Agency Management

A survey of U.S. consumers' experience with a variety of professions finds they rate their interactions with independent insurance agents as less than enjoyable.

Ship owners faced a more benign protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance renewal season as of last week, according to the marine division of Aon Risk Services, subsidiary of Chicago-based insurance broker Aon Corp.

Insurers keep shooting themselves in the foot, with the latest example how they handed President Obama fresh ammunition on health insurance reform by sending individual rates soaring, says NU Editor Sam Friedman on his blog at www.NUSamSoapBox.com.

The year got off to another slow start for property and casualty carriers, as MarketScout's monthly "Barometer" survey found U.S. commercial insurance pricing still soft, with premiums down an average of 4 percent in January.

The three largest insurance brokers may have won back the right to charge contingent commissions, but those fees won't reach the same earnings' levels they once did, Moody's Investor Service said.

The door is open to once again allow the nation's three biggest insurance brokerages to accept contingent commissions after an agreement was reached by the trio with New York, Illinois and Connecticut officials.

Did you catch the premiere of "Undercover Boss" on CBS after the Super Bowl? It's a reality show about CEOs taking on lower-level jobs in their companies, where they get their hands dirty and see how the operation really functions.

As investment in green construction grows, insurers are increasingly being called upon to create coverage enhancements to address the new range of underwriting and risk management exposures in climate-friendly buildings.