Latest Agencies Headlines

Understanding D&O risks, exposures and insurance options

Sep 25 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...

Survey: young agents value rates, technology, products from insurers

Sep 25 2006 // The five most important things carriers can offer independent insurance agencies are: competitive rates; technology that helps them more easily write business and service customers; a variety of markets and products;...

Agency growth and performance study reveals higher productivity

Sep 25 2006 // The latest edition of the Growth and Performance Standards (GPS) study by the Austin, Texas-based National Alliance Research Academy has just been released, giving the insurance industry some new benchmarks for comparing...

STATES TRY TO STRENGTHEN FLOOD INSURANCE TRAINING FOR AGENTS

Sep 25 2006 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has adopted a model bulletin regarding training requirements for insurance producers who offer policies through the National Flood Insurance Program. This effort relates...

Sep 25 2006 // People Miami insurance agent Alex Soto has been inaugurated as the new president of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”), with Robert E. Fulwider assuming the office of...

Texas agents urge legislators to address windstorm problems

Sep 25 2006 // The Texas Legislature’s Texas Joint Committee on Wind-storm Coverage and Budgetary Impact held a public hearing in Corpus Christi in late August, and two of the state’s agent associations–the Independent...

Aon freed to accept contingent pay when serving as managing general agents

Sep 25 2006 // Aon Corporation said it has obtained agreement from five agencies in three states to amend its settlement agreements so that it can accept contingent compensation from an insurer for which Aon is acting as a general agent...

Sep 25 2006 // People San Antonio, Texas-based Southwest Business Corporation announced that Nick Grant has joined SWBC as the chief executive officer of the Property and Casualty Division in the San Antonio office. Grant is responsible...

Both employers and employees benefit from investment in learning

Sep 25 2006 // Insurance is one of the fastest changing, most regulated industries in America. That very nature insists that those who want to excel in their current responsibilities and pursue their career goals must include education...

Virginia broker goes green: first ‘carbon neutral footprint’

Sep 25 2006 // Rutherfoord, a Roanoke, Va., insurance broker, says it is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and has become the first in the U.S. insurance industry to establish a carbon neutral footprint in response to...

News Currents

Sep 25 2006 // Agency growth and performance study reveals higher productivity The latest edition of the Growth and Performance Standards (GPS) study by the Austin, Texas-based National Alliance Research Academy has just been released,...

When insuring international trade, expect the world

Sep 25 2006 // Think how few things any of us wears, uses or drives that are wholly made in the USA, and that provides a sense of the magnitude of international trade. International trade also is no longer the domain of global giants...

People

Sep 25 2006 // Miami insurance agent Alex Soto has been inaugurated as the new president of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”), with Robert E. Fulwider and C. Brett Nilsson assuming the...

Western Security Offers Market, 17.5 Percent Commission

Sep 25 2006 // Pasadena, Calif.-based Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers Inc. has added a new admitted market for California agents and brokers, and has raised its commission 17.5 percent on all accounts bound with Great Divide...

Advisory Group Expands Valuation Service for Agents, Insurers

Sep 22 2006 // Wheaton, Ill.-based The American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) announced this week that it is expanding the availability of property valuation services provided by e2Value, Inc. to insurers that use the...

Conn. Agents: Coastal Markets Tough But Insureds Getting Coverage

Sep 22 2006 // About three-quarters of the 21 agents writing Connecticut coastal business say homeowners insurance markets are either “worse” (43 percent) or “much worse” (33 percent) compared to one year...

MGAs Urge Congress to Pass Surplus Lines Reform Bill

Sep 22 2006 // The American Association of Managing General Agents is asking Congressman John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, and Congressman John Conyers, D-Mich., to place the Non-Admitted & Reinsurance Reform Act of 2006, HR 5637, on the...

Wolf Professional Risk Enters Professional Liability Market

Sep 21 2006 // Tampa, Fla.-based Wolf Professional Risk Inc., a wholesale brokerage firm, will begin offering services within the professional liability marketplace. The firm will initially focus on products that provide coverage for...

UK’s FSA Warns on Sales of Invalid Auto Policies

Sep 21 2006 // The UK’s Financial Services Authority has issued a bulletin, urging consumers “that have bought motor insurance from a company called Double Easy Brokers Ltd. (trading as Eeasybrokers) to arrange valid motor...

PIANY Elects Oneida Agent Dickson as President

Sep 21 2006 // The Professional Insurance Agents of New York State Inc. has been elected officers for the 2006-2007 administrative year. David Dickson of Fairport, N.Y. was elected president. He is a member of Bailey, Haskell and LaLonde...