Latest Agencies Headlines

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

How to Re-ignite Producers – and Other Employees – Who Have Lost Their Spark

Aug 3 2009 // Al Diamond is one of the country’s best known and respected agency management consultants. His firm, the Agency Consulting Group, is based in Cherry Hill, N.J. He deals with agencies across the country on issues...

California Passes Budget Revisions

Aug 3 2009 // We are very concerned that the proposed sale appears to be driven by the need for cash.The California Legislature has passed the 2009-10 budget, instituting cuts and other measures to solve a $25.3 billion shortfall. The...

Doing More With Less

Aug 3 2009 // When asked to list the major strengths of their agency, most owners usually include the agency’s quality of service to the client. In the typical agency, the customer service representative is the foundation of good...

How Independent Agents View Super Regional Carriers

Aug 3 2009 // Main Street businesses may still be trying to recuperate from the recession, but independent insurance agencies report that it has not been as disruptive as initially predicted, an exclusive survey reveals.The survey...

M&A Activity Continues at a Snail’s Pace Compared to 2008

Aug 3 2009 // Insurance brokerage mergers and acquisitions in the second quarter of 2009 was nearly half of what is was during the second quarter of 2008. Just 39 transactions were announced from April through June compared to last year...

Top 20 Banks in Insurance Brokerage Fee Income

Aug 3 2009 // Top 20 Banks in Insurance Brokerage Fee Income (2008/Nationally) Rank 2008 Insurance Brokerage Fee Income Bank Name City, State Web site 1 $860.34 million Branch Banking and Trust Co. Winston Salem, N.C. www.bbt.com...

Insights from Insurance Journal’s Top 100 Agency Leaders

Aug 3 2009 // Insurance Journal asked leaders of this year’s Top 100 Agencies about some of their best and worst management decisions ever made, sales ideas that worked, the biggest challenges facing their agencies today and how...

Top 100 Property Casualty Independent Agencies

Aug 3 2009 // About This Report: The economy, soft market and industry consolidations continued to shake up the nation’s leading independent insurance agencies in 2008. Still, nearly half, or 45 percent, of the privately-owned...

Top 100 Privately-Held Property/Casualty Agencies

Aug 3 2009 // Top 100 Privately-Held Property/Casualty Agencies Ranked by Total 2008 P/C Premium Written 2008 Rank Agency Name, Main Office 2008 P/C Premium Written 2007 P/C Premium % Premium Change 2008 Other than P/C Premium 2008 P/C...

Top 20 Bank Holding Companies in Insurance Brokerage Fee Income

Aug 3 2009 // Top 20 Bank Holding Companies in Insurance Brokerage Fee Income (2008/Nationally) Rank 2008 Insurance Brokerage Fee Income Bank Holding Company Name City, State 1 $1.60 billion Wells Fargo & Co. San Francisco, Calif....

House Passes National Flood Insurance Extension Act

Jul 30 2009 // The U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Extension Act of 2009, H.R. 3139, which extends the program until March 31, 2010. The NFIP is currently set to expire on September 30,...

Illinois Allows Retail Contingent Commissions for Arthur J. Gallagher

Jul 30 2009 // In a filing of financial results for the second quarter 2009, Itasca, Ill.-based insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported that amended settlement agreements with the Illinois Attorney General and the...

How to Help Clients Work Through the Challenges of Business Bankruptcy

Jul 30 2009 // Bankruptcy. It’s a word agents and brokers will need to get used to hearing from their business clients. It’s not just occurring on Wall Street; it’s happening every day on Main Streets across the country...

Lewis to Lead Independent Insurance Agents of Central Texas

Jul 29 2009 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Central Texas announced the following new board members for 2009-2010: President Steven Lewis, Anco Insurance Vice President Kyle Paschall, Naler Insurance Agency Past-President Don...

Arthur J. Gallagher Reports Q2 Results; Slight Drop in Organic Revenue

Jul 29 2009 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a slight drop in organic revenue of just 0.3 percent for the second quarter 2009 for its combined insurance brokerage and risk management units.For the quarter ending June 30, 2009,...

Arizona Agent/Broker Association Appoints Goble State National Director

Jul 28 2009 // The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Arizona Inc. (IIAB of Arizona) has appointed Steve R. Goble from The Mahoney Group in Mesa, Ariz., as its state national director. Goble replaces Roberta Hoffman, who has...

Colemont Insurance Brokers Adds Zinter as Broker in Chicago

Jul 28 2009 // Colemont Insurance Brokers announced that Kevin Zinter has been promoted to broker in the company’s Chicago office. Zinter joined Colemont in 2005 and specializes in the brokerage of financial services products. He...

OdysseyRe Appoints Morvan New Chief Agent for Canada

Jul 28 2009 // OdysseyRe Holdings Corp. has appointed Lambert Morvan as Senior Vice President and Chief Agent, with responsibility for the management of OdysseyRe’s Canadian operations within the Americas Division. He will be based...

Congress Urged to Raise Liability Standard for Credit Rating Firms

Jul 27 2009 // Congress must consider radical reforms to improve the accountability and reliability of credit rating agencies like Moody’s Corp. and McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc.’s Standard & Poor’s, a top U.S. lawmaker...

California Senate Passes Budget, Workers’ Comp Fund Assets for Sale

Jul 24 2009 // The California State Senate passed a package of bills early Friday morning, revising the 2009-10 budget, that was passed in February, with $24.2 billion in deficit reduction solutions and a $921 million reserve; in total...