Latest Excess Surplus Headlines

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

Texas Surplus Lines Association President: Membership Has Its Perks

Jul 16 2008 // Lana Parks says her managing general agency, The Parks Group, bought a new computer system after a fellow member of the Texas Surplus Lines Association shared with her their experience and knowledge of the system....

Florida Gov., Insurance Chief Discuss Reinsurance with Lloyd’s of London

Jul 15 2008 // Florida Gov. Charlie Crist met with Lord Levene, the chairman of Lloyd’s of London, to discuss reinsurance issues in Florida, as well as Lloyd’s climate change initiatives. The meeting took place during the...

Shareholders Approve Merger of Meadowbrook Group, ProCentury Corp.

Jul 15 2008 // Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc., a specialty property and casualty insurance holding company based in Southfield, Mich., and ProCentury Corporation, a Columbus, Ohio-based specialty property and casualty insurance...

A.M. Best Affirms ‘A’ Rating of Lloyd’s

Jul 14 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a+” of Lloyd’s of London and Lloyd’s Reinsurance Co. (China) Limited. A.M. Best said it...

Pennsylvania Bans Lenders from Requiring Excess Home Insurance

Jul 8 2008 // Pennsylvania homeowners may be entitled to a reduction in their homeowners’ insurance premiums, thanks to The Mortgage Property Insurance Coverage Act that Gov. Rendell signed into law on July 4. The law, which was...

E&S Broker TAPCO Expands to Serve Delaware, New Jersey Retail Agents

Jul 8 2008 // TAPCO Underwriters, Inc., a Burlington, North Carolina-based excess and surplus lines managing general agency, is now offering its products and proprietary quoting and binding process to retail agents in Delaware and New...

People

Jul 7 2008 // Richmond, Va.-based insurance broker Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co. promoted F. Michael Crowley to president and chief operating officer. As president, Crowley has been responsible for HRH’s retail operations. In the...

Monarch E&S Names Kaufman COO

Jul 3 2008 // Monarch E&S Insurance Services promoted Mark Kaufman to the position of chief operating officer. The company said the position is commensurate with the duties he has been taking on over the past year. He will be...

Unitrin Specialty & Red Shield Insurance Company Form Marketing Venture

Jul 3 2008 // July 3 2008 – Unitrin Specialty and Red Shield Insurance Company announced today that the two companies have formed a marketing relationship that will benefit both company’s appointed agents in Oregon and...

Crump Rebrands BISYS Specialty as Five Star Specialty Programs

Jul 2 2008 // BISYS Specialty Programs, a division of BISYS Commercial Insurance Services, has changed its name to Five Star Specialty Programs, a division of Crump Insurance Services, Inc. The change is part of the consolidation of its...

Chicago’s Specialty Underwriters Again Rejects Buyout Bid by Hallmark

Jul 2 2008 // Chicago-based Specialty Underwriters’ Alliance, Inc. (SUAI) today announced that it has responded to a letter, dated July 1, 2008, from Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. (“Hallmark”) in which Hallmark...

Stewart Joins American E&S Insurance Brokers San Francisco Office

Jul 2 2008 // American E&S Insurance Brokers’ San Francisco branch appointed Chip Stewart a broker. Stewart is an industry veteran with more than 20 years experience. Most recently, he was with Swett & Crawford, where he...

S&P Raises Markel’s Ratings to ‘BBB’ From ‘BBB-‘; Outlook Stable

Jul 2 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has raised its counterparty credit rating on Markel Corp. to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-‘ and affirmed a stable. S&P said: “The upgrade is based on...

Ironshore to Buy Lloyd’s Pembroke; Best Sees No Rating Change

Jul 1 2008 // Ironshore Inc. announced from Bermuda that it has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Chaucer Holdings PLC and the management of Pembroke for the £17 million ($34 million) cash purchase of Pembroke Managing...

Lloyd’s on ‘Rogue Traders’

Jul 1 2008 // It appears the “rogue” trading in the investment banking industry may not be an isolated problem. After Jerome Kerviel cost French bank Société Générale to book some $5 billion in losses, Morgan Stanley...

Hallmark Sends 2nd Take Over Letter to Chicago Specialty Underwriters

Jul 1 2008 // Fort Worth Texas-based Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. today reaffirmed its proposal to acquire all of the outstanding stock of Chicago-based Specialty Underwriters’ Alliance Inc. (SUAI). Hallmark submitted a...

P/C Insurers’ Underwriting, Investment Results Deteriorate in First Quarter

Jun 25 2008 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s net income after taxes fell to $8.2 billion in first-quarter 2008 from $16.2 billion in first-quarter 2007. Contributing to the $8 billion, or 49.3 percent, decline in...

Lloyd’s Notes Growth of Insurance Linked Securities Market

Jun 24 2008 // “Convergence between the capital and insurance markets is gaining pace and Lloyd’s insurers are at the forefront of developments,” notes an article on the Lloyd’s web site (www.lloyds.com). The...

Specialty Underwriters Reports Acquisition Offer from Hallmark

Jun 24 2008 // Specialty Underwriters’ Alliance, Inc. reports that it has received a letter from Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. containing an unsolicited, non-binding and conditional proposal to acquire the company. The proposal...

North Dakota Workers’ Comp Board Gives $77 Million Back to Businesses

Jun 24 2008 // North Dakota’s workers’ compensation board approved giving $77 million in dividends to most of its business customers over the next year, which could reduce their annual insurance bills by 62 percent. The...