Latest Carriers Headlines
All the headlines from our Carriers Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Allstate Agents Hope Unionization Sparks Changes at Insurer
Jul 26 2011 // Some unhappy Allstate Insurance agents who say the insurer controls them like employees even though they are independent contractors are moving to affiliate with a union. The National Association of Professional Allstate...
Best Gauges Potential Impact of U.S. Debt Ceiling Impasse on Insurers
Jul 25 2011 // “With the credit quality of the U.S. imperiled by the current impasse over raising the debt ceiling, insurance companies are facing increased overall risk on their balance sheets,” states A.M. Best. The company...
Iowa Insurers Get More Time on New Health Law Medical Care Requirements
Jul 25 2011 // Iowa insurance companies have been given more time to comply with a new federal rule designed to curb insurers’ profits. The regulation that went into effect this year calls for insurance companies to spend at least...
Europe’s Banks, Insurers Take Greek Debt Hit in Stride
Jul 22 2011 // Major European banks have limited their losses on Greek bonds to just over €5 billion [$7.2 billion] after negotiating a 21 percent haircut on their debt holdings as part of a rescue plan. France’s BNP Paribas is...
Florida Consumer Chief Backs Double-Digit Hikes for Allstate
Jul 22 2011 // Florida’s consumer advocate says Allstate’s two Florida home insurers are among the state’s best run and deserve double-digit rate increases along the lines they have requested. The Allstate units, Castle...
MetLife to Sell Banking Unit to Avoid ‘Too Big To Fail’ Regulation
Jul 22 2011 // MetLife, the largest life insurance company in the United States, has put its banking operations up for sale to avoid the “too big to fail” regulatory scrutiny that analysts have said was likely. MetLife said...
Zurich Says Its Policy for Sony Doesn’t Cover Data Breach
Jul 22 2011 // One of Sony Corp.’s insurers has asked a court to declare that it does not have to pay to defend the media and electronics conglomerate from mounting legal claims related to a massive data breach earlier this...
Sony Insurer, Zurich, Files Suit to Deny Data Breach Coverage
Jul 21 2011 // One of Sony Corp’s insurers has asked a court to declare that it does not have to pay to defend the media and electronics conglomerate from mounting legal claims related to a massive data breach earlier this...
Doctor Liability Insurer MAG Mutual Names Wilson Chairman, CEO
Jul 21 2011 // Medical professional liability insurance company MAG Mutual Insurance Co. in Atlanta has named cardiologist Joseph S. Wilson Jr., M.D. as chairman and chief executive officer. Wilson moves from serving patients to serving...
Auto-Glass Installer Sentenced in $1.6 Million Insurance Fraud
Jul 21 2011 // A Burien, Wash., auto glass company owner has been sentenced to jail for a billing scheme that’s believed to have cost insurers more than $1.5 million, reports the state insurance commissioner. Michael Alan Perkins,...
Florida Weighs Sale of Top Medical Malpractice Insurer
Jul 21 2011 // One of Florida’s major medical malpractice insurers is seeking state approval to be sold to an out-of-state insurance group with the initial price tag expected to total $365 million. The Florida Office of Insurance...
Best May Cut Ratings Outlook on Life Insurers
Jul 19 2011 // Ratings agency A.M. Best may lower its outlook on the U.S. life insurance and annuity sector to “negative” from “stable,” it warned Tuesday, as American and European sovereign debt concerns continue...
West Virginia Extends Deadline for Insurer Bids on State Business
Jul 19 2011 // The deadline for insurers wanting to submit bids to write the workers’ compensation coverage for state agencies in West Virginia has been extended until October. West Virginia’s primary workers’...
New Jersey Approves First Captive Insurer
Jul 19 2011 // New Jersey has approved its first captive insurance company under the new law that became effective in May. The Department of Insurance issued a certificate of authority, effective July 1, to the Prudential Insurance Co....
S&P Threatens Downgrade of Insurers, Financial Firms Over Debt Ceiling
Jul 18 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Friday raised the pressure on debt negotiators in Washington, saying it could downgrade insurers, securities clearinghouses, mortgage agencies and a laundry list of other firms without a deal...
Post-Loss Assignments of Claims Under Insurance Policies
Jul 18 2011 // In the settlement of lawsuits involving insured claims, it is not uncommon that one condition of the settlement is that the defendant assign his or her claims under all applicable insurance policies to the party that filed...
Hawaii Regulator Orders Homeowners Insurers to File New Rates
Jul 18 2011 // Hawaii Insurance Commissioner Gordon I. Ito has ordered all homeowner insurers to submit new rate filings after a Insurance Division review found that rates were “excessive” when compared to National...
As Small Business Shrinks, Small P/C Insurers Lose
Jul 18 2011 // The property/casualty small business sector – those accounts with less than 50 employees – has shrunk substantially since 2007, and there has been a dramatic shift in market share among small, mid-sized and...
Agency Satisfaction With Insurers Not Driven by Price, Compensation
Jul 18 2011 // Insurance agents tend to give a greater share of their business to insurers with whom they are highly satisfied, according to a J.D. Power and Associates Insurance Agency Satisfaction Study-Personal Lines. The study, based...
S&P Threatens Downgrades of Finance Companies; ‘AAA’ Rated Insurers
Jul 15 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Friday put a broad range of financial firms on negative credit watch, warning they could all be downgraded if the United States has its credit rating cut. The S&P action takes in Fannie Mae,...