Latest Retail Headlines

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

Reducing the Risk in Florida Surplus Lines

Aug 4 2008 // Build Relationships, Advises FSLA Board Member O’Leary Like trapeze artists performing without a net, surplus lines specialists operate without the backing of the state guaranty fund, which picks up the pieces for...

What Retail Agents Need to Know to Access Florida Surplus Lines

Aug 4 2008 // 10 +1 Questions of Advice for Agents Thinking of Sticking Their Toes into Florida’s Surplus Lines Waters Gary Pullen, executive director, and the staff of the Florida Surplus Line Service Office supplied answers to...

Match-making: What Retail Agents Want From Wholesalers and MGAs

May 5 2008 // Exclusive Insurance Journal survey: successful relationships depend on markets and service in soft or hard cycle Like the love-lorn users of match.com, independent agents hunting for business partners among surplus lines...

Contractors and Certificates of Liability Insurance

Apr 21 2008 // Your E&O claim waiting to happen Certificates — not again. Haven’t we heard enough about this topic? Apparently not. Certificates are issued for all sorts of insureds, but contracting risk is the most...

Workers’ Comp Dividend Earned by Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Group

Dec 21 2007 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced a $129,320 dividend to the Texas Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association (TPCA) workers’ compensation purchasing group today. The group’s first dividend...

The CHANGING FACE of Surplus Lines Brokers

Sep 24 2007 // The surplus lines industry is never boring, never plain and certainly never black and white. Often dubbed as the innovator of new insurance products, the industry could even be considered colorful when it comes to the...

Wal-Mart: Tests Show Traces of Melamine in Dog Treats

Aug 23 2007 // Tests of two Chinese brands of dog treats sold at Wal-Mart stores found traces of melamine, a chemical agent that led to another massive pet food recall in March, a spokeswoman said Aug. 21. Wal-Mart quietly stopped...

Wal-Mart Quietly Pulled Dog Treats But Didn’t Issue Recall

Aug 22 2007 // Wal-Mart Stores Inc. quietly stopped selling two brands of dog treats in July, after customers voiced concerns that the Chinese products may have caused their pets to fall ill, but no recall has been announced, a company...

Pharmacist Wins $2 Million in Bias Suit Against Wal-Mart in Mass.

Jun 21 2007 // A former Wal-Mart pharmacist who claimed she was fired after asking to be paid the same as her male colleagues won a nearly $2 million award against the retail giant this week in Massachusetts. A Berkshire Superior Court...

House Passes Bill Blocking Giant Retailers’ Entry into Banking

May 22 2007 // The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a measure closing a loophole and blocking giant retailers like Wal-Mart and The Home Dept from owning industrial loan corporations, or ILCs. For ILCs already...

Ark. Judge Grants Class Status to Truckers Suing Wal-Mart

May 18 2007 // A judge in Little Rock, Ark., has granted class status in a federal lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in which the company is accused of discriminating against black applicants for jobs driving Wal-Mart trucks. In his...

FBI to Launch Retail Theft, Loss Prevention Database

Apr 5 2007 // In response to Congressional legislation intended to combat the growing problem of organized retail theft, the FBI has worked with the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Retail Industry Leader’s Association...

Wal-Mart Drops Bid to Form Bank

Mar 16 2007 // Wal-Mart Financial Services has withdrawn its controversial application seeking to start its own bank. The retailer is one among 14 companies including the Home Depot with applications before the Federal Deposit Insurance...

U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Maryland’s Wal-Mart Mandate

Jan 18 2007 // The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed a lower court decision that federal ERISA law invalidates a Maryland law that would have required giant retailer Wal-Mart to offer a certain level of...

2006: Soft market offers up many new insurance products

Dec 25 2006 // E&O, Professional/Management Liability New P/C Insurance Agents’ E&O Rockwood Programs partnered with certain underwriters at Lloyd’s of London to offer professional liability coverage specifically...

2006 New Markets Report

Dec 24 2006 // E&O, Professional/Management Liability New P/C Insurance Agents’ E&O Rockwood Programs partnered with certain underwriters at Lloyd’s of London to offer professional liability coverage specifically...

Wal-Mart Settles a Nearly $5.1 Million Insurance Lawsuit in Okla.

Dec 7 2006 // Wal-Mart has settled a nearly $5.1 million class-action lawsuit brought by the estates of 73 former employees in Oklahoma. A federal judge in Tulsa gave final approval Dec. 4 to the settlement, which calls for about a...

SPECIAL REPORT: Surplus Lines

Nov 20 2006 // The insurance industry’s excess and surplus lines (E&S) sector has experienced a pronounced reversal of position in the last 20 years. Once considered a mere adjunct, a safety valve for risks that were too hard...

Not your father’s wholesaler

Nov 20 2006 // When it comes to today’s excess and surplus lines brokers, retail agents have a choice of several models Much is said about retail agents having to change with the times and stand out from the crowd to survive. But...

The Locomotive That Drive the Insurance Train

Nov 19 2006 // The insurance industry’s excess and surplus lines (E&S) sector has experienced a pronounced reversal of position in the last 20 years. Once considered a mere adjunct, a safety valve for risks that were too hard...