North Carolina News

North Carolina’s First Bank Insurance Acquires Montgomery County Agency

North Carolina’s First Bank Insurance Services, Inc. has acquired The Insurance Center, Inc., a Montgomery County property/ casualty insurance agency with 500 customers. Kim Birckhead, president of The Insurance Center, said she is pursuing a new career but will serve …

North Carolina Agent Sentenced for Embezzlement

A North Carolina insurance agent has been sentenced to 48 months supervised probation with one year of electronic house arrest after pleading guilty to five counts of embezzlement, according to state officials. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announced the sentencing of …

A.M. Best B+ (Good) Rated Contractor GL Insurance Carrier Expanding to 35 States

National Contractors Insurance Company, Inc., a Risk Retention Group (“NCIC”), A.M. Best Rated B+ (Good), is expanding from 25 to 35 states, with their Commercial General Liability coverage now being made available in Alabama, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Mississippi, …

Allstate Selects San Antonio for New Customer Call Center

Allstate Insurance Company said it will open an $11.6 million customer information center in San Antonio, Texas, and is planning to hire 600 employees as part of that move. Allstate vice president of direct sales and service Mark Pitchford said …

Insurer Pays $5 Million in Deaths of 2 Bicyclists in South Carolina

An insurance company is paying $5 million to settle a case of a North Carolina driver that struck and killed two bicyclists in South Carolina. The State newspaper reported that a federal judge approved the settlement for the family of …

Main Street America Records Profitable and Busy 2009

The Main Street America Group reported its 2009 financial results that included a 1.3 percent increase in net premium to $815 million, an 18.2 percent return on equity, and a 97.4 combined ratio for the year ended Dec. 31, 2009. …

Keystone Insurers Continues Kentucky Expansion; Adds 5 Agencies

Five more insurance agencies have joined the Keystone Insurers Group in Kentucky, bringing to 11 the total number of KIG agencies in the state. The latest to join are Hayes-Utley-Hedgspeth, Moore Insurance, Cambridge Insurance, Wooten Insurance and Johnson-Pohlmann. These five …

State Bans on Phoning While Driving Fail to Reduce Crashes

As state legislators across the United States enact laws that ban phoning or texting while driving, a new study finds no reductions in crashes after hand-held phone bans take effect. Comparing insurance claims for crash damage in four U.S. jurisdictions …

State Bans on Phoning While Driving Failing to Reduce Crashes

As state legislators enact laws that ban phoning and/or texting while driving, a new study finds no reductions in crashes after hand-held phone bans take effect. Comparing insurance claims for crash damage in four U.S. jurisdictions before and after such …

Business Moves

ProBuilders The ProBuilders risk retention group offering general liability insurance for builders and contractors will stop accepting new business and not renew most of its 1,800 policies as of March 1. According to Bill Tepe, chief financial officer for NationsBuilder …