Latest Carriers Headlines
All the headlines from our Carriers Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita spawn legislation, bulletins in Miss. and La.
Sep 4 2006 // Hurricanes Katrina and Rita exposed many misconceptions and misunderstandings that consumers had, or claimed to have had, with respect to their insurance coverage for hurricane related damage. The aftermath of these two...
What the West Coast can learn from the Gulf Coast
Sep 4 2006 // One year after Hurricane Katrina, the insurance industry says that nearly 95 percent of homeowners insurance claims have been settled. Insurance companies have paid billions in storm damage claims, and the vast majority of...
Rates are softening
Sep 4 2006 // As the surplus lines world turns to another year of soft market conditions, specialists and innovators may be the ones to survive as increasing competition intensifies, according to excess and surplus lines brokers,...
First post-Katrina court decision a victory for insurers
Sep 4 2006 // On Aug. 15, 2006, a decision was handed down in the first post-Katrina insurance lawsuit to go to trial. Because there are thousands of lawsuits raising the same claims with millions, if not billions, of dollars at stake,...
Court: Pennsylvania agents have no duty to inspect flood risks
Sep 4 2006 // Insurance agents and insurers in Pennsylvania were breathing a sigh of relief following a court ruling that says agents do not have a duty to inspect all properties before binding or renewing flood insurance coverage. Had...
Mass. agents cautious on assigned risk plan
Sep 4 2006 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler has been given the green light by the state’s high court to proceed with installing an auto insurance assigned risk plan and she appears intent on doing so. On...
The Mass. liquor JUA serves up misleading market information
Sep 4 2006 // As a managing general agent for liquor liability insurance for over 20 years, I took great interest in a recent article in Insurance Journal entitled, “Raising the bar on liquor liability training.” (See...
Navigating Washington’s business and occupation tax tangle
Sep 4 2006 // Washington State’s current business and occupation (B&O) tax laws operate under a unique structure that can confuse even the most astute insurance agent or company. Harbored within this structure is the question...
Size up subsidence and earth movement exclusions
Sep 4 2006 // More than a decade ago, law firms specializing in construct defect litigation sprang up in California and the West. Construction defect cases in the building industry became all too common, and construction insurance...
Case Law Watch
Sep 4 2006 // Actions and Proceedings Brannon v. Continental Casualty Co. (Alaska court, June 9, 2006, Unpublished) Ruling: The trial court had dismissed the injured party’s action against the insurer based on statute of...
Associations oppose eliminating contingent commissions
Sep 4 2006 // The attorneys general of New York, Connecticut and Illinois are continuing their fight against anti-competitive practices in the insurance industry. In doing so, they have been finding fault with contingent commissions...
M.H. Ross Finds New Carrier for Travel Coverage
Sep 1 2006 // The M.H. Ross Co., Northride, Calif., has announced that as of March 1, 2007, the firm’s travel insurance policies will be underwritten by Old Republic Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Old Republic International Corp.....
Research & Markets Issues Study of China’s Insurance Industry
Sep 1 2006 // Dublin-based Research and Markets has announced the addition of “China Insurance Industry Report (Investment & Merger)” 2006 to their offering. R&M said the “report describes the status quo of...
Drive Insurance Survey Asks Young Agents Their View on Industry Challenges, Opportunities
Aug 31 2006 // The future of any industry, including the independent insurance agency system, depends on the successful development and advancement of today’s young professionals. One event designed to help young agents master the...
Plaintiffs Crowd La. Courthouse, Suing Insurers Just in Case
Aug 31 2006 // The line of people suing insurance companies – just in case something derails Louisiana’s one-year extension of the deadline for victims of last year’s hurricanes – spilled out of the clerk of...
California Insurers Oppose Giving Punitive Damages to State
Aug 31 2006 // The Association of California Insurance Companies’ (ACIC) has sent an opposition letter to SB 832, a late end-of-session development, to members of the Assembly. According to ACIC, the bill would grant, for the first...
N.J. Lawmaker Reimburses Insurer for Gifts from Lobbyist
Aug 31 2006 // The head of the New Jersey Democratic Party has repaid Prudential Insurance Co. more than $1,200 for golf tickets and other gifts he received from a former lobbyist who was later accused of stalking him. Assemblyman Joseph...
Chicago Group Designs Test Study for Underwriting in Urban Markets
Aug 30 2006 // Insurers seeking a competitive edge in diverse markets are in the final stages of designing a study that will test a wide array of traditional and non-traditional information. Chicago-based Urban Insurance Partners...
Ill. Consumers File Fewer Complaints Against Insurers in 2005
Aug 30 2006 // Illinois consumers filed fewer complaints regarding their insurance companies and HMOs in 2005, according to consumer complaint statistics released recently by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional...
Customer Satisfaction Impacts Bottom Line, J.D. Powers Reports
Aug 29 2006 // Auto insurance companies that record high levels of customer satisfaction benefit from customer behaviors that have positive financial implications, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 National Auto Insurance...
