Web Exchange

Gunning for Business

On July 6, InsurnaceJournal.com ran a story about Aaron Merchant, a Farmers Insurance agent in Ahwatukee, Ariz., who in 2008, turned his firearms hobby into a small business, selling guns in a small space inside his insurance agency in the Phoenix suburb. A year ago, he had enough business to open a storefront, Merchant Firearms.

Reader comments included:

Intoxicating Retrial Bid

On July 19, InsuranceJournal.com ran a story about a repeat drunken driver in Alaska who was convicted of consuming at least a dozen drinks and causing a deadly head-on crash but is now seeking a new trial because of a public service announcement that aired over 1,400 times during her trial. Former oil company executive Lori Phillips was to have been sentenced in March, but her lawyer is seeking a new trial because a public service announcement discouraging drunken driving was broadcast at the same time the trial was under way for more than two weeks in 2010. Prosecutor Clint Campion said the judge was aware of the PSA and instructed jurors to avoid watching it. Butler’s request for a new trial came after it became known how many times the PSA aired on network television and 59 cable stations. The judge now will have to decide whether Phillips deserves a new trial.

This story generated lots of comments, including these:

100 Agents in 100 Days

From July 12 through Oct. 12, South Carolina-based Accident Insurance Co. will be looking to sign up new independent agents in 11 states in which it writes. AIC hopes to find new agency partners in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Virginia. The story ran on July 13 at can be viewed online.

Jon Beckham, chief marketing officer at AIC, explains in this Insurance Journal TV podcast…

There were multiple comments from readers, including:

Insurance Charity Backs 10 More Groups

The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) Western Division has awarded $52,415 in community grants to 10 non-profit organizations. This is the second round of grant funding for 2011 and increase the IICF Western Division’s yearly grant contributions to $232,915, touching 36 separate non-profit organizations in California. Through the second round, the IICF is supporting the following agencies:

• Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency
• CALICO
• Camp Stevens
• Holy Cross Medical Clinic
• Kids First, Orange County
• North Bay Children’s Center
• Grossmont College
• The Salvation Army of Fresno
• The ARC of Alameda County
• The Red Cross of Northeastern California

The IICF ‘s Web site is www.iicf.org.