Latest Agencies Headlines

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

NSM Insurance Group Acquires Insurex Workers’ Comp Brokerage

Apr 23 2008 // NSM Insurance Group has acquired Insurex, a California-based workers’ compensation brokerage. The acquisition “immediately expands our ability to provide new national workers’ compensation markets to our...

New Website Launched for Insurance Agency Buyers and Sellers

Apr 22 2008 // Los Angeles, CA. – April 22, 2008 – Ganis Consulting, a California based Insurance Consultancy Firm, has launched its new website www.ganisco.com The site was developed to be a reference tool for insurance...

Southeast Agents Fear Recession as Construction Woes Continue

Apr 22 2008 // Southeast insurance agents do not all agree the economy is in a recession or on the causes of the slumping economy, but they do agree the dominoes are in place that could trigger a serious economic chain reaction.Roger...

Agents in the East Find Recession Hurts Others More

Apr 22 2008 // Insurance agents across New England and the Mid-Atlantic are worried about how their customers and they will fare as the region’s economy continues to slow.“An agent’s business is a direct reflection of...

Agents and the Recession: Agents Tend to Fare Better Than Their Customers

Apr 22 2008 // Main Street independent insurance agents could take a bigger hit than their larger counterparts as an economic recession lands on top of the soft market.The soft market coinciding with a bad economy is a real challenge for...

In Midwest, Recession Makes Soft Market Even Tougher

Apr 22 2008 // When it comes to dealing with a recession, independent agents in Michigan carry the dubious distinction of having more experience than their counterparts in other Midwestern states. Michigan has been knee deep in a...

Recession, Soft Market Forcing Western Agents to Refocus

Apr 22 2008 // Whether the nation is in a true recession may still be up for debate, but it’s difficult to ignore the signs of economic slowdown throughout the West — and its effect on the insurance industry. New home...

American E&S Appoints Broker in Vacaville, California

Apr 22 2008 // Carole Brown has rejoined American E&S Insurance Brokers as vice president and financial services broker. She will be working in the Vacaville, Calif., branch and has more 15 years experience specializing in directors...

Recession? In South Central States It Depends On Location

Apr 22 2008 // With some notable exceptions – southern Louisiana for one – the economies of the South Central states seem to be holding steady against the looming prospect of a nationwide recession. Populations are growing in...

Mass. Agents Balk Over 6-Month Auto Policies

Apr 21 2008 // Massachusetts will permit auto insurers to sell six-month policies in another change under the state’s newly operational managed competition system that gives insurers more freedom.Independent agents have balked at...

Mass. Auto Web Site Misleads Consumers, Say Agents and AG

Apr 21 2008 // A state Web site intended to educate consumers about Massachusetts’ newly deregulated auto insurance market instead gives them inaccurate rate comparisons, according to Attorney General Martha Coakley.Coakley argued...

Soft On Top

Apr 21 2008 // We were reminded in our last issue’s stories on how agents are faring in the recession that the effects of the economic downturn vary by agency and region. Some agencies and customer are feeling the slowdown more...

Soft On Top

Apr 21 2008 // We were reminded in our last issue’s stories on how agents are faring in the recession that the effects of the economic downturn vary by agency and region. Some agencies and customer are feeling the slowdown more...

Apr 21 2008 // PeopleMichigan-based J.M. Wilson recently announced three new staff members, Danielle Crandell, Eric Maus and Jeanne Callan. Crandell was hired as a transportation underwriter. She will service commercial trucking accounts...

Insurers Keen on NCAA’s Basket-full of Opportunities

Apr 21 2008 // The University of Kansas men’s basketball team may have been the big winner in the recent NCAA championship — but when it comes to the NCAA’s bonanza of sponsorship benefits from basketball and other sports,...

Florida Agent Bucks Trends With Growth, Recruitment Strategies

Apr 21 2008 // When Fireman’s Fund introduced its Green-Gard program covering environmentally sound commercial building practices, Stephen Riemer, president of Florida-based Riemer Insurance Group, said he “jumped all over...

Federal Charter: A Future ‘Insurance Subprime’ Debacle?

Apr 21 2008 // The banking and securities industry is facing worldwide subprime mortgage-related losses which knowledgeable sources – including the International Monetary Fund — now suggest could top $1 trillion, according to...

Case Watch

Apr 21 2008 // Evanston Insurance Co. v. Atofina Petrochemicals Inc., Texas Feb. 15, 2008. Contract provision requiring that refinery “shall be named as additional insured” sufficient to trigger additional insured coverage...

Apr 21 2008 // PeopleMullis Newby Hurst L.P., an Addison, Texas-based provider of construction insurance and surety bonds in Texas, promoted Jan Johnson to senior vice president and director of insurance. Johnson, a 26-year veteran of...

Contractors and Certificates of Liability Insurance

Apr 21 2008 // Certificates — not again. Haven’t we heard enough about this topic?Apparently not. Certificates are issued for all sorts of insureds, but contracting risk is the most dangerous of them all. Why does the contractor...