Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New York Dinner for Insurance Charitable Fund Tops $1 Million
Dec 1 2010 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) New York division has surpassed the $1 million mark for ticket sales for its 2010 benefit dinner, which will be held Wednesday Dec. 8, 2010, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel...
Catastrophes Cost World $222 Billion in 2010: Swiss Re
Nov 30 2010 // According to initial estimates from Swiss Re’s sigma research team, worldwide economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters totaled $222 billion in 2010; more than triple the 2009 figure of $63...
Washington Regulator Wants to Review Health Insurer Surpluses
Nov 30 2010 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is asking state lawmakers to preserve his authority to scrutinize health insurance rates, boost transparency, and to let him — for the first time — consider some...
Willis Marine Review Concludes Surplus Capacity ‘Defies Logic’
Nov 29 2010 // Willis Group Holdings’ annual Marine Market Review has concluded that “while the shipping industry is showing tentative signs of recovery, the surplus capacity in the marine insurance market defies logic as...
UK MGAs Gather to Support New Managing General Agents’ Association
Nov 24 2010 // The UK’s insurance industry has spawned numerous professional and trade associations over the years, but, oddly enough, one of the most important sectors, the managing general agents, or MGA’s, who underwrite...
Louisiana Citizens Sheds Homeowners Policies
Nov 23 2010 // Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens) has held a fourth depopulation offering in which 13,500 policies have been assumed into the private insurance market, state Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon...
EU to Give Insurance Industry More Time to Prepare for Solvency II
Nov 18 2010 // European Union regulators look set to bow to insurance industry demands for more time to adjust to new solvency rules, with the head of the EU’s insurance watchdog acknowledging that some of the measures would have...
Inside the Disaster Blaster
Nov 14 2010 // Industry’s $40M Research Center May Someday Lead to Lower Catastrophe Claims For those who question the intelligence of insurance companies, here’s a new industry development that should answer those questions...
Inside the Disaster Blaster
Nov 14 2010 // Industry’s $40M Research Center May Someday Lead to Lower Catastrophe Claims For those who question the intelligence of insurance companies, here’s a new industry development that should answer those questions...
Growth, Stability and Changes in Store for Long Term Care Market
Nov 14 2010 // With the first of 77 million baby boomers nearing retirement age in 2011, assisted living facilities and nursing home facilities will play a more important role than ever before. About three million Americans will require...
Insurance and Going Green
Nov 14 2010 // What to Know About Green Commercial Building Insurance Read the news lately and it feels like everything – from cars to grocery bags – has gone green. While recent events, such as 2009’s Copenhagen Climate Change...
M&A Activity Heats Up
Nov 14 2010 // The Race to the Finish Line Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity between July and September was robust making the third quarter the most active with 61 deals versus 36 last year. Deal volume for the first nine months...
The ‘Secrets of the Ancients’
Nov 14 2010 // How Insurance Companies Can Live to Be 100 and Beyond Companies that seek longevity in the insurance industry should not focus solely on increasing profits. That’s the assessment of Robert P. Hartwig, president and...
Inside the Disaster Blaster
Nov 14 2010 // Industry’s $40M Research Center May Someday Lead to Lower Catastrophe Claim For those who question the intelligence of insurance companies, here’s a new industry development that should answer those questions...
Competition Picks Up in Insurance Market for the Rich
Nov 12 2010 // U.S. insurers are targeting the wealthy as one of the few client groups willing to pay higher rates and buy more policies, and competition to serve those people is increasing. From life insurers to property and casualty...
How Insurance Companies Can Live to Be 100 and Beyond
Nov 8 2010 // Companies that seek longevity in the insurance industry should not focus solely on increasing profits. That’s the assessment of Robert P. Hartwig, president and economist for the Insurance Information Institute. In...
Why Now Is a Good Time for Agency Network Growth
Nov 5 2010 // They go by many names — networks, alliances, franchises, clusters and aggregators — but all have similar goals. Aggregator groups have been around the insurance industry for more than three decades but in the past few...
Calif. State Fund: Getting Better Day by Day
Nov 3 2010 // In the ever controversial topic of workers’ compensation insurance in California, State Compensation Insurance Fund President and CEO Tom Rowe seemingly offers a bit of Zen. Rowe, who took the helm of the company in...
Insurance Premiums Paid by Texans Dipped Slightly in 2009
Nov 2 2010 // The property/casualty insurance industry in Texas experienced a “ho hum” year in 2009 with soft market pricing and a difficult economy taking a toll on written premium, according to a report released by the...
Fireman’s Fund Ready to Rally
Nov 1 2010 // Company Focused on Technology Upgrade, Mass Market Strategy Fireman’s Fund’s financials, like other insurance carriers’, got bruised in the first half of 2010. In particular, the Novato, Calif.-based...