Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Agents Beware: Due Diligence is Now Required on Brokers
Apr 4 2005 // Transactions between retail agents and brokers they place business through just became more labor intensive. I recently testified as an expert in a federal case involving a reputable agency’s failure to conduct...
Spitzer’s Complaint Outlines Aon’s Personal Lines Deals with Insurers
Apr 4 2005 // The recent $190 million settlement between the world’s second largest insurance broker, Aon, and officials in three states sheds light on how, as New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and other public officials...
South Central Homeowners Market Update
Apr 4 2005 // Judging from the homeowners insurance rate changes reported by the Arkansas Insurance Department for 2004, the highest increases were effective before August. The largest hike, 28.3 percent, was filed by Federal Insurance...
TDI February Enforcement Actions = $1.3 M in Fines and Restitution
Apr 4 2005 // The Texas Department of Insurance recently announced enforcement actions taken by Commissioner José Montemayor that became final during February. The actions include four license revocations, one license denial, and fines...
Texas Independent Agents Seek Fairness in Consumer Protection Statutes
Apr 4 2005 // Agents are treated unfairly by Texas statutes and the result is sky-rocketing errors and omissions insurance premiums, according to the Indepen-dent Insurance Agents of Texas. When rates in the E&O insurance program...
Keeping Retention Rates High in a Softening Market
Apr 4 2005 // The success or failure of any organization can be traced to customer retention. Agents and carriers who retain the most customers have greater long-term success and profitability than those who consistently lose...
IBA West President Discusses Broker Disclosure, Work Comp Issues
Apr 4 2005 // Mark Wells, publisher of Insurance Journal, recently spoke to Stan Simpson, the newly elected president of the Insurance Agents and Brokers of the West and a principal at Buckman-Mitchell Inc., an independent agency in...
Homeowners Moving to the West Coast
Apr 4 2005 // Whether your client owns a multi-million dollar home overlooking the Pacific Ocean or a small bungalow tucked away a mile from the beach, it is your responsibility to find the right homeowners insurance coverage that will...
Help Your Clients by Becoming a Small Business Advocate
Apr 4 2005 // One of the great things about being a commercial lines insurance agent is that you get to meet people and learn a little bit about a lot of businesses. This knowledge puts insurance agents in a unique position to represent...
Adjusters can Detect the Problem of Underinsurance Before Disaster Strikes
Apr 4 2005 // In the aftermath of the devastating Southern California wildfires of October 2003, claim adjusters went to work in an area where an estimated 3,631 structures were destroyed. In many cases the only remaining indication of...
Lake Charles Agent Told to Cease and Desist
Apr 1 2005 // A Lake Charles, La., insurance agent (producer) was arrested and issued a cease and desist order, along with a summary suspension of his license, on charges of submitting fraudulent damage repair claims and pocketing the...
Downgrade of Calif. Auto Company Results from Reinsurance Broker Error
Apr 1 2005 // Effective immediately, AM Best has downgraded Workmen’s Auto Insurance Company from a B++ to a B(u), citing the company’s drop in surplus as the main reason for the downgrade. The company has filed a lawsuit...
CIAB Wins Countersignature Lawsuit in Puerto Rico
Apr 1 2005 // The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, the trade association that represents the nation’s largest commercial P/C and benefits brokers, announced the successful outcome of its lawsuit in Puerto Rico to strike...
Alliance Opposes Legislation Resurrecting CDI Proposed Agent-Broker Fiduciary Regulations
Apr 1 2005 // Reacting to recent amendments made to SB 938 (Dunn) at the behest of Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, the American Agents Alliance has announced that its fight over imposition of unfair regulations for which...
Ind.-Based Leisure/Sports Specialty Broker Launched
Mar 31 2005 // announced its official entry into business with the opening of its corporate headquarters in Fort Wayne, Ind. LSS said in a statement that it has an exclusive insurance relationship with niche property/casualty carrier...
Cornerstone Preferred Joins United Agencies
Mar 30 2005 // Thomas E. Hays, chairman of the board for Pasadena, California-based United Agencies announced that effective immediately, Cornerstone Preferred Insurance Services has joined the United Agencies group and will be housed in...
AIG Launches Real Estate Solutions Unit
Mar 28 2005 // The Domestic Brokerage Group of the AIG Companies announced the formation of AIG Real Estate Solutions, a consolidated unit dedicated to serving the insurance and risk management needs of the real estate sector, including...
SECURA to Unveil Farm Rating Program for Agents
Mar 28 2005 // Appleton, Wis.-based SECURA Insurance Cos. announced that it will soon introduce a desktop farm rating software program for its agents. The program, called AgRate, will be downloaded through its Web site. Agents will...
Insurers Consider NAIC Broker Compensation Disclosure Amendment Overbroad
Mar 28 2005 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) said it has sent a letter to NAIC President Diane Koken, who also serves as chair of the executive task force on broker activities, to reaffirm its view of the...
Bank Insurance Brokerage Fee Income Jumps 22% to Record $3.6 Billion
Mar 28 2005 // Banks increased their 2004 insurance brokerage fee income by 22.2 percent from $2.97 billion in 2003 to a record $3.63 billion earned in 2004, according to Michael White’s 2004 Year-End Bank Insurance &...
