All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Aug 4 2014 // This year marks the 10th annual publication of Insurance Journal‘s Top 100 Independent P/C Agencies report.In our effort to identify the nation’s leading privately-held independent property/casualty insurance...
Aug 4 2014 // The high-value homeowners and luxury condo markets have become competitive arenas to play in, with several new programs and companies in the past few years. But experts say agents and brokers shouldn’t be deterred by...
Aug 4 2014 // What are the rules governing insurance agents in Texas on rebates, referrals and rewards, and why do they matter?For starters, at a minimum, agents could lose their license for violating rules regarding such activities....
Aug 4 2014 // Allstate Insurance Co. plans to add several local agency owners in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii in 2014.Allstate’s plan is to recruit 51 new exclusive agents, 13 financial specialists and the company...
Aug 1 2014 // Miami-based broker-dealer Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. said it has acquired Highland Capital Brokerage Inc., an independent life, annuities and long term care insurance brokerage, for $42 million.Highland,...
Jul 31 2014 // Louisiana State Police have booked a 58-year-old West Monroe man with 29 counts of insurance fraud and one count of theft.Trooper Albert Paxton tells The News-Star that John Whittington, a licensed insurance agent,...
Jul 31 2014 // Itasca, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Insurance Point LLC in St. Charles, Ill. and Salt Lake City, Utah. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.Insurance Point offers employee benefit...
Jul 30 2014 // A U.S. Senate committee today conducted a hearing titled “The Flood Insurance Claims Process in Communities After Sandy: Lessons Learned and Potential Improvements,” where lawmakers had a chance to listen to...
Jul 30 2014 // How are agencies targeting new business today? Will historical growth rates be sustainable? And just how much do agencies need to reinvest to achieve desired growth and enable perpetuation? These are some of the questions...
Jul 30 2014 // IIABCal Past President Stan Loar received the association’s Ramsden-Sullivan Memorial Award last week.The award is the highest IIABCal gives, and a recipient is said to exemplify the highest caliber of service to the...
Jul 29 2014 // Many independent insurance agents say that tablet devices are going to be more important in the next couple of years — particularly for sales presentations and accessing carrier-based training. This is among the many...
Jul 28 2014 // Insurance agent, insurance carrier and real estate lobbyists praised federal regulators in charge of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) last week on Capitol Hill, agreeing that the process of issuing flood...
Jul 25 2014 // Retail insurance agents in Texas are allowed to charge certain fees in addition to a commission in relation to selling an insurance policy, but those fees must be disclosed to the customer.“Texas is one of the few...
Jul 24 2014 // Allstate Insurance Co. plans to add several local agency owners in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii in 2014.Allstate’s plan is to recruit 51 new exclusive agents, 13 financial specialists and the company...
Jul 23 2014 // LevelFirst, a wholesale broker and managing general agency based in Dallas, Texas, announced Ryan Taylor has joined the company as a senior underwriter/broker. Taylor brings 10 years of wholesale experience to the company....
Jul 23 2014 // Wyatt Stewart has joined the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”) Capitol Hill team as director of federal government affairs.Stewart, a native of Washington, D.C., joins a bipartisan...
Jul 23 2014 // Dallas, TX – July 23, 2014 – U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. (www.usrisk.com), the eighth largest managing general agency and surplus lines wholesaler in the nation, announced that it has named Jonathan Hagan an...
Jul 22 2014 // The Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance, or SIAA, signed 204 new member agencies in the first six months of 2014, including its 5,000th member agency since its inception in 1995.SIAA also reached $5 billion in in-force...
Jul 21 2014 // What are the rules governing insurance agents in Texas on rebates, referrals and rewards, and why do they matter?For starters, at a minimum, an agent could lose their license for violating rules regarding such activities....
Jul 21 2014 // Hard market or soft, having an active relationship with at least a couple of excess and surplus lines (E&S) wholesalers is typically required for agencies to be successful. For as long as insurance has been part of...