Latest Agencies Headlines

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

Pennsylvania Considers Tort Reform

Feb 18 2011 // Pennsylvania lawmakers are once again eyeing a tort reform package — a resurrection of the “Fair Share” act — that many in the insurance industry say would help put downward pressure on premiums and rein in...

Big ‘I’ Promotes McPhillips to Senior Lobbyist Role

Feb 17 2011 // Jennifer McPhillips has been promoted to senior director of federal government affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) and will serve as one of the...

Brown & Brown Acquires Two Massachusetts Agencies

Feb 17 2011 // Brown & Brown has acquired United Benefit Services and Beverly T. Gottlieb & Associates, two metro-Boston agencies specializing in employee benefits and related insurance products. Terms of the deal were not...

Mood on Main Street: Agents on Hardest Hit Small Businesses

Feb 17 2011 // Agents across the country — except in Texas and neighboring states — agree that construction and related trades have been hardest hit by the recession. Restaurants appear to be the second hardest hit.In terms of lines...

Certificates of Insurance a Priority Legislative Issue for Texas Agents

Feb 16 2011 // With a massive hole in the state’s budget and the duty to redistrict, insurance issues are likely to be low priority items for Texas 82nd Legislature, which began its session in January. But Texas agents are backing...

Calif. Insurance Agents & Brokers Association Changes Name to Cal Agents

Feb 16 2011 // Insurance Agents & Brokers Association of California has changed its name to California Agents & Brokers Insurance Association — or Cal Agents for short. “Cal Agents is a more succinct name to quickly...

Combined Agents of America Partners with Allied Insurance

Feb 15 2011 // Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA) announced a partnership with two new companies, Allied Insurance and Allied General Agency Company. Under the terms of the contract, CAA member agencies can now offer its customers a...

Mood on Main Street: How Recession Changed Insurance Buying Habits

Feb 15 2011 // The recession has taken its toll on contractors, restaurants, retailers, small manufacturers and other Main Street business around the country and most of the survivors are not going to soon forget the pain of the past few...

West Virginia Changes Agent Licensing System

Feb 14 2011 // West Virginia is moving to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners state based system for issuing agent licenses in order to bring it in line with other states and streamline the licensing process.Starting in...

New York Lawmakers Consider Extending Agents’ Licenses, Other Issues

Feb 14 2011 // The New York Senate Committee on Insurance is scheduled to hear bills this afternoon that would extend insurance agents’ license renewals, allow multiple rating plans for personal lines insurers and clarify laws...

New York Agents Happier with Insurers This Year, Survey Says

Feb 11 2011 // A new survey by a trade group for New York agents finds insurance producers give their carriers good marks for honesty and fair treatment — but find insurance companies don’t pay them enough. The Independent...

People

Feb 10 2011 // Cincinnati, Ohio-based Great American Insurance Group’s Property and Inland Marine Division has promoted two insurance executives: Grace Thomas and Cecil Wilson.Thomas was promoted to divisional senior vice...

Prepareth Not and Doom Your Summer Vacation

Feb 10 2011 // The Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA), Subtitle B, Part I, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, will usher in a new era of premium taxation and regulation for surplus lines insurance on...

Banks Boost Income from Insurance Brokerage

Feb 10 2011 // Banks earned less in insurance brokerage fees in the third quarter of 2010 than the previous year’s third quarter. However, overall for the first three quarters of 2010, they tallied a record $9.73 billion in...

California Insurance Wholesalers Association Honors Anderson

Feb 8 2011 // The California Insurance Wholesalers Association has honored David F. Anderson, chairman of Anderson & Murison, with its Wholesale Industry Award.Anderson was a founding president of CIWA from 1991 to 1993. He served...

Iowa Supreme Court: Agent not Required to Suggest Unrequested Coverage

Feb 8 2011 // The Iowa Supreme Court has sided with an insurance agent in a case involving whether or not the agent had a duty to advise his clients as to the need for insurance coverage about which the clients had not inquired.In...

CMR Risk & Insurance Names Jacka Employee Benefits Broker

Feb 7 2011 // San Diego based CMR Risk & Insurance Services Inc. has added Grant Jacka as its employee benefits broker. Jacka comes to CMR Risk & Insurance Services after spending nearly three years as a broker/account executive...

CEOs on Main Street

Feb 7 2011 // Elsewhere in this issue, we relate the view on Main Street from the perspective of independent agents. But how do property/casualty company CEOs view Main Street and Main Street agents? At the recent Property/Casualty...

People

Feb 7 2011 // Great American Insurance Group, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, announced that Michael G. “Mike” Liguzinski will succeed John W. Sullivan as divisional president, Specialty Human Services Division, upon...

Independent Spirit Shapes Marsh’s New Retail Unit

Feb 7 2011 // In a little over a year, mega-broker Marsh & McLennan quickly assembled one of the largest independent agencies in the nation, entirely through acquisitions. That entity, Marsh & McLennan agency, targets middle...