Colorado News

Allstate To Appoint 54 Agency Owners in Colorado

To increase presence in the Colorado marketplace, Allstate Insurance Co. announced it plans to appoint 54 Colorado agency owners by the end of 2011. Allstate’s new and existing agencies in the state will also hire more than 80 licensed sales …

Lawmakers Consider Ending Some Pinnacol Tax Breaks

Colorado lawmakers are considering getting rid of some tax exemptions for Pinnacol Assurance. The Joint Budget Committee decided last week to draw up the legislation. The decision follows the release of documents showing that the state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance company …

Top Workers’ Compensation News in 2010

Soft market conditions with unabated price competition and a slow economy with reduced payrolls continued to affect commercial liens including the the workers’ compensation industry in 2010, as they did in 2009. Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, …

Hub International Acquires Four Western Companies

Chicago-based Hub International Ltd. (Hub), an insurance brokerage firm, has announced several acquisitions. It has acquired the shares of Hall-Conway-Jackson Inc. and the assets of Cascade Insurance Group Inc., Bothell, Washington-based insurance brokerage and employee benefit firms, respectively. Terms of …

Inspections Reducing Mine Safety Violations: U.S. Official

Conducting special inspections to crack down on mines with poor safety records appears to be working, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said last week. The agency said it issued 250 citations and orders during so-called impact inspections at …

2010’s Top Insurance Stories in the West

In 2009, independent insurance agents and brokers faced a “perfect storm” with the economic downturn, premiums at a fraction of what they used to be, and unemployment and home foreclosure rates up, said Kevin Baker of San Jose, Calif.-based Suhr …

Endurance Coverage: Top 10 Insurance Cases of the Year

For the past 10 years I have had the privilege of publishing an end-of-year article in Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance that discusses the 10 most significant insurance coverage decisions from the year gone by. Like anything that is done for …

Music and Producer Development

How to Set the Tune for Sales Success in an Agency Great music combines so many elements. When terrific lyrics are combined with an awesome arrangement, the result is powerful. And sometimes if you separate the two, the power is …

Business Moves

Ryan Specialty Group, Oakbridge R-T Specialty LLC, the wholesale brokerage unit of Ryan Specialty Group LLC, acquired Bloomfield, Conn.-based Oakbridge Insurance Services LLC, an insurance intermediary focused exclusively on executive and professional liability exposures and insurance solutions. Terms were not …

Florida Case Is Next Test for Health Care Law

Attorneys for 20 states fighting the new federal health care law told a judge last week it will expand the government’s powers in dangerous and unintended ways. The states want U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson to issue a summary judgment …