Commercial Lines

Insurance broker Hub International Ltd. will expand its operations in the South with the acquisition of First Southeast Insurance Services Inc.

The child care industry isn't what it used to be—or what it will be. Coverages have changed and the market has shrunk as a result of the recession. But as the economic recovery gains momentum and employment gradually rebounds, independent agents can successfully grow in this business.

Global insurance brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. on Wednesday said that it bought a Madison, Wis.-based retail insurance broker, its second acquisition in as many days.

Investors got a chance this week to weigh in on the government's odds of recouping the full $182 billion bailout of American International Group Inc. The response so far: Don't count on it.

Agent associations are criticizing what they say are federal efforts to strip away crop-insurance servicing components from their members.

It's still a buyer's market for insurance on upstream and downstream energy risks, according to a Marsh report. However, uncertainty has developed as reinsurers take heavy losses and natural and man-made catastrophes take their toll.