercial insurance industry is not what it was 20 years ago. Clients present deeper risks and greater needs for cost control, and large brokerage houses and carriers are being challenged to respond. But the challenge...
‘Big 3’ brokers still feeling effects of Spitzer attack, Standard & Poor’s says
May 21 2007 // The October 2004 attack by then New York Attorney General, now Governor, Eliot Spitzer against bid rigging and contingent commissions generated significant losses, both in income and competitiveness, for the world’s...
Reduce client services to better compete
May 21 2007 // Customer loyalty, in insurance and elsewhere, is an oxymoron. Buyers shift allegiances faster than a [reader: fill in your own metaphor]. Still, even in these increasingly cutthroat times, most property/casualty agencies...
Tough products don’t need to be an underwriting challenge
May 21 2007 // To view the “How to Write Insuring Tough Products Liability Accounts” seminar or any of the seminars in the “How to Write” Series, visit: www.insurancejournal.com/seminars for a link to free...
Swett & Crawford CEO says softening market doesn’t leave out E&S market as an option
May 21 2007 // Whether the market is “soft” or “softening” doesn’t make a difference. There’s still a place for the excess and surplus lines broker in the mix, says Neal Abernathy, CEO of Swett and...
Agent leader renews vow to defend incentive pay
May 21 2007 // The leader of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America has promised agents his group will vigorously defend incentive pay and contingent commissions that have come in for criticism by some attorneys...
News Currents
May 21 2007 // Willis rejects insurers’ alternatives for contingent commissions After a review of the supplemental compensation plans recently proposed in the marketplace by certain carriers, Willis Group Holdings reported that it...
People
May 21 2007 // McQueary Henry Bowles Troy named Senior Vice President Brad Van Stavern to lead the new property/casualty practice in its Austin office. Van Stavern brings experience in the health care industry, where he held positions...
The rest of the story: directors and officers coverage for independents
May 21 2007 // The historic out-of-pocket payments made in recent years by independent directors of publicly traded firms are enough to instill fear in board members everywhere, not to mention their insurance brokers. But is the fear...
Agents Using ‘Real Time’ Really Save Time, IVANS Survey Says
May 21 2007 // Agents using industry-standard real-time solutions offered by their carriers claim time savings of more than 50 percent when processing transactions such as quoting, billing and claim inquiries, loss runs, and policy...
D.C. Places Risk Retention Group, Cabina-America, Under Restrictions
May 21 2007 // Risk retention group Cabina-America, whch was licensed in April 2006, has been placed under restrictive order by Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking...
Agents young and old can benefit from bridging the age gap
May 21 2007 // When many young insurance agents first start working in the insurance industry, they believe success is about making money. While they may focus on developing strategies to reach out to clients, they often do so with the...
