Latest Agencies Headlines

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

What Young Agents Value About Being Independent

Apr 24 2009 // Good things come to those who wait and work hard. Even in today’s challenging economic climate, young independent insurance agents remain hopeful and happy to be in a profession that allows them to work...

Louisiana Agent Told to Stop Doing Business in State

Apr 24 2009 // A Crowley, La.-area agent was served by Louisiana Department of Insurance Fraud Section Investigators with a cease and desist order, notice of license revocation and a $10,000 fine notice for alleged misappropriation,...

Texas Agents Rate Companies on 2008 Hurricane Response

Apr 24 2009 // Insurance companies responding to last year’s hurricanes Dolly and Ike were given generally good marks by independent agents along the Texas coast in a recent member survey by the Independent Insurance Agents of...

Washington Reducing Agent Fingerprint Fee

Apr 24 2009 // Washington’s Office of Insurance Commissioner has announced that the fingerprint fee for resident insurance agents and brokers will be reduced to $45.25 beginning July 1, 2009. For non-resident applicants, the...

North Dakota Insurance Agent Accused of Pocketing Premiums

Apr 24 2009 // A North Dakota insurance agent has been barred from engaging in the business of insurance under a cease and desist order issued by the state insurance department.According to the order issued by North Dakota Insurance...

California AG Sues Wells Fargo Affiliates for Defrauded Investors

Apr 23 2009 // California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. filed suit against three Wells Fargo affiliates to recover $1.5 billion for California investors who purchased auction-rate securities based on “false and...

It’s Not Easy Being Green; But It’s Profitable

Apr 21 2009 // Jim Henson’s most famous Kermit the Frog said it the best, “It’s not easy being green.” Today’s property owners and insurers understand that while it’s not easy going green, being green...

The Freedom to Grow

Apr 20 2009 // Profile of Young AgentsOlder Side of Young 62% are 31 to 40 years old 38% are 30 and under Career Choice 84% consider insurance to be a permanent career choice 14% are unsure Education 56% have a college degree 60% have...

A New York State of Mind

Apr 20 2009 // New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo was thrust into the national spotlight last year as the insurance industry’s then-largest company, American International Group, began its precipitous collapse. It was...

Timing Earthquake Coverage

Apr 20 2009 // Ask anyone who has been impacted by the recent volatility of the stock market, and they will tell you that it’s almost impossible to time the stock market’s ups and downs — and even more difficult in...

Agents Sue Brooke Corp.

Apr 20 2009 // More than 80 former insurance agents for bankrupt Brooke Corp. have sued the company’s lending arm, accusing it of civil racketeering and fraud. The lawsuit against Overland Park, Kan.-based Aleritas Capital Corp.,...

The Case for Confronting Fear

Apr 20 2009 // With the parallels being drawn between the nation’s new Administration and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Administration during the 1930s Depression, it makes it even more ironic that results from a recent...

For Award Winning CSR, Going ‘Above and Beyond’ is Part of the Job

Apr 20 2009 // What does it take to deliver outstanding customer service? Kimberly J. Muesse, a senior account manager with the Lockton Companies in Houston, should know. She’s won a string of awards during her 25-plus years in the...

Market Timing: A Faulty Strategy on Earthquake Coverage

Apr 20 2009 // Ask anyone who has been affected by the recent volatility of the stock market, and they will tell you that it’s almost impossible to time the stock market’s ups and downs — and even more difficult in...

Data Security Presents a Risk — and Sales Opportunity — for Agents

Apr 20 2009 // Data security represents a new risk for independent insurance agencies that may not be compliant with data security laws or have plans in place to protect their companies from data breaches.It also represents a new market...

Georgia Trucking Insurance Agent Charged

Apr 20 2009 // A Chattanooga, Tenn. insurance agent has been charged with insurance fraud and theft for allegedly adding commissions to policies when he told policyholders that the coverage was being sold on a net basis – with a...

Agents Sue Brooke Corp.

Apr 20 2009 // More than 80 former insurance agents for bankrupt Brooke Corp. have sued the company’s lending arm, accusing it of civil racketeering and fraud. The lawsuit against Overland Park, Kan.-based Aleritas Capital Corp.,...

People

Apr 20 2009 // Thoits Insurance of San Jose, Calif., promoted Paul Saich to CEO. Saich replaces Don Way, who had been with Thoits for 44 years, and will remain as chairman of the board. Saich joined Thoits Insurance in 1996 and most...

Timing Earthquake Coverage

Apr 20 2009 // Anyone who has been impacted by the recent volatility of the stock market will tell you that it’s impossible to time the stock market’s ups and downs — and even more difficult in today’s financial...

Blowing Smoke

Apr 20 2009 // Arsonists’ handiwork has dominated headlines in the past several months. Earlier this year, in southeast Pennsylvania, an alleged group of firebugs torched dozens of buildings in one community before being caught. In...