Latest Carriers Headlines

All the headlines from our Carriers Topic Page, ordered by recency.

STANDARD & POOR’S IMPLEMENTS NEW WAY TO ASSESS INSURERS’ CATASTROPHE RISK

Apr 3 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its criteria for measuring catastrophe risk for primary insurers will be revised early in the second quarter of this year. (For reinsurers, there are no current plans...

Downsized D & O

Apr 3 2006 // It hasn’t been healthy. In fact, the directors and officers liability insurance market for super-sized Enrons, WorldComs and the Fortune 1000 has been unhealthy for some time. Looking at the market’s...

News Currents

Apr 3 2006 // Insurers unlikely to alter credit scoring as agencies pursue uniformity The decision by the three major consumer credit reporting agencies to create a more uniform credit scoring system is not expected to have a major...

Banks, shippers, oil companies – not just insurers – face Katrina-related suits

Apr 3 2006 // One couple has sued Regions Bank for allegedly failing to pay their windstorm policy out of their escrow account. Hurricane Katrina lawsuits are multiplying and it’s not just insurance companies that are defendants....

Regulator’s View

Apr 3 2006 // The District’s two legislative proposals may serve a public benefit, but neither will reduce premiums for physicians Rather, any medical malpractice reform must have restrictions on non-economic damages and limits on...

Take the pollution out of your D&O policy

Apr 3 2006 // D&O insurers may invoke an ‘absolute’ pollution exclusion to deny coverage for claims that arise out of environmental reserves or other pollution. Is your directors and officers policy polluted?...

Policy Rescission

Apr 3 2006 // A hasty rescission action can lead to extra-contractual liability and, in this Massachusetts case, an unfortunate judicial opinion. by Harvey Weiner Although the road to rescission of an insurance policy can be covered...

10 Pa. Gov. Rendell not shy with veto pen

Apr 3 2006 // Nixes joint and several fix; also homebuilder damages cap 10 Northeast warned of ‘historic’ storm this year Meteorologists say patterns mimic 1938 Long Island Express 12 Insurers unlikely to alter credit...

Case Law Watch

Apr 3 2006 // Northwestern National Insurance Company v Carlson (Minn. App. March 7, 2006) Ruling: An insured’s cause of action against a liability insurer for breach of its contractual duty to indemnify does not accrue, and,...

News Currents

Apr 3 2006 // “I personally believe insurers would be better off if they had more standardization, much like the banking industry,” Joel Ario, News Currents New uniform credit agencies’ scoring system not likely to...

News Currents

Apr 3 2006 // Joel Ario, Oregon Insurance Administrative News Currents New uniform credit agencies’ scoring system not likely to impact insurers The recent announcement by the three major consumer credit reporting agencies that...

Lawyer: Whistleblower helping build case against insurer in Hurricane Katrina lawsuit

Apr 3 2006 // A high-profile litigator in Moss Point, Miss. said that a whistleblower is helping him build a case against insurers who denied thousands of claims from policyholders whose homes were destroyed in Hurricane...

Case Law Watch

Apr 3 2006 // Auto-Liability Fields v. American Central Insurance Co. (La. App., 2nd Dist., March 8, 2006) Undated named driver exclusion endorsement sufficient to defeat coverage: Lensing was involved in a June 18, 2003, auto accident...

Texas insurers see profits despite Hurricane Rita

Apr 3 2006 // Texas home insurers turned substantial profits last year despite Hurricane Rita’s destruction, prompting state regulators to question whether some companies’ rates are too high, the Associated Press...

News Currents

Apr 3 2006 // TDI’s Selden explains department’s high tech, high touch approach And tells a good news/bad news story along the way Texas Department of Insurance Senior Associate Commis-sioner for Consumer Affairs Audrey...

Take the pollution out of your D&O policy

Apr 3 2006 // Is your directors and officers policy polluted? Shareholders and environmental groups are taking a closer look at the environmental disclosures made by public companies. The U.S. General Accounting Office issued a report...

Closer Look: Insurance Associations

Apr 3 2006 // Editor’s note: This is the first article in a series on Western insurance associations. Part II of this article will appear in a future issue. As people migrate to the West to enjoy the weather and opportunities for...

Case Law Watch

Apr 3 2006 // Bechtel Petroleum Operations Inc. v. The Continental Insurance Co. (California Court of Appeals, 2nd District, March 6, 2006) Ruling: At issue on this appeal was whether the insurers had a duty to defend lawsuits filed by...

Measuring Risk: Insurers’ day of reckoning arrives

Apr 3 2006 // “The ultimate objective is for an insurer is to use an ERM framework to better understand and manage the correlation and diversification of risk across the company and uses this information to determine overall risk...

Consumer group accuses Geico, other insurers of unfair underwriting

Apr 3 2006 // News Currents A U.S. consumer group has made claims that Geico Corp. uses rate-making methods that directly base eligibility and premiums solely upon the educational background and occupation of consumers. The Consumer...