Latest Independent Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Independent Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Big ‘I’ Leadership Team with Chairman Houldin Installed
Sep 13 2016 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) last week installed new officers who have begun serving their terms. Connecticut independent agent Spencer Houldin was inaugurated as the...
Independent Insurance Agents of New York Promotes MacConnell
Aug 12 2016 // Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York Inc., an insurance producer trade organization based in Syracuse, N.Y., has promoted Julie MacConnell from director of marketing and communications to assistant vice...
McGhee Elected President of Arkansas Independent Agents Insurance Group
Jun 22 2016 // Bill McGhee, of McGhee Insurance Inc., in Little Rock, Ark., has been elected president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas. McGhee previously served on the IIAA executive committee and board of...
SIAA Helping Smaller Agents Become ‘Instantly Big’
Jun 17 2016 // SIAA (Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance) announced in March that it has reached a milestone — its members recorded $6 billion of in-force written premium in 2015. This was achieved as SIAA celebrated its 20th...
Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia Names New Education Director
May 25 2016 // Carter Hope Lyons The Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia (IIAV) has hired Carter Hope Lyons as director of Education and Professional Development. Based in IIAV’s Richmond, Virginia, office, Lyons will also...
Progressive CEO Renwick to Retire; Griffith Chosen as Successor
May 13 2016 // The Progressive Corp. announced that Glenn Renwick, president and chief executive officer, will retire after more than 15 years as CEO and almost 30 years with the company, effective July 1, 2016. Tricia Griffith,...
Why Independent Agents Went to Capitol Hill to Lobby
May 12 2016 // Independent insurance agents and brokers from all 50 states convened in Washington, D.C., last month for the Big “I” Legislative Conference. Our members met with almost every U.S. Senate and House office to...
Indiana Agency Exec Named Chairman of Associated Risk Managers International
May 3 2016 // Independent insurance agency network, Associated Risk Managers International Inc. (ARMI), have elected Greg Easley to serve as chairman of the ARMI board of directors. Easley currently serves as vice president and...
Big ‘I’ Agents Honor Wilson with Yates Lifetime Achievement Award
Apr 22 2016 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”) has awarded Bill Wilson with the Jeff Yates Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor the association bestows on a non-agent, for a...
New Hampshire’s Minkler Honored With Big ‘I’ Woodworth Memorial Award
Apr 21 2016 // Tom Minkler The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America has awarded Tom Minkler with the Woodworth Memorial Award, the highest honor the association bestows on one of its members, during the annual Big...
Survey: Revenue Up, Independent Agents Seeking New Carriers
Apr 18 2016 // Independent insurance agents continue to grow and want to grow more with the help of new carrier appointments. This is one of the initial findings of a new national survey of agents conducted by Channel Harvest Research...
Texas Republican Congressman Named Big ‘I’ Legislator of the Year
Apr 15 2016 // Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, is the Gerald Solomon-Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) Legislator...
Independent Agents Seek New, Strong Performing Carriers: Survey
Apr 14 2016 // Independent insurance agents are seeing revenue growth and would like to grow more, but they’ll need help from carriers. Agents indicate a strong desire to add new carriers, but only if those carriers can demonstrate...
San Antonio Independent Agents Honor Whitaker with Binford Award
Apr 14 2016 // The Independent Insurance Agents of San Antonio (IIASA) has honored Gary Whitaker with the Ben R. Binford Award for outstanding service. Whitaker is vice president of Whitaker Insurance Associates. During his 30 years of...
Powell to Retire from North Carolina Agents Group; Will Join Appalachian State University
Apr 12 2016 // The Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC) announced that E. Stuart Powell Jr., MA, CPCU, CIC, CLU, ChFC, ARM, AMIM, AAI, ARe, CRIS will retire on July 31, 2016 from his current position as vice president...
How Technology May Alter Small Commercial Lines Advantage
Mar 21 2016 // As more small business owners become comfortable buying everything including insurance online, exclusive agent carriers will gain an advantage over independent agency carriers in the highly-fragmented and increasingly...
Why Small Commercial Lines May Not Be So Bright for Agency Carriers
Mar 3 2016 // As more small business owners become comfortable buying everything including insurance online, exclusive agent carriers will gain an advantage over independent agency carriers in the highly-fragmented and increasingly...
Insurance Industry Analyzes Google’s Failed Online Insurance Experiment
Feb 23 2016 // The insurance industry had a lot to say about what Google did wrong a day after the search engine giant said it would be pulling the plug on its year-long Google Compare experiment selling auto insurance online. Many...
Merger and Acquisition Activity Sets New High-Water Mark
Feb 22 2016 // Merger and acquisition activity for 2015 set a new record with 456 deals, sailing past the previous high-water mark of 325 deals set in 2012, according to recent data. The fourth quarter closed with 104 announced...
Brands & Independent Insurance Agencies
Feb 8 2016 // Much has been discussed and considerable investments have been made specific to branding within the independent insurance agency market over the past five to 10 years. Intense pressure to “brand” exists because...
