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Operations News

Marsh Agency Buys Georgia Benefits Brokerage

Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC reports it has acquired Strategic Benefit Solutions, Inc. (SBS), a $4 million benefits brokerage and consulting firm based in Alpharetta, Georgia. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. SBS will operate within the Rutherfoord division …

Poisson to Lead New Atlanta Office for ISU Agency Network

The ISU Agency Network has added a Southeast regional office in Atlanta. The office will be lead by Gary Poisson, who will manage the development of the ISU network in 11 states from Virginia to Louisiana. Poisson has 25 years …

Six Keys to Harleysville’s Turnaround

Six years ago, Harleysville Group was in need of a big change. The Pennsylvania-based insurer had just come out of the worst performing year in its history. That’s when newly appointed CEO Michael Browne — who declared the company’s performance …

Test Your 2010 Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ News IQ: 25 Questions

Are you an insurance news hound? Test your insurance news IQ and find out. The following questions and answers (at bottom of the page– don’t cheat!) were developed based on news stories published by Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­Journal.com in 2010. Good luck! 1. …

Miller, Shoemaker Join InVEST Board

InVEST, the insurance industry program that brings insurance education to classrooms, has appointed Peter Miller and Loren P. Shoemaker to its national board. Miller is president and CEO of The Institutes and Shoemaker is senior vice president and chief operating …

Liberty Mutual Paying $7.5M to Settle Bid-Rigging Charges

Boston-based insurer Liberty Mutual will pay a combined $7.5 million to New York and Connecticut to settle allegations that it steered insurance contracts by paying kickbacks large insurance brokers. In settling the suits, New York will receive $5.5 million and …

Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ Year in Review: East Edition

The touchy subject of agents’ commissions dominated headlines in 2010 — particularly in New York where regulators unveiled new rules that will force agents to reveal to clients how much they are paid. That decision struck a major nerve within …

Customer Acquisition 101: Grading Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ Carriers

Internet leads have become an essential element of doing business for insurance companies in this day and age. However, despite working hard and spending considerable amounts of money on marketing to pull in these leads, most insurance companies don’t do …

The Hartford Selling Third Party Claims Unit for $278M

The Hartford said it has inked a $278 million deal to sell its third-party claims administration business, Specialty Risk Services (SRS), to Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. The Hartford said the deal is expected to close in the first quarter, …

Why Top Performing Agencies Focus on Compensation Expenses

There are a lot of performance benchmarks to focus on to become a top performing insurance agency and to achieve high profitability. One of the areas agencies need to focus on is compensation expenses. With a struggling national economy, it’s …