Author: Farkas Laura

Real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Wednesday that U.S. home foreclosure filings in April rose 4 percent from March and were a whopping 65 percent higher than a year earlier. In April home foreclosure filings totaled 243,353, up 4 percent from March, RealtyTrac reported in its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The figure is a… Continue reading RealtyTrac: Foreclosures Continue Upward Trend

AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center meteorologists, led by Chief Long-Range and Hurricane Forecaster Joe Bastardi, have released an expanded hurricane season forecast for 2008. The forecast calls for a near average overall number of named storms but suggests a heightened risk for the eastern U.S. coastline.    “Although we are forecasting a total of 12 named storms… Continue reading Hurricane Forecast for Eastern Coastline Expanded

A massive search and rescue operation is under way in south-western China after one of the most powerful earthquakes in decades. The quake measured a 7.9 magnitude. Troops have arrived in Wenchuan county at the epicenter, which was largely cut off by the quake – but heavy rain is hampering rescue operations. Elsewhere in Sichuan… Continue reading Quake Death Toll Rises in China

China’s worst earthquake in three decades with a 7.9 magnitude has killed at least 12,000 people with thousands still missing. Additionally, according to London-based Risk Management Solutions Inc. (RMS), the earthquake that hit Sichuan Province in China yesterday is expected to generate a large number of insurance claims.     The quake, among the most… Continue reading RMS Expects China Earthquake to Result in Large Number of Insurance Claims

The second-largest U.S. bank, Bank of America Corp., upped its forecast of home-equity loan losses to more than 2.5 percent.     Liam McGee, president of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company’s consumer division, gave the new forecast at a conference in New York sponsored by UBS AG. The bank previously projected a loss rate of… Continue reading BofA Raises Forecast of Home Equity Loan Losses

Former AIG Chief Executive Maurice “Hank” Greenberg urged the insurer to delay its annual general meeting scheduled to take place tomorrow, citing in a letter to the board that the company is in “crisis”. The board, however, sees no need to postpone the meeting, according to a company spokesperson.     “Several top shareholders of… Continue reading AIG to Hold Annual Meeting as Former Company CEO Greenberg Urges Delay

On Monday Allstate Insurance agreed to refund $51.6 million to its Texas customers for overcharges in homeowners insurance, but the insurer will not have to return another $19.2 million in overcharges under a settlement with state regulators.     The agreement between the insurer and the Texas Department of Insurance – which resolves a long-standing… Continue reading Allstate to Refund Texas Homeowners $51.6 Million

Speaking at a public hearing at the invitation of the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Insurance, the Professional Insurance Agents of New York State Inc. last week said it favors adoption of Assembly Bill A.8068. The bill would enable New York state to join the Interstate Insurance Compact, which seeks to create uniformity… Continue reading PIANY Supports State-based Regulation of Insurance Industry

NCCI Holdings, Inc. released its annual “State of the Line” workers compensation market analysis. This year’s report indicates that the workers compensation calendar year combined ratio stands at 99%—the second consecutive year that the line has realized an underwriting profit, albeit a 6-point deterioration from 2006. “We are pleased to report solid overall results for… Continue reading NCCI Workers Comp Analysis: Optimistic for Short-term, Cautionary in the Long-term

The Wall Street Journal said on Monday that International Lease Finance Corp, a unit of American International Group, is worried by the insurer’s financial troubles and mulling a split from it. The publication cited sources familiar with the matter. Officials at ILFC, a giant buyer of commercial aircraft which leases planes to air carriers, are… Continue reading Wall Street Journal Reports: ILFC Considers Split from AIG