Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Aon Benfield Report: Despite Catastrophes, Reinsurance Rates Remain Stable
Apr 4 2011 // Aon Benfield’s most recent evaluation of the state of the reinsurance market, as of April 1, concludes that it performed “as intended through recent events,” and that it continues “to provide...
All in the Family
Apr 4 2011 // Young Agents Survey Reveals Strong Family Ties 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...
People
Apr 4 2011 // Ohio-based Westfield Insurance promoted Joseph C. Kohmann to group finance leader (CFO) and treasurer. He replaces Robert Krisowaty, who retires with more than 10 years of service. In July 2010 Kohmann assumed the position...
People
Apr 4 2011 // Maine-based workers’ comp insurer The MEMIC Group has promoted Michael P. Bourque to senior vice president for external affairs. Bourque joined MEMIC in 1995 and was appointed vice president for corporate marketing...
Special Report: Top 10 Innovative P/C Insurance Products
Apr 1 2011 // A wave of new product offerings is jeopardizing the property/casualty insurance industry’s image as uncool. Since the beginning of the year, dozens of property/casualty insurers have announced innovative protections...
Willis Re: Japan Quake Not Enough to Turn Soft Market
Mar 31 2011 // A report from Willis Re, the reinsurance brokerage arm of Willis Group Holdings, notes that “relatively orderly price movements at the April 1 Japanese reinsurance renewals reveal that the Tohoku Earthquake is not...
2010 Nat Cats, Disasters Cost $218 Bn – $43 Bn Insured; Says Swiss Re
Mar 29 2011 // According to Swiss Re’s latest sigma study, worldwide economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were $218 billion in 2010, more than triple the 2009 figure of $68 billion. The losses cost the...
Web Exchange
Mar 21 2011 // Soft Market Ending, Finally? Could the soft market finally be over? A new analysis concludes that insurance prices are rising and the prolonged soft market is ending, contrary to earlier reports from other analysts....
People
Mar 21 2011 // Baldwin & Lyons Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, promoted Mark Bonini to executive vice president of sales, marketing and underwriting; Jim Isham to senior vice president of administration; and Craig Morfas to...
Best Report Notes Growth in Panama Insurance Market
Mar 16 2011 // A new report from A.M. Best notes that Panama’s insurance market is the largest in Central America, and is expected to continue to produce significant premium growth in the next few years. Best noted that the...
Many Unemployed Rejected by Individual Health Insurance Market: Study
Mar 16 2011 // Of the 43 million working-age adults who lost jobs during the recession in the past two years, about nine million, or 20 percent, ended up without insurance, according to a new study. The nine million left without...
Business Groups Back Expanding Federal Flood Insurance Options
Mar 14 2011 // Expanding a federal program that is already $17 billion in debt might seem like a non-starter of an idea on budget-sensitive Capitol Hill these days. However the idea is included in a Republican-drafted reform of the...
“Unexpected Nature” of Japan Quake Complicates Insured Loss Estimates
Mar 14 2011 // The unexpected nature of this week’s earthquake in Japan, plus the damage from the subsequent tsunami and fires, makes estimating insured losses from the disaster especially difficult, senior executives at two top...
Soft Market Is Ending, Really It Is, Says SNL Financial
Mar 10 2011 // Could the soft market finally be over? A new analysis concludes that insurance prices are rising and the prolonged soft market is ending, contrary to earlier reports from other analysts. Virginia-based SNL Financial says...
From Bad to Worse
Mar 7 2011 // When people think unpleasant events are over, they remember them as being less painful or annoying than when they expect them to happen again. That is due to the power of expectation, a power that helps people brace for...
Newer Web Sites Gaining Online Auto Insurance Market Share
Mar 7 2011 // Newer auto insurance and aggregator sites are attracting an increasing share of the online auto insurance market that has been dominated by GEICO and Progressive, according to a new report. In the fourth quarter of 2010,...
Restaurants Rebound: Insurance Market Heats Up
Mar 7 2011 // It is no secret that the restaurant industry has been in a slump. As families have cut back on eating out, restaurants have suffered three straight years of a decline in business: -.2 percent in 2010, -2.8 percent in 2009...
London Ship Insurers Add Libya to ‘High-risk’ List
Mar 4 2011 // London’s marine insurance market has added Libya to a list of areas deemed high risk as violence escalates in Africa’s third-largest oil producer, a senior market official said on Friday. Libyan rebels vowing...
Berkshire Hathaway Enters India Insurance Market
Mar 4 2011 // Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is entering the Indian insurance market as a corporate agent for Bajaj Allianz, the companies said. Berkshire made no investment in Bajaj, but will sell policies for...
Kansas Studying Impact of Health Insurance Act on Agents, Insurers
Mar 3 2011 // Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger will conduct a public fact-finding hearing March 14 regarding the impact on Kansas insurance companies and agents of a medical loss ratio (MLR) provision in the federal...
