Latest Independent Agencies Headlines

Jul 7 2008 // People McQueary Henry Bowles Troy LLP (MHBT) added Jim Anderson as senior vice president in the Dallas-based firm’s property/casualty group. Anderson will oversee the production and account management of...

Ross and Phillipp Honored by IBA West Young Brokers

Jul 2 2008 // The Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West (IBA West) Young Brokers and Agents presented two awards for young professionals in the insurance industry. The Anthony J. DiBuduo Award went to Derek Ross of C.M. Meiers of...

Utah Independent Insurance Agents Name Stringham Young Agent of the Year

Jun 30 2008 // Ryan Stringham of The Buckner Co. has been named Young Agent of the Year by the Utah Association of Independent Insurance Agents. Stringham started his career with The Buckner Co. in 2002. While working full time for the...

Kaufman Elected President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas

Jun 23 2008 // Garry Kaufman, president of Galveston Insurance Associates, Galveston, Texas, was elected president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) for 2008-2009 during the 111th Annual Conference & Trade Show....

Muesse Named ACSR of the Year by Texas Independent Agents Group

Jun 18 2008 // Kimberly Muesse, a senior account manager with the Lockton Companies in Katy, Texas, won the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas Accredited Customer Service Representative of the Year award at the trade...

Morriss Wins Texas Independent Agents’ Drex Foreman Award

Jun 17 2008 // Texarkana life-long independent insurance agent Don Morriss, was named winner of the highest award given by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) at the 111th Annual Conference & Trade Show. Morriss is...

Texas Agent Group’s Recruiting Manager to Help Members Find Staff

Jun 9 2008 // Colleen O’Sullivan has joined the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas as the organization’s first-ever recruiting manager. Sullivan’s duties will include assisting the IIAT’s Trusted Choice...

4 Texas Agencies Picked for Big ‘I’ Best Practices Study Group

Jun 3 2008 // Austin, Texas-based Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA) announced four of its member agencies, Bigham-Kliewer-Chapman-Watts, Bryan Insurance, Pierson & Fendley and Weatherby-Eisenrich, were selected to participated...

Encompass Adds New Products for Independent Agents in Minnesota

May 20 2008 // Minnesota insurance agents now can offer customers a new product that combines accident forgiveness and more discounts with rating tiers to help keep rates competitive, according to Northbrook, Ill.-based Encompass...

Insurer Executives Say More Can be Done to Attract New Talent

May 19 2008 // Encompass, The Hartford execs note that agents stand on solid ground in their role as trusted advisors Young agents today face a number of challenges, including the soft market, a downturn in the economy, and learning the...

Mass. Agents Take Aim at Progressive Online; Insurer Defends Site

May 6 2008 // Independent agents in Massachusetts have charged that Progressive Insurance, which began selling auto insurance online in the state May 1, is skirting state regulations and misleading consumers with its Web site quoting...

People

May 5 2008 // Charlotte, N.C.-based wholesale insurance broker AmWINS Group, Inc. has named James Drinkwater president of its AmWINS Brokerage division. Drinkwater will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the division. Prior...

Agents and the Recession: Agents Tend to Fare Better Than Their Customers

Apr 22 2008 // Main Street independent insurance agents could take a bigger hit than their larger counterparts as an economic recession lands on top of the soft market. The soft market coinciding with a bad economy is a real challenge...

Apr 21 2008 // People Michigan-based J.M. Wilson recently announced three new staff members, Danielle Crandell, Eric Maus and Jeanne Callan. Crandell was hired as a transportation underwriter. She will service commercial trucking...

Agents’ Workload Goes Up as Economy, Compensation Move Down

Apr 21 2008 // Soft market, economic downturn, consumer advocacy translate into more work for agencies Insurance Journal‘s Editor-in-Chief Andrea Wells was at the Big “I” Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.,...

White Papers and Blueprints: Agents Chart Their Own Regulatory Future

Apr 21 2008 // Independent agents hold onto market share, prepare for post-November election politics Insurance Journal‘s Editor-in-Chief Andrea Wells interviewed Robert Rusbuldt, CEO and president of the Independent Insurance...

Top 100 Property Casualty Independent Agencies

Apr 21 2008 // About This Report: The soft market had its effect on this year’s Top 100. But despite challenging soft market conditions, 15 of the privately-owned agencies and brokerages on Insurance Journal‘s Top 100...

During a Recession, Agents Tend to Fare Better Than Their Customers

Apr 7 2008 // Agents writing residential contractors feel recession first; manufacturing, retail segments follow Main Street independent insurance agents could take a bigger hit than their larger counterparts as an economic recession...

What America’s Young Insurance Agents Like Most About Being Agents

Apr 4 2008 // According to a new Insurance Journal survey, among the many things America’s young independent insurance agents like about their jobs is the money. Forty-three percent pull in between $51,000 and $100,000 a year,...

Long Island Agent Wins Award from National Trade Group

Apr 4 2008 // Vincent A. Alba, vice president of MRW Group Inc. in Huntington, New York, has been given the Barney Burns Award by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. The award recognizes the insurance agent or...