Economy News

Distressed and Vacant Properties Fill a Void for Insurers

The vacant and distressed property segment, which was barely thought of two years ago, has been a beacon of light for insurers. This class has boomed in the past couple of years as the economy has forced the closure of …

Top 25 Workers’ Compensation Insurers Show 34% Increase in Premium Growth

Results Based on Premium Growth June 30, 2010, Versus June 30, 2009 Approximately one year ago, I discussed the premium growth reported by insurers with the top 25 gains in workers’ compensation insurance premium volume. As I wrote that article, …

E&O Insights: Insuring Contractors

Risks to Consider When Working With Contractors If you are running an agency, there is a pretty good chance you insure a contractor or two – whether they are your traditional artisan contractors or a class of contractors that falls …

The Competitive Advantage: Agency Valuations

A Victim of the Credit Bubble? In the early 1700s, John Law, a brilliant mathematician, advised the French government their economy could be improved by printing lots of paper money not backed by gold or silver. The key was getting …

European Companies in China to Stay Put Despite Obstacles

European companies are not quitting China for other countries despite complaints about the growing difficulty of doing business, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said on Thursday. Jacques de Boisseson, the group’s president, said some of the chamber’s …

University Study of P/C Insurers Finds Bad CEOs Can Wreck Companies

When companies go out of business, their leaders often blame something other than their own performance for the failure. Lehman Bros.’s CEO Richard Fuld said his immense compensation package had nothing to do with his firm’s death in 2008. Ken …

India’s Economic Reforms in ‘Limbo’ as State Elections Near

Will India’s government succeed in passing key pro-market bills that have been in limbo for years? Not in the near future, say analysts. With state elections around the corner, the Congress-led government may have lost a political window to push …

P/C Insurance Brokers Profitable Despite Tough Economy, Soft Pricing

It takes more than a bad economy and declining prices to weaken property/casualty insurance brokers. Moody’s Investors Service says in its new Industry Scorecard report that the insurance brokerage sector remains financially solid despite the weak U.S. economy and soft …

6 Ways Agents Fail Their Workers’ Comp Customers

Like most agents, you work hard at writing new accounts, what salespeople through the years have referred to as “getting the fish in the boat.” But it doesn’t take a master angler to know that once you get the fish, …

M&A Wrap Up: Year-over-Year, M&A Activity Sustains a Moderate Pace

Insurance brokerage deals in the second quarter of 2010 barely bested the number of deals during the second quarter of 2009 bringing year-over-year activity slightly ahead of last. Forty-six transactions were announced from April through June compared to 43 transactions …