Joel Cavaness

• Build Your E&S Business

  By Rachel Callagy  |  March 1, 2013

  Diversification is good, whether it's in your investment portfolio or your agency's book of business. Learn how to build a solid surplus lines business to keep your agency profitable, no matter the market conditions.

• Homeowners’ Rates to Stay on Rising Course; More Risk to Fall to Surplus

  By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  November 19, 2012

  A clear consensus exists among insurance executives and experts when it comes to the Property insurance market: Rates were on the rise before Superstorm Sandy, and there’s certainly no reason the storm will stop that momentum.

• NAPSLO Notebook: Scene & Heard

  By Bryant Rousseau and Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  October 22, 2012

  NATIONAL UNDERWRITER had two reporters on site in Atlanta Oct. 8-10 at the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices’ (NAPSLO) annual convention: Editor-in-Chief Bryant Rousseau and Chad Hemenway, senior editor, markets. Here are their reports from the show floor, along with comments from several NAPSLO board members on what...

• Slideshow: Surplus Lines Predictions from E&S Experts

  By Staff Writers  |  October 12, 2012

  NAPSLO board members weigh in on the biggest challenges and opportunities for the next 12 months.

• Standard Carriers to High-Risk Property: ‘We Have to Talk’

  By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  June 18, 2012

  Standard carriers that looked where they normally wouldn’t for premium during the soft market are throwing the risk back into the ring for excess carriers.

• AJG E&S Expands Into Louisiana; USI, Brown & Brown Make Acquisitions

  By Mark E. Ruquet  |  March 1, 2012

  Itasca, Ill.-based insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher says it is expanding its excess and surplus-lines business into Louisiana with the acquisition of First Premium Insurance Group Inc.

• AJG E&S Expands Into La.; USI, Brown & Brown Also Make Acquisitions

  By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 23, 2012

  Itasca, Ill.-based insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher says it is expanding its excess and surplus lines business into Louisiana with the acquisition of First Premium Insurance Group, Inc.

• Agent/Broker Acquisition Activity Revs Up as End of Year Nears

  By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  December 12, 2011

  Acquisition activity for insurance brokers appears to be heating up as the year comes to a close.

• E&S Carriers Staying Put With Wholesale Distribution

  By Phil Gusman, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  March 11, 2011

  After a panel of excess-and-surplus lines industry leaders recently expressed concerns about insurers abandoning the wholesale-distribution channel, two E&S carrier executives reiterated their commitment to both wholesaler brokers and surplus-lines business.

• E&S: Growth Opportunities Available, But Distribution Channel Under Pressure

  By Phil Gusman, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  March 7, 2011

  In a soft market, excess and surplus-lines executives have managed to identify some growth areas and have found the time ripe for technology investments and recruiting talent. But survival demands innovation.

• Wholesale Distribution Channel Under Pressure, But Vital To E&S Marketplace

  By Phil Gusman, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 28, 2011

  In a changing marketplace, excess and surplus lines executives affirmed the importance of, and their commitment to, the wholesale distribution system but noted that the ability to innovate and develop new products will be critical to the survival of that distribution system.

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  E&S Executives Discuss Industry Worries At NAPSLO Event

  By Phil Gusman, PropertyCasualty360.com, Eric Gilkey, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 26, 2011

  What keeps E&S insurance executives up at night? That was the question posed to a three-member panel at the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO) Mid-Year Leadership Forum.

• RPS Promises Retail Agents Local Delivery From Broad Product Menu

  By Susanne Sclafane, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 21, 2011

  Building on a current strength, Risk Placement Services Inc. (RPS) aims to give agent and broker clients more local access to its broad array of product offerings in 2011, according to the leader of the nationwide specialty brokerage.

• Three E&S Leaders Set To Share Problems, Strategies At Upcoming Forum

  By Susanne Sclafane, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 7, 2011

  At a time when conditions within the property and casualty insurance market are relatively stable, leaders of excess and surplus lines organizations remain concerned about unanticipated exterior changes, one E&S executive said recently.

• Specialty Broker Profile: RPS Promises Local Delivery Of Broad Product Menu

  By Susanne Sclafane, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 4, 2011

  Building on a current strength, Risk Placement Services Inc. (RPS) aims to give agent and broker clients more local access to its broad array of product offerings in 2011, according to the leader of the nationwide specialty brokerage.

• AJG Acquires Continental Excess & Herbruck, Alder

  By Staff Writer  |  December 17, 2010

  Itasca, Ill.-based insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it has acquired a New Jersey-based wholesale firm and an employee benefit firm in Ohio.