In January 2003, I began reporting for Insurance Journal, an (almost) biweekly trade magazine for independent property/casualty agents and brokers. In September of that year I was promoted to managing editor of IJ’s new Midwest edition.

I also edited the Midwest section of IJ’s highly popular daily news Web site. Below is a near-complete archive of my work for the magazine.

Aug. 8, 2005:

• New Missouri Commissioner Brings Agent Experience to the Job

July 18, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Closing Time
• Producer Development: Learning to Sell

July 4, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Mmmm … Insurance

June 29, 2005:

• Wisconsin Assembly Passes Bill to Pin Insurers With $500 Million Fox River Cleanup Tab

June 20, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Rearview Mirror
• Insurers Dodge $500 Million Fox River Cleanup Tab — For Now

June 6, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Coins of the Realm
• Illinois Democrats Get Message on Medical Malpractice Reform
• Viruses, Worms and Hackers, Oh My!

May 9, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Second Thoughts
• Michigan Judge Stops Insurance Scoring Ban
• Minnesota’s Commissioner Wilson Backs Move to File and Use
• Smiling Through Adversity

April 18, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Pack Away Your Sorrows
• PLUS’ Med-Mal Prognosis: Positive?
• Asked & Answered: Wisconsin Commissioner Jose Gomez

April 4, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Hammerin’ Hank
• Regulators Look for a Clue
• Q&A With Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger

March 21, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — No, Michigan!
• Serving the Friendly Skies

March 7, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Our Cup Runneth Over
• As Michigan Agents Gather, Industry Finds Itself in Crosshairs
• Indiana Bill Gets Tough on Insurance Fraud, Passes House 95-1

Feb. 21, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Head of the Class on Tort Reform

Feb. 7, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Pick Your Poison

Jan. 24, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — The Drive?

Jan. 3, 2005:

• Editor’s Note — Who Are You?

Dec. 20, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind
• The Midwest’s Top 10 Newsmakers: Here Are the Heartlanders Who Made Headlines in 2004

Dec. 6, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Doctor’s Orders

Nov. 24, 2004:

• ERC’s Internal Investigation Turns Up ‘Isolated’ Bid Rigging

Nov. 22, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Eliot Spitzer is …

Nov. 19, 2004:

• Consolidated Illinois Insurance Department Hopes to Maintain Same Level of Service (video)

Nov. 18, 2004:

• The Illinois Young Agents Committee: Strong … and Growing (video)

Nov. 17, 2004:

• Westfield Carefully Weighs Wider Midwest Move (video)

Oct. 31, 2004:

• Tate Talks Tough on Illinois Insurance Department’s Consolidation (video)
• Prime Serves Up Liquor Liability (video)
• Oak Street Touts Commissions-Based Lending (video)

Oct. 25, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — You Can’t Always Get What You Want
• Shelby Upsets Insurers’ Plan to Delay TRIA’s Sunset

Oct. 11, 2004:

• Big ‘I’ Weighs Minority Producer Database
• Progressive’s New Branding Effort Hopes to ‘Drive’ Market Share

Sept. 20, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Quite Clear No Doubt Somehow
• Surplus Line Carriers: First Responders
• Lexington CEO Talks Shop
• Progressive Weighs Rebranding for Independent Agency Force

Sept. 6, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Singin’ in the Rain
• AAMGA University Aims Fundamentals Class at Newbies

Aug. 23, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Insurance is …
• NCOIL Accepts NAIC Changes to Market Conduct Model

July 19, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Summertime Blues
• Crop Insurers, Agents Unhappy With New SRA’s $36 Million Subsidy Cut
• New Specialty Trades Program Looks to Exploit Market Opportunity
• ‘Middle Market’ Not Immune to Directors & Officers Worries
• MI-Assistant: Midwest Solutions Provider is On the Brink

June 21, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — The Vision Thing
• Ohio Moves to Stem Flow of Asbestos, Silica Dust Litigation
• Late Spring Storms Slam the Midwest
• West Bend Mutual: In With the New, and Hang On to the Old
• Wisconsin Big I Gets Visit From New Insurance Commissioner Gomez
• ‘Mutual’ Respect: SECURA Says Agent Loyalty Can Survive Softer Market

June 7, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Public Entities & Potpourri
• IMSA Stakes Role as Market Conduct Model
• Managing Patient Expectations Key to Reducing Malpractice Risk
• Finally Got a Piece of the Pie: Breaking Down the Public Entity Barrier

May 17, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Rounds and Rounds We Go
• Michigan’s Granholm Moves to Ban Insurance Scoring
• AMS Says Real-Time Comparative Rater is Only Months Away
• Making the Rounds With South Dakota’s Governor

May 3, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Tech Shabby
• Agency Management Systems: Bridging to the Future in Real-Time
• Segal Doesn’t Support SegalSupport.com
• Illinois House Committee Approves Surplus Line Auto Insurance Bill

April 22, 204

• AMS to Roll-Out Quote-and-Issue Capability at Users’ Group Conference

April 19, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Get With the Program

April 5, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Hope Springs Eternal
• Agents Cry Foul Over Crop Insurance Premium Discounts
• Personal Lines Issues Dominate Michigan Agents Convention
• Before Being Destroyed, Bartman Ball Was Insured
• Brooke: This Franchise Player is Making an Impact

March 22, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Innovation Key to Comp Quandary
• One TPA Says It Has the Secret to Reining in Comp’s Transition Costs

March 8, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Desolate Climate for Agency E&O

Feb. 23, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — Nightmare on E&O Street
• Over Objections, NCOIL Restricts Web Access to Meeting Documents
• Missouri DOI Finds Insurance Scoring Harms Poor, Minorities

Feb. 9, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — One Stolen Night of Frist
• South Dakota Senate Passes File-and-Use Bill
• No Brake Yet for Personal and Commercial Auto
• Top 10 Heartland Hotspots for CE credit, Carrier CEOs and Fun

Jan. 26, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — E&S Directory Packs a Punch
• Ohio’s First Woman Insurance Director Tackles Med-Mal Crisis
• Ohio Tort Reforms, Protecting CLUE Top Industry Agenda

Jan. 12, 2004:

• Editor’s Note — … And a Happy New Magazine!
• The Strange Saga of Near North’s Michael Segal
• Illinois Insurance Director Tony Clark May Face Another Budget Crunch
• Alliance, NAII Boards Approve Merger; New Group to Be Called PCI
• Midwest Comp Market: Proceed With Caution
• CNA Targets $1 Billion in Main Street Business

Dec. 15, 2003:

• Flood Insurance Program Gets Three-Month Extension

Dec. 1, 2003:

• SIAA Claims More Than Just Aggregation

Nov. 17, 2003:

• Insurers Question NAIC Budget Reserves

Nov. 3, 2003:

• NAII, Alliance Aim to Merge by Jan. 1
• NAII’s Annual Meeting Features Celebrity Speakers, Wheeling and Dealing

Oct. 20, 2003:

• Decades of Change: From Fire Insurance to Risk Management (scroll down)

Oct. 6, 2003:

• Insurance Journal Goes National, Keeps Regional Focus
• Under the Gun, NAIC Recommits to Modernization

Sept. 22, 2003:

• Delayed Do Not Fax Rule May Be Scrapped
• National Lloyds Thrives Writing Low-Valued Dwellings

Sept. 8, 2003:

• Model Credit Bill Scores Big
• How Do You Spell Relief? Surplus Lines

Aug. 18, 2003:

• Safeco Puts Halt on New California Homeowners Policies

Aug. 4, 2003:

• Illinois Latest to Toughen Penalties Against Uninsured Motorists

July 21, 2003:

• Kemper Sends Agents Scrambling to Replace Business
• Florida RRG Hopes to Address LTC Liability Crisis

July 7, 2003:

• Latino Market Heats Up

June 23, 2003:

• Minority and Women Agents Look to Tap Emerging Markets

June 9, 2003:

• Louisiana’s Jim Brown Won’t Back Down
• Worst Ever Tornado Losses Won’t Affect Property Rates Yet
• Political Efforts, Member Growth Mark Juneau’s Tenure as IIAT President

May 21, 2003:

• Hartford Transfers Specialty Risks to Middle Market

May 19, 2003:

• The Ratings Game

May 5, 2003:

• Tort Reform Advocates Strike While Iron is Hot
• RIMS Report: Property Market Softens, Will Casualty Follow?

April 21, 2003:

• Nightclub Tragedies to Worsen Already Volatile Marketplace

April 7, 2003:

• Hard Market Hits California Homeowners

March 28, 2003:

• Agents Must Watch for Possible Discrimination, Consultant Says

March 24, 2003:

• Louisiana’s Deputy Commissioner Takes on Rating Board, Struggling firm
• Agency Cooperatives Can Boost Bottom Line

March 20, 2003:

• Minority Report: Feds Chasing Near North on Subcontractors, Group Alleges
• Kansas Commish Sounds Off on Scoring, More

March 17, 2003:

• Illinois Scoring Bill a Cinch to Pass, Say Industry Reps

March 10, 2003:

• Lost at Sea: Hardening Marine Market Challenges Agents and Brokers

March 4, 2003:

• Former Life Insurance Counsel Named Illinois Insurance Director

Feb. 24, 2003:

• Editor’s Note — California, Here We Come
• Med Mal Fever: When Doctors Walk Out, Politicians Notice
• Will Model Credit Bill Score Victories Around the Country?

Feb. 7, 2003:

• Near North to Sell Brokerage Operations to Chicago Investment Firm