February 13
Insurance Agency Mergers and Acquisitions in 2016 Second-Highest Recorded, OPTIS Partners’ Report Reveals
Strong sellers’ market continues in United States and Canada CHICAGO—Jan. 30, 2017—Mergers and acquisitions of insurance agencies last year were the second-highest ever in 2016, according to OPTIS Partners’ annual report. The OPTIS database recorded 449 deals in the United States and Canada in 2016, a slight dip from the all-time record of 456 in […]
Increased Fines Against Insurance Producers – Another Bad Idea for New York’s Main Street Businesses
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed New York State budget includes a plainly misguided addition that must be expunged, if small businesses – thousands of them across the State – are to sustain their viability and continue to serve other local businesses, homeowners and drivers. We refer to a newly minted set of penalty levels that independent […]
The Time is NOW!
The independent agency system is under attack. New competitors fueled by technology and oblivious to the protection needs of the consumer are trying to take over the personal and small-to-medium business market. We see it happening, we’re concerned, but we just aren’t moving quick enough to deal with the threat. Both independent agents and the […]
When Bad Hacks Happen to Good Insurance People
By Chris Moschovitis It started with a friend’s request for help: “Advice please: One of my email accounts has been hacked five times in the last week. I keep changing the password using the complicated passwords that are computer generated and now it seems like I’m getting hacked even more. What can I do to […]
Clear & Unambiguous Policy Language Must Be Enforced
Insurer May Decide What It Wants to Insure This case involves an insurance coverage dispute arising from a wrongful death and products liability claim. Lindsey King (“King”), individually and on behalf of her deceased minor child Peyton Wilt (“Wilt”), appealed the June 26, 2015 judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of […]
Appellate Division Rejects Argument That Driver Was Too Drunk to “Knowingly” Refuse Breathalyzer
Matter of Hickey v New York State Dept. of Motor Vehs. Edited by Lawrence N. Rogak Appealing the revocation of her driver’s license, plaintiff argued that although she refused a Breathalyzer test when police offered it at the hospital, she was in too much of an “altered state” to knowingly refuse. In addition, she argued […]
Why Republicans Should Let ObamaCare Self-Destruct
Suppose you are a surgeon who is called to see a patient who is bleeding from something in his abdomen. You are to consider an exploratory operation to try to find the bleeding point and stop the hemorrhage. The problem is that the patient has widely-metastatic cancer. He has already mostly depleted the blood bank’s […]
