Latest Property Casualty Headlines

All the headlines from our Property Casualty Topic Page, ordered by recency.

P/C Insurers’ Profit Dipped in Q1

Jul 21 2014 // Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes fell to $13.8 billion in first-quarter 2014 from $14.3 billion in first-quarter 2013. Insurers’ pretax operating income – the sum of net gains...

Q1 P/C Direct Premium Written Up 3.5 Percent

Jul 21 2014 // Direct premium written (DPW) for property/casualty insurance companies continues to increase, albeit gradually. At year-end 2013, nearly $545 billion of DPW was reported, a record high for the industry. For 2013, total DPW...

Insurance Trade Agreements Are Good for Consumers and Markets

Jul 21 2014 // David SnyderYou can be sure critics are already getting ready to pounce on a preliminary draft of the financial services section of the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), invoking the usual rhetoric about the evils of...

Fitch Forecasts Shrinking P/C Insurer Profits

Jul 17 2014 // Fitch Ratings is forecasting that 2014 will end up as the second consecutive year of underwriting profits for the property/casualty industry with modest increase in the combined ratio. But the results for 2014 won’t...

Best Assigns Ratings to Starr Property & Casualty Insurance (China)

Jul 17 2014 // A.M. Best has assigned the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” to Starr Property & Casualty Insurance (China) Company, Limited (Starr China), formerly...

Allianz Deutschland CEO Riess Sees No Need for Fresh German Cost-Cutting Plan

Jul 16 2014 // The German unit of Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, sees no need to follow up on a cost-cutting program in its non-life business that has dragged on three years. “We have achieved a lot; now it’s...

Construction P&C Premiums Slump 10-30% Due to Overcapacity: Willis Report

Jul 15 2014 // “Overcapacity in the international construction, property & casualty markets in the first half of 2014 has resulted in rate reductions of up to 30 percent for commercial insurance buyers,” according to a...

Levin joins EPIC as a Vice President in Northern California

Jul 14 2014 // Edgewood Partners Insurance Center has added Andrea Levin as a vice president in its Petaluma, Calif. office. Levin will report to Mike Ryan, property/casualty practice principal in the North Bay. Her responsibilities will...

BTG Pactual Agrees to Purchase Ariel Re from Global Atlantic

Jul 11 2014 // Bermuda-based Banco BTG Pactual S.A. (BTG Pactual) and Global Atlantic Financial Group Limited announced that they have signed an agreement whereby BTG Pactual will acquire Ariel Re, Global Atlantic’s Bermuda-based...

ACE to Acquire Brazil’s Commercial P&C Insurer Itaú Seguros

Jul 7 2014 // ACE Limited announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the large corporate property and casualty (P&C) business of Itaú Seguros, S.A. from Itaú Unibanco S.A. for approximately $685 million. ACE...

How New Capital is Changing P/C and What To Do About It

Jul 7 2014 // As waves of capital reshape reinsurer’s business model, the property/casualty (P/C) insurance industry needs to change, although how remains a matter of debate. Reinsurers face a growing threat from the capital...

Hidden Perils of California’s Proposed Health Insurance Price Controls

Jul 7 2014 // In November, California voters will decide whether to implement state government price controls on health insurance. Insurance agents and brokers are certain to be asked by their clients whether this ballot measure merits...

P/C Insurers’ Profit Dipped in Q1

Jul 6 2014 // Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes fell to $13.8 billion in first-quarter 2014 from $14.3 billion in first-quarter 2013. Insurers’ pretax operating income – the sum of net...

Progressive Boosts Ad Spending But GEICO Still #1: SNL

Jul 3 2014 // Progressive Corp. boosted its advertising spending by nearly $70 million year over year to $595.4 million in 2013, the largest aggregate dollar increase among all U.S. property/casualty insurers, according to an analysis...

Extended Deadline to Enter for Insurance Journal Top 100

Jun 25 2014 // Don’t miss out on your chance to become one of Insurance Journal’s Top 100 Independent Property/Casualty Agencies. PLUS, now there’s an opportunity to be considered as Tomorrow’s Top 100 – these...

Barry Named Director of Property/Casualty Underwriting at J.M. Wilson

Jun 25 2014 // Managing general agency and surplus lines broker J.M. Wilson, based in Portage, Mich., promoted Roxanne Barry, to director of property and casualty underwriting. Roxanne Barry In addition to her role as property and...

Texas Property/Casualty Symposium to Focus on Insurance Industry Changes

Jun 19 2014 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) will host its 22nd Annual Mid-Year Property & Casualty Symposium in Austin on July 17. Speakers include industry leaders from the Insurance Information Institute (III), the...

Agnello Named President of Lockton’s Kansas City P/C Operation

Jun 18 2014 // Kansas City, Mo.-based Lockton named Joe Agnello president of the insurance broker’s Kansas City property/casualty insurance operation. Joe Agnello Agnello, a 20-year Lockton veteran, succeeds Ron Lockton who will...

Best Affirms Gen Re and Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable

Jun 18 2014 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A++’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa+” of General Reinsurance Corporation, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut,...

House Panel Unveils TRIA Extension Bill

Jun 17 2014 // Property/casualty insurers are welcoming the unveiling of a House terrorism insurance bill as a sign of progress even though there are provisions in it they oppose. Introduced by Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, chairman of...