Latest Agencies Headlines

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

At Home and Abroad, Vacated Properties Posing Greater Risks

Sep 7 2009 // A global recession, which has led to layoffs and a sharp drop in consumer spending, has also created a glut of commercial real estate space around the world. Vacated properties are a significant concern because they are...

E&S Brokers Look for Rays of Light at the End of the Tunnel

Sep 7 2009 // A poor economy, natural catastrophes and an extended soft market have all combined to nip growth in the excess and surplus lines (E&S) insurance market over the last year.Although there are a few bright spots at the...

People

Sep 7 2009 // Markel Corp. has promoted Henry Lopez to president for Markel Midwest. Lopez has served as executive vice president for the Midwest region since November 2008. He joined Markel in 1995 as a financial analyst and has held a...

Man’s Best Friend

Sep 7 2009 // A friend of mine — or more accurately, a friend of my dog—became excited recently when he realized he could take advantage of the government’s “Cash for Clunkers” program. He had been wanting for...

Florida Agents Say Home Mitigation Effort Is Riddled with Fraud, Inefficiencies and Errors

Sep 7 2009 // Florida’s efforts to encourage homeowners to harden their homes to better withstand big storms by giving them insurance premium discounts is not getting the job done, according to a report from insurance agents in...

CEO Arends, Agent Crosby Inducted Into Michigan Insurance Hall of Fame

Sep 3 2009 // The Michigan Insurance Hall of Fame honored two leaders in the insurance industry at the sixteenth annual induction ceremony of the Michigan Insurance Hall of Fame recently on the campus of Olivet College. New members...

New York Eases Rules for Placing Difficult Risks in Excess Market

Sep 3 2009 // In a move widely supported by industry advocates, the New York State Insurance Department has approved new rules that would make it quicker and easier for to write some categories of higher-risk insurance that are...

Judge Says Rating Agencies Not Shielded by Free Speech Defense

Sep 3 2009 // Credit rating agencies may find it harder to argue that their opinions deserve free speech protection after a judge rejected efforts by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s to dismiss a fraud...

Japanese Agents Hope to Learn Best Practices from U.S. Agencies

Sep 2 2009 // The owners and producers of Japan’s estimated 300,000 insurance agencies can only dream of the success and freedom that the 40,000 independent agencies in the U.S. enjoy.But they can still learn best practices from...

Failure to Notify Leads to Revocation of North Dakota Agent’s License

Aug 31 2009 // North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm recently served an order to revoke the insurance license of Julia Beth Lutgen, a Fargo insurance agent who failed to notify the Insurance Department of an April 2009 criminal...

Hill County Insurance Joins Combined Agents Group

Aug 28 2009 // Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA) has added Hill County Insurance Agency Inc. in Hillsboro, Texas, as a member, bringing the group’s agency membership total to 42.CAA has agency members in Texas, Oklahoma and...

Insurance Journal Searches for the Best Agencies to Work For

Aug 28 2009 // Is your independent insurance agency or brokerage firm a great place to work?Insurance Journal is on the search for the best independent insurance agencies and brokerages in the U.S. to work for and we hope you will...

New Paper Evaluates Current State of Insurance Regulation and Its Future

Aug 27 2009 // The current state of the financial services industries and the role of the federal government in regulating these industries, including the insurance sector, continues to be a matter of debate in Congress.To help assess...

Former Oklahoma Insurance Agent Arrested, Faces Felony Charges

Aug 27 2009 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland announced former insurance agent Richard Wallen has been arrested by the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s Anti-Fraud Unit. Wallen has been charged with two felony...

Marsh Heads New Atlanta Office for Bliss & Glennon Insurance Brokers

Aug 27 2009 // Jill Marsh has joined wholesale insurance broker Bliss and Glennon as a senior broker. She has opened an Atlanta office for the firm. Previously she was a broker at AmWins Brokerage of Georgia. Marsh brings over 20 years...

Beacon Hill Associates Opens South Central Regional Office in Texas

Aug 26 2009 // Beacon Hill Associates Inc. has opened a new regional office in Plano, Texas, and has added Brett Amick as assistant vice president.The company serves agents in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico. Beacon Hill...

Employers Direct Sheds Direct Calif. Workers’ Comp; Will Return with Brokers

Aug 26 2009 // Just a short time after announcing it was leaving the California workers’ compensation insurance market because it was not profitable, Employers Direct Insurance Co. is announcing it is back.The...

Florida, Georgia Insurer First Commercial to Be Liquidated

Aug 26 2009 // Miami-based First Commercial Insurance Co. and its subsidiary have been declared insolvent and ordered liquidated about six weeks after being placed under state control.All policies written by FCIC and its subsidiary,...

Former Oklahoma Agent Sold Insurance Without a License, AG Says

Aug 25 2009 // A former Vinita, Okla., insurance agent will pay more than $4,400 in restitution after pleading guilty to selling insurance without a license, Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson reported.William Ronald Harlan, former...

Insurance Journal Searches for the Best Agencies to Work For

Aug 25 2009 // Is your independent insurance agency or brokerage firm a great place to work?Insurance Journal is on the search for the best independent insurance agencies and brokerages in the U.S. to work for and we hope you will...