Latest Market Headlines

All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.

People

Oct 8 2007 // The Insurance Marketing Communications Association named its 2007/2008 slate of directors and officers, with Cora Barran of Farmers Insurance Group continuing as IMCA president for her second year. Barran is director of...

People

Oct 8 2007 // The Insurance Marketing Communications Association named its 2007/2008 slate The Insurance Marketing Communications Association named its 2007/2008 slate of directors and officers, with Cora Barran of Farmers Insurance...

Editor’s Note: Wind, water and legislative storm

Oct 8 2007 // At the center of the controversy is a provision by Congressman Gene Taylor of Mississippi that would expand the NFIP to include an optional multiple peril policy — to allow property owners to purchase wind and flood...

People

Oct 8 2007 // Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation (LWCC) promoted Jamie Bourg to claims manager for the company’s large accounts team. Bourg will manage and direct the claims department, including claims handling and...

Editor’s Note: Wind, water and legislative storm

Oct 8 2007 // More than two years have gone by, but no one can forget the devastating effects Hurricane Katrina had on the Gulf Coast. Yet legislators and industry leaders continue to debate how to prevent future problems associated...

Niche writing and the soft market

Oct 8 2007 // The wise program manager takes yet another step forward and commits their organization to multiple niches. As the property casualty market softens, insurance carriers will strive to figure out new ways to maintain recent...

News Currents

Oct 8 2007 // The offshore reinsurance tax debate resurfaces in Congress again Domestic-owned insurers claim Bermuda-based companies hold an unfair tax advantage An industry executive, representing a coalition of 14 large U.S.-based...

Lloyd’s CEO Wants Faster, Better Claims Handling; CII Responds

Oct 5 2007 // Lloyd’s CEO Richard Ward is a man in a hurry. He wants fundamental changes in the way Lloyd’s does business and he’s not prepared to wait. In a speech sponsored by the Insurance Institute of London...

La. Commissioner Faces Three Challengers in Insurance Race

Oct 5 2007 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon will face three little-known candidates who lack both fundraising strength and political experience, according to some observers. Donelon is a political veteran with three...

Md. Task Forces Hears From Industry on Need for Stronger Structures

Oct 4 2007 // Opportunities exist in the public and private sectors to increase the disaster resistance of homes and businesses and contribute to the overall health of Maryland’s insurance market, says Harvey Ryland, president and...

D&O, Business Insurance Prices – Except Property – Continue to Drop

Oct 2 2007 // Steady erosion of commercial insurance industry pricing continued during the third quarter of 2007, according to the RIMS Benchmark Survey, a survey of current policy renewal prices as reported by corporate risk...

N.D. Commissioner’s Departure Sparks Debate on Conflict of Interest

Oct 1 2007 // Consumer spokesmen want a national group of insurance regulators to toughen its conflict-of-interest policies, in part because of questions raised by last month’s resignation of former North Dakota Insurance...

The Offshore Tax Debate – Déjà vu – All over Again

Sep 28 2007 // At least that’s how Yogi Berra might describe it. On Sept. 25 William R. Berkley, chairman and CEO of the company of the same name, gave a detailed indictment before the Senate Finance Committee of the iniquities...

Soft Market Isn’t Hard for Surplus Lines Industry, A.M. Best Reports

Sep 28 2007 // After a flat year in 2005, U.S. surplus lines premium volume rebounded in 2006 and carriers again posted strong underwriting results. In 2006, surplus lines carriers generally stuck to their guns on pricing in lines where...

R&M Reports on Brazil Non-life

Sep 27 2007 // Research and Markets has added “Non-Life Insurance in Brazil” to their offering. The research firm said its new offering is “an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the non-life...

Insurers Urge Congress to Level Bermuda Insurers’ Tax Playing Field

Sep 26 2007 // An industry executive, representing a coalition of 14 large U.S.-based insurance groups, told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday that a major tax advantage for certain foreign insurance groups could threaten...

Anchor Consulting Group Provides Innovative IT Service Plans for Insurance Industry

Sep 25 2007 // Los Angeles- Anchor Consulting Group, one of the leading IT consulting firms in Southern California, is meeting the distinctive IT support needs of the insurance sector with industry-specific strategic service plans which...

R&M Adds Datamonitor Global P/C Insurance Report

Sep 25 2007 // Dublin-based Research and Markets has added Datamonitor’s new report: “Global Non-life Insurance” to their offering. R&M said its “Global Non-life Insurance industry profile is an essential...

P/C Insurers’ Underwriting Results, Profitability Slip in First-Half 2007

Sep 25 2007 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s overall profitability as measured by its annualized rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus (or statutory net worth) slipped to 13.1 percent in...

The CHANGING FACE of Surplus Lines Brokers

Sep 24 2007 // The surplus lines industry is never boring, never plain and certainly never black and white. Often dubbed as the innovator of new insurance products, the industry could even be considered colorful when it comes to the...