Agency Management

A leader of an Allstate agents group said the insurer, after converting agents to independent contractor status, is treating them like employees, prompting the producers to ask for an Internal Revenue Service probe.

Contingent commissions could represent a conflict for insurance brokers but it can be managed, former New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo said.

Reversing a downward trend, the frequency of medical malpractice claims against hospitals is rising, an insurance brokerage and risk management group has found.

The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies and FM Global were the big winners in the first "Risk Manager Choice Awards," based on a survey by the Flasp?hler Research Group, in partnership with National Underwriter.

Brown & Brown Inc. reported third-quarter net income of $41 million, up just under 1 percent from 2008 net income of $40.6 million.

Despite the poor economy, persistently soft market and the insurance industry's chronic reputational challenges, buyers are basically happy with their commercial lines carriers, and most are unlikely to be seeking a change anytime soon.