Latest Retail Headlines

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

Md. Revisits Bill Pressuring Wal-Mart to Improve Employee Benefits

Jan 5 2006 // A proposed Maryland law that attempts to pressure Wal-Mart to provide better health care benefits for its employees would violate federal law, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce said.The business group issued a report just...

2010: A

Sep 5 2005 // The Road Ahead for SurplusLines Wholesalers The model surplus lines insurance whole of 2010 should be faster, bigger, better, leaner, able to cross state lines and come in colors other than white.Industry leaders predict...

Banks Relaxing Both Commercial and Retail Credit Underwriting

Jul 29 2005 // The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported today that it has found significant easing in both commercial and retail credit underwriting standards over the past year.The OCC’s eleventh annual Survey...

Working With Your E&S Wholesaler: Be Nice … You’ll Need Them Again!

Jul 18 2005 // The surplus-lines industry pendulum is now on its backswing into a soft market. A couple years of market restriction and firm pricing brought a temporary prosperity to the industry. The so-called “standard”...

By George Rothert

Jul 18 2005 // Working With E&S Wholesalers: Be Nice You’ll Need Them Again!The surplus lines industry pendulum is now on its backswing into a soft market. A couple years of market restriction and firm pricing brought a...

By George Rothert

Jul 18 2005 // Working With Your E&S Wholesaler: Be Nice You’ll Need Them Again!The surplus lines industry pendulum is now on its backswing into a soft market. A couple years of market restriction and firm pricing brought a...

Working With E&S Wholesalers: Be Nice … You’ll Need Them Again!

Jul 18 2005 // The surplus lines industry pendulum is now on its backswing into a soft market. A couple years of market restriction and firm pricing brought a temporary prosperity to the industry. The so-called “standard”...

Working With Your E&S Wholesaler: Be Nice … You’ll Need Them Again!

Jul 18 2005 // The surplus lines industry pendulum is now on its backswing into a soft market. A couple years of market restriction and firm pricing brought a temporary prosperity to the industry. The so-called “standard”...

For Retail Risk Managers, Workplace Violence and Staff Turnover Proving Top Challenges

Apr 18 2005 // Workplace violence and staff turnover are cited by risk managers in the retail industry as among their biggest challenges to effectively managing their workers’ compensation exposures.According to a recent study...

Doing the Right Thing Brings Rewards for SRA’s John Wood

Apr 18 2005 // Specialty Risk Associates, a managing general agency headquartered in Shreveport, La., has been on the move in the past several years–expanding beyond its Louisiana base into neighboring states–and has plans to...

Agents Beware: Due Diligence is Now Required

Apr 4 2005 // Transactions between retail agents and brokers they place business through just became more labor intensive. I recently testified as an expert in a federal case involving a reputable agency’s failure to conduct...

Agents Beware: Due Diligence is Now Required

Mar 21 2005 // Transactions between retail agents and brokers they place business through just became more labor intensive. I recently testified as an expert in a federal case involving a reputable agency’s failure to conduct...

Retailers Reel in the Perfect Catch

Feb 21 2005 // Response Time, Service Crucial When Selecting E&S Brokers, IJ Survey ReportsRetail agents and brokers consider service and response time delivered by excess and surplus lines brokers to be critical factors when...

Kings & Pawns: Excess Brokers’ Moves and Mergers

Feb 21 2005 // The emergence of large national and regional firms and the creation of networks of brokers as industry kings are transforming the nation’s wholesale insurance marketplace but experts maintain that independent...

E&S Markets Medium, Softening Across the Board

Feb 21 2005 // Rising property prices and a healthy economy after the election year have encouraged competition for casualty business. Although account size is sometimes a factor in the directions prices move, E&S specialists say...

Fla. Suing Jewelry Retailer

Feb 7 2005 // Florida is suing Savannah-based Friedman’s Inc. retail jewelry chain, alleging it sold millions of dollars worth of insurance on jewelry items but didn’t disclose the costs to consumers.Friedman’s, which...

Affirmative Acquires Assets of Agencies in Florida, Texas

Dec 23 2004 // Addison, Texas-based Affirmative Insurance Holdings Inc. reported it has signed definitive agreements to acquire the assets of two non-standard automobile insurance agency operations. In two separate transactions,...

U.K.’s Highway Insurance Acquires Direct Motorline

Nov 3 2004 // The U.K.’s Highway Insurance Holdings has confirmed the acquisition of telebroker Direct Motorline Limited for £3.4 million ($6.2 million) plus £0.6 million ($1.1 million) in respect of tangible net assets.Direct...

Wausau Introduces GL/Property Package ‘Wausau Express’ for Retail Businesses

Oct 12 2004 // Wisconsin-based Wausau Insurance has introduced Wausau Express, a new package policy for property and general liability that will streamline coverage and save money for retail businesses.The Wausau Express package policy...

Building Relationships Key to Success Says NAPSLO’s Incoming President

Sep 20 2004 // Polizzi Prepares to Take the Reins at Orlando ConventionThirty years ago a small group of surplus lines professionals met in Miami Beach, Fla., to form what would be known today as the National Association of Surplus Lines...