Latest Talent Headlines
All the headlines from our Talent Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida House OKs 3 Victim Compensation Measures Worth Millions
Mar 7 2012 // Three high-profile claims bills that would let victims of governmental negligence receive millions in compensation cleared the Florida House on Monday. The bills now go to the Senate. One bill (SB 4) would require that an...
Markel International Acquires UK Managing Agent Quay Underwriting
Mar 6 2012 // Markel International announced from its London headquarters that it has acquired the portfolio of business of Quay Underwriting (QU), a managing agent based in Dorset. Markel said QU “provides a wide range of...
What Steve Jobs Would Do in Insurance
Mar 5 2012 // After reading Walter Isaacson’s great book about Steve Jobs, I began to imagine: What would Steve Jobs do if he were running an insurance agency? The first obstacle I thought about was that Steve Jobs could not do it...
Captives Bring Premium Dollars and Jobs to Missouri
Mar 5 2012 // The State Is Serious About Encouraging Captive Growth When it comes to the captive insurance industry, slow and steady growth is just fine with the state of Missouri. But it’s not like the state is reluctant to...
Social Recruiting: Branding Your Company as an Employer of Choice
Mar 5 2012 // Seventy-nine percent of companies are already using or planning to use social media in their business strategy. The No. 1 benefit organizations attribute to social media is increased awareness among target customers. Yet...
6 Things I Learned from Reading Steve Jobs Authorized Biography
Feb 24 2012 // The first lesson learned from Walter Issacson’s best-selling biography, Steve Jobs (Simon and Schuster), is that you should have started your agency in a garage with a guy called “Woz.” If you did, stop...
One-Armed Man Sues Starbucks For Not Hiring Him
Feb 23 2012 // A man who was born with half a left arm is suing Starbucks for failing to hire him as a barista. Eli Pierre sued the company in San Diego, Calif. two weeks ago for unspecified damages. Pierre says that during a Feb. 1...
Workers’ Compensation Cost Hike Sought in South Carolina
Feb 21 2012 // South Carolina employers could see their workers’ compensation premiums increase next year if state regulators go along with a proposed 7.3 percent increase in the state’s loss cost rates. The National Council...
Agency Compensation Expected to Rise in 2012: Ward Group
Feb 20 2012 // Contingent commission payouts to insurance agencies are estimated to be 12 percent higher in 2012 than 2011, a new study said. The study by the Ward Group also found that carriers are continuing to increase their volume...
Agency Compensation: A General Guideline With Common Sense
Feb 20 2012 // Personnel expenses remain the largest expense for any independent insurance agency today. Typically, personnel expenses account for about 50 percent to 70 percent of revenue. Therefore, smart agency owners should think...
The Compensation Connection: Aligning Rewards with Results
Feb 20 2012 // The state of the labor market is changing. Unemployment rates are dropping and companies are opening up hiring budgets. Organizations that believe employees are lucky to simply have a job in this economy are headed for...
Compensation Freeze Comes to an End?
Feb 20 2012 // Agencies Report Salaries and Compensation on the Rise, Slightly It looks like the freeze may be over. For the first time since 2008, independent agency salaries rose in 2011, albeit only slightly. According to Insurance...
General Tips for Compensation
Feb 20 2012 // Be creative with compensation and perquisites. Remember, most people are not motivated by additional money. Respect, recognition, challenge and non-monetary benefits mean more to most people than a few dollars for a new...
Insurance Employment Grew by 5,300 Jobs, Latest Data Show
Feb 20 2012 // The insurance industry had 5,300 net job gains in December 2011 compared to November 2011, according to the latest industry-specific data published by the federal government this month. The U.S. Labor Department’s...
Beyond Golf: P-U-T-T-E-R’s the Name of the Game in E&S World
Feb 16 2012 // Bill Reynolds, Atlantic Casualty Insurance Golf could be called the go-to sport of the insurance industry, so it’s safe to assume that most insurance professionals know what a putter is – a tool for cursing and...
Illinois Governor Defends State after Caterpillar CEO Blasts Jobs Climate
Feb 14 2012 // Gov. Pat Quinn defended the state’s business climate on Feb. 12 after the head of Caterpillar Inc. blasted state political leaders in a published column for not doing enough to grow business and jobs in Illinois. The...
Alabama Insurance Agent Enjoys New Acting Career
Feb 10 2012 // Stan Houston has felt the power of Kenny Powers. Houston, an Enterprise insurance agent based in Dothan, Ala., filmed a scene in July for an upcoming episode of the HBO comedy series “Eastbound and Down.” The...
American Specialty Introduces Workers’ Compensation Program
Feb 8 2012 // American Specialty Insurance & Risk Services has launched a workers’ compensation program that provides guaranteed cost coverage for the sports and entertainment industries. The company will target classes...
AIG Reviewing Succession as Chairman Takes New Job
Feb 7 2012 // Bailed-out insurer American International Group will review its succession plans after its chairman accepted a job as the chief executive of an airplane maker, the company said on Tuesday. AIG CEO Bob Benmosche has been in...
Nonprofits Show Job Growth Despite Decade of Turmoil
Feb 6 2012 // Defying two recessions, the nonprofit sector posted a remarkable 10-year record of job growth, achieving an average annual growth rate of 2.1 percent from 2000 to 2010, while for-profit jobs declined by an average of minus...
