Hub International’s Kaye Insurance Associates Inc. is amongst a group of brokerages who are being asked to provide information to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as part of a probe into contingent commissions.Also receiving subpoenas thus far are Marsh,…
Hub International Ltd. has established its 11th “hub”, this time in the Pacific Northwest U.S., with the purchase of Seattle, Washington-based Bush, Cotton & Scott, LLC. The brokerage specializes in general insurance and surety bonding for construction firms in Washington,…
Former Pembridge brand Pafco has received a federal charter to operate as a stand-alone company, although it will continue to target the high-risk or non-standard auto market as before. Pafco has also applied for provincial licenses in Ontario, New Brunswick…
The Insurance Brokers Association of B.C. (IBABC) says its members will offer a new premium financing program to small businesses through a partnership with Scotiabank and technology firm GHR Systems Inc.IBABC executive director says the move is a response to…
The latest quarterly market index produced by the U.S.-based The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB) suggests that pricing of commercial business either declined or remained flat across the various size segments of the marketplace during the first quarter…
Royal & SunAlliance Canada Group has appointed four new brokerages to its book in northern part of New Brunswick. The insurer says it will look at expanding overall capacity in the province’s auto insurance market based on the product cost-cutting…
Reacting to the release of New Brunswick’s Select Committee Report on Public Automobile Insurance, the province’s brokers say they want to keep competition for their consumers.The Insurance Brokers Association of New Brunswick (IBANB) is critical of the committee’s report, saying…
The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR), coming off their spring meetings, has released feedback on the January discussion paper on referral agreements. Among the respondents is the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO), which outlined its policy on referral…
In a discussion paper, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) is looking at loosening the “sole occupation” restriction on general and life agents.The restrictions mean that agents in bigger communities must be full-time agents and not hold other jobs.…
Commercial and reinsurance brokers are facing an increasing demand for their services, in light of the growing complexity of risks, according to the latest Swiss Re sigma study.The study looks at development of the broker market over the past 20…
Net income for brokerage and bank Western Financial Group (TSX: WES) was up 37% in 2003, to $2.1 million from $1.6 million in 2002, being its own projections. This translates to earnings per share of $0.11 last year, versus $0.08…