The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers announced the addition of two new member firms, bringing its total new member firms year-to-date to 14. The new members are Besso Limited (London, England) and Patriot National (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). New member firms previously announced in 2015 include: Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers; BroadStreet Partners; CLS Partners; CoBiz Insurance; Cowan Insurance Group; Crescent Global; Esser Hayes Insurance; Gehring Group; Jiang Tai Insurance Brokers; Prime Risk Partners; Snellings Walters Insurance; The Capacity Group. This year, The Council added a total of nine new sponsors to its Partners in Excellence corporate sponsorship platform, which complements its growth in membership. The Council most recently welcomed RiskMatch as a 2015 Event Sponsor. Previously announced this year, The Council added five prominent insurance companies and three notable industry firms: AXA Employee Benefits (Platinum Partner), XL/Catlin (Platinum Partner), ThinkHR (Gold level), ELAP Services (Event Sponsor), Markel (Event Sponsor), UnitedHealth Group (Event Sponsor), Westfield Insurance (Event Sponsor), and Work at Home Vintage Employees (WAHVE) (Event Sponsor).  Additionally, four existing sponsors increased their investment in The Council from the Event Sponsor to Gold Council Partner: Aspen, Great American, Nationwide and Swiss Re. 

USI Insurance Services (USI) announced that it has acquired the employee benefits business of Benefit Controls of the Carolinas, Inc. This is USI's first acquisition in North Carolina, extending its presence as the leading middle market insurance brokerage and consulting firm in the Southeast. Benefit Controls of the Carolinas, Inc. designs and manages employee benefits and wellness solutions, as well as provides human resources consulting for companies of all sizes. This business and its employees will remain in its Charlotte, North Carolina, location. 

Marsh and Munich Re announced the availability of a new non-damage business interruption insurance (NDBI) solution that combines risk transfer and consulting services to assist life sciences companies in managing the impact of regulatory actions imposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA and its international counterparts are more closely scrutinizing life sciences companies today through planned and unplanned inspections to ensure current good manufacturing processes (cGMP) are being followed. NDBI Pharma IQ offers life sciences companies that suspend their manufacturing and distribution due to a cGMP violation, up to $10 million in aggregate non-damage business interruption and extra expense coverage for up to 10 manufacturing locations, including those owned by third parties. The policy is only available through Marsh and Munich Re. Additional insurance capacity and consulting services are available as needed.