Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Eye on Insurance Industry Regulation
Jan 11 2009 // In Financial Turmoil, Agents and the Industry Must Work Together It has been said that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” That also raises the question, what happens to the boat when the tide goes down? The...
Economy and Climate Change Top New Year Agenda
Jan 11 2009 // For the moment the economic recession is driving the global stagecoach, while climate change is riding shotgun, but it’s not as bad as it could be. Reports from Europe point to the fact that the P/C industry’s...
Swiss Re Analyzes Benefits of ‘Sustainable Agricultural Insurance’
Jan 9 2009 // “Agricultural insurance plays an important role in stimulating investment in agriculture and in stabilizing farmers’ income,” concludes a recently issued report from Swiss Re. The report, “Setting...
2008: Top Stories of the Year
Jan 5 2009 // 2008 can be described as a year like no other in the property/casualty insurance world. This year we saw the near death of the world’s largest and most successful insurance company, AIG. The soft market continued to...
After Stormy 2008, P/C Industry Facing Uncertainty in New Year
Jan 5 2009 // Ask agents and executives in the insurance industry about the new year and they’ll say they expect that the market will harden, at least slightly. In fact, 73 percent of agents predict prices will firm, according to...
Lloyd’s Analyzes Madoff’s Impact on Professional Liability Coverage
Jan 2 2009 // The ripple effect from Bernard Madoff ‘s Ponzi scheme will inevitably flow across the Atlantic concludes an article on the Lloyd’s web site (www.lloyds.com). For many years Madoff’s fund paid high...
Advisen Predicts Hardening of Commercial Insurance in Late 2009
Dec 31 2008 // The commercial insurance market cycle is close to its bottom and general commercial insurance prices will begin increasing by the fourth quarter of 2009 or the first quarter of 2010, according to a consultant to the global...
2008: A Year of Financial Storms
Dec 21 2008 // 2008 can be described as a year like no other in the property/casualty insurance world. This year, the industry witnessed the near death of the world’s largest and most successful insurance company, AIG. The soft...
After Stormy 2008, P/C Industry Facing Uncertainty in New Year
Dec 21 2008 // Agents Wish for Firmer Pricing, Higher Commissions, Solid Client Retention, Unity on Legislation Ask agents and executives in the insurance industry about the coming year and they’ll say they expect that the market...
Top Regional Stories of 2008
Dec 21 2008 // West California Passed Agent-Broker Law The most notable bill affecting California agents was AB 2956, which clarifies the duties of an insurance agent versus a broker. Prior to the new law, confusion existed within the...
Customer Service Centers Can Help Your Agency in Today’s Competitive Environment
Dec 21 2008 // The Key May Be Finding the Right CSC Partner In today’s soft market, transforming your agency to a sales culture is no longer optional. Like most agency principals, I know that quality service is critical to customer...
The View From London
Dec 21 2008 // Insurers Can Weather Global Financial Crisis Buyers that aren’t buying; houses that aren’t selling, banks that aren’t lending — sound familiar? But in this case it’s the United Kingdom that...
Willis Sees Hardening in Airline Insurance Market
Dec 17 2008 // Willis Group Holdings has said that it “expects aviation insurance prices to rise and the insurance market to harden further through the end of 2008 and into 2009,” according to the latest report issued by the...
Sullivan Receives Insurance Service Award from Okla. CPCU Chapter
Dec 17 2008 // The Central Oklahoma Chapter of CPCU recently presented John F. Sullivan with its Insurance Industry Service Award. Sullivan has been active in the insurance industry for 37 years and is the second generation owner of the...
Swiss Re Sees ‘Severe Recession;’ Insurers Should Preserve Capital
Dec 10 2008 // At their most recent conference in London, Swiss Re’s economists predicted a “severe recession until mid 2009 in industrialized economies, including the United States and Europe.” They also expect that...
Financial and Housing Crises, Soft Market to Challenge Insurers in 2009
Dec 4 2008 // The financial and housing crises, along with a prolonged soft market, are converging to create a highly challenging environment for the U.S. insurance industry in 2009, says an industry think tank. These factors will force...
Bright Spots and Challenges Go Hand in Hand in Louisiana
Dec 3 2008 // Despite the challenges faced by the state of Louisiana since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wrought their havoc in 2005, there are bright spots in the state’s property casualty insurance industry, says Louisiana...
Insurers Urge Surcharges, Reforms to Fix North Carolina Beach Plan
Dec 3 2008 // Property/casualty insurers are urging North Carolina officials to impose surcharges on policies in the state’s residual market property insurer, the Beach Plan, and take other financing and mitigation steps to...
China Insurers Dodge Financial Crisis Bullet, But Risks Loom
Dec 1 2008 // China’s 3 trillion yuan ($440 billion) insurance industry was largely insulated from the U.S. subprime crisis that battered AIG and other foreign firms, but the fallout poses the toughest challenge in a decade as...
Estimating the Credit Crisis Insurance Losses
Nov 30 2008 // On Nov. 5, 2008, the insurance information firm Advisen issued an updated forecast of insurance losses likely to arise from the credit crisis. Advisen is now estimating aggregate directors and officers, and errors and...
