Brokers consistently list service and administrative issues as keys to selecting their voluntary carrier partners. Two-thirds of them put these factors in the extremely important category.

Once referred to as the "people's republic of Santa Monica" because of its socially conscious government, the Los Angeles coastal suburb now wants to find out whether its citizens are feeling groovy.

Mutual fund shareholders aren't budging from their recently conservative approach to investing, despite this year's stock market gains. Cash was pulled from stock funds for the eighth month in a row in October, while bond funds attracted cash for the 14th consecutive month.

A prominent private equity firm is said to be in the running to purchase insurance giant Aviva's American life insurance and annuities units.