Latest Property Casualty Headlines

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

State Farm: $6.3B P/C Underwriting Loss, $2.1B Operating Loss in 2008

Feb 27 2009 // The net worth for the State Farm group decreased in 2008 by $10.4 billion to end the year at $53.3 billion, the company reported. The primary reason for the decrease was the $9.2 billion decline in the value of the...

People

Feb 22 2009 // Andrew Fotopulos has joined Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. in Providence, Rhode Island as senior vice president. Fotopulos will lead the brokerage’s financial institutional practice. He will...

People

Feb 22 2009 // Juan Andrade and Jonathan Bennett have been named as interim co-leads of the Property and Casualty Operations of The Hartford. Their appointment to those interim positions follows the departure of Neil Wolin, president and...

People

Feb 22 2009 // Juan Andrade and Jonathan Bennett have been named as interim co-leads of the Property and Casualty Operations of The Hartford. Their appointment to those interim positions follows the departure of Neil Wolin, president and...

People

Feb 22 2009 // American International Group (AIG) named Peter Eastwood president and CEO of Lexington Insurance Co., a unit of AIG Commercial Insurance. Eastwood assumes management responsibility for Lexington from Kevin H. Kelley, who...

The Relative Calm

Feb 22 2009 // At New York Forum, Industry Insiders Credit Risk Management for Minimizing Recession’s Impact To many, the insurance world seems to operate on its own theory of physics. And to the hundreds of high-powered industry...

Who’s Worth What?

Feb 22 2009 // Agency Salary Survey: Agencies Trim Payrolls and Raises Independent insurance agencies remain reliable employers even in these rocky economic times, but even they have to cut back occasionally. Whether due to efficiencies...

Execs Credit Risk Management for Minimizing Recession’s Impact

Feb 19 2009 // To many, the insurance world seems to operate on its own theory of physics. And to the hundreds of high-powered industry execs who gathered on the third floor of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York earlier this year, there is...

Max Capital Posts $94 Million Q4 Loss; $175 Million FY Loss

Feb 12 2009 // The Bermuda-based Max Capital Group reported a net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2008, of $94.1 million, or $1.67 per diluted share, compared to net income of $62.4 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, for...

Louisiana Returned $6M-plus to P/C Insurance Consumers in 2008

Feb 12 2009 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon announced that the Property and Casualty Consumer Affairs Division at the Department of Insurance aided Louisiana insurance consumers in receiving approximately $6,400,000 in...

Assurance Agency in Illinois Promotes Klaras to President

Feb 10 2009 // Assurance Agency, Ltd., based in Schaumburg, Illinois, has promoted Dan Klaras from executive vice president to president. Klaras takes over for Anthony Chimino, who previously held the titles of both president and CEO....

Higginbotham Adds 2 in Austin Office

Feb 10 2009 // Independent insurance and financial services firm Higginbotham & Associates added two brokers to its Austin, Texas, office. Higginbotham named Chris Camero an executive vice president for group benefits and Travis...

New Best Research Report: P/C Profitability Depends on Discipline

Feb 9 2009 // In a newly issued research report – “P/C Industry’s Profits Plunge; Insurers Poised for Turnaround ” – A.M. Best Co. states: “Declining underwriting results and weak investment markets...

People

Feb 8 2009 // Linda Timmons has been promoted to director of communications for the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT). In this position, Timmons will manage the organization’s internal and external communications,...

Liberty Mutual Drops Direct Sales to Middle Market Businesses

Feb 8 2009 // Puts Faith in Independent Agents Liberty Mutual Group is throwing in the towel on direct distribution of insurance to middle market businesses. Because it couldn’t beat independent agents and brokers — who...

The Hartford Reports Loss for 2008, ‘Most Challenging’ Year in History

Feb 6 2009 // The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. reported a fourth quarter 2008 net loss of $806 million. For full year 2008, The Hartford reported a net loss of $2.7 billion, compared to net income of $2.9 billion in...

The Hanover Group Sees Profits Shrink

Feb 6 2009 // Fourth quarter profits at The Hanover Insurance Group fell 55 percent from $75.8 million a year ago to $34.1 million. Full-year net income dropped nearly 92 percent to $20.6 million, from the $253.1 million the Worcester,...

ACE Q4 Net Income Drops 96% to $20 Million; $1.2 Billion Full Year

Feb 4 2009 // ACE Limited reported net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008, of $20 million, a 96 percent decline from the $572 million the group posted in the same period of 2007. The company recorded net losses on...

Texas Announces December Insurance Industry Enforcement Actions

Feb 3 2009 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced enforcement actions taken by Commissioner Mike Geeslin that became final during December. The actions include five license revocations, three license denials and fines and...

Fitch Downgrades Allstate Corp. and its Subs; Outlook Remains Negative

Feb 3 2009 // In contrast to A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings has downgraded the senior debt rating of the Allstate Corporation to ‘BBB+’ from ‘A’, and the financial strength ratings of...