Latest Market Headlines

Apr 21 2008 // People Michigan-based J.M. Wilson recently announced three new staff members, Danielle Crandell, Eric Maus and Jeanne Callan. Crandell was hired as a transportation underwriter. She will service commercial trucking...

Federal Charter: A Future ‘Insurance Subprime’ Debacle?

Apr 21 2008 // The banking and securities industry is facing worldwide subprime mortgage-related losses which knowledgeable sources – including the International Monetary Fund — now suggest could top $1 trillion, according to...

Demand For Food, Fuel Creating Ample Need for Agribusiness Insurance

Apr 21 2008 // The need for agricultural insurance is growing like a weed. “This is the greatest time we’ve had in our business,” said Christopher Leliaert, vice president at Towers-Perrin Reinsurance, in his assessment...

Federal Charter: A Future ‘Insurance Subprime’ Debacle?

Apr 21 2008 // The banking and securities industry is facing worldwide subprime mortgage-related losses, which knowledgeable sources – including the International Monetary Fund — now suggest could top $1 trillion, according to...

Declarations

Apr 21 2008 // P/C Consolidation “The logic of consolidation within the property and casualty industry, particularly in North America, may be gaining favor as the economy slows and as rates soften. However, our research suggests...

Insurance Skills Center Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Apr 21 2008 // Founders reflect on changes in insurance industry education The schedules of working full-time and being a mom don’t always concur, but Patty Gibson Carlson and Laurie Zangwill-Infantino have proven otherwise with...

Agents’ Workload Goes Up as Economy, Compensation Move Down

Apr 21 2008 // Soft market, economic downturn, consumer advocacy translate into more work for agencies Insurance Journal‘s Editor-in-Chief Andrea Wells was at the Big “I” Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.,...

Soft Market’s Effect on Premium Volume Doesn’t Have to Hinder Revenue

Apr 21 2008 // Soft market’s effect on premium volume doesn’t have to hinder revenue Premium volume may be down for independent agencies across the country but that doesn’t mean agency revenue is down for some of the...

Prognosis Good in Medical Professional Liability Market

Apr 21 2008 // Tort reform keeping claims frequency down; surplus up, but severity still an issue Tort reform efforts seem to be working, frequency of claims for medical liability is going down, surplus is up and reinsurance capital is...

White Papers and Blueprints: Agents Chart Their Own Regulatory Future

Apr 21 2008 // Independent agents hold onto market share, prepare for post-November election politics Insurance Journal‘s Editor-in-Chief Andrea Wells interviewed Robert Rusbuldt, CEO and president of the Independent Insurance...

Health Care Market May Be Safer to Operate In

Apr 21 2008 // Tort reform, soft market, drive down claims frequency in health care facility liability market Health care facility professional liability has faced new challenges due to recent tort reform efforts, the soft market and a...

Survey: 1Q Commercial Lines Premiums Drop Most Since 2005

Apr 21 2008 // Commercial lines insurance premiums experienced the largest quarterly drop since 2005 during the first quarter of 2008, according to an industry survey of risk managers. Undeterred by mounting claims from the meltdown of...

Climate Change Risk Gives Industry An Opportunity to Be Part of the Solution

Apr 21 2008 // Global warming, the consequence of which is referred to as climate change, is the heating of the earth’s surface temperature caused by man-made activity linked to release of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The burning of...

Lloyd’s Authorized as Brazil Reinsurer

Apr 18 2008 // Lloyd’s has received approval from the Superintendence of Private Insurance (SUSEP) to become the first admitted reinsurer in Brazil. Lloyd’s announced that it had applied for the license in February (See IJ...

Auto Exempted from Colorado Fair Accountable Insurance Rates Act

Apr 18 2008 // After more than five hours of testimony and deliberation on Colorado House Bill 1389, the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee has amended a controversial bill that insurance associations said would have imposed a...

Analysts See Increase in P/C Mergers Ahead; Rate Climate Change Top Issue

Apr 14 2008 // Insurance equity analysts expect a significant increase in property/ casualty mergers and acquisitions this year, according to findings of a global survey by Accenture. More than two-thirds (71 percent) of all P/C analysts...

California Workers’ Compensation Insurer in the Midst of Change

Apr 11 2008 // California State Compensation Insurance Fund has been facing many changes recently, but it has no intent to be the dominant player in the state workers’ compensation insurance market, according to Janet Frank,...

Transatlantic Re Applies to Enter Brazil

Apr 11 2008 // Not to be outdone by it French competitor (See related article), Transatlantic Reinsurance Company (TRC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transatlantic Holdings, Inc., has recently applied to Brazil’s regulatory...

SCOR Admitted as Brazilian Reinsurer

Apr 11 2008 // France’s SCOR has been admitted as a property and casualty reinsurer in Brazil. In addition, SCOR is currently completing the formalities for SCOR Global Life US Re Insurance Company to operate as an admitted Life...

Marsh Survey Finds Corporate Captive Growth Despite Soft Market

Apr 11 2008 // Marsh’s London office has issued a new “global benchmarking report,” which examines the use of captive insurance companies by today’s global firms. The report -“Next Generation Captives...