Latest Agencies Headlines

10 N.Y. agents protest incidents as red flags

Nov 19 2006 // Should mere incidents affect pricing? 10 Laptop stolen from broker HRH deals with lost data on Villanova N1 Employee crime: big threat to small firms More than one in three firms experience theft N1 Commercial premiums...

Nov 19 2006 // People Greg Thompson, president and chief executive officer of Thomco, is the new president of the Target Markets Program Administrators Association, a national organization serving program managers. Thomco, headquartered...

Understanding D&O risks, exposures and insurance options

Nov 19 2006 // What do a parent advisory board, parish council, the United Way and local athletic club have in common? They are all nonprofit organizations. Most people serving on the board of such organizations are volunteers who...

Okla. agent charged with embezzlement

Nov 19 2006 // The owner of a Locust Grove, Okla., insurance agency has been accused of illegally taking almost $6,500 in insurance premium payments, according to Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson. Leslie Lewis Kern was charged...

IIAT survey finds coastal insurance market tighter; more expensive

Nov 19 2006 // Property insurance along the Texas coast is getting harder to find plus premiums and deductibles are increasing, according to results from a survey of independent insurance agents. Respondents are members of the...

Nov 19 2006 // People Tony Boyd joined Dallas-based McQueary Henry Bowles Troy L.L.P. as a sales professional in Personal Insurance Professionals, a division of MHBT that serves personal lines clients. Prior to joining MHBT, he was...

Flying solo now, former Zurich exec ‘gooses’ independent agents

Nov 19 2006 // A retired insurance industry executive turned turbo-charged speaker told a group of independent insurance agents that they are the greediest people he has ever met. Ray Thomas, a former Zurich North America Small Business...

Editor’s Note: Your vote still counts

Nov 19 2006 // The final votes from November’s midterm elections may have been tallied, yet the real political campaigning should be just about ready to begin. As expected, elections changed key roles in in the House and Senate...

Declarations

Nov 19 2006 // Soundly defeated “We’ve learned that we need not fear voters won’t understand the benefits of credit scoring and will respond on basis of their own interests. I think we had a fairly good idea that we...

People, partnerships lead to nearly a century of success

Nov 19 2006 // Good people can make or break a company. In San Diego-based Barney & Barney’s case, it’s clearly made it; the company has been in business for nearly a century, thanks to people who have invested their...

News Currents

Nov 19 2006 // Calif. associations take issue with broker definition, OAL to weigh in The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has decided to accept a petition filed by Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West (IBA West)...

IIABA president: contingency commission crisis threatens agents

Nov 19 2006 // For a small- to mid-sized independent insurance agency, contingency commissions can determine whether the business survives, according to many within the industry. That explains why Alex Soto, a Miami agent who is also...

Democratic Congress OK for industry traditionally tied to Republicans

Nov 19 2006 // News Currents The new Congress may be blue on Capitol Hill, but insiders say that’s not necessarily a bad color for the insurance industry. “The more things change, the more they may remain pretty much the...

The Locomotive That Drive the Insurance Train

Nov 19 2006 // The insurance industry’s excess and surplus lines (E&S) sector has experienced a pronounced reversal of position in the last 20 years. Once considered a mere adjunct, a safety valve for risks that were too hard...

Improving efficiency and valuation through automation and outsourcing

Nov 19 2006 // Revenue growth, the quality of a book of business, the caliber of producers, strategic drivers and the overall level of client service — these are the typical considerations that affect an agency’s...

Not your father’s wholesaler

Nov 19 2006 // Much is said about retail agents having to change with the times and stand out from the crowd to survive. But what about wholesalers? Wholesale brokers are also trying to differentiate themselves, hoping retail agents will...

Where are all the young guns?

Nov 19 2006 // Look around you. Take a long look at the folks in your agency or company. And then break out your calculator. What is the average age of your employees or colleagues? What percent of your firm’s workforce were...

Indiana Insurance Named ‘Insurer of the Year’ by Independent Agents

Nov 17 2006 // Loveland, Ohio-based Indiana Insurance, a member of Liberty Mutual Group, has been named the 2006 Indiana Insurance Company of the Year by the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana (IIAI). The recognition came during the...

Judge Allows Miss. Suit Against Agent for Lapsed Flood Policy

Nov 17 2006 // A federal judge has ruled that a Gulf Coast couple can sue their insurance agent for negligence after he allegedly allowed their flood insurance policy to lapse only days before Hurricane Katrina wrecked their...

Conn. Agents Told to Brace for Bill to Ban Contingent Pay

Nov 17 2006 // Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Susan Cogswell has warned independent agents in her state that they should expect to see legislation to restrict or wipe out their contingent commissions. She said that legislation should...