Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Young Agents Survey Shows Strong Family Ties
Apr 28 2011 // Bryan Hanes grew up in the family business listening to stories about life in a small town. He heard his grandfather and then father sharing cheerful conversations with local towns folk about personal relationships, local...
Global Reinsurers at ‘Critical’ Point, Says Best’s Report
Apr 26 2011 // A new special report, compiled by A.M. Best, concludes that the string of major catastrophes, a persistent soft market and the near exhaustion of excess reserves have placed global reinsurers at a “critical”...
How P/C Insurance Industry Fared Financially in 2010
Apr 20 2011 // U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes rose to $34.7 billion in 2010 from $28.7 billion the year before, with insurers’ rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus increasing to 6.5...
Young Agents look for opportunity… and a future
Apr 20 2011 // Come along for a ride with me… or better yet, join me for a cup of coffee in my office, as we discuss articles from the April 4th issue of Insurance Journal magazine about Young Agents and the industry’s...
P/C Insurers Keeping an Eye on Congress
Apr 20 2011 // While lobbyists see few direct threats to the property/casualty insurance industry in the current Congress, P/C insurers have been advised to remain vigilant because several issues that could have a spillover effect on...
Opinion: Separating Myths from Facts on Florida’s Citizens Insurance
Apr 19 2011 // Currently, Florida’s legislature is considering a proposal that will help restore health to Florida’s insurance market. As the proposal moves forward, it is worth separating the myths from the facts on the...
FERMA:Brazil’s Response on Regulation Change Complaints O.K.;More Needed
Apr 18 2011 // The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) described the Brazilian government’s response to complaints about proposed changes in re/insurance regulations as “a good first step” in...
Reinsurance Rates Up, But Few Agree How Much
Apr 18 2011 // Reinsurance rates may be edging higher only now, but the companies’ shares could still surge amid investor hopes that disasters, including Japan’s earthquake, will result in much higher rates in the...
Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Launches Chicago/Midwestern Division
Apr 14 2011 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation has launched a Chicago/Midwestern Division. Presently operating a California/Western Division and a New York/Northeast Division, the Foundation has expanded to include a third...
P/C Industry Depends Too Much on Catastrophe Models, Says Pioneer Clark
Apr 14 2011 // Catastrophe models are a great risk management tool for property/casualty insurers but even the person who created the first one is worried that they are being given more credit and influence than they deserve. Karen Clark...
Solvency II: ‘Beware the Dog That Didn’t Bark,’ Warns Willis Re
Apr 13 2011 // Insurers are meeting their solvency requirements in greater numbers than anticipated and the result is that the Solvency II regulatory scheme will not result in a capital deficit for the insurance industry as a whole. The...
How Health Reform Will Affect Workers’ Comp, Liability Insurance
Apr 12 2011 // The federal health reform enacted last year will bring short- and long-term challenges to employers and the property/casualty insurance industry. According to Harry Shuford, chief economist for the insurance...
P/C Insurers Weigh International Expansion for Growth
Apr 12 2011 // The economy is recovering, but not enough to overcome a persistent soft market and spark robust premium growth, a new report from Advisen Ltd. says. As a result, property/casualty insurers will increasingly view...
A.M. Best Revises Outlook for The Hartford
Apr 12 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to stable from negative and affirmed the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb+” of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. A.M. Best also has affirmed the financial...
Effect of Federal Government Shutdown on Insurance Industry
Apr 8 2011 // If Congress fails to pass a budget for the rest of 2011 and the federal government temporarily shuts down, it should still be business-as-usual for the property/casualty insurance industry. Since the industry is largely...
Reinsurance Rates Rising, But Few Agree Where, How Much
Apr 6 2011 // Reinsurance rates may be edging higher only now, but the companies’ shares could still surge amid investor hopes that disasters, including Japan’s earthquake, will result in much higher rates in the...
Reinsurance Rates Are Rising, but Few Agree Where
Apr 6 2011 // Reinsurance rates may be edging higher only now, but the companies’ shares could still surge amid investor hopes that disasters, including Japan’s earthquake, will result in much higher rates in the...
Financial Consultant Bjelobaba Analyzes Changing UK Regulations
Apr 6 2011 // The UK’s Conservative government announced, even before it was elected, that it planned to reform the country’s financial regulatory system – for banks, investment providers and the insurance industry. On...
Japan Quake Reveals Cracks in Insurance System – Part I
Apr 5 2011 // Michael Korn is a popular person these days, which is perhaps not too surprising considering what he does for a living and where he lives. Korn is an insurance broker in earthquake-prone San Francisco. “We’re...
Aon Analysis Finds Airlines Seeing Passenger Numbers Increasing in 2011
Apr 5 2011 // According to Aon Risk Solutions, recently released “Airline Insurance Market Outlook, 2011,” the Aon airline industry has “started to recover since the darkest days of the financial crisis, with rising...
