Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Industry Lines Up ‘Pro and Con’ on Bush Plan for Federal Insurance Regulator
Mar 31 2008 // Insurance industry groups are lining up quickly with responses to the Bush administration’s proposed overhaul of the way the government regulates the nation’s financial services industries, including...
Who’s Worth What in the Independent Agency System?
Mar 25 2008 // Fewer independent agencies gave salary increases to managers, sales producers and support personnel in 2007 compared to 2006, while half of all agencies reported that salaries stayed the same in 2007 compared to 2006. Of...
People
Mar 24 2008 // Kenneth A. Bowles as been named the 2008 PIA National Professional Agent of the Year by the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. Bowles was honored for his work on behalf of professional insurance agents,...
Indiana One of First States to Ban Tax on Insurers for Accident Responses
Mar 24 2008 // Some call it ‘double taxation;’ others easy money Indiana recently became one of the first states in the country to pass legislation prohibiting the practice of municipalities charging fees for accident...
Castle Inspection Service Announces Partnership with Myriad Development, Inc.
Mar 24 2008 // Partnership Means Increased Inspection Management Options Salt Lake City, Utah (March 24, 2008) – Castle Inspection Service, a Division of Overland Solutions, Inc. (Castle) and Myriad Development, Inc. are pleased to...
Congress Examines Municipal Bond Ratings, Bond Insurance Industry
Mar 24 2008 // The fast-spreading U.S. mortgage crisis prompted lawmakers this month to explore problems with municipal bonds, painting a bleak outlook for bond insurers that one official said imposes a “secret Wall Street...
When it Comes to Insurance Cycles, Mutuals and Stocks Behave Differently
Mar 24 2008 // Difference is tied to how mutual insurers build market share, says Conning researcher When it comes to managing through a soft cycle, it turns out mutual companies behave in a way that’s different than their...
Benfield Inc to address Soft Market Impact on Program Business
Mar 21 2008 // Wilmington, DE – March 2008 – The Target Markets Program Administrators Association announced today that the Association’s Strategic Partner Benfield Inc. will be collecting data from TMPAA Program...
World Insurance Forum Opens in Dubai
Mar 18 2008 // His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), has officially opened the 2008 World Insurance Forum (WIF) at the DIFC. This is the first time the event has been held...
