Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Start-Up Stories: How New Agencies Are Competing
Feb 8 2009 // A Crop of Newly-Formed Agencies Is Defying the Hard Economy and Soft Market The independent insurance agency system is enjoying a resurgence. For years, the number of agencies in the country had been declining but that...
America First Appoints Stricklen to Head Farm & Ranch Division
Feb 5 2009 // America First Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company based in Richardson, Texas, has appointed Stephen Stricklen to assistant vice president, Specialty Products. In this position Stricklen will manage...
Farm Bureau County Mutual Insurance Company of Texas Downgraded
Feb 5 2009 // A.M. Best Co. announced it has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A- (Excellent) from A+ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a-” from “aa-” of Farm Bureau County Mutual...
Salmonella Outbreak Exposes Gaps in Peanut Product Inspection Process
Jan 30 2009 // Food regulators didn’t consider salmonella a threat to most peanut products before they traced an outbreak to a peanut butter plant in Georgia two years ago. Officials in the nation’s top peanut-producing state...
People
Jan 25 2009 // American International Group Inc. (AIG) named Russell Johnston president and CEO of AIG Environmental, a unit of AIG Commercial Insurance. Johnston joined AIG in 1990 serving in senior management positions within...
London’s Reach Bolsters U.S. Specialty Lines
Jan 25 2009 // Insurers Catlin, Beazley, Amlin, Hiscox and Newcomer Torus Find Their Niche in U.S. Market Find a need, then fill it,” is a hoary business principle, but making it work is often harder than it looks. However, a...
Blaze at Western New York Farm Causes $2M in Damage
Jan 23 2009 // Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed two barns at a western New York farm, causing about $2 million in damage. The fire broke out about 3 a.m. Monday at McCormick Farms in the Wyoming County...
Ironshore Creates U.S. P/C Operation Run By Former AIG Execs
Jan 22 2009 // Ironshore Inc. has appointed Steven England as executive vice president responsible for running its newly created U.S. Property/ Casualty underwriting operations based in St. Louis, Missouri. The new unit, Ironshore...
Oregon Nursery Damage Put at $18 Million to $31 Million
Jan 12 2009 // Damage estimates to Oregon’s nursery stock industry from late December storms suffered by 160 growers in 12 counties range from $18 million to $31 million in a survey conducted by the Oregon Association of...
People
Jan 11 2009 // Jacksonville, Fla.-based Harden & Associates has added Chris Huber as a Commercial Insurance account director. Harden & Associates also named Kathryn McKenna as a Personal Insurance account director. Prior to...
Swiss Re Analyzes Benefits of ‘Sustainable Agricultural Insurance’
Jan 9 2009 // “Agricultural insurance plays an important role in stimulating investment in agriculture and in stabilizing farmers’ income,” concludes a recently issued report from Swiss Re. The report, “Setting...
President Provides Federal Aid for Hawaii Storms
Jan 7 2009 // President George W. Bush has declared Oahu and Kauai disaster areas, an action that provides federal aid to individuals and businesses, and for repair of public facilities damaged by mid-December storms. The aid does not...
North Carolina Insurance Agent Arrested on Embezzlement Charges
Dec 23 2008 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long reports that Kenneth Rick Morrow of Marion, a licensed insurance agent, was arrested last week and charged with nine counts of embezzlement, nine counts of obtaining property...
Dunmoyer to Lead State Government Affairs for Farmers, Zurich in U.S.
Dec 19 2008 // Farmers Insurance Groups of Companies and Zurich Financial Services announced Dan Dunmoyer, who recently served as chief cabinet secretary and deputy chief of staff for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, has...
Farmers Insurance Throws Pass to California’s Roosevelt High School
Dec 19 2008 // It might have been a serious impediment to completing this year’s football season but Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, working closely with State Senator Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), was able to provide an...
Farmers Insurance Claims California County Contributed to Wildfire Damage
Dec 19 2008 // The giant Farmers Insurance Group blames Santa Cruz County for contributing to the spread of the summertime Trabing wildfire, which destroyed dozens of homes. Farmers filed $3 million worth of claims saying the county...
Court: Farmers Insurance Broke Law, Can Keep Money
Dec 15 2008 // A California appeals court says Farmers Insurance broke the law by failing to disclose a $5 service charge — but the company won’t have to pay back more than $115 million it collected. The 4th District Court of...
Farmers Insurance Ranks Most Secure Places to Live; Northwest Tops List
Dec 15 2008 // Those seeking a place to live, work or raise a family in a safe and secure environment should consider the Pacific Northwest, according to the fifth annual Most Secure U.S. Places to Live rankings from Farmers Insurance...
‘Made in China’ Label Battered by Product Contamination Scandals
Dec 8 2008 // Milk, toothpaste, cough syrup, pet food, eels, blood thinner, car parts, pork, eggs, honey, chicken, dumplings, cooking oil and rice — if you can fake it or taint it, you can almost guarantee it’s happened in...
Montpelier Group Licenses AIR Worldwide’s U.S. Crop Model
Dec 5 2008 // AIR Worldwide Corporation announced that the Bermuda-based Montpelier Group has licensed the AIR Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) model for use in AIR’s CATRADER®, the industry standard application for...
