Latest Market Headlines
All the headlines from our Market Topic Page, ordered by recency.
IICF Bridge Week Celebration: A Look at the Public and the Industry
Nov 8 2004 // The nearest way to come at glory is to do for conscience what you would do for glory,” said Gordon Stewart, president of the Insurance Information Institute (III), at the Insurance Industry Charitable...
R.I. Official Plans Bill Banning ‘Incentive Fees’
Nov 5 2004 // In the wake of the ongoing insurance brokerage probe involving bid rigging and incentive payments, Rhode Island Secretary of State Matt Brown is proposing legislation to prohibit insurance industry “incentive...
MarketScout: Bid Rigging, Incentive Commissions, Hurricanes and a Presidential Election Impact P/C Market
Nov 4 2004 // According to Richard Kerr, chairman and CEO of MarketScout, an online insurance exchange with more than 50,000 users, the October 2004 composite rate for U.S. property and casualty insurance is 2%, down from 12% in October...
Republican Candidates Win ‘Big Time’ in Insurance Industry Political Giving in Federal Races
Nov 2 2004 // The late U.S. House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill (D-Mass.) is famous for insisting, “All politics is local.” Apparently, O’Neill wasn’t counting the money. When it comes to...
Ethics Called Bottom Line Issue for Entire Insurance Industry
Oct 29 2004 // The current investigations of the insurance industry emphasize the need for stricter adherence to ethical market conduct standards, Brian Atchinson, executive director of the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association...
London’s Muted Reaction to Spitzer Investigations
Oct 28 2004 // The London market in general and Lloyd’s in particular has not been overly verbose in commenting on New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s ongoing investigation of the insurance industry. Apart from a...
Delehoy Joins Insurance Industry Charitable Fund
Oct 28 2004 // Moraga, Calif.-based Insurance Industry Charitable Fund announced the addition of Bonnie Delehoy as vice president of development and partner relations. In this new full-time position, Delehoy will be responsible for...
CPCU Society Board of Governors Issues Ethics Policy Statement During Meeting
Oct 26 2004 // The Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters Society (CPCU Society) Board of Governors voted unanimously to publicly denounce all practices or systems that violate its code of ethics. In a policy statement issued...
Japan: Powerful, Beleaguered and Consolidating
Oct 25 2004 // Until Commodore Peary’s visit in 1848, Japan was one of the world’s most isolated countries, and it still remains rather unique. But something in the Japanese character and society enabled it to turn its back...
Professional Liability in the Medical Arena
Oct 25 2004 // Whether a patient, a health care provider or an insurer, everyone seems to be aware of what is going on in the medical world these days. There is general agreement that health care costs are rising, more people are going...
How Green Is N.Y.’s Hudson Valley’ ‘Very Green,’ Say Insurers
Oct 25 2004 // From West Point to Woodstock and Roosevelt to Rockefeller, New York’s Hudson River Valley is rich in history, events, and natural beauty. This 150-mile territory from Nyack to Albany is also an increasingly vibrant...
Shelby Upsets Insurers’ Plan to Delay TRIA’s Sunset
Oct 25 2004 // Regardless of whether George W. Bush is re-elected or John Kerry moves into the White House, the property/casualty insurance industry appears to have a good chance of getting its wishes when it comes to extending the...
Uncertainties Worry Conventioneers
Oct 25 2004 // Clear skies prevailed over Florida during October’s ASCnet and Big “I” conferences in Orlando, but an underlying feeling of anticipation prevailed because the hurricane season lasts until the end of...
Better State Policy Will Make Better Insurance Policies
Oct 25 2004 // The Texas home and auto insurance market is finally on the mend. Rates have begun to stabilize, and thanks to landmark reforms passed in 2003, companies are even eyeing our state as a place to do business. Competition and...
Professional Liability: Will the Cycle Remain Unbroken’
Oct 25 2004 // Some say it’s over—the hard market, that is. Certainly in some areas of professional liability this is true. Many renewal premiums in 2004 are flat, or are even dropping by 10 percent or more. Not withstanding the...
Take Two: Looking at the Med-Mal Crisis from Both Sides
Oct 25 2004 // National editor Andrea Ortega-Wells recently moderated a “Take Two” debate discussing the hot topic of medical malpractice, and what, if any, reforms are needed. The debate featured Paula Sweeney, partner with...
A.M. Best: Cycle Management Key to Reinsurance Industry Financial Strength
Oct 22 2004 // The reinsurance industry is facing a key test from the 2005 renewal season in terms of how it reacts in practice to pricing pressure from cedents, according to A.M. Best Co.. While the material levels of catastrophe losses...
Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency Hires Grenier, Promotes Eversole
Oct 18 2004 // Beaverton, Ore.-based Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency Inc. has hired Delia Grenier as senior associate broker and promoted Darren Eversole to marketing manager. Grenier will be responsible for brokering and...
New York AG Sues Marsh Over Contingent Commissions, Cites Insurers Over Alleged Bid-Rigging
Oct 14 2004 // New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on Oct. 14 sued Marsh & McLennan Companies, the nation’s biggest insurance brokerage firm, alleging that it steered clients to insurers with whom it had lucrative...
AIG’s Greenberg: Industry Faces Trouble with Congress on TRIA; Some Pursue ‘Graveyard’ Strategy
Oct 12 2004 // The insurance industry has difficulty convincing Congress about the significance of its business and some of its own leaders about the pitfalls of overly-aggressive price competition, according to one of the world’s...
