Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
More Punch for Programs
Dec 10 2006 // Today’s managing general agencies and carrier partners in the specialty program marketplace are enjoying profitable times while looking over their shoulders at new carriers and agents eager to enter the ring,...
Swiss Re’s Economic Forum Focuses on Emerging Markets, Industry Outlook
Dec 6 2006 // Swiss Re’s recent Economic Forum noted the strong opportunities for insurance protection in emerging markets and a solid outlook for the insurance industry in 2007. The Forum, which began in London on Dec. 5,...
Florida Calls Special Session on Insurance Issues for Jan. 16
Nov 29 2006 // Florida state officials will begin efforts to reshape the state’s property and casualty insurance market with a special legislative session on Jan. 16, 2007. Governor-elect Charlie Crist, Senate President Ken Pruitt...
Miss. Governor Seeks Federal Aid for State’s Wind Pool
Nov 22 2006 // As soaring insurance rates stifle Hurricane Katrina recovery, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is trying to finagle a second federal bailout of the state’s “wind pool” insurance program while coast business...
Power shift in the political landscape
Nov 20 2006 // Although it took a little time for all the votes to be counted, the 2006 midterm elections saw a wave of Democratic candidates wrest control of both houses of Congress, gain a majority of the governorships and take control...
News Currents
Nov 20 2006 // Newly elected Democratic governors in Massachusetts, New York and Maryland are expected to name their own insurance commissioners, although it’s to early to know who the successors might be, according to insurance...
Election results give Northeast more clout on insurance issues
Nov 20 2006 // After the midterm elections, Northeast Democrats are moving into positions of power that could help their states economically as well as affect progress on insurance legislation. Democrats are now well-positioned to bring...
Flying solo now, former Zurich exec ‘gooses’ agents
Nov 20 2006 // A retired insurance industry executive turned turbo-charged motivational speaker told a group of independent insurance agents that they are the greediest people he has ever met. Ray Thomas, a former Zurich North America...
Power shift in the political landscape
Nov 20 2006 // Although it took a little time for all the votes to be counted, the 2006 midterm elections saw a wave of Democratic candidates wrest control of both houses of Congress, gain a majority of the governorships and take control...
IIAT survey finds coastal insurance market tighter; more expensive
Nov 20 2006 // Property insurance along the Texas coast is getting harder to find plus premiums and deductibles are increasing, according to results from a survey of independent insurance agents. Respondents are members of the...
Power shift in the political landscape
Nov 20 2006 // Although it took a little time for all the votes to be counted, the 2006 midterm elections saw a wave of Democratic candidates wrest control of both houses of Congress, gain a majority of the governorships and take control...
Power shift in the political landscape
Nov 20 2006 // Although it took a little time for all the votes to be counted, the 2006 midterm elections saw a wave of Democratic candidates wrest control of both houses of Congress, gain a majority of the governorships and take control...
Your vote still counts
Nov 20 2006 // The final votes from November’s midterm elections may have been tallied, yet the real political campaigning should be just about ready to begin. As expected, elections changed key roles in in the House and Senate...
Insurance industry needs to improve “perceived” value
Nov 20 2006 // Insurance professionals are becoming targets, according to Dave Mosby, technologist, visionary and co-author of “The Paradox of Excellence, How Great Performance Can Kill Your Business.” According to Mosby, who...
People, partnerships lead to nearly a century of success
Nov 20 2006 // Good people can make or break a company. In San Diego-based Barney & Barney’s case, it’s clearly made it; the company has been in business for nearly a century, thanks to people who have invested their...
Power shift in the political landscape
Nov 20 2006 // Although it took a little time for all the votes to be counted, the 2006 midterm elections saw a wave of Democratic candidates wrest control of both houses of Congress, gain a majority of the governorships and take control...
SPECIAL REPORT: Surplus Lines
Nov 20 2006 // The insurance industry’s excess and surplus lines (E&S) sector has experienced a pronounced reversal of position in the last 20 years. Once considered a mere adjunct, a safety valve for risks that were too hard...
Commercial premiums, except coastal property, continue to fall
Nov 20 2006 // Commercial insurance premiums fell slightly in the third quarter of this year, representing a continuation of the trends that occurred in the past two quarters, according to the RIMS Benchmark Survey, which surveys current...
Where are all the young guns?
Nov 20 2006 // Look around you. Take a long look at the folks in your agency or company. And then break out your calculator. What is the average age of your employees or colleagues? What percent of your firm’s workforce were...
Democratic Congress OK for industry traditionally tied to Republicans
Nov 20 2006 // The new Congress may be blue on Capitol Hill, but insiders say that’s not necessarily a bad color for the insurance industry. “The more things change, the more they may remain pretty much the same,” said...