Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Survey: Risk Managers Report Modest Premium Decreases in Q4
Jan 21 2009 // Insurance premiums for businesses continued a five-year trend of falling rates during the fourth quarter of 2008, but recent data suggest a reversal of this trend may soon be underway. Rates for property, general...
Lloyd’s Chairman Calls for Insurance Industry Input in Financial Regulation
Jan 20 2009 // Lloyd’s Chairman, Lord Peter Levene, has called for insurers to contribute to the debate about the future of financial markets, citing better regulation as the key way forward. In an article on the Lloyd’s web...
Munich Re Webinar Provides Insights on Nat Cats, Industry Strength
Jan 16 2009 // Munich Re’s Webinar on Thursday – 2008 Natural Catastrophes – presented a detailed analysis of the increasing number of weather related events that concern both primary carriers and reinsurers. It also...
Insurance Industry Sees Commercial Airlines as Safe
Jan 16 2009 // With the world’s attention focused on the US Airways Airbus emergency landing in the Hudson River and the successful rescue of passengers, the insurance industry points out that the commercial airlines industry has a...
Eye on Insurance Industry Regulation
Jan 12 2009 // In Financial Turmoil, Agents and the Industry Must Work Together It has been said that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” That also raises the question, what happens to the boat when the tide goes down? The...
Declarations
Jan 11 2009 // Insufficient Warning “I think all three agencies have been irresponsible in not accurately warning citizens.” —Stephen Smith, executive director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, criticizing...
Estimating Insurance Losses From the Credit Crisis
Jan 11 2009 // On Nov. 5, 2008, the insurance information firm Advisen issued an updated forecast of insurance losses likely to arise from the credit crisis, estimating aggregate directors and officers (D&O), and errors and...
People
Jan 11 2009 // National managing general agent Burns & Wilcox has promoted Anthony Cugini to manager of the company’s Houston office. He is responsible for increasing sales across all product lines, including professional...
Eye on Insurance Industry Regulation
Jan 11 2009 // In Financial Turmoil, Agents and the Industry Must Work Together It has been said that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” That also raises the question, what happens to the boat when the tide goes down? The...
Economy and Climate Change Top New Year Agenda
Jan 11 2009 // For the moment the economic recession is driving the global stagecoach, while climate change is riding shotgun, but it’s not as bad as it could be. Reports from Europe point to the fact that the P/C industry’s...
Swiss Re Analyzes Benefits of ‘Sustainable Agricultural Insurance’
Jan 9 2009 // “Agricultural insurance plays an important role in stimulating investment in agriculture and in stabilizing farmers’ income,” concludes a recently issued report from Swiss Re. The report, “Setting...
2008: Top Stories of the Year
Jan 5 2009 // 2008 can be described as a year like no other in the property/casualty insurance world. This year we saw the near death of the world’s largest and most successful insurance company, AIG. The soft market continued to...
After Stormy 2008, P/C Industry Facing Uncertainty in New Year
Jan 5 2009 // Ask agents and executives in the insurance industry about the new year and they’ll say they expect that the market will harden, at least slightly. In fact, 73 percent of agents predict prices will firm, according to...
Lloyd’s Analyzes Madoff’s Impact on Professional Liability Coverage
Jan 2 2009 // The ripple effect from Bernard Madoff ‘s Ponzi scheme will inevitably flow across the Atlantic concludes an article on the Lloyd’s web site (www.lloyds.com). For many years Madoff’s fund paid high...
Advisen Predicts Hardening of Commercial Insurance in Late 2009
Dec 31 2008 // The commercial insurance market cycle is close to its bottom and general commercial insurance prices will begin increasing by the fourth quarter of 2009 or the first quarter of 2010, according to a consultant to the global...
2008: A Year of Financial Storms
Dec 21 2008 // 2008 can be described as a year like no other in the property/casualty insurance world. This year, the industry witnessed the near death of the world’s largest and most successful insurance company, AIG. The soft...
After Stormy 2008, P/C Industry Facing Uncertainty in New Year
Dec 21 2008 // Agents Wish for Firmer Pricing, Higher Commissions, Solid Client Retention, Unity on Legislation Ask agents and executives in the insurance industry about the coming year and they’ll say they expect that the market...
Top Regional Stories of 2008
Dec 21 2008 // West California Passed Agent-Broker Law The most notable bill affecting California agents was AB 2956, which clarifies the duties of an insurance agent versus a broker. Prior to the new law, confusion existed within the...
Customer Service Centers Can Help Your Agency in Today’s Competitive Environment
Dec 21 2008 // The Key May Be Finding the Right CSC Partner In today’s soft market, transforming your agency to a sales culture is no longer optional. Like most agency principals, I know that quality service is critical to customer...
The View From London
Dec 21 2008 // Insurers Can Weather Global Financial Crisis Buyers that aren’t buying; houses that aren’t selling, banks that aren’t lending — sound familiar? But in this case it’s the United Kingdom that...
