Latest Underwriting Headlines

Contractors not buying into professional liability Ames & Gough survey finds as many as 50% of contractors not covered

Jan 7 2007 // Contractors, project owners, and project finance professionals are increasingly interested in the niche market of contractors’ professional liability insurance (CPLI), according to a recent survey of insurers writing...

Universal Underwriters Group Adopts Zurich as Brand Name

Jan 3 2007 // As of Jan. 2, Universal Underwriters Group will adopt the brand name of Schaumburg, Ill.-based Zurich in a further step of its ongoing integration with Zurich North America Commercial (ZNAC). While aligning its market...

CenCal Insurance Names Smith Transportation Underwriting Manager

Jan 3 2007 // CenCal Insurance Services Inc., Danville, Calif., has named George A. Smith transportation underwriting manager. He has 24 years of experience in transportation and commercial underwriting.

Lloyd’s Comments on ‘Quiet’ 2006 Hurricane Season

Dec 29 2006 // Munich Re isn’t the only major insurance organization to express the industry’s collective sigh of relief as the year 2006 expires with relatively few major catastrophe losses (See related article above)....

Absence of Hurricane Losses Proves Beneficial to Insurers’ Bottomline

Dec 27 2006 // Driven by a sharp decline in catastrophe losses from hurricanes and other natural disasters in 2006, the U.S. property/casualty industry posted a $24.4 billion net gain on underwriting through nine months. The net gain on...

W.Va.’s BrickStreet Beefs Up Underwriting Team

Dec 27 2006 // BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. announced five new members to its West Virginia underwriting team. Daniel Feigel will serve as an underwriter for the Coal Business Team. He previously worked as a coal underwriting...

2006: a big year for P&C buyers and sellers of all shapes and sizes

Dec 25 2006 // JANUARY Hallmark Aquires Aerospace Holdings Fort Worth, Texas-based Hallmark Financial Services Inc. has completed its acquisition of Aerospace Holdings LLC, which markets general aviation insurance products. Hallmark...

2006: Soft market offers up many new insurance products

Dec 25 2006 // E&O, Professional/Management Liability New P/C Insurance Agents’ E&O Rockwood Programs partnered with certain underwriters at Lloyd’s of London to offer professional liability coverage specifically...

Dec 24 2006 // People Members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners elected 2007 officers during the group’s winter meeting in San Antonio. Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell was named president, Kansas...

2006 New Markets Report

Dec 24 2006 // E&O, Professional/Management Liability New P/C Insurance Agents’ E&O Rockwood Programs partnered with certain underwriters at Lloyd’s of London to offer professional liability coverage specifically...

2006:a big year for P&C buyers and sellers of all shapes and sizes

Dec 24 2006 // JANUARY Hallmark Acquires Fort Worth, Texas-based Hallmark Financial Services Inc. has completed its acquisition of Aerospace Holdings LLC, which markets general aviation insurance products. Hallmark underwrites...

Best Upgrades EIO, Ansvar Ratings

Dec 22 2006 // In separate bulletins, A.M. Best Co. announced that it has upgraded the financial strength rating to “A” (Excellent) from “A-” (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a” from...

S&P Lowers United Fire & Casualty’s Rating to ‘A-‘ from ‘A’

Dec 21 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on United Fire & Casualty Co. and its wholly owned subsidiaries to ‘A-‘ from...

Catlin Opens New Underwriting Floor

Dec 20 2006 // Catlin Group Limited announced the opening of its new Underwriting Floor in London.The new facility, located on the Upper Ground Floor of the London Underwriting Centre (also Catlin’s London headquarters), covers...

Catlin to Establish Offices in Paris, Barcelona, Zurich and Innsbruck

Dec 15 2006 // The Bermuda-based Catlin Group Limited announced plans to establish four new European offices in early 2007 in Paris, Barcelona, Zurich and Innsbruck. “The new locations will build on Catlin’s strategy to open...

Dissecting a claims made policy

Dec 11 2006 // Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a three-part series discussing the anatomy of a claims made policy. Parts II and III will be printed in future issues of Insurance Journal’s West region...

Dec 10 2006 // People The van Aartrijk Group LLC, a Washington, D.C.-area marketing and communications firm, is augmenting its branding and public affairs capabilities with the promotion of one executive and addition of another,...

Dec 10 2006 // People The Texas Surplus Lines Association Inc. announced the election of the following officers and directors: President Len Kaplan, executive vice president and CFO, Delta General Agency, Houston; Vice President Lana...

Innovations in information technology spur need for up-to-date underwriters

Dec 10 2006 // With rapid innovations in the field of information technology, types of underwriting that didn’t exist a few decades ago have become prominent today. For example, companies engaging in information technology business...

Dissecting a claims made policy

Dec 10 2006 // Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a three-part series discussing the anatomy of a claims made policy. Parts II and III will be printed in future issues of Insurance Journal’s West region...