J. Patrick Gallagher, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Arthur J. Gallagher, talking about the high amount of health-benefits business AJG is seeing due to the new health-care law, as smaller benefits agencies are unable to keep up with new compliance requirements:

“I've never seen such a selling environment. That business is on fire and continues to be.”

Matt Gannon, assistant vice president of federal affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, discussing the upcoming “Flood the Hill” effort, which involves 13 trade groups across multiple industries that will push for Senate passage of a National Flood Insurance Program extension starting May 7:

“Flood-insurance reform is closer to becoming law than it ever has been before. 'Flood the Hill' will hopefully get us over the goal line.”

Daniel S. Glaser, group president and chief operating officer of Marsh & McLennan Companies, discussing the current insurance-pricing environment:

“From a pricing standpoint, it's not a headwind, but I wouldn't call it a tailwind either. You have to look at what geography you're talking about and what line of business you're talking about. It's very segmented, and since we participate across all of those segments, its muted from our perspective.”

Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the global insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates, noting decreased auto-insurance shopping among consumers despite increased insurer-advertising spending:

“The industry spent $5.7 billion on advertising and allowances in 2011, but this increased spend does not appear to have generated a commensurate increase in market churn.”