Latest Independent Agencies Headlines

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

Powell to Retire from North Carolina Agents Group; Will Join Appalachian State University

Apr 12 2016 // The Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC) announced that E. Stuart Powell Jr., MA, CPCU, CIC, CLU, ChFC, ARM, AMIM, AAI, ARe, CRIS will retire on July 31, 2016 from his current position as vice president...

How Technology May Alter Small Commercial Lines Advantage

Mar 21 2016 // As more small business owners become comfortable buying everything including insurance online, exclusive agent carriers will gain an advantage over independent agency carriers in the highly-fragmented and increasingly...

Why Small Commercial Lines May Not Be So Bright for Agency Carriers

Mar 3 2016 // As more small business owners become comfortable buying everything including insurance online, exclusive agent carriers will gain an advantage over independent agency carriers in the highly-fragmented and increasingly...

Insurance Industry Analyzes Google’s Failed Online Insurance Experiment

Feb 23 2016 // The insurance industry had a lot to say about what Google did wrong a day after the search engine giant said it would be pulling the plug on its year-long Google Compare experiment selling auto insurance online. Many...

Merger and Acquisition Activity Sets New High-Water Mark

Feb 22 2016 // Merger and acquisition activity for 2015 set a new record with 456 deals, sailing past the previous high-water mark of 325 deals set in 2012, according to recent data. The fourth quarter closed with 104 announced...

Brands & Independent Insurance Agencies

Feb 8 2016 // Much has been discussed and considerable investments have been made specific to branding within the independent insurance agency market over the past five to 10 years. Intense pressure to “brand” exists because...

Listen to Your Customers, and Win

Feb 8 2016 // For decades, the competitors of independent insurance agents have been frustrated. It seems that every so often our industry is treated to a parade of consulting firms predicting the impending demise of the independent...

8 Industry Trends to Exploit for 2016

Jan 25 2016 // It is time to put on the thinking cap and roll up the sleeves to determine what needs to be done to put the firm in a great position for growth and profit in 2016. Those that like to be proactive by being strategic and...

2016 Insurance Industry Meetings & Conventions Directory

Jan 11 2016 // Welcome to Insurance Journal‘s 2016 Insurance Industry Meetings and Conventions Directory. The information in this directory is taken from a larger database containing additional information on these and other...

Stage Set for Another Banner Year for Independent Agents

Jan 11 2016 // The Big “I” is very pleased that 2015 yielded a number of legislative successes. Early in 2015, the association scored a tremendous double victory when Congress acted on both the National Association of...

Big ‘I’ Names Hanley as Director of Agency E&O Program

Dec 29 2015 // The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (Big “I”) has named James Hanley as the new director of its agency errors and omissions insurance program. Hanley will lead the insurance and risk...

Massachusetts Agents Have Over $1B Financial Impact on State

Dec 7 2015 // Eight years after the introduction of managed competition for private passenger auto insurance and the influx of direct writers and direct response companies into Massachusetts, a new study commissioned by the...

Helping Independent Agents Compete and Evolve

Dec 3 2015 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Even with advancements in the direct-to-consumer channel, independent agents (IAs) continue to be a dominate distribution channel for property & casualty...

Study: Mass. Independent Agents Have Over $1B Financial Impact on Economy

Nov 17 2015 // Eight years after the introduction of managed competition for private passenger auto insurance and the influx of direct writers and direct response companies into Massachusetts to compete with independent agencies, a new...

Independent Agency Profitability, Organic Growth Dipped in Q3

Nov 16 2015 // Independent insurance agents and brokers posted median organic growth of 4.4 percent for the third quarter of 2015, compared with 6 percent in the third quarter of 2014, as measured by the Reagan Consulting Organic Growth...

‘Best Practices’ Agencies Continue to Build Value: Big ‘I Study

Nov 9 2015 // Most “Best Practices” independent insurance agencies have been able to either grow or maintain the value of their businesses while focusing on staff development and technology, according to the latest report by...

Independent Agency Profitability, Organic Growth Dipped in Q3: Reagan Consulting

Nov 6 2015 // Independent insurance agents and brokers posted median organic growth of 4.4 percent for the third quarter of 2015, compared with 6.0 percent in the third quarter of 2014, as measured by the Reagan Consulting Organic...

The Case for Independent Agency Optimism

Nov 4 2015 // Over the past few years, dire predictions about the independent agent’s future have gotten a lot of attention. With consumers increasingly adopting the latest technology-driven shopping and buying behaviors, some...

Big ‘I’ Adds Webb to Capitol Hill Team

Oct 22 2015 // Jennifer Webb has joined the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) Capitol Hill team as federal government affairs counsel. Webb joins the association’s bipartisan...

Michigan Agent Named Big ‘I’ Young Agent of the Year

Oct 16 2015 // The National Young Agents Committee (YAC) of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) presented the Outstanding Young Agent of the Year award to Lisa Lemanski of the...