Latest Market Headlines

A.M. Best: Med-Mal Leads Captives’ Premium Decline

Jul 28 2008 // Falling medical malpractice premiums led to a 15 percent drop in net premiums written between 2006 and 2007 for a composite of captive insurance companies, but captives overall benefited from favorable underwriting...

What AIG’s Fall and New CEO Mean for the Insurance Industry

Jul 23 2008 // The world’s largest insurance company, the one that always announces spectacular earnings, the company with the forceful views on how the market should function, has fallen off its pedestal. It not only has fallen,...

A.M. Best: Few Companies Excel at Managing Through Market Cycles

Jul 15 2008 // The findings from A.M. Best Co.’s cycle management study show just how difficult it is for property/casualty companies to surpass the performance of their peers on a consistent, long-term basis. Only 14 percent of...

AIG, Vermont Mutual to Enter Mass. Personal Auto Insurance Market

Jul 14 2008 // Giant insurer American International Group has decided to enter the Massachusetts private passenger auto insurance market, according to The Boston Globe. But AIG is not alone. In addition, Vermont Mutual will begin selling...

Conning Research: Insurers’ Financials Strong Despite Price Deterioration

Jul 14 2008 // The financial condition of the property/casualty industry is strong; and, it should be able to withstand the current price deterioration, according to a new Property-Casualty Industry Forecast by Conning Research and...

Interview: N.Y.’s Dinallo Sees Insurance Exchange Open by 2009

Jul 8 2008 // New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo said Monday a revival of the defunct New York Insurance Exchange could happen as early as next year. Dinallo, in a telephone interview from New York, said the next 18 months...

Jul 7 2008 // People McQueary Henry Bowles Troy LLP (MHBT) added Jim Anderson as senior vice president in the Dallas-based firm’s property/casualty group. Anderson will oversee the production and account management of...

Find a Silver Lining in the Soft Market

Jul 7 2008 // Strategies From ‘Best Practices’ Agencies Searching for ways to survive and thrive in the soft market cycle? Cultivate untapped customer markets; proactively service renewals; use technology for efficiency and...

Find a Silver Lining in the Soft Market

Jul 7 2008 // Strategies From ‘Best Practices’ Agencies Searching for ways to survive and thrive in the soft market cycle? Cultivate untapped customer markets; proactively service renewals; use technology for efficient...

Japan: Risk and Rewards

Jul 7 2008 // A Glimpse into Japan’s Property and Casualty Market The Japanese property and casualty insurance market is ripe for opportunities, but there also are significant risks in the country, according to Keiji Fukasawa of...

EPIC Makes Five Appointments

Jul 3 2008 // Edgewood Partners Insurance Center, a California-based retail property and casualty benefits insurance brokerage, expanded its Orange County presence with the appointment of four industry veterans. Tim Rabbitt is...

New York Governor Signs Flex-Rating and NYPIUA Bill

Jul 2 2008 // New York Governor David Paterson has signed into law industry-sought legislation that brings back flex rating for auto insurance and makes permanent New York’s homeowners insurer of last resort. The flex-rating...

Study: Call Center Issue Resolution Drives Loyalty, Retention, Satisfaction

Jul 1 2008 // The ability of customer service representatives to resolve customer issues is the most critical driver of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouth recommendations. Yet one in five customers report their experience...

McDevitt Named Wyoming Insurance Industry Person of the Year

Jun 27 2008 // Art McDevitt, vice president of the Energy Division of U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc., a managing general agency and surplus lines wholesaler, was named Insurance Industry Person of the Year by the Association of Wyoming...

P/C Insurers’ Underwriting, Investment Results Deteriorate in First Quarter

Jun 25 2008 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s net income after taxes fell to $8.2 billion in first-quarter 2008 from $16.2 billion in first-quarter 2007. Contributing to the $8 billion, or 49.3 percent, decline in...

Insurance Agents Advised to Learn from Professional Employer Organizations

Jun 24 2008 // As insurance agents and brokers search for ways to respond to the continuing soft market, they would be wise to follow the example of professional employer organizations (PEOs) that are winning over small and mid-sized...

Reinsurers Wary of Low Returns, Reserving Trends, Storms to Come

Jun 23 2008 // Two consecutive years of record earnings in the property and casualty insurance industry driven by lower catastrophe losses and healthy investment returns, along with unforeseen risks brought on by the subprime mortgage...

California Senate Approves Agent-Broker, Spyware Bills

Jun 20 2008 // California’s Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee approved two bills — one allowing insurance cmpanies to require spyware to be installed in vehicles, and the other clarifying the duties of an agent...

Crop Insurance Industry Pledges Aid and Support to Midwest Farmers

Jun 20 2008 // Flooding across the Midwest has devastated communities across several states. Among those hardest hit are farmers, who have lost homes, livestock and thousands of acres of farmland, said the president of the National Crop...

Wells Fargo Insurance Services Founds Western Division of Industry Charitable Foundation

Jun 17 2008 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation has launched a new Western Division. After 15 years operating solely in California, the Foundation has expanded to include all areas of the Western United States. Wells Fargo...