Whats the primary goal for your firm? For many agency owners, the answer to this question is to remain independentand with good reason. A commitment to independence is a positive story to tell employees, clients and carriers. It can help shape your organizational culture and can also provide an advantage...

Recent data suggest that the agency-acquisition market may be heating up.

From 2006 through early 2008, the mergers and acquisitions market for agents and brokers was red hot.

From 2006 through 2008, the mergers and acquisitions market for insurance agencies and brokerages was robust. Activity and valuations both soared as highly-motivated buyers competed against each other to get deals done.

Although focus on the national credit crisis has been ratcheted-up considerably over the past few weeks, banks have been feeling the heat for much longer, with fallout for those planning to acquire

The challenges facing the business today are many--a brutally soft property-casualty market, the prospect of nationalized health insurance, a lousy economy, potential increases in capital gains tax

By anyone's standards, these are tough times for the banking industry. The subprime credit crisis and record losses in trading activities are among the issues that have taken a heavy toll on recent

A decade ago, banks began entering the insurance distribution business with high hopes for cross-sales. Terms like "one-stop shopping" and "financial services supermarket" were often used by banks as