Latest Agencies Headlines

All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Dunn Elected President of ASCnet

Oct 24 2004 // The Applied Systems Client Network (ASCnet), the user group for Applied Systems agency management technology, announced the election of Robert “Robby” E. Dunn III, vice president and agency manager of Hotchkiss...

Progressive Now Offering Commercial Auto in N.H.

Oct 22 2004 // As previously reported by Insurance Journal, The Progressive group of companies has begun offering commercial auto coverages in New Hampshire through more than 200 agents. The product is being marketing under its new Drive...

PIA Western Alliance Releases Statement on New York Insurance Scandal

Oct 22 2004 // Like most insurance associations, the PIA Western Alliance—consisting of four affiliate chapters covering eight western states—is in shock over the news of a lawsuit filed against the nation’s largest insurance...

Lockton Insurance Brokers Announces New VP

Oct 22 2004 // Lockton Insurance Brokers Inc., a commercial insurance brokerage firm with offices in Irvine and downtown Los Angeles, recently announced Mark Carlin as executive vice president. Carlin is widely recognized as a leading...

Cox Acquires J. McWhirter (Insurance Brokers) Ltd.

Oct 22 2004 // The U.K.’s Cox Insurance Holdings Plc announced that it has acquired the entire issued share capital of J. McWhirter (Insurance Brokers) Ltd. (JMW), a Northern Ireland broking business for a total cash consideration...

InVEST Notes Teacher, Volunteer Award Winners

Oct 22 2004 // InVEST, an education program that promotes insurance education in order to attract individuals to pursue employment in the industry, announced the 2004 Teacher of the Year and Dach Award winners. The InVEST Board of...

S&P Says Insurance Brokers Have Resources to Manage Through Current Crisis

Oct 22 2004 // Standard & Poor’s said today it believes the three major brokers on which it has commented since bid-rigging and account steering charges have rocked the industry have the “resources to manage through...

S&P Revises Overall P&C Outlook to Negative

Oct 22 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on the U.S. property/casualty commercial lines sector to negative from stable. “The outlook revision follows allegations of widespread misconduct...

Schall Joins Heath Insurance Brokers

Oct 22 2004 // Dallas-based Heath Insurance Brokers announced that Katherine Schall has joined its Sacramento, Calif. office as a broker. She will be responsible for marketing and producing commercial property/casualty accounts. Prior to...

PCI Says Industry Unfairly Painted in Light of Alleged Illegal Practices

Oct 22 2004 // As more companies and more names pop up in the ongoing insurance industry investigation involving reported illegal practices in the commercial lines market, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America’s (PCI)...

Alliance Responds to Proposed Disclosure Regulations

Oct 22 2004 // Following the notice of proposed new disclosure regulations by insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, the American Agents Alliance has released a statement regarding its position on the Commissioner’s...

Rockwood Expands E&O Program for P&C Agents

Oct 21 2004 // Rockwood Programs has finalized negotiations with multiple insurance carriers and Lloyds Syndicates to expand its existing Errors & Omissions program for property and casualty agents. This program was designed to...

Willis Abolishes Contingency Pacts; Sees Opportunity in New ‘Level Playing’ Field Among Insurance Brokers

Oct 21 2004 // Willis Group Holdings announced it is abolishing controversial contingency agreements with insurance carriers immediately in North America and as soon as possible in the rest of the world where it operates. Joseph Plumeri,...

Former Ore. Agent Pleads Guilty to Corpse Abuse in Indian Grave Robbing

Oct 21 2004 // Former insurance agent Jack Harelson pleaded guilty Tuesday to abusing the mummified corpses of two Indian children that police found in his garden, where he had hidden them after digging up their ancient graves in the...

Evaluating Overcharges: Should Your Company Pursue Claims Against Brokers and Carriers’

Oct 20 2004 // Editor’s note: This is a commentary piece submitted by David E. Wood of the law firm Wood & Bender. The recent suit by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer alleging price-fixing and deceptive practices by...

Garamendi Unveils Proposal to Protect Consumers from Undisclosed Commissions

Oct 20 2004 // Calling secret broker commissions a “serious problem that betrays the public’s trust,” California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced new regulations on Oct. 20 to require agents and brokers...

Q3 Commercial P/C Premiums Continue Fall

Oct 20 2004 // Commercial property/casualty insurance premiums continued to decline significantly during the third quarter of this year, with two-thirds of all large and medium accounts experiencing drops of up to 20 percent and an...

Spitzer Invites Health Insurer into Expanding Broker Compensation Probe

Oct 19 2004 // After going after a number of big property/casualty and life insurers, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer appears to have UnumProvident Corporation on his radar screen too. UnumProvident Corporation (NYSE: UNM) today...

WFG Capital Advisors: Agency Consolidation Gaining Momentum; Outlook Remains Cloudy

Oct 19 2004 // WFG Capital Advisors, an investment banking firm specializing in the insurance industry, announced on Tuesday that agency consolidation will likely achieve record results for 2004 but the outlook for 2005 remains...

Impact of Spitzer Broker Fraud Charges Felt at Marsh and Beyond

Oct 18 2004 // New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s filing last Thursday of charges against giant insurance broker Marsh for alleged commercial account steering and bid rigging has already had significant impact on Marsh and...