Latest Carriers Headlines
All the headlines from our Carriers Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Berkshire’s Buffett: Life Insurers Took ‘Crazy’ Financial Risks
May 5 2009 // Billionaire Warren Buffett on Sunday criticized some life insurers for taking on “crazy” financial risks by selling variable annuities, or retirement products that promised unrealistic guarantees to buyers. The...
Indiana General Assembly Eliminates Credit Mandate for Insurers
May 5 2009 // The Indiana General Assembly has passed House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1246, which removes a provision in Indiana law requiring insurance companies to re-rate an insurance policy at least once every three years based on current...
Texas Senate Passes Insurance Department ‘Sunset’ Bill
May 4 2009 // After a temporary block by Democrats in the Texas Senate, a bill allowing continuation of the Texas Department of Insurance passed the Senate and headed to the House of Representatives for deliberation. Sen. Glenn Hegar of...
2009 Super Regional P/C Insurers™
May 4 2009 // The original criteria and objective definition for Super Regional P/C Insurers™ were established in the Feb. 12, 2007 issue of Insurance Journal. Prior to the establishment of an industry-wide definition, a number of...
Agents, Rate Your Regional Carriers in a New Insurance Journal Sponsored Survey
May 4 2009 // Channel Harvest Research and Insurance Journal have announced a major new study in the independent agency system that will probe agents’ attitudes toward carrier relationships and the insurance companies they...
Insurance ‘Relatively Unaffected by Recession,’ Boasts Berkshire’s Buffett
May 4 2009 // Being a big insurer will cost Berkshire Hathaway Inc. dearly when severe catastrophes strike, but it is a good place to be in the midst of an economic downturn, Chairman Warren Buffett said. “We are lucky,”...
Florida Lawmakers Pass Surplus Lines Insurance Regulation Exemption
May 4 2009 // Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has a bill on his desk that promises to clarify the state’s regulation of the surplus lines insurance business. The Florida Senate on May 1 joined in the House in passing the measure...
Texas Senate Approves Windstorm Bill
May 4 2009 // The Texas Senate approved a new structure for the state’s depleted windstorm insurance fund last week, providing a combination of potential rate hikes, bonding and other revenue to ensure the account gets...
Declarations
May 4 2009 // Column as You See ‘Em “The insurance companies that wrote credit default swaps were happy not to be regulated.” —Comments by Allstate Chief Executive Tom Wilson in a New York Times op-ed column that...
Commissioner Says Insurers Violated Maryland Regulations
May 4 2009 // A year-long investigation by the Maryland Insurance Administration has found that 67 of the state’s 119 car insurers underpaid claims, Commissioner Ralph S. Tyler said. State regulators have fined the companies a...
As Credit Scores Fall, Criticism of Insurers’ Credit Scoring Rises
May 4 2009 // Consumer Advocates Focus on How Insurers Treat Insureds in Difficult Economic, Credit Climate With consumers’ credit scores dropping as lenders tighten credit terms, insurance consumer advocates are stepping up their...
Court: Insurer Must Indemnify Contractor in Mass. ‘Sick Building’ Case
Apr 30 2009 // A federal court ruled that an insurer has a duty to defend and indemnify a flooring company which installed carpets and tiles in a Massachusetts office that were so fume-ridden, they made the building unusable. In a...
North Carolina Judge Clears Way for Home Insurance Rate Changes
Apr 30 2009 // A Wake County judge has cleared the way for homeowners insurance rates to drop in nearly three dozen western North Carolina counties and soar along the coast starting Friday. Superior Court Judge Ronald Stephens this week...
Regulator Sees Mergers Coming in Weakened Life Insurance Sector
Apr 29 2009 // U.S. life insurers, weakened by the global financial crisis, are in for mergers and regulators will not shy away from playing matchmaker to deal with weak companies, Eric Dinallo, New York’s insurance superintendent,...
AIG’s Title as World’s Largest Insurer Gone Forever
Apr 29 2009 // American International Group Chief Executive Edward Liddy is inching toward several more asset sales, has plans for a trio of initial public offerings, and expects the financial products unit to be a much smaller problem...
Florida Rep. Proctor Challenges Commissioner McCarty’s Insurance View
Apr 28 2009 // In my opinion, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty’s assertions that our state has “one of the most” competitive property insurance markets in the country and that easing rate regulation will not...
S&P Reports ‘Pressure Builds on Europe’s Insurers,’ Despite Strength
Apr 27 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a new report, – “Europe’s Insurers Feel The Strain, But The Sector Retains Its Strength” – which indicates that for many insurers,...
Willis Study Finds ‘Buyers’ Market’ for Commercial D&O in Q1
Apr 27 2009 // According to a report from Willis Group Holdings, “over the last three months, London market insurers reported an average premium reduction of eight percent on renewal business for the commercial sector’s...
Insurers’ Taxes Could Back Florida Private School Voucher Program
Apr 27 2009 // A private school voucher program for children from low-income families in Florida would be strengthened by a bill the House passed last week, but critics say it would be another financial blow for public...
First Nations Customers Urged to Seek New Insurance Company
Apr 27 2009 // The trustee of a troubled Grand Island, Neb., insurance agency has warned customers of an affiliated company to find a new insurer. In letters sent this week to First Nations Compensation Plan customers, Thomas Stalnaker...
