All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Feb 22 2009 // Have you ever seen anything like this in Florida? Never. I haven’t seen anything like this anywhere in the country.If it were a horror flick it might be titled, Surplus Fear Strikes Florida. The opening scene shows...
Feb 22 2009 // The tiff between State Farm Florida and the Office of Insurance Regulation that has culminated in the insurer’s withdrawal from the state’s property market is disturbing.It’s not disturbing because an...
Feb 22 2009 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has offered his own plan for State Farm Florida Insurance Co.’s withdrawal from the state that includes conditions not in the insurers’ own plan.McCarty wants State...
Feb 22 2009 // Insurance Journal asked a select group of 130 Florida retail agents what they look for when selecting surplus lines agencies to do business with. They placed access to markets as the most valued consideration, followed by...
Feb 22 2009 // The Florida surplus lines industry may be challenged right now by regulatory uncertainty stemming from the Essex and CNL Hotels rulings but it is not letting that blind it to opportunities.One opportunity is the pending...
Feb 22 2009 // Despite the seemingly difficult times independent insurance agents may be facing today, they will always have a future, according to George Joseph, chairman and founder of Mercury Insurance, considered one of the most...
Feb 22 2009 // Managing an independent insurance agency in today’s economy and soft market forces agents to set priorities. Juan Andrade, executive vice-president for sales and distribution at The Hartford, who oversees his...
Feb 22 2009 // The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the Farm Bill) authorizes farm programs for the next five years. The Act’s provisions encompass a range of issues, including commodity price supports, conservation,...
Feb 22 2009 // Thanks in part to commodity prices that are still higher than average and, thankfully, less volatile than in 2008, the agricultural economy has not yet felt the same contractions the general economy is reeling from today....
Feb 22 2009 // Independent insurance agencies remain reliable employers even in these rocky economic times, but even they have to cut back occasionally.Whether due to efficiencies from technology, the lingering soft market, the...
Feb 22 2009 // The marina and boat industry is a natural fit for John Harvey, founder and president of Voyager Insurance Services in Frisco, Texas. Harvey has been in the insurance business for 50 years and has been a boat enthusiast...
Feb 20 2009 // An insurance agent and prominent supporter of public schools in the northern Idaho city of Coeur d’Alene has been charged with felony cocaine possession.Idaho State Police say Jerry Carlson could face more charges as...
Feb 18 2009 // A trade group for Connecticut insurance agents is urging lawmakers to abandon plans to create a state natural catastrophe fund.The Professional Insurance Agents of Connecticut (PIACT) said the state’s Insurance and...
Feb 17 2009 // A Valley Stream, New York insurance agent has been named the first-ever winner of the “1882 Fellow Award” from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY). Steven Spiro, president of...
Feb 13 2009 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has offered a withdrawal plan for State Farm Florida Insurance Co. and its parent company with major conditions that were not in the original plan submitted by the insurer.In...
Feb 12 2009 // Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc , the No. 2 global insurance broker, reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, helped by lower costs, and forecast higher profits in 2009, sending its shares up 16 percent.The...
Feb 11 2009 // A former Iowa insurance agent accused of siphoning more than $1 million from clients has pleaded guilty to federal charges.Jack Straw pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and one count each of mail fraud, possessing...
Feb 11 2009 // Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Sean Dilweg announced improvements to the state’s complaint and agent licensing processes intended to simplify access to agency services for consumers and insurance...
Feb 11 2009 // North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm has revoked the insurance license of Larry Atkins, a Fargo insurance agent who was charged with 78 felonies in 2008. The revocation bars him from selling, soliciting or...
Feb 11 2009 // PGI Commercial has acquired the assets of Underwriters & Brokers, Inc. of Troy, Michigan. PGIC said it will merge the platform and staff of UBI with its existing Michigan office. Underwriters & Brokers, Inc....