DON'T GET BURNED IN THE OVERHEATED ACQUISITION MARKET! by Chris Burand Wall Street has definitely cooled, but agency mergers and acquisitions have not. ...

Insurance agents and brokers have good reason to feel slighted. Like being stuck outside the New Year's party without an invitation, agents have had many reasons for envy as investors in other sectors congratulated themselves for another incredible year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by a whopping 68% from 1996 to 1998, which was its strongest two-year performance since 1955. Even the insurance companies got invited to the party, with property and casualty insurers enjoying a 64% increase in value during the past two years.