Latest Market Headlines

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

Recruiting Next Generation of Insurance Professionals

Apr 22 2013 // All successful organizations have visionary leaders. Dr. Edwin S. Overman, CPCU, was a leader in the insurance business and an advocate for insurance education. He served as president of The Institutes from 1966 to 1987,...

10-Point Checklist for DO Renewals in a Hard Market

Apr 22 2013 // No one, least of all the insured, likes a price increase. But with the D&O market firming across the board – as confirmed by the Towers Watson “2012 Directors and Officers Liability Survey” released in...

One-Day Modern Consumer Training for Insurance Professionals Hosted by PIA of Michigan on Thursday, April 25th

Apr 19 2013 // Warwick, RI, 4/19/13 – Astonish, a leading digital marketing solutions and sales training provider for insurance agencies, encourages local insurance agency principals, CEOs, and presidents in Michigan and surrounding...

N.Y. Reaches Settlement With QBE Over ‘Force-Placed’ Insurance Business

Apr 18 2013 // New York officials announced this morning that a New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) investigation produced an additional settlement with a major “force-placed” or “lender-placed”...

Willis Re Finds Reinsurance Market Changes Favoring Mutual Insurers

Apr 15 2013 // Mutual insurers have found themselves in a prime position to capitalize on changes in the traditional reinsurance market, according to Willis Re, the reinsurance broking arm of Willis Group Holdings. Its newly released...

Pricing Hikes, Improved Underwriting Bode Well for P/C Industry: Conning

Apr 12 2013 // With 2012 preliminary results showing improvement in profitability in the sector, the property/casualty insurance industry should see continued strong net premium growth and a substantially improved combined ratio for...

PCI Urges Progress on U.S.-EU Trade Pact for Trans-Atlantic Insurance Market

Apr 12 2013 // The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) has issued a statement urging negotiators to make progress on enhancing the proposed U.S.-EU Trade agreement to include mutual recognition of the U.S. and EU...

Gun Liability Insurance Bills Aren’t the Answer, Says Insurance Industry

Apr 10 2013 // Congress appears ready to take up gun control legislation for the first time in years, with proposals under consideration focusing on background checks, straw purchases and money for school safety. If the debate stays on...

Lawsky Urges Fellow Regulators to Reform Force-Placed Insurance Market

Apr 9 2013 // New York Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky, whose department reached a settlement with the country’s largest “force-placed” or “lender-placed” insurer Assurant last month, is...

Qatar Financial Centre Authority Sells Qatarlyst to Ebix Inc.

Apr 9 2013 // The Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA) announced that it has reached an agreement to sell Qatarlyst, an electronic trading exchange for the global insurance and reinsurance industry, to Ebix Singapore Pte Limited, a...

The Right Career Choice for the Next Generation

Apr 8 2013 // The road to becoming a successful independent insurance agent is not always easy. The economy and often volatile property/casualty insurance market cycle are just two of the potholes agents must maneuver. Young agents in...

Astonish Announces Early Bird Pricing for Annual E-Agent Summit

Apr 3 2013 // Warwick, RI, 04/03/13 – Astonish, a leading digital marketing, technology, and training provider for insurance agencies and brokerages, is thrilled to announce early bird pricing for the upcoming E-Agent Summit taking...

Willis Re Sees Increased Capital Inflows as Threat to Reinsurers

Apr 2 2013 // A report from Willis Re, the reinsurance brokerage arm of Willis Group Holdings, concludes that “many traditional reinsurers now see the flow of capital coming into the reinsurance market as a direct threat to their...

Astonish’s One-Day Modern Consumer Training Hosted by QQ Solutions on Thursday, April 11

Apr 1 2013 // Warwick, RI, 04/01/13 – Astonish, a leading digital marketing solutions and sales training provider for insurance agencies, encourages local insurance agency principals, CEOs, and presidents in Florida and surrounding...

P/C Mergers Down in 2012 But Private Equity Still Favored Brokers: Conning

Mar 28 2013 // Amounting to just $4.7 billion in aggregate deal value, the 46 merger and acquisition transactions announced in the property/casualty insurance sector in 2012 were near record low levels, according to the latest annual...

North Carolina’s ‘Other’ Auto Insurance Market

Mar 27 2013 // I’ve already covered in these pages some of the things the editorial pages of North Carolina’s leading newspapers are getting wrong about S.B. 154, legislation to modernize the state’s system of setting...

Insurer Readiness on Long-Term Effects of Climate Change Called Into Question: Report

Mar 25 2013 // Insurers rank well in readiness for handling the short-term challenges of extreme weather events, but fall short in preparedness for the long-term effects of climate change, a new report says. A report that surveyed...

Agency Compensation: Who’s Worth What in Your Independent Agency?

Mar 20 2013 // From top level managers to office and support staff — every person in an agency has a role to play in helping the agency win in the sales game. When one person fails, the whole agency suffers. And when an agency suffers,...

Is This Right Time to Restructure Florida CAT Fund?

Mar 19 2013 // A move to restructure Florida’s state-run property reinsurance facility by lowering its financial obligation to insurers is facing an uphill legislative battle as both lawmakers and members of the industry find...

With Rates Expected to Drop, Cat Fund Reform Should Be a No-Brainer

Mar 18 2013 // For four out of the last seven years, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund has been projected to have a shortfall should a major hurricane impact the state and cause the fund to pay out to its coverage limits. This is...