Latest Property Casualty Headlines
All the headlines from our Property Casualty Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AIG Profit Falls 27% in Q1; Hurt by Catastrophes, Severe Losses
May 6 2014 // Global insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG) reported net income of $1.6 billion for the first quarter, a 27 percent drop compared to $2.2 billion for the first quarter of 2013. After-tax operating income was...
Berkshire Hathaway 1Q P/C Re/Insurance Results Down from Last Year
May 5 2014 // Berkshire-Hathaway’s primary property/casualty operations recorded double-digit gains in premiums and pre-tax earnings in the first quarter, but P/C reinsurance results contributed to a 6.6 percent drop in operating...
10 Challenges Ahead for Workers’ Compensation
May 5 2014 // Today’s challenges are also tomorrow’s opportunities depending on the viewpoint. Those same opportunities could also remain tomorrow’s challenges. This special report highlights 10 current workers’...
XL Group to Sell Life Re Sub for $570 Million; Best Sees No Rating Change
May 2 2014 // XL Group plc announced that XL Insurance (Bermuda) Ltd has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary, XL Life Reinsurance (SAC) Ltd (XLLR), to GreyCastle Holdings Ltd. for $570 million in...
ACE Limited Reports $734 Million Q1 Net Income; $777 Million Operating
Apr 30 2014 // ACE Limited report first quarter, 2014 net income of $734 million, compared to $953 million in Q1, 2013. The decrease came from the capital gain/loss side of the ledger. ACE posted a $207 million capital gain in Q1, 2013,...
Hartford Reports Third Straight Quarterly Profit
Apr 29 2014 // Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. weathered a tough winter to achieve its third straight quarterly profit with first-quarter net income of $495 million, compared to a $241 million loss for the first quarter last...
Mass. Regulator on Boston Bombing Claims, TRIA Reauthorization Effort
Apr 23 2014 // Massachusetts Division of Insurance’s last data call showed that the vast majority of insurance claims stemming from the Boston marathon bombing tragedy have been resolved. The data also revealed that among the 160...
2013 P/C Insurers’ Results Show Net Gain on Underwriting– First Since 2007
Apr 21 2014 // U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes grew to $63.8 billion in 2013 from $35.1 billion in 2012, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their rate of return on average...
Best Upgrades Ratings for Most ACE Limited Subsidiaries; Outlooks Stable
Apr 15 2014 // A.M. Best has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A++’ (Superior) from ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “aa+” from “aa” of the North...
Chile Quake, Tsunami Losses Unlikely to Affect Local Insurers’ Ratings: Fitch
Apr 11 2014 // A bulletin from Fitch Ratings indicates that, based on preliminary analysis, Chile’s insurance industry solvency “will not be affected by the recent Iquique earthquake and tsunami. Chilean property/casualty...
NAPCO Report: Prices Decreasing, Competition Increasing in P&C Space
Apr 10 2014 // Insurers have become increasingly competitive and are reducing rates for most accounts as a result of low global insured catastrophe losses and added capacity from non-traditional market sources, according to wholesale...
P/C Reinsurance Market Softer Due to Alternative Capital: Execs
Apr 7 2014 // A new survey from Towers Watson confirms that more than half (55 percent) of property/casualty insurance chief financial officers believe the property reinsurance market is softer than the primary market, while about...
Agency M&A in 2013 Reverted to Norm After Busy 2012: OPTIS Partners
Apr 7 2014 // Mergers and acquisitions of insurance agencies fell in 2013, with 248 reported transactions in the United States and Canada, according to a new semi-annual survey by OPTIS Partners, an investment banking and financial...
A.M. Best Revises Hartford Financial, P/C Units’ Outlook to Positive
Apr 4 2014 // Rating agency A.M. Best changed the outlook associated with the “A” financial strength rating of the members of the Hartford Insurance Pool to positive from stable Thursday, citing a reduced risk from variable...
Reinsurance Price Drop Seen Triggering Lower P/C Rates
Apr 2 2014 // A downward slide in reinsurance prices showed clear signs of accelerating in April contract renewals and is likely to feed through to property/casualty insurance prices before long, broker Willis said this week. Reinsurers...
ACE Names Charlton President of P/C and Micro-Business Division
Apr 1 2014 // ACE Group today announced that David Charlton has been appointed president of the Property and Casualty and Micro-business Division for ACE Commercial Risk Services. He will lead ACE’s expansion efforts into the...
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Exec on Acquisitions, Expansion Plans
Mar 31 2014 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI), part of Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway, has its eyes on overseas expansion, according to BHSI’s top executive. BHSI’s...
Top U.S. P/C Agency and Brokerage Acquirers in 2013
Mar 24 2014 // Insurance Journal‘s review of property/casualty agency and brokerage mergers and acquisitions occurring in 2013 found that Arthur J. Gallagher was the most active agency acquirer – as was the case in 2012. Hub...
Top 10 HOT Markets to Watch
Mar 24 2014 // Insurance Journal examined industries experiencing changes and expansions in the past year. Here are the top 10 market sectors that just might deliver hot opportunities for agents and brokers in the property/casualty...
Flashback: Key P/C Insurance Mergers and Acquisitions of 2013
Mar 24 2014 // Compared to some previous years, there were not a lot of mergers in the property/casualty carrier space in 2013 but there were some interesting ones. Major carrier transactions included specialty insurer Markel’s...