Latest Agencies Headlines

Nov 5 2006 // People The Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina announced the election of Kathy Lance of The L.N. Davis Co. in Waynesville, as its new president. Lance, the first female to hold the office, has been a member of...

Flying solo now, former Zurich executive ‘gooses ‘ agents

Nov 5 2006 // A retired insurance industry executive turned turbo-charged motivational 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...

E. coli expedites need for recall and business interruption coverage

Nov 5 2006 // On Sept. 13, epidemiologists in New Mexico, Wisconsin and Oregon began discussing a cluster of E. coli infections and warned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they suspected fresh-bagged spinach as the...

People

Nov 5 2006 // Chris Hughes, with Swingle, Collins & Associates, is the new president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas. Swingle Collins reported that Hughes joins officer ranks with firm president, Frank Swingle, whose...

News Currents

Nov 5 2006 // IIABA president: contingency commission crisis threatens agents For a small to mid-size independent insurance agency, contingency commissions can determine whether the business survives, according to many in the...

The virtual, global economy humbles insurance leaders

Nov 5 2006 // Insurance agents and executives have a lot to worry about as the fast-paced virtual economy takes hold. According to futurist Edie Weiner, they are right to be worried. She says there are a lot of risks ahead and given the...

Survey: Commercial market softens, insurer appetite increases

Nov 5 2006 // The commercial property/casualty market continued to soften during the third quarter, with indications that some insurers are finding an appetite for business in which they previously were not interested, according to the...

People

Nov 5 2006 // Tom Rodell, resident managing director of Aon Risk Services of San Francisco, was named the 2007 chairman of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers. He is the first person to serve twice in the position. He...

Ease of doing business can make the strategic ‘profit’ differential

Nov 5 2006 // Let’s start with three basic ideas about property/casualty insurance distributed through independent agents and brokers — a sector with more than $200 billion in written premium annually. 1) P/C insurance...

U.S. legal precedents assume larger role in corporate oversight

Nov 5 2006 // Maybe it’s part of the globalization process; maybe it’s due to the increasing sophistication of private investors and fund managers, or maybe it’s the legal profession prospecting for additional income...

Social services agencies need extra care and an agent’s helping hand

Nov 5 2006 // Few independent agents recognize that they can make profits from not-for-profit organizations, says Dan Mogelnicki, president of Manhasset, N.Y.-based NIF Underwriting Facilities, a program administrator and wholesale...

Everything old (or hot, modified, exotic, muscle, etc.) is valuable again

Nov 5 2006 // Insurance producers, follow the money. It’s going into collector vehicles of all makes, models and years. Here are three facts to illustrate. 1) Collectors spend money — lots of it — to buy and restore...

Calif. Commissioner Reaches Settlement with UnumProvident

Nov 3 2006 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has reached a settlement with UnumProvident Corp., Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company, and Unum Life Insurance Company of America to ensure that all compensation...

Disability Insurer Signs ‘Model’ Pact With Spitzer Over Commissions

Nov 3 2006 // UnumProvident Corp. disability insurance company has ended what New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer called deceptive practices and secret payments to brokers, according to a $15.5 million settlement announced this...

Farmers Dedicates Campus in Agoura Hills, Calif.

Nov 2 2006 // Farmers Insurance Group plans to dedicate a new, 120,000-square-foot agent, claims, leadership and management training facility — The University of Farmers — at a ribbon cutting ceremony to be held at 10:45 a.m., Nov....

Agents Should be Unaffected by Pending Sale of Merchants Group

Nov 2 2006 // Merchants Group, Inc. in Buffalo, N.Y., which sells property casualty insurance through Merchants Insurance Co. of New Hampshire, has agreed to be bought by American European Group, Inc, a private insurance holding...

La. Agent Arrested, Charged with Forgery and Fraud

Nov 1 2006 // A Rayville, La., insurance agent was shut down on charges of fraud and misappropriation of funds, Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon announced. Tracy E. Antley, 44, was ordered to cease and desist from...

Amory, Miss. Agent Surrenders License

Nov 1 2006 // Following an investigation into claims that he violated several sections of the Mississippi Insurance Code, Philip Minga of Amory, Miss., voluntarily surrendered his insurance license, according to officials. Commissioner...

IIAT Survey Finds Texas Coastal Insurance Market Tighter; More Costly

Oct 31 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...

HUD Charges Erie, Agents with Unfair Bias; Erie Calls Charges ‘Misguided’

Oct 30 2006 // The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has charged Erie Insurance Group and five independent insurance agencies with violating the Fair Housing Act. HUD alleges that they provided inferior insurance products...