Latest Excess Surplus Headlines
All the headlines from our Excess Surplus Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Kemper Pool Downgraded Again
Jul 2 2003 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on the members of the Kemper Insurance Cos. intercompany pool to “CCC” from “B-” with a...
Alleghany Completes Acquisition of R&SA’s RSUI
Jul 2 2003 // Alleghany Corporation and the U.K.’s Royal & Sun Alliance announced that they have successfully completed the sale of Royal Specialty Underwriting, Inc., R&SA’s Atlanta, Georgia-based excess and...
A.M. Best Assigns Rating to Underwriters Reinsurance Co.
Jul 2 2003 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of A (Excellent) to Underwriters Reinsurance Company (URC) (New Hampshire), soon to be renamed RSUI Indemnity Company. The rating outlook is stable. The rating action...
James River Group Forms; Buys Fidelity Excess & Surplus
Jul 2 2003 // The James River Group Inc. announced it has formed as an insurance holding company headquartered in Chapel Hill, N.C. Additionally, the company reported that it bought Fidelity Excess and Surplus Insurance Company from...
Best Upgrades Markel Int’l, Lloyd’s Syndicate 3000 Ratings to ‘A-‘
Jul 1 2003 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has upgraded the financial strength rating to A- (Excellent) from B++ (Very Good) of the U.K.-basedarkel International Insurance Company Ltd (MIIC), has also assigned a Best’s...
Report Lawsuit Filed in L.A. by Investment Bank Against Lloyd’s, AIG
Jul 1 2003 // Jefferies & Company, an investment bank, has reportedly filed suit in L.A. Superior Court against Lloyd’s and American International Group for refusing to pay legal defense costs under D&O policies issued...
Moody’s Cuts Kemper to ‘Caa3,’ Withdraws Ratings
Jun 27 2003 // Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the insurance financial strength ratings of members of the Kemper Insurance Cos. inter-company pool “Caa3” from “B3.” In the same action, Moody’s...
Lloyd’s Survey Predicts Increased Demand for Specialist Insurance Cover
Jun 23 2003 // Lloyd’s has released the results of a survey, which shows that the demand for specialist insurance cover is expected to rise significantly over the next two years as a direct result of European weather and liability...
Inside the Contractors Market
Jun 23 2003 // If you find placing contractors insurance these days almost as daunting as building the house, condo, apartment or other facility itself, you are not alone. A restrictive market, high minimum premiums and tighter...
P/C Q1 Net Income Up 20.6 Percent, Driven by Underwriting Results and Investment Gains
Jun 23 2003 // The U.S. property/casualty industry’s net income after taxes rose 20.6 percent to $6.4 billion in first-quarter 2003 from $5.3 billion in first-quarter 2002, driven by improved underwriting results and an increase in...
Q1 Numbers an Improvement, But Concerns Stand on the Horizon
Jun 23 2003 // The property/casualty insurance industry reported a statutory rate of return of 8.8 percent in the first quarter of 2003, up from a disappointing 1.0 percent in 2002 and the worst-ever negative 2.4 percent recorded in...
New AIG Construction Specialty to Focus on Builder & Contractors
Jun 23 2003 // Responding to the lack of availability in the construction market, AIG Excess Casualty recently introduced a new excess casualty practice for builders and contractors, AIG Construction Specialty. AIG Construction Specialty...
Inside the Contractors Market
Jun 23 2003 // If you find placing contractors insurance these days almost as daunting as building the house, condo, apartment or other facility itself, you are not alone. A restrictive market, high minimum premiums and tighter...
Must the Insurer Appeal’
Jun 23 2003 // A while back I was discussing with a colleague whether a carrier has a duty to prosecute an appeal on behalf of its insured. My initial thought was that upon the resolution of the underlying matter by a trial verdict and...
Vulcan E&S Announces New Addition
Jun 20 2003 // Vulcan Excess and Surplus Insurance Service Inc. of Riverside, Calif. announced the addition of Brenda Smotherman to it’s underwritng staff. Smotherman has 13 years in the surplus lines business with a major surplus...
Lloyd’s “Has Been a Beacon of Light” Lord Levene Tells Members at AGM
Jun 19 2003 // Lloyd’s Chairman, Lord Peter Levene, told Members attending its Annual General Meeting yesterday, that “Lloyd’s has been a beacon of light. We have defied the doomsayers. And we have done more than that:...
Moody’s assigns ‘A3’ Rating to Montpelier Re
Jun 18 2003 // Moody’s Investors Service has assigned an A3 (“Good”) insurance financial strength rating to Montpelier Reinsurance Ltd., the Bermuda-based property catastrophe and specialty property reinsurance company,...
N.H. Governor Vetoes Surplus Lines Tax Increase
Jun 17 2003 // Based on his “no new taxes” platform, New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson has vetoed a bill that would have reportedly raised premium taxes for surplus lines insurers. “This bill would have been a...
A.M. Best Downgrades MLMIC Group, Princeton and OHIC Ratings
Jun 16 2003 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has downgraded the financial strength rating to B (Fair) from B++ (Very Good) of the New York-based MLMIC Group, removed the rating from under review, and assigned a “negative”...
Lloyd’s Equitas Reports Fiscal Year Results
Jun 13 2003 // Equitas, the runoff vehicle established by Lloyd’s in 1996 to handle claims liabilities prior to 1992, principally asbestos and environmental claims, announced decreases in its reserves for the fiscal year ended 31...
