Agency Management

Ten leading scientific institutions from the United Kingdom and New Zealand have joined the Willis Research Network funded by insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Ltd.

Raleigh, N.C.-based insurance brokerage BB&T Insurance Services said it has acquired Oswald Trippe and Co. Inc. (OTC) of Fort Myers, Fla., expanding its southwest Florida operation. Financial terms were not released.

Higginbotham & Associates insurance brokerage said it has partnered with Globex International Group to provide commercial insurance, loss control and employee benefit solutions to U.S.-based customers with multinational operations.

The cost of health care organizations' insurance premiums for workers' compensation and directors and officers liability fell in the past year, but property insurance edged upward, according to a brokerage report.

Many in the insurance world believe the price of insurance becomes more important to the client in the absence of value. How might a customer service representative add value to the insurance-client relationship?

Three independent agencies that stuck to their core missions of proactive client service and managing the cost of risk not only kept their heads above water but maintained a growing bottom line.

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Aon Corp. reported 2009 third-quarter net income attributable to Aon stockholders of $120 million, a 3 percent increase over 2008 third-quarter, but the brokerage also saw revenue decline 2 percent in the quarter to $1.81 billion.