Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurance Industry Comes to the Rescue of North Pole Nick
Dec 23 2010 // Just when you think you’ve seen and heard it all in the road-service business, along comes a call for road-side assistance that gives rise to a hearty chuckle. Imagine this: With the holiday season rapidly...
2010’s Top Insurance Stories in the West
Dec 23 2010 // In 2009, independent insurance agents and brokers faced a “perfect storm” with the economic downturn, premiums at a fraction of what they used to be, and unemployment and home foreclosure rates up, said Kevin...
Zurich Signs Exclusive Distribution Agreement with Fortis for Turkey
Dec 22 2010 // Zurich Financial Services Group announced that its Turkish subsidiary Zurich Sigorta A.S. has signed an agreement with Fortis Bank A.S. for the exclusive distribution of general insurance products through Fortis in...
S&P Rates Catlin Re ‘A’; Sees ‘Key Benefits’ from Swiss-based Subsidiary
Dec 21 2010 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘A’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings to Switzerland-based Catlin Re Switzerland (CRCH), a new insurance entity created as a...
Insurance Vital to Alabama Coast Long-Term Plan, Says Commission
Dec 21 2010 // Coastal Alabama should seize the BP Gulf oil disaster as an opportunity for “resiliency planning” that will not only help the region recover from the oil damage but also put it in a position to better recover...
Fact or Fiction? Insurance Tidbits of Known and Little-Known Information
Dec 20 2010 // Have you ever wondered what big events helped shape regulation of the current U.S. insurance industry? Or if drivers of certain cars have more risk? What about the most attractive insurance job in the industry? These are...
Top 25 Carriers’ Q3 Premiums Rise Nearly 11.5% in 2010 Versus Q3 2009
Dec 20 2010 // Alexander Hamilton once said, “I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man.” Despite an imperfect marketplace, the Top 25 property/casualty companies continued to improve. Their continued...
Young Agents Survey:
Dec 20 2010 // Why Young Agents Stand by Their Career Choice Most enter the insurance business by accident but for young independent insurance agents, the decision to stick with insurance as a permanent career is a matter of choice. A...
2010 Insurance Entrepreneurial Award Winners Selected
Dec 20 2010 // When it comes to innovation in the insurance industry, Ace Private Risk Services, Work at Home Vintage Employees (WAHVE) and FirstBest Systems top the list, according to a competition that identified companies that...
Calif. Commissioner Removes 4 From Barred Iran Investments List
Dec 15 2010 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that the California Department of Insurance (CDI) has removed Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands), Shell International Finance (Netherlands), Total SA (France), and...
P&I Insurance Market Makes a Record Comeback Says Willis Report
Dec 14 2010 // A new report from Willis Group Holdings notes that “investment income in the Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance market, which provides ship owners with marine legal liability coverage, bounced back to $680...
Merger, Acquisition Activity Heats Up
Dec 10 2010 // Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity between July and September was robust making the third quarter the most active with 61 deals versus 36 last year. Deal volume for the first nine months is up 28 percent from the...
Swiss Re’s Economic Forum Sees Continued Growth, Pressure and Risks
Dec 8 2010 // Swiss Re’s Economic Forum singled out three main factors that will continue to affect the re/insurance market in 2011. The Forum’s economists forecast “continued global economic expansion in 2011, led by...
Women in Professional Liability Gain Support from New Networking Group
Dec 8 2010 // Learning to become a leader is essential in the career development of women in the insurance industry, says Pauline Morley, founder of a new initiative from the Professional Liability Underwriting Society’s (PLUS)...
Insurance Industry Outlook Improving, Slightly
Dec 6 2010 // The insurance industry is recovering from the economic crisis, but profits are nowhere near where they were prior to the crisis, and it will take California longer than other states to rebound, according to an industry...
Louisiana Citizens Sheds Homeowners Policies
Dec 5 2010 // Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens) has held a fourth depopulation offering in which 13,500 policies have been assumed by the private insurance market, according to state Insurance Commissioner Jim...
Inside the Disaster Blaster
Dec 5 2010 // Industry’s $40M Research Center May Someday Lead to Lower Catastrophe Claim For those who question the intelligence of insurance companies, here’s a new industry development that should answer those questions...
Fireman’s Fund Ready to Rally
Dec 5 2010 // Company Progressing on Mass Market Strategy Fireman’s Fund’s financials, like other insurance carriers’, got bruised a little in the first half of 2010, following some heavy catastrophe losses. But...
Inside the Disaster Blaster
Dec 5 2010 // Industry’s $40M Research Center May Someday Lead to Lower Catastrophe Claim For those who question the intelligence of insurance companies, here’s a new industry development that should answer those questions...
Florida Agent Leader Johnson to Retire
Dec 3 2010 // After more than 40 years in the insurance industry, Scott Johnson, executive vice president of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA), will be retiring in December. Johnson has served the FAIA since...
