Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Fahad Al-Hesni Joins MENA Insurance CEO Club
Mar 18 2013 // The MENA Insurance CEO Club (MICC) has welcomed Fahad Al-Hesni, Managing Director and CEO of Saudi Re, as one of the new members to be inducted in 2013. The group is a networking platform dedicated to exchanging ideas and...
Michigan Association of Professional Insurance Agents Hosts Astonish’s One-Day Modern Consumer Training on March 28
Mar 18 2013 // Warwick, RI, 3/18/13 – 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...
Texas Lawmaker Scolds Insurance Industry over Coastal Coverage
Mar 14 2013 // A state senator in Texas is taking the insurance industry to task for what he perceives as its disinterest in coming up with new approaches to solving coastal windstorm insurance issues. In a Senate committee meeting on...
SNL Analysis Highlights Sandy’s Impact on P/C Underwriting Results
Mar 14 2013 // Financial information firm SNL Financial’s preliminary analysis of more than 2,600 individual property/casualty filer’s statutory data illustrates how big of an impact Superstorm Sandy had on the filers’...
CNA’s Motamed to Chair 2nd Annual IICF-Midwest Benefit Dinner
Mar 12 2013 // Thomas F. Motamed, chairman and CEO of CNA Financial Corp. will chair the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) – Midwest’s 2nd Annual Blazing the Trail Benefit Dinner. CNA is the presenting sponsor for...
Agents Hang Onto P/C Market But Lose Ground in Personal Auto: Study
Mar 11 2013 // After experiencing dwindling premiums for years, the property/casualty insurance industry managed to grow substantially in 2011. Independent agents and brokers hung onto their share of the market with some independent...
Former White Mountains’ Chair, GEICO Rescuer Byrne Passes Away
Mar 11 2013 // On March 9, Bloomberg reported the passing of John “Jack” Byrne, the former chair of White Mountains Insurance Group, who is best known for turning around GEICO from near bankruptcy in the mid-1970s and taking...
Report: Senate May Reject Texas Insurance Commissioner
Mar 11 2013 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman could have trouble winning Senate confirmation to keep her job, as Democrats with enough votes to defeat her nomination question her credentials. Appointed by Texas Gov. Rick...
Fine Art’s Place in the Insurance Market
Mar 11 2013 // Whether it’s in a museum, gallery or in a high-net-worth customer’s home, fine art and collectible items hold special places in the hearts of insureds. Andrew Gristina, the national segment leader for fine art...
Report Questions Insurer Readiness, Attitudes on Climate Change
Mar 7 2013 // A report out Thursday that details responses to a climate change survey from insurers doing business in California, Washington and New York shows many insurers are prepared to deal with today’s extreme weather...
Re/insurance Industry Social Media ‘MySlipcase’ Marks 9 Months
Mar 7 2013 // MySlipcase, a social media platform developed specifically for the global insurance and reinsurance industry, reported high growth in the nine months since it was launched. The company said its website now has 342...
Industry Group Testifies on Sandy Claims Handling Process in New York
Feb 27 2013 // An insurance industry association testified about insurers’ response to Superstorm Sandy and the lessons learned at a hearing Tuesday before the New York Assembly Standing Committee on Insurance. The American...
More Good News/Bad News for Florida Insurance Market
Feb 26 2013 // Floridians would face about $7.19 billion in post-hurricane taxes to make up the funding shortfalls of state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund should even a 1-in-50-year storm...
Report: Senate May Reject Texas Insurance Commissioner
Feb 26 2013 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman could have trouble winning Senate confirmation to keep her job, as Democrats with enough votes to defeat her nomination question her credentials. Kitzman was appointed by Texas...
