Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurers Urge Senate Panel to Extend TRIA
May 18 2004 // Congress should act this year to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) for two years beyond its Dec. 31, 2005, expiration date because the private market alone cannot deal with further catastrophic terrorist...
PCI White Paper: Insurer Profitability Must Be Viewed Over Long Term
May 17 2004 // A white paper published by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) shows that insurance industry profitability must be evaluated over the long term and that loss costs, not investment return, are the...
Insurers Prepare for a Post-TRIA World; ‘Baby Steps’ Toward Federal Regulation
May 17 2004 // Property/casualty insurers are coming to grips with the fact that a government-sponsored terrorism insurance backstop could expire at the end of next year, which would send pricing shockwaves through the market. Carriers...
Making the Rounds With South Dakota’s Governor
May 17 2004 // Michael Rounds was having trouble sleeping at night. An insurance agent by trade and a politician by passion, he had told close friends and associates that he would not run for the governorship of South Dakota. It was...
The Market Will Always Be ‘The Market’
May 17 2004 // Our “market” is still essentially no different than what it was a century ago. We are still in the business of protecting the assets of our insureds while generating a profit. For as long as I have been in the...
AIA Pleased With 2004 Colorado Legislative Session
May 17 2004 // The Colorado legislature adjourned sine die on May 5, giving final approval to several measures before going home. The American Insurance Association (AIA) reported that positive legislation affecting the insurance...
Fla. Measure to Increase Availability of Homeowners Insurance Becomes Law
May 12 2004 // A measure designed to increase the availability of homeowners insurance and improve Florida’s ability to recover financially from catastrophic hurricanes through improvements to Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe...
S&P Reports on U.S. P/C Industry Financial Condition
May 11 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Credit Market Services has issued a report on the U.S. P/C industry, which notes that the rating agency is maintaining its negative rating outlook on this sector of the commercial insurance...
Industry Tells N.Y. Lawmakers Alternatives to TRIA in Works in Case Congress Fails to Renew as Hoped
May 7 2004 // The insurance industry has rebounded after the September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center – the largest loss in insurance history, according to the New York Insurance Association (NYIA). Addressing a...
AIA Pleased With 2004 Colorado Legislative Session
May 7 2004 // The Colorado legislature adjourned sine die on May 5, giving final approval to several measures before going home. The American Insurance Association (AIA) reported that positive legislation affecting the insurance...
RMS, Marshall & Swift/Boeckh Form Partnership to Enhance Property Valuation for Risk Analysis
May 6 2004 // Newark Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a leading provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk, and Marshall & Swift/Boeckh (MS/B), leaders in building cost solutions to the...
Questions of Coverage for Terrorism
May 6 2004 // It seems like almost every day there is a major news story concerning a terrorist act in the Middle East, Europe, or Asia. While the United States has been largely immune to the almost daily attacks of domestic terrorism...
RMS Study Shows Risk From CAT Events for WC, Life, Health Insurers
Apr 29 2004 // Risk Management Solutions Inc. (RMS), a provider of products and services for catastrophe risk management, released the findings of an in-depth study that provides workers’ compensation, life, and health insurers...
Consumer Study Disputes Need for Renewal of Terrorism Reinsurance
Apr 22 2004 // The nation’s terrorism insurance law is not necessary to ensure the availability of affordable terrorism coverage for most areas of the country and should be allowed to expire, according to a study released by the...
Conning: Bigger Dollars, Fewer Insurance Industry M&As
Apr 21 2004 // Mergers and acquisitions in 2003 and 2004 in the insurance industry reached the highest level since 1998 in dollar terms, even while the total number of transactions continued its long decline since the same year,...
Joint Letter from Six Insurance Associations Urges Congressional Leaders to Reauthorize TRIA
Apr 20 2004 // In a joint letter to Michael G. Oxley, (R-Ohio), Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, and Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, six of the most prominent U.S. insurance...
Willis Reports on Insurance Marketplace Conditions
Apr 20 2004 // Willis Group has also issued a report on market conditions in the industry (see related articles). The international broker said it had reached the following conclusions: — Competitive conditions return to certain...
Aon Reports US Commercial Property Rates Drop 10%
Apr 20 2004 // A study by Aon, released to coincide with the RIMS conference in San Diego, has determined that an average reduction of around 10 percent has occurred in U.S. Commercial property rates. Willis and the CIAB also issued...
CIAB Survey Shows Q1 Commercial P/C Easing
Apr 20 2004 // The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers has issued a report indicating that the commercial property and casualty market “continued to ease across most lines during the first quarter of 2004, with the average...
Program Specialists Work Together For Success
Apr 19 2004 // “We must all hang together or assuredly we will all hang separately.” – Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin’s famous statement during the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 could...
