Latest Market Headlines

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

Hard Market Hits California Homeowners

Apr 7 2003 // Credit scoring, CLUE reports become targets of Commissioner Garamendi’s Ire The hard market has hit California homeowners hard. State Farm, which had nearly 23 percent market share in the state in 2001 according to...

Challenges Abound in the High-Valued Homes Market

Apr 7 2003 // For more than a decade, the U. S. homeowners insurance industry has failed to produce acceptable results. Less publicized has been the challenges faced by insurers of high-valued homes. To a large extent, the same culprits...

War in Iraq: The Known and Unknown Consequences

Apr 7 2003 // As President Bush and his advisers made good on their defiant promise to act alone if necessary to get rid of Iraq’s tyrannical régime, the world heard echoes of Mark Antony’s cry of rage and revenge,...

LDI JOINS NITF

Apr 7 2003 // Acting Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Robert Wooley announced that the Louisiana Department of Insurance has accepted an invitation to join the NeighborWorks National Insurance Task Force (NITF). Wooley appointed...

Challenges Abound in the High Valued Homes Market

Apr 7 2003 // For more than a decade, the U. S. homeowners insurance industry has failed to produce acceptable results. Less publicized has been the challenges faced by insurers of high valued homes. To a large extent, the same culprits...

Mercator and IVANS Partner to Deliver Automated P/C Transaction

Apr 4 2003 // Mercator® Software Inc. and IVANS® Inc. announced an alliance to jointly market a new solution, Mercator InsideIVANSP&C(TM), that will speed the processing of business transactions within the property &...

SAS Launches New Insurance Industry Solutions

Apr 1 2003 // SAS, a provider in business intelligence, announced the release of SAS® Insurance Intelligence Solutions, a new industry-specific solution offering, at the annual meeting of the SAS Users Group International (SUGI). SAS...

ACIC’s 14th Annual General Counsel Seminar Set for July

Mar 28 2003 // Insightful speakers and informative panels will present the most up-to-date overviews of issues affecting property/casualty insurers writing business in California during the Association of California Insurance...

LDI Joins National Insurance Task Force

Mar 25 2003 // Acting Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Robert Wooley announced that the Louisiana Department of Insurance has accepted an invitation to join the NeighborWorks National Insurance Task Force (NITF). Wooley appointed...

PIACT Elects Officers, Directors at Convention; New President Stresses “the Importance of Perpetuation”

Mar 24 2003 // The Professional Insurance Agents of Connecticut announced the newly elected officers and Directors at the organization’s annual convention held last week at Foxwoods Casino and Resort, Mashantucket, Conn. PIACT...

CDI Looks to Shore Up California’s Workers’ Comp Market

Mar 24 2003 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi took center stage when he addressed the problems plaguing State Compensation Insurance Fund on the heels of his recent plans to reform California’s ailing...

Med Mal Fever: When Doctors Walk Out, Politicians Notice

Mar 24 2003 // They’re baaack. High-flying medical malpractice liability claims losses, that is. The availability crisis of the 1970s and the affordability crisis of the 1980s may be nothing compared to the crisis insurers and...

Cooperative Agencies Can Increase Bottom Line

Mar 24 2003 // Whether you are trying to access major carriers’ markets for hard-to-place risks, find a way to brand your agency, or tap into the expertise of other veteran agents, a cooperative may be the way to go. Clusters,...

Agency Cooperatives Can Boost Bottom Line

Mar 24 2003 // Whether you are trying to access major carriers’ markets for hard-to-place risks, find a way to brand your agency, or tap into the expertise of other veteran agents, a cooperative may be the way to go. Clusters,...

Industry Faces Reality of War in Iraq

Mar 20 2003 // As war began last night with U.S. air attacks on selected targets in Baghdad, that apparently just missed Saddam Hussein, the insurance industry nervously prepared for the global fallout. Commercial insurers warned their...

N.J. Senate Commerce Committee Unanimously Passes Auto Reform Bill

Mar 19 2003 // All that lobbying and demonstrating has apparently begun to pay off for New Jersey’s insurance community (See IJ Website Mar.18), as the state’s Senate Commerce Committee unanimously passed an amended version...

Lloyd’s Chairman Calls for Change in Paperwork Processing

Mar 17 2003 // Lloyd’s Chairman, Lord Peter Levene, called upon underwriters and brokers to move away from the paper-bound system that has barely changed for decades and embrace the technology of the 21st century. He made clear...

NAII Notes Positive Modifications in VA 2003 Insurance Legislation

Mar 17 2003 // “Virginia’s 2003 legislative session ended with the softening of many bills that could have made it much more difficult for insurance companies to conduct business in the state,” said an announcement from...

Insurance Bureau of Canada Says Industry Reached a “New Low” in 2002

Mar 12 2003 // Borrowing a phrase from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth the Insurance Bureau of Canada labeled the year 2002 an “Anni horribiles” as it reported that the financial results for the country’s P/C insurers...

Munich Re Issues 2002 Natural Catastrophe Study; L.A., S.F. are High Risk

Mar 11 2003 // Munich Re has issued a new survey report – “topics Natural Catastrophes 2002.” The study found that “storms and floods have an even greater impact on insurers’ claims burdens than in the year...