Latest Agencies Headlines

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

E&O for Agents – A Necessity Even if Mistakes Don’t Happen

Feb 7 2011 // Errors and omissions insurance is available, and necessary, not just because mistakes happen. A customer’s perception can be that the reason a loss was not covered, valid or not, was the result of an agent’s...

New York Agents Praise Regulators’ New Opinion on Refunding Bounced Check Fees

Feb 7 2011 // New York insurance agents are lauding a new legal opinion from state regulators that will allow producers to recover any money lost when clients bounce checks.The Independent Insurance Agent and Brokers of New York...

CEOs on Main Street

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

Court: Only English Required in Arizona Uninsured/Underinsured Form

Feb 7 2011 // The Supreme Court of Arizona has ruled that the state’s uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage selection or rejection form only needs to be filed in English — even when dealing with...

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...

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...

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 // FARA Insurance Services, a Mandeville, La.-based provider of claims administration and risk management solutions nationwide, appointed Laura Tarantino to the company’s board of directors. As FARA’s senior vice...

TWIA and Fair Plan: Agents May Be Subject to Open Records Request

Feb 7 2011 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA) recently notified insurance agents that the organizations have received a formal request to inspect or copy some of their files.The...

How to Become Chief Risk Officer for Small Business Clients

Feb 7 2011 // Some small business owners are expressing their intentions to invest in future growth, as economic storm clouds of the past few years show signs of clearing. The National Federation of Independent Business’ latest...

Lemons Into Lemonade:

Feb 7 2011 // January 1, 2011 marked the beginning of a significant transformation for the nation’s insurance brokers Ð one that, frankly, didn’t inspire celebration. Medical loss ratios (MLR) mandated by health care reform...

The Mood On Main Street

Feb 7 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 will not soon forget the pain of the past few...

Main Street’s Hardest Hit Businesses

Feb 7 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...

Reasons to Look Beyond Price in 2011

Feb 7 2011 // Just weeks into the New Year, the experts’ predictions appear to be “more of the same” for at least the first half of 2011: super soft pricing combined with increased availability of limits and coverage....

Breckenridge Acquires Interest in Reinsurance Broker REcentis

Feb 4 2011 // Breckenridge IS Inc. has acquired a majority interest in REcentis Intermediaries LLC, a specialty reinsurance broker with offices in Westlake Village, Calif. and Sydney, Australia.REcentis has expertise in energy, casualty...

Distinguished Programs Acquires Dallas’ GreenLine Underwriters

Feb 4 2011 // Distinguished Programs Group LLC (Distinguished), headquartered in New York, has acquired a controlling interest in GreenLine Underwriters (GreenLine), a Dallas-based program administrator focused on delivering insurance...

Louisiana Insurance Agent Arrested for Unfair Trade Practices

Feb 1 2011 // Troopers with the Lafayette Field Office of the Louisiana State Police Insurance Fraud Unit recently arrested a Ville Platte insurance agent for unfair trade practices.In October 2010, troopers received a criminal...

New York Agents Praise Regulators New Opinion on Bounced Check Fees

Feb 1 2011 // New York insurance agents are lauding a new legal opinion from state regulators that will allow producers to recover any money lost when clients bounce checks.The Independent Insurance Agent and Brokers of New York...

Applied Systems Adds Data Protection, Email Verification Service

Feb 1 2011 // Insurance agents and brokers can now legally prove who e-mailed what to whom and when.Applied Systems TAMOnline and VisionOnline agency management systems now include a service known as RPost Registered Email. RPost helps...

Texas Windstorm Insurance Assoc. to Begin Paying Commissions Monthly

Jan 28 2011 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, the property insurer of last resort along the Texas Gulf Coast, reports that in the second quarter of 2011 it will begin paying agents’ commissions monthly.TWIA will require...