Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
People
Jun 16 2008 // Golden Eagle Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company, appointed Pete McPartland president and CEO. McPartland comes from General Casualty in Sun Prairie, Wis., where he led insurance operations for QBE...
Building Commercial Construction Business in a Soft Market
Jun 16 2008 // Soft Market Emphasizes Need for Education, Communication It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Charles Dickens probably was not referring to the insurance industry’s soft market, when he wrote...
Lloyd’s Examines Growth of Polish Insurance Industry
Jun 13 2008 // While most people identify Russia as the emerging insurance market in Eastern Europe, Lloyd’s notes that “Poland is beginning to make a name for herself. When Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Levene visited the...
Fitch: U.S. P/C Industry Shifts To Modest Underwriting Loss In 2008
Jun 13 2008 // Fitch Ratings said that following a review of industry aggregate statutory financials for year-end 2007 and 1Q 2008, the rating agency has updated its full-year 2008 U.S. Property/Casualty industry forecast and now...
RMS To Offer Catastrophe Updates Online
Jun 12 2008 // Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has launched an initiative to keep businesses informed of the impact of catastrophic events by making its expert analysis publicly available on its Web site. The RMS Cat...
Industry Foundation Forms Western Division, Honors XL’s O’Hara
Jun 11 2008 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation announced the expansion of its California region to a Western United States Division. The announcement was made at the Foundation’s 15th Anniversary dinner held May 17,...
EU Plan to Shake up Insurance Industry
Jun 11 2008 // The European Commission has proposed shaking up how the European Union’s insurance sector covers risk. Solvency II aims to protect policyholders better and spur competition in the 27-nation European Union while...
Insurance Industry Survival Requires Switch From Products to Customers
Jun 10 2008 // To survive and prosper in today’s market, you must shift your attention from “products” to “customers” and add “innovation.” That was the main theme during the June 2008 session of...
Insurers Blast Insurance Regulators as Closed to Open Dialogue
Jun 4 2008 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is losing trust because it at times operates behind closed doors and is not open to dialogue with the insurance industry. That was the criticism of NAIC, as voiced by...
Okla. Lawmaker With Insurance Industry Ties Won’t Run Again
Jun 2 2008 // Ron Peterson, the Oklahoma lawmaker who blocked health insurance mandates after getting thousands of dollars in contributions from insurance companies, is only one of a growing list of Republican House leaders opting to...
Bermuda Insurance Regulator to Beef Up Staffing
Jun 2 2008 // Bermuda’s insurance regulator is increasing staffing by as much as 50 percent as it sets its sights on eventually reaching a mutual recognition agreement with other domiciles, executives at an insurance conference...
