Agency Management

Less than a month after Max Capital and IPC Re announced their boards had approved a merger deal, Validus Holdings presented the IPC board with a second offer to merge with the property-catastrophe reinsurer valued at $1.68 billion.

In case you haven't heard, we've relaunched the NU Web site under a new URL--www.Property-Casualty.com--complete with enhanced, multimedia options designed to give readers more opportunities to access our content and offer feedback.

Former American International Group Chief Executive Officer Maurice Greenberg arrived on Capitol Hill last week to tell a House panel how the government should fix AIG, but heard a congressman call him the wrong witness because of his own legal problems.

It's time for independent agencies that do an outstanding job selling insurance and providing risk management services for their clients to prepare their entries for NU's "Commercial Insurance Agency Of The Year" award program for 2009.

Rather than just steering business to carriers that offer the lowest price or highest compensation, it turns out the closer a carrier's relationship is with its independent agents, the more auto and homeowners insurance producers will send its way.

The Travelers Company Inc. announced that while it will begin more aggressively marketing direct personal lines business over the Internet, the carrier still strongly backs its independent agent channel.