Latest Underwriting Headlines

Flagstone Re in ‘Technical Underwriting Agreement’ with Imperial Re

Oct 10 2007 // Flagstone Reassurance Suisse SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bermuda-based Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Limited, announced it has entered into a Technical Underwriting Agreement with Imperial Reinsurance Company...

Mass. Bans Credit Scores in Both Rating, Underwriting in New Auto Plan

Oct 9 2007 // Auto insurers in Massachusetts will not be able to use credit scores to price or underwrite risks when the state enters its managed competition market next April. Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes sided with consumer...

Ascot Underwriting Ltd. Opens Energy-Focused Office in Houston

Oct 9 2007 // London-based Ascot Underwriting Ltd. has created new subsidiary in Houston, Texas – Ascot Underwriting Inc. The company said the move is part of Ascot’s plan to establish local underwriting platforms, and...

Oct 8 2007 // People The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America has named Deputy Secretary of Commerce David A. Sampson to serve as the association’s president and chief executive officer. Sampson takes over the reins...

Harleysville Looks to Boost Benefits Sales Through Commercial P/C Agents

Oct 5 2007 // Pennsylvania-based Harleysville Life Insurance Co. says it sees great opportunity—and a natural market connection—for developing employee benefits programs through the commercial lines business generated by the...

P/C Insurers’ Underwriting Results, Profitability Slip in First-Half 2007

Sep 25 2007 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s overall profitability as measured by its annualized rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus (or statutory net worth) slipped to 13.1 percent in...

U.S. excess and surplus lines market attracts international attention

Sep 24 2007 // The United States excess and surplus lines market presents opportunities that are not lost on the rest of the world. Lloyd’s is the second largest U.S. surplus lines writer with a 14 percent market share. Direct...

The subprime mortgage mess and the professional liability insurance industry

Sep 24 2007 // According to the Bank of America, more than $1.3 trillion in adjustable rate mortgages — 70 percent of them subprime — will reset before the end of 2008. The collapse of the subprime mortgage lending industry...

The subprime mortgage mess and the professional liability market

Sep 24 2007 // The collapse of the subprime mortgage lending industry has dominated the headlines, led to turmoil in the credit and financial markets, and left the residential real estate marketplace in disarray. It has already generated...

Making sense of the subprime mortgage mess

Sep 24 2007 // The collapse of the subprime mortgage lending industry has dominated the headlines, led to turmoil in the credit and financial markets, and left the residential real estate marketplace in disarray. It also has already...

Guy Carpenter finds Lloyd’s market at its ‘healthiest in 300 years’

Sep 24 2007 // Findings boast stellar results for London market with Lloyd’s leading the way Guy Carpenter & Co., Marsh’s reinsurance broker and risk management division, has released “The Lloyd’s Market in...

Burnes: four insurers eyeing deregulated Mass. auto market

Sep 24 2007 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes says four insurers not now writing auto insurance in the state have said they might enter if her plan to allow competitive pricing goes forward. Burnes is not naming the...

The subprime mortgage mess and the professional liability market

Sep 24 2007 // The collapse of the subprime mortgage lending industry has dominated the headlines, led to turmoil in the credit and financial markets, and left the residential real estate marketplace in disarray. It has already generated...

Making sense of the subprime mortgage mess

Sep 24 2007 // The collapse of the subprime mortgage lending industry has dominated the headlines, led to turmoil in the credit and financial markets, and left the residential real estate marketplace in disarray. It also has already...

Inland Marine Underwriters Host Seminar in Chicago

Sep 24 2007 // The Inland Marine Underwriters Association’s (IMUA) Chicago-based Midwest Advisory Committee recently announced it will present a morning seminar, entitled “Questions You Always Wanted to Know the Answers to...

Venture Names Morrison VP, Underwriting

Sep 19 2007 // West Chester, Pa.-based Venture Insurance Programs named Michele Morrison as vice president of underwriting. Morrison will be responsible for the day-to-day oversight of Venture’s regional underwriting teams...

Canada Market ‘Solid’ Says Best Report; But Beware ‘Soft Market Cycle’

Sep 19 2007 // A.M. Best has just released a study of the Canadian insurance market, which found that the country’s P/C insurers enjoyed “another solid year,” from profitable underwriting aided by investment income and...

Burns & Wilcox Promotes Two to Underwriting Positions in Nevada

Sep 13 2007 // Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Burns & Wilcox has appointed Micki Jordan and Kristen Monroy to positions at each of the company’s Nevada locations. Jordan, formerly an underwriting manager in the Denver office,...

Harry W. Gorst Names Oliva Personal Lines Underwriter

Sep 7 2007 // Chatsworth, Calif.-based The Harry W. Gorst, Co. promoted Nelson Oliva to underwriter for the personal lines department. Oliva joined the firm in 2004 as assistant underwriter and reported directly to Bryan Clark, senior...

XL Global Increases Construction Underwriting Capacity

Sep 5 2007 // XL Insurance, the global insurance operations of Bermuda’s XL Capital Ltd, has announced an increase of its underwriting capacity for construction projects, from $40 million to $100 million per project. John...