Author: Farkas Laura

A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A-‘ (Excellent) from ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating to “a-” from “a” of Delaware-based Clearwater Insurance Company. Best has also placed all of the ratings under review with negative implications due to Best’s “view of implicit and explicit support provided by its parent… Continue reading Clearwater Insurance Company

Some see the increasing cost of gasoline as a possible silver lining for auto insurers, as U.S. drivers cool their love affair with their cars, stay off the road and get into fewer accidents.      Lehman Brothers analyst Jay Gelb thinks so. He upgraded third-largest auto insurer Progressive and raised earnings estimates on Progressive and… Continue reading Do Higher Gas Prices Result in Few Car Accidents?

The American Insurance Association (AIA) will continue voicing strong opposition to efforts by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to collect confidential and proprietary insurer information, during the NAIC’s national meeting May 31 to June 2 in San Francisco.      “The NAIC is a non-profit, non-governmental entity. As such, it should not collect proprietary… Continue reading AIA Challenges the NAIC’s Effort to Collect Confidential Insurer Info at Upcoming Meeting

On Wednesday Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed legislation that beefs-up penalties for insurers that violate state regulations and extends a freeze on Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s rates.     Touted as a “homeowners’ bill of rights,” the sweeping property insurance bill was made up of about 25 parts. The governor approved all but one: a… Continue reading Florida Governor Beefs Up Insurer Penalties in Homeowners’ Bill of Rights Legislation

The FBI last week released the “Financial Crimes Report to the Public Fiscal Year 2007,” in which the bureau announced that it investigated 209 cases of insurance fraud resulting in 39 indictments and 47 convictions of insurance fraud criminals. Additionally, the report showed that the FBI’s investigations resulted in $27.2 million in restitutions and $427,000… Continue reading FBI Releases Financial Crimes Report, Including Insurance Fraud

The Federal Deposit Insurance (FDIC) said Thursday that troubled real estate loans forced U.S. banks to boost loan loss provisions to a record $37.1 billion in the first quarter of 2008, compared to $9.2 billion in the year-ago period.    Additionally, the number of problem banks rose to 90, up from 76 at the end… Continue reading Troubled Real Estate Loans Force Banks to Set Aside a Record $37+ Billion

On Monday afternoon President Bush signed disaster designation forms, giving Windsor, Weld and Larimer counties in Colorado access to federal funds to help them and their residents rebound from last week’s tornado and hailstorm. Sean Conway, chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said Federal Emergency Management Agency officials told the senator Bush… Continue reading Tornado in CO Designated as Disaster by President Bush, Funding to Help with Uninsured Losses

According to a report by the Financial Times, Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA has withdrawn from the bidding for Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s insurance assets. Generali has pulled out because of what it believes are RBS’s high price expectations according to the publication who spoke with people familiar with the situation. Generali declined… Continue reading Italian Insurer Generali No Longer Bidding for RBS’ Insurance Unit

The subprime mortgage debacle continues as unhappy buyers of the these loans as well as home-equity and other real-estate loans are trying to force banks and mortgage companies to repurchase them. The pressure is the result of provisions in many loan sales that require lenders to take back loans that default unusually fast or contained… Continue reading Investors Want Banks, Mortgage Companies to Repurchase Bad Loans

At a meeting in Paris this week, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) stated that credit rating agencies will be banned from helping to design products they also grade. This is part of an effort to implement and enforce a tougher industry code of conduct to tackle issues raised by the U.S. subprime mortgage… Continue reading Tougher Industry Code for Credit Rating Firms