Latest Market Headlines

Riding out soft and hard market cycles with quality relationships

Jul 24 2006 // Analyzing the economic rhymes and reasons of soft and hard market cycles in the insurance industry would make for a challenging university-level business course. Theories abound on why and when these cycles occur, but no...

Oregon Activitst Tries to Prohibit Insurers from Raising Rates

Jul 18 2006 // Sidelined for the past four years because of legal troubles brought on by a racketeering lawsuit, Oregon’s most prolific initiative author — Bill Sizemore — is getting back into the fight. Sizemore is...

La. Authority May Go After Insurance Claims of ‘Road Home’ Participants

Jul 17 2006 // Louisiana’s program to help storm-damaged homeowners rebuild or relocate may take over insurance claims and sue for additional insurance payments on behalf of recipients, a top official with the Louisiana Recovery...

Acquisition Broadens Ebix’s Insurance Market Presence

Jul 14 2006 // Ebix Inc., an Atlanta based software developer and supplier of e-commerce software has announced that effective May 1, 2006, it completed the acquisition of substantially all the operating assets of Reston, Va. and...

Sen. Smith Unveils ‘Comprehensive Plan’ to Fix Florida’s Insurance Woes

Jul 11 2006 // Without a real, comprehensive and workable plan, accumulating financial stress could destroy the viability of the Florida’s insurance market and leave millions of Floridians without affordable and reliable insurance...

III”s Stewart to Retire; Hartwig to Succeed

Jul 11 2006 // Gordon Stewart will retire December 31, 2006 from the Insurance Information Institute after 15 years as president of the organization. Dr. Robert P. Hartwig, senior vice president and chief economist of the I.I.I., was...

Insurer Group Supports State Regulation at Senate Hearing

Jul 11 2006 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) is convinced that insurance regulatory reform at the state level is the best and safest course for consumers and insurers alike, said a Namic witness in...

Storms Prove Costly for Insurance Industry, Wis. Company Says

Jul 10 2006 // While storms such as Hurricane Katrina grab the headlines, a string of smaller storms over the past few years has been taking a toll on insurance companies, industry officials said. Storm claim losses have been running...

California Connects Workers to Insurance Careers

Jul 7 2006 // A coalition of insurance companies, community colleges and workforce development specialists have started a statewide insurance education program, called the California Insurance Careers Program, aimed at preparing...

The Insurance Scholarship Foundation of America Announces the 2006-2007 Board of Directors and Officers.

Jul 6 2006 // Susanne N. Wolfe, CPIW of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. – Greenville Is Named Chairman Cornelius, NC – The NAIW Education Foundation d.b.a. Insurance Scholarship Foundation of America elected their Board of...

Stock Option Timing Scandal to be Felt in D&O Insurance

Jul 5 2006 // If investors think they’re safe from the scandal involving the suspicious timing of executive stock option grants, they may want to consider this: Even if they aren’t invested in companies caught up in that...

GMAC/ABA Seguros enters Mexico Tourist Auto Insurance Market

Jul 5 2006 // Flagstaff, Arizona – As the premium volume for Mexico tourist insurance continues to boom, fueled by an increase in the Hispanic market and escalating tourism to Mexico, another well-respected insurer has entered the...

Standard & Poor’s Annual Insurance Conference

Jul 4 2006 // Despite recent adversity and scrutiny faced by the insurance industry, financial ratings for companies appear on the upswing. “For the first time that I can remember we have a period where none of the sectors that we...

Federal insurance antitrust exemption: Insurer, consumer friend or foe?

Jul 3 2006 // Congress opened debate on the insurance industry’s exemption from federal antitrust laws, with some larger insurers indicating a willingness to relinquish the exemption in exchange for regulatory reform that would...

Things that should keep you awake at night

Jul 3 2006 // The integration of the U.S. insurance market and global financial market will have a profound impact on business, according to Dave Zwiener, president and chief operating officer of Property and Casualty Operations for The...

Federal insurance antitrust exemption: Insurer, consumer friend or foe?

Jul 3 2006 // Congress opened debate on the insurance industry’s exemption from federal antitrust laws, with some larger insurers indicating a willingness to relinquish the exemption in exchange for regulatory reform that would...

Jul 3 2006 // People Trindl Reeves joined Barney & Barney, San Diego, as a principal, responsible for the ongoing growth of Barney & Barney in San Diego and Orange County. She will be based in San Diego. Reeves, formerly...

Mich. Creates Pool to Reduce Premiums in Detroit, Flint

Jun 30 2006 // Four insurance companies have told state officials they want details on bidding to represent a pool of up to 200,000 good drivers and responsible homeowners in Flint and Detroit. The companies are among more than 65 the...

California Commissioner Questions Homeowners’ Insurance Rates

Jun 30 2006 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has announced he will approve an 18 percent decrease in homeowner and renter premium rates by The Hartford Insurance Co. The Hartford’s filing for a decrease contrasts...

Swiss Re Economists Analyze Global Situation; Insurance Outlook

Jun 28 2006 // Swiss Re’s economists held their “Mid-year Economic and Insurance Industry” teleconference yesterday, June 27, covering concerns on inflation, interest rates, high oil prices and the outlook for the...