Latest Agencies Headlines

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

Gallagher Buys Majority Stake in UK Property-Owners’ Broker Vasek Insurance

Nov 7 2018 // Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based broker Gallagher announced it has acquired a controlling interest in Purple Bridge Group Ltd., the holding company of UK specialist property insurance provider Vasek Insurance Services Ltd.The...

Former California Insurance Agent Arraigned on 40 Felony Grand Theft Counts

Nov 6 2018 // Anna Gabriela Garcia, 46, of Capistrano Beach, Calif., was arraigned and charged with 40 felony counts of grand theft after allegedly collecting premium payments from customers and diverting the funds of over $195,000 for...

Michigan Fines Agent $25K, Revokes License in Auto Insurance Fraud Case

Nov 6 2018 // A Michigan agent has been fined $25,000 and had his insurance license revoked after an investigation revealed he had been creating and selling fake auto insurance certificates, the state’s insurance regulators...

Simpson Joins EPIC Insurance Brokers in Houston

Nov 6 2018 // Bob Simpson has joined EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants in Houston as director, Communications and Engagement (C&E), to lead EPIC’s C&E practice nationally.Simpson’s responsibilities will include...

Motel 6 Pays $7.6M to Settle Class Action Over Giving Guest Lists to Immigration Agents

Nov 6 2018 // Motel 6 will pay up to $7.6 million to Hispanic guests to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit claiming that it violated their privacy by regularly providing guest lists to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)...

U.S. Agencies Split Over Cell Phone Cancer Risk

Nov 6 2018 // Two U.S. government agencies are giving conflicting interpretations of a safety study on cell phone radiation: One says it causes cancer in rats. The other says there’s no reason for people to worry.No new research...

Rhode Island Agent Who Offers Equine Insurance Faces Fraud Charges

Nov 5 2018 // A Rhode Island insurance agent who prosecutors say specializes in providing insurance on horses has been arrested on federal charges.The U.S. Attorney’s office in Providence says 57-year-old Randall Levesque, of...

Winning, Sharing, Trusting, Failing, Losing: 10 Insuretech Connect Takeaways

Nov 5 2018 // Pulling together some loose threads from October’s Insuretech Connect Conference, here are 10 takeaways: Innovation Rap. “I actually feel the industry gets a bad rap in terms of innovation,” Dan Glaser,...

Critics Say Bond Rating Agencies Ignore Municipalities’ Climate Risk

Nov 5 2018 // Last fall, after a trio of deadly hurricanes, ratings companies warned vulnerable coastal cities to get ready for climate change — or face higher borrowing costs on the $3.9 trillion municipal bond market. Climate...

People

Nov 5 2018 // Alliant Insurance Services, a nationwide specialty insurance brokerage firm, has made three additions to its Construction Services Group headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga.Danielle Maxey has joined as account executive. In...

Pressure’s on the Trucking Sector

Nov 5 2018 // The transportation industry is considered a barometer of the U.S. economy. If freight is trending up, so too is the U.S. economy. But capacity constraints for trucking – including a shortage of qualified drivers, low...

Why It’s Important to Understand Your Carriers

Nov 5 2018 // I have been analyzing the insurance industry and individual insurers and agencies for a long time now. When I started analyzing the industry, I never imagined, and I have not met any industry veterans who could imagine,...

People

Nov 5 2018 // Valerie Butt has been named head of Casualty for Zurich North America Commercial Insurance. Based in Chicago, Butt will lead the casualty business with responsibility for new and renewal business.Butt takes on the role...

Pie Founder Talks About Entry into California Workers’ Comp Market

Nov 5 2018 // The launch in the state marks the ninth market entry for the Insurtech in six months.Pie Insurance seems to be slicing its way through workers’ compensation markets in state after state. The Washington, D.C.-based...

People

Nov 5 2018 // San Francisco, Calif.-based Woodruff Sawyer has named Luke Parsons as a vice president in the private equity and transactional risk group.Woodruff Sawyer has also named Evan Hessel vice president and casualty practice...

Confie’s Rothberg Exits California-Based Nonstandard Auto Insurance Giant

Nov 1 2018 // Adios Mordy Rothberg.One of the men behind Confie Seguros, a nonstandard auto insurance giant with an emphasis on serving Hispanic consumers that has been on an agency buying spree since it started in 2008, is calling it...

EMC Insurance Exits Personal Lines Business; Safeco to Accept Accounts from Agents

Oct 31 2018 // Liberty Mutual’s Safeco insurance has agreed to accept the $132.5 million in personal lines business of Iowa-based EMC Insurance Companies. Safeco is offering EMC’s independent agents the opportunity to...

UK Insurers, Brokers Applaud Government’s Decision Not to Hike Premium Tax

Oct 30 2018 // UK insurers and brokers have applauded the UK Treasury’s decision not to raise premium taxes, which currently has an annual price tag for each household of an average of £200 ($256.40), according to the Association...

Supreme Court to Weigh If Government Agencies Entitled to Challenge Patents

Oct 29 2018 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up a dispute involving a small Alabama company that accused the U.S. Postal Service of infringing its patented mail processing system and improperly convincing a federal...

UK’s Ed Broking to Be Acquired by BGC Partners

Oct 29 2018 // Ed, the London-based reinsurance, wholesale and specialty broker, announced that it would be acquired by a subsidiary of BGC Partners, Inc (BGC), a global brokerage and financial technology company.Financial details of the...