Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P Report on U.K. Insurance Market – Stable Despite Cycle, Economic Risks
Apr 10 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services’ latest review of the U.K. insurance market – “Insurance Industry Risk Analysis: U.K. Economic Risk Increases But Unlikely To Put Pressure On Non-Life...
European Insurance Forum Examines Industry Changes
Apr 9 2008 // The 10th edition of the European Insurance Forum wrapped up proceedings on Tuesday night. The two-day conference, held at Dublin’s Four Seasons Hotel and sponsored by the Dublin Insurance & Management...
S&P Warns Soft Market Could Mean Downgrades for Commercial Insurers
Apr 9 2008 // The U.S. commercial lines property/casualty insurance “soft” pricing cycle will likely mean outlooks on some commercial lines insurers will be revised to negative in the second half of 2008, according to...
XL Targets Opening of Brazilian Reinsurance Market
Apr 7 2008 // XL Re, the global reinsurance operations of XL Capital Ltd. said it plans to serve the Brazilian reinsurance market as both a local and admitted reinsurer, subject to regulatory approval. XL Re’s entry is a response...
Survey: 1Q Commercial Lines Premiums Drop Most Since 2005
Apr 7 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...
Agents in the East Find Recession Hurts Others More Than Them
Apr 7 2008 // How agents from Mass. to Virginia are faring as the economy slows, competition quickens and government changes the rules Agents across New England and the Mid-Atlantic states are worried about how they and their customers...
It’s the Soft Market, Stupid
Apr 7 2008 // It starts with the housing market. Then it seeps into construction, typically residential followed by commercial. Then it travels to manufacturing, then retail, then hospitality. It differs by region. It might be worse in...
In Midwest, Economic Downturn Makes Soft Market Even Tougher
Apr 7 2008 // In recession-battered Michigan and elsewhere, agents pursue opportunities despite market conditions When it comes to dealing with a recession, independent agents in Michigan carry the dubious distinction of having more...
It’s the Soft Market, Stupid
Apr 7 2008 // It starts with the housing market. Then it seeps into construction, typically residential followed by commercial. Then it travels to manufacturing, then retail, then hospitality. It differs by region. It might be worse in...
Southeast Agents Fear Recession as Construction Woes Continue
Apr 7 2008 // Shrinking payrolls and receipts exacerbate soft market effects of lower premiums and commissions Southeast insurance agents do not all agree the economy is in a recession or on the causes of the slumping economy, but they...
Climate Change Heats Up Insurance Industry
Apr 7 2008 // Greenhouse gases (GHGs) have gotten a bad rap, according to Mark C. Bove, senior research meteorologist, catastrophic risk management for Munich Reinsurance America. Speaking on a panel about climate change at the...
Double Whammy
Apr 7 2008 // It starts with the housing market. Then it seeps into construction, typically residential followed by commercial. Then it travels to manufacturing, then retail, then hospitality. It differs by region. It might be worse in...
Take a P/C Soft Market, Throw in a Recession, and Stir
Apr 7 2008 // The P/C industry’s chief economist on how agents are affected when a recession coincides with a soft market The following interview with Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, took place...
Industry Lines Up ‘Pro and Con’ on Bush Plan for Federal Regulator
Apr 7 2008 // Insurance industry groups lined up quickly with responses to the Bush administration’s proposed overhaul of the way the government regulates the nation’s financial services industries, including insurance. The...
During a Recession, Agents Tend to Fare Better Than Their Customers
Apr 7 2008 // Agents writing residential contractors feel recession first; manufacturing, retail segments follow Main Street independent insurance agents could take a bigger hit than their larger counterparts as an economic recession...
RMS Assesses UK Flood Review
Apr 3 2008 // In its response to Sir Michael Pitt’s review of flood risk in the UK, Risk Management Solutions stressed the “urgent need for an accurate database of information on flood defenses.” The catastrophe risk...
Mass. AG Says State Auto Insurance Web Site Misleads Consumers
Apr 3 2008 // A state Web site intended to educate consumers about Massachusetts’ newly deregulated auto insurance market instead gives them inaccurate rate comparisons, Attorney General Martha Coakley said Tuesday on the day the...
Amoroso Wins ‘Insurance Woman of the Year’ Award
Apr 3 2008 // The Association of Professional Insurance Women has named Rebecca C. Amoroso as its Insurance Woman of the Year. Amoroso is vice chairman and U.S. Insurance Industry Group Leader at Deloitte, where she has worked for 22...
Colorado Bills Call for Cracking Down on Insurance Industry
Apr 1 2008 // Colorado Democrats plan to introduce a package of bills to require health insurance firms to get prior approval for rate hikes, punish them for improper denial of claims and encourage efficiencies. The reform package could...
Disaster Derivatives Set to Grow in 2008
Apr 1 2008 // With the United States bracing for big hurricanes this year, new derivatives to trade catastrophe risks offer insurers the extra protection they crave against multi-billion-dollar storms. Trading of “catastrophe...
