Latest Carriers Headlines

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

Chinese Drivers Pose Fresh Risks for Foreign Insurers

Jun 5 2012 // “People like us who buy Ferraris don’t care too much about insurance because we buy cars for speeding,” said Li, in his twenties and the son of a Pearl River Delta factory owner, as he took delivery of a...

Florida’s Citizens Hears Depopulation Ideas

Jun 4 2012 // When the question is how to shrink Florida’s state-backed home insurer, answers from insurance agents, insurer executives, state lawmakers, and others come down to increasing rates and shifting more policies to the...

Best Affirms State Farm Mutual, Affiliates & Subs Ratings

Jun 4 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A++’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa+” of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (SFMAIC) and its...

Florida Cat Fund’s Financial Condition Triggers A.M. Best Review of Insurer Ratings

Jun 4 2012 // Insurers writing homeowners coverage in Florida could see a revision in their financial ratings after one of the nation’s top rating companies announced it will reconsider them in light of the financial problems...

Near National Property/Casualty Carriers Identified for 2012

Jun 4 2012 // The Demotech Company Classification System categorizes insurers into one of 11 categories based on an analysis of data reported by the companies to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The 11 categories...

N.Y. Holds Hearings on ‘Force-Placed’ Insurance

Jun 4 2012 // Premiums for so-called force-placed insurance have more than tripled since 2004, producing enormous profits for insurers and the banks that take out policies when a homeowner fails to maintain coverage required by the...

Maryland to Privatize State-Run Workers’ Comp Insurer IWIF

Jun 4 2012 // The Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund (IWIF), Maryland’s state-run workers’ comp insurance carrier, will become a private, nonprofit company under a new name Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance, effective...

Michigan Court Rules for Insurer in Tragic Hit-and-Run

Jun 1 2012 // The Michigan Supreme Court says an insurance company doesn’t have to pay benefits in a hit-and-run case because the incident wasn’t reported within 30 days. The court’s conservative majority overturned a...

Top Trade Credit Insurer Pulls Cover for Exports to Greece

May 31 2012 // The world’s biggest trade credit insurer, Euler Hermes, has suspended cover for exporters shipping to Greece because of the mounting risk of them not being paid in the event the debt-laden nation is forced out of the...

New Oklahoma Law Caps Premium Tax on Captive Insurance Companies

May 30 2012 // A proposed new law that places a cap on premium taxes paid by captive insurers is expected to increase the number of companies conducting business in Oklahoma, state regulators say. Senate Bill 1617, requested by Oklahoma...

Kentucky’s April Hail Storm Cost Insurers $175 Million

May 30 2012 // A major hail storm last month in Kentucky is estimated to have caused $175 million in insured losses and damages when balls of ice as large as baseballs battered cars and homes and knocked out power to thousands. The PSC...

Fallout from Dewey Law Firm Collapse Hits Insurers, Other Clients

May 29 2012 // For eight years, hundreds of victims of militant attacks in Israel have pursued litigation against a Jordanian bank they claim provided financial services to Hamas and other militant groups. Now the plaintiffs have a new...

58% Wind Rate Boost by Louisiana’s Last Resort Insurer

May 28 2012 // Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. plans an average rate increase for wind-only policies of 58 percent, sparking an argument among top state officials on whether the increase is legal. The Advocate reports that...

U.S. Insurers Have Capacity to Provide 2012 Hurricane Coverage: Fitch

May 25 2012 // Sufficient capacity remains available in the insurance and reinsurance markets to meet the demand for coverage prior to the approaching U.S. hurricane season, according to Fitch Ratings. Early forecasts for the 2012 U.S....

Insurer to Cover Half of R.I. City’s $389K Loss Caused by Embezzlement

May 24 2012 // An insurance company has paid the city of Woonsocket, R.I., $200,000, which covers about half the money the city says it lost to embezzlement. City Finance Director Thomas Bruce III tells the Woonsocket Call the city filed...

Maryland’s State-Run WC Insurer IWIF to Become Private Nonprofit Co.

May 23 2012 // The Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund (IWIF), Maryland’s state-run workers’ comp insurance carrier, will become a private, nonprofit company under a new name Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance, effective...

Penn. Pain Management Doc Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Insurers

May 23 2012 // A Pittsburgh-area doctor who specialized in pain management faces a lengthy federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to prescribing unnecessary painkillers and defrauding insurance carriers in the...

Insurers Paid $200M to Victims of June 1, 2011 Massachusetts Tornadoes

May 23 2012 // Massachusetts officials said that insurers so far paid out $200 million in claims related to devastating tornadoes in western and central Massachusetts that occurred on June 1, 2011. The Massachusetts Insurance Division...

AIA Calls for More International Market Access for U.S. Insurers

May 23 2012 // The American Insurance Association has issued a statement, which points out several instances of a “disconnect between the continued significant global insurance capacity and a strong demand for insurance products...

EU Trade Credit Insurers Considering Restrictions on Greek Coverage

May 22 2012 // Euler Hermes, the world’s No. 1 trade credit insurer, said it might restrict the cover it provides to exporters doing business with Greece, citing fears the debt-laden nation could be forced out of the...