Latest Carriers Headlines
All the headlines from our Carriers Topic Page, ordered by recency.
President Obama Proposes Cuts in Crop Insurance Subsidy, Insurer Costs
Apr 10 2013 // President Barack Obama proposed reducing the most expensive part of the farm safety net by cutting the subsidy to farmers for buying crop insurance. At present, the government pays 62 cents of every $1 of insurance...
Best Affirms Aegon’s U.S. and Canadian Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable
Apr 10 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of the U.S. life/health subsidiaries of the Netherlands Aegon N.V....
Lawsky Urges Fellow Regulators to Reform Force-Placed Insurance Market
Apr 9 2013 // New York Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky, whose department reached a settlement with the country’s largest “force-placed” or “lender-placed” insurer Assurant last month, is...
Bond Insurer’s Settlement with IRS Puts It on Track to Emerge from Bankruptcy
Apr 9 2013 // Ambac Financial Group Inc. on Monday said it has reached a $101.9 million settlement of a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service, a key step in the bond insurer’s effort to emerge from bankruptcy. The settlement...
Florida Justices Face Another PIP Conundrum: Medical Fees
Apr 8 2013 // Florida’s high court is poised to decide how much money insurers owe some medical providers in cases where an auto policy does not specifically state that the fees will be based on a fee schedule approved by state...
Closing N.Y.’s Reopened Case Fund May Leave Workers’ Comp Insurers Under-Reserved
Apr 8 2013 // An industry executive warned recently that a set of proposed changes in New York could leave workers’ comp insurers under-reserved. Julia Stenberg, an assistant vice president and actuary at CNA insurance companies,...
Armstrong Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit Brought by Dallas-Based Insurer
Apr 8 2013 // Lance Armstrong has asked a Texas court to dismiss a lawsuit by a Dallas promotions company seeking repayment of more than $12 million in bonuses paid for winning the Tour de France. SCA Promotions insures prizes in...
Insurance Company Settlement Money to Bolster Louisiana’s Budget
Apr 8 2013 // Louisiana has received $95 million in legal settlements with insurance companies, ending questions about whether the money would roll in for this year’s budget or leave lawmakers scrambling to fill a...
Mortgage Lender Charged with Defrauding Government Insurer
Apr 8 2013 // The United States last Thursday sued a New York mortgage company it said defrauded the federal government into insuring poor quality home loans, costing taxpayers millions of dollars. In a civil lawsuit filed in Manhattan...
Florida May Scrap No-Fault Auto Insurance Law
Apr 5 2013 // Frustrated by a recent court decision temporarily blocking part of Florida’s no-fault auto insurance law reformed last year, state lawmakers are considering scrapping the entire law. Current proposals would reinstate...
Mortgage Insurers Settle for $15 MIllion Over Alleged Kickbacks to Lenders
Apr 5 2013 // Four mortgage insurers agreed to pay about $15 million to settle claims that they paid kickbacks to mortgage lenders in exchange for business, the U.S. consumer watchdog said on Thursday. The Consumer Financial Protection...
Insurer Analyzes Top 10 Driving Distractions Involved in Fatal Car Crashes
Apr 4 2013 // Of the more than 65,000 people in the U.S. killed in car crashes over the past two years, one in 10 were in crashes where at least one of the drivers was distracted, according to an analysis by Erie Insurance. The Erie,...
Pennsylvania Borough Insurer Pays $98K in Cop-on-Cop Lawsuit
Apr 3 2013 // A Pittsburgh suburb’s insurer has paid $98,500 to settle a lawsuit filed by an Allegheny County police officer against local cops he claims roughed him up then filed false charges against him. Fifty-one-year-old...
High-Tech Personal Lines: Technology Changing the Way Agents Do Business
Apr 3 2013 // Many believe there is still opportunity for independent insurance agents and their carriers to grab personal lines market share. But to do so they must find a way to compete against the giant direct response and captive...
Florida May End Insurers’ Tax Credit
Apr 1 2013 // Florida lawmakers are moving forward with a proposal to eliminate a 15 percent premium tax credit for insurance companies in order to reduce automobile license fees despite strong objections from insurance industry. The...
Project CAP CEO Bacciocco Shares Views on Consumer Agent Portal and 2013
Apr 1 2013 // Independent agents should soon be getting some help with their personal lines sales— better late than never. The delayed Consumer Agent Portal — backed by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Inc....
4 Insurers to Reimburse Mass. Drivers to Settle Allegations of Overcharges
Mar 29 2013 // Four auto insurers have settled allegations that they overcharged Massachusetts consumers relating to auto insurance surcharges that were overturned by the state’s Board of Appeal, or otherwise removed from state...
New Rules in Place in Michigan for Insurer Use of Credit Information
Mar 29 2013 // A series of new laws have taken effect in Michigan that how insurance companies can use a person’s credit information. The laws passed last session went into effect March 28. Under one of the measures, insurers...
P/C Mergers Down in 2012 But Private Equity Still Favored Brokers: Conning
Mar 28 2013 // Amounting to just $4.7 billion in aggregate deal value, the 46 merger and acquisition transactions announced in the property/casualty insurance sector in 2012 were near record low levels, according to the latest annual...
Florida Regulators Allege Fraud by Allianz in Case of Failed Insurer
Mar 27 2013 // Florida regulators are alleging that insurer Allianz and its companies contributed to the collapse of a Florida domestic property insurer by taking out more than $20 million in assets and rendering it unable to meet its...