Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Global Federation of Insurance Associations Launched
Oct 10 2012 // Thirty-one of the world’s most important insurance associations, who represent 87 per cent of worldwide insurance business, formally established the Global Federation of Insurance Associations (GFIA) on October...
IICF Week of Giving Carries On Volunteerism, Adds ‘Text to Give’
Oct 10 2012 // The property/casualty sector of the insurance industry gave an estimated $500 million in charitable funding in 2010, according to a 2011 study by McKinsey & Company. The research report noted: “Most of this...
India’s Battered Insurers May Need More than Foreign Investment
Oct 10 2012 // India’s proposal to allow more foreign investment in its $41 billion insurance business provides a lifeline for an industry starved of capital and squeezed by regulation – but it may not pass parliament and it...
Astonish now Integrates with QQ Solutions to Provide a Complete Solution for Insurance Agency Management and Digital Marketing
Oct 10 2012 // Warwick, RI, 10/10/12 – Astonish, a leading insurance digital marketing system in the U.S., today announced its integration with QQ Solutions, Inc.’s agency management system, QQ Evolution 2. QQ Solutions, Inc. is...
Slow and Steady: Optimism Good for Surplus Lines Market in 2012
Oct 9 2012 // Despite catastrophic events in 2011, low investment yields and competitive pressures, surplus lines specialists — especially market leaders — generated healthy operating profits and returns on both revenue and...
KBW: ‘No Acceleration of Rates’ Into Traditional Hard Market
Oct 8 2012 // Analysts at investment research firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods recently published a note recapping KBW’s annual insurance conference, held last month in New York. Analysts observed that while the general tone of...
Space Insurance Agency Aims to Help Florida’s Space Business Take Off
Oct 8 2012 // A new partnership formed between Space Florida, the spaceport authority and aerospace development organization for the state, and insurance agency Assure Space is counting on new space insurance capabilities driving more...
Moving Forward
Oct 8 2012 // One result of an improving economy is increased demand for commercial insurance coverages. The economy is improving, slowly. And the property/casualty insurance industry is seeing growth, as well. Don’t take my word...
Chairman Nelson Charts Future Course for Lloyd’s
Oct 8 2012 // Lloyd’s of London Chairman John Nelson knew when he acceded to his post one year ago that his predecessor, Lord Peter Levene, would be a hard act to follow. Levene served for nine years and oversaw significant...
Report Points to Insurance Industry’s Vulnerability to Climate Change
Oct 8 2012 // A report out late last month urges the insurance industry to act to protect itself and the community against the increasing frequency of extreme weather due to climate change. In short, the report, its authors and those...
Slow and Steady: Surplus Lines Industry Reverses Downward Trend; Optimism Good for 2012
Oct 8 2012 // Despite catastrophic events in 2011, low investment yields and competitive pressures, surplus lines specialists — especially market leaders — generated healthy operating profits and returns on both revenue and...
P/C Insurers’ Profits Jump in First Half as Catastrophe Losses Drop
Oct 4 2012 // U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes jumped to $16.4 billion in first-half 2012 from $4.8 billion in first-half 2011, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their annualized rate...
UK Competition Comm. to Investigate Auto Insurance; ABI Welcomes Move
Sep 28 2012 // The UK’s insurance market for auto insurance has been referred to the Competition Commission for investigation. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which made the referral, expressed concerns that the structure of the...
Best Reports on MENA Insurance Market; Regulatory Change Coming
Sep 26 2012 // A report from A.M. Best examines the current state of the insurance market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It notes that “over the past decade, the insurance industry has experienced strong growth...
New National Parks’ Insurance Requirements Ignite Controversy
Sep 24 2012 // A National Parks Service (NPS) decision to hike their required insurance liability limits by 1,000 percent has some outfitters and guides, as well as their insurance providers, navigating the halls of Congress. The battle...
Isaac Losses Won’t Strongly Impact P/C Industry in Louisiana
Sep 24 2012 // While insured losses in the United States from Hurricane Isaac likely will fall between $1 billion and $2 billion, according to some risk management experts, the storm’s impact will not severely impact the...
Low Interest Rates: An Ongoing Problem for the Re/insurance Industry
Sep 24 2012 // Swiss Re’s sigma report analyzing the effect on the insurance industry of the continuing low interest rates doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Rates have been at historic lows for several years. For instance the...
Report Points to Insurance Industry’s Vulnerability to Climate Change
Sep 20 2012 // A report out Thursday urges the insurance industry to act to protect itself and the community against the increasing frequency of extreme weather due to climate change. In short, the report, its authors and those endorsing...
Industry Faces Cyber Risks in Shift from Tangible to Intangible Property
Sep 20 2012 // If Mike McGavick is right, the business world will soon be carrying the equivalent of a massive data base in a cell phone. Technology has moved so rapidly that not only the insurance industry, but also business in general,...
How Agents and Carriers Can Find Gold in Personal Lines
Sep 19 2012 // Independent agents and their companies have over the years been beaten in the personal lines market by direct response carriers and captive agents. But being down so long means there is plenty of room for independent...
