Latest Underwriting Headlines

Willis Index: Financial Institutions Find Favorable Insurance Conditions

Jul 20 2005 // Market conditions for the first quarter of 2005 have become increasingly favorable, and the Willis Index shows that respondents are now beginning to acknowledge that premium rates are decreasing for many financial...

Burns & Wilcox Appoints Johnson, Goodman to N.C. Posts

Jul 20 2005 // Burns & Wilcox has announced the appointment of Susan Johnson as an assistant underwriter of transportation/inland marine for its Morehead City, N.C. office; and James Goodman has been named a personal lines...

Ore. Insurance Underwriters Assoc. to Host Annual Golf Tourney Aug. 12

Jul 19 2005 // The Oregon Insurance Underwriters Association (OIUA) and The Oregon Chapter of CPCU have announced the date for this year’s annual industry golf tournament and awards luncheon. The event will be held on Friday, Aug....

Affirmative Insurance Holdings Finalizes Mich. Underwriting Agency Purchase

Jul 19 2005 // Affirmative Insurance Holdings Inc., a producer and provider of personal non-standard auto insurance, announced the completion of a previously announced acquisition of the assets of IPA LLC, an underwriting agency with...

PIA’s Donnelly to Head New Hiscox U.S. Office; Ward, Chavez Also Join

Jul 19 2005 // Hiscox plc has announced a number of appointments to expand its presence and distribution in the U.S. market. Ed Donnelly joins Hiscox with immediate effect in the newly-created position of president of Hiscox USA. He will...

People

Jul 18 2005 // The Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. announced that Ralph S. Michael III, 50, has been named president and chief operating officer of the company, effective July 25, 2005. Michael comes to the Fairfield, Ohio-based company from...

An Insurer’s Right to Reimbursement: Frank’s Casing

Jul 18 2005 // Insurers have long sought the right of reimbursement in Texas and, in the right circumstances, the court’s opinion will provide a valuable tool. The most significant Texas insurance case this year is the Texas...

Jul 18 2005 // Majestic Insurance Company announced the appointment of David Porter to the new position of marketing manager for Southern California. Porter has more than 25 years of experience in the industry. Prior to joining Majestic,...

The Industry Goes to School: Universities That Offer Insurance Degrees

Jul 18 2005 // Twenty years ago, it was nearly impossible to find colleges and universities offering degrees in insurance. Now there are many programs across the nation that offer bachelor’s degrees, concentrations, certifications...

An Insurer’s Right to Reimbursement: Frank’s Casing

Jul 18 2005 // The most significant Texas insurance case this year is the Texas Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Excess Underwriters at Lloyds, et al v. Frank’s Casing Crew & Rental Tools, Inc., No. 02-0730 (Tex., May...

Fitch Affirms RenaissanceRe’s Ratings

Jul 15 2005 // Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ‘A-‘ long-term and senior debt ratings and ‘BBB+’ preferred stock rating on RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RenRe). Additionally, Fitch has affirmed the...

ISO: U.S. P/C Industry’s First Net Gain on Underwriting Since ’78 Moves Surplus to Record High

Jul 14 2005 // Ending a 26-year drought, insurers posted a $5 billion net profit on underwriting in 2004, despite slowing premium growth and a deluge of catastrophe losses. Powered by the best underwriting results in almost three...

First Premium Welcomes Harrington as Commercial Underwriter

Jul 12 2005 // La.-based First Premium Insurance Group Inc., a growing regional property and casualty insurance broker, introduced its newest team member, Debbie Harrington. Harrington joined the First Premium staff as a commercial...

Liberty International Underwriters Now Offers Accountants’ Professional Liability In 34 States and D.C.

Jul 8 2005 // Boston, MA and Dallas, TX – Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), a division of Liberty Mutual Group, and ProTexn, Inc. announce that CPAEssential(SM), an accountants’ professional liability policy designed...

XL Expects Negative Q2 Results Following Reserve Strengthening

Jul 8 2005 // Bermuda’s XL Capital Ltd. has announced today that its second quarter 2005 results will be adversely impacted by an increase in net reserves in its North American reinsurance operations of $191 million...

ACUITY Names New Mich. Underwriter, Adds Board Director

Jul 6 2005 // Sheboygan, Wis.-based regional property/casualty insurer ACUITY announced Christina Hess recently joined ACUITY’s staff as a commercial field underwriter for the insurer’s Michigan region. Prior to joining...

MGAs, Program Administrators Told Selling Out May be Way to Go

Jul 4 2005 // Steve Way Has Built Giant HCC Holdings Via Acquisitions and He’s Not Done Yet Managing general agents and program administrators have an admirer with deep pockets in Steven Way. Getting some of that money might be...

Laying the Groundwork for New Insurance Programs

Jul 4 2005 // While many new insurance program ideas emerge from various sources, very few result in the actual formation of a program. It is generally only those that are well-thought-out, include substantive information, and are...

People

Jul 4 2005 // Joe Grauwiler has been named regional vice president of The Main Street America Group’s Jacksonville Region and president of its Old Dominion Insurance Co. unit. The region encompasses Main Street America’s...

Jerry Blais

Jul 4 2005 // Tom Ellis Zurich North America appointed Jerry Blais to a newly created executive position as head of Zurich’s South Central region. Headquartered in Dallas, the region consists of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and...