Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurance Industry Challenged by Unexpected Weather
Feb 21 2011 // It’s a tough time to be in the $500 billion U.S. property insurance business. Storms are happening in places they never happened before, at intensities they have never reached before and at times of year when they...
From Bad to Worse
Feb 21 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...
Lloyd’s CEO in China Talks on Expansion
Feb 14 2011 // A bulletin on the Lloyd’s web site notes that CEO Richard Ward “met with representatives from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) in Beijing last week, including the commission’s Vice...
People
Feb 10 2011 // Cincinnati, Ohio-based Great American Insurance Group’s Property and Inland Marine Division has promoted two insurance executives: Grace Thomas and Cecil Wilson. Thomas was promoted to divisional senior vice...
SPECIAL REPORT: Extreme Weather Batters Insurance Industry
Feb 9 2011 // In Chester County, South Carolina, off a dirt road in the middle of a field, insurance companies are literally unleashing a storm. To simulate hurricane-like conditions, an industry group has built a wind tunnel big enough...
People
Feb 7 2011 // Portland, Ore.-based Durham and Bates Agencies Inc. selected William D. Hurst as CEO and president. Hurst, an internationally known marine insurance broker, and leader of Durham and Bates’ Marine Practice for 25...
Reasons to Look Beyond Price in 2011
Feb 7 2011 // Just weeks into the New Year, the experts’ predictions appear to be “more of the same” for at least the first half of 2011: super soft pricing combined with increased availability of limits and coverage....
Soft Market Not Over Yet
Feb 7 2011 // Average renewal premiums for commercial lines property/ casualty insurance were largely unchanged during the fourth quarter of 2010 and that may remain the case for awhile. According to the RIMS Benchmark Survey, directors...
Lloyd’s Warns of Increases in Fraudulent Claims
Feb 7 2011 // Fraud is a fact of life for the insurance industry – part of the game so to speak. While some claims, as Lloyd’s notes in an article on its web site, may cause people to smile, the amount of money they cost the...
Insurance Industry Can Help Pizzerias Avoid Losses on Super Bowl Sunday
Feb 4 2011 // Americans will consumer 30 million slices of pizza on Sunday, making Super Bowl Sunday one of the busiest day of the year for pizza chains. Papa Johns, the official pizza sponsor for Super Bowl XL, expects to have its...
Montana Businesses Forming Captives to Reap Economic Benefits
Feb 2 2011 // Montana licensed a record 26 captive insurance companies in 2010, boosting the number of captives at year-end to 67, also a record, the state Department of Insurance announced. The 26 captives licensed last year compares...
Marsh Sees Soft Commercial Insurance Market Continuing
Jan 31 2011 // Another report indicates that soft commercial insurance market conditions that persisted throughout the U.S. in 2010 will continue into 2011. Key commercial insurance market drivers from 2009—including intense...
Insurance Foundation Awards $132,000 in Community Grants
Jan 28 2011 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation’s Western Division has awarded 26 community grants totaling $132,000 to nonprofits in the first quarter of 2011. The Western Division focuses its grant making in four...
Insurance Council of Australia Takes New Initiatives in Wake of Floods
Jan 28 2011 // The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has reacted quickly to the disastrous flooding in the State of Queensland earlier this month with two new initiatives aimed at “developing a more effective and sustainable...
Guernsey Statement: ‘No Plans’ to Seek Equivalence under Solvency II
Jan 25 2011 // The Commerce and Employment Department of the States of Guernsey (the Guernsey Government) and the financial regulator, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) have released a joint statement, which affirms that...
Texas Insurance Commissioner Geeslin to Step Down
Jan 24 2011 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin announced in early January that he will not seek another term as head of the Texas Department of Insurance. His term ends Feb. 1, 2011. Commissioner Geeslin has been with TDI for...
Think Soft Market Is Over? Think Again
Jan 24 2011 // Average renewal premiums for commercial lines property/ casualty insurance were largely unchanged during the fourth quarter of 2010 and that may remain the case for awhile. According to the RIMS Benchmark Survey, directors...
New York ‘Crash Tax’ Roils Insurance Industry
Jan 24 2011 // Trade Groups Lash Out at Proposed FDNY Charges for Accident Response The insurance industry spoke out against what it is calling a hidden “crash tax” during a public hearing in New York City earlier this...
Underwriting, Expense Discipline Needed in 2011, Say P/C CEOs
Jan 24 2011 // The property/casualty insurance industry turned a corner and will show a profitable year for 2010, but underwriting discipline will be more important than ever in 2011, according to property/casualty CEOs. “2010 was...
Insurance Industry Worries about Growing Risks from Climate Change
Jan 19 2011 // Insurers are struggling to assess the risks from climate change, industry officials say, with the floods in Australia and Brazil highlighting the potential losses from greater extremes of weather. Scientists say a warmer...
