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Insurers would be asked to disclose positions they hold in credit derivatives as part of their annual statement filings, under a proposal set to go before the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Statutory Accounting Principles Working Group. The proposed disclosure, which follows similar action by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, would require insurers to disclose… Continue reading NAIC Proposes Insurers Disclose Swaps, Other Derivatives

As it continues to struggle with competition and broader economic turmoil, health insurer Cigna Corp forecasts disappointing profit growth for 2009.     The company projected it would see its enrollment fall by about 2 percent next year as it loses members to lower-priced rival plans and employer layoffs. Cigna also cut its health insurance… Continue reading CIGNA’s Growth for 2009 is Pessimistic; Posts 53% Decline in Third-Quarter Profit

A day after a special master overseeing the company said it might be bought, Brooke Corp. and a subsidiary have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.    The bankruptcy petition filed for Brooke Corp., listed $512.9 million in total assets and $447.4 million in total debts. The filing for the subsidiary, Brooke Capital Corp., showed… Continue reading Brooke Files Bankruptcy

Insurance brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported $1.23 billion in revenue in the first three quarters of 2008, a 1.6% increase over the same nine-month period of 2007, but the company’s profits through Sept. 30 of this year declined to $72.6 million—a 37% drop from the same period in 2007.    Profits were $115.4… Continue reading Gallagher Reports a Loss Amid Increased Revenue

Evan Greenberg, chief executive of Ace Ltd., during the Zurich-based company’s third-quarter earnings call Wednesday, said that “the end of the soft market in insurance has arrived. According to Greenberg, premiums charged in most lines of commercial insurance have abruptly stopped falling and will gradually start to rise.      The year began with an overcapitalized… Continue reading ACE CEO Says Commercial Soft Market to End

According to people familiar with the effort to help homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosures, the U.S. government’s plan to help them could move as many as three million people into more-affordable mortgages. Designed by the Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the proposal is close to being finalized. Estimated to cost between $40 billion… Continue reading Proposed Government Plan Could Provide Relief for as Many as Three Million Homeowners

The broadest barometer of the nation’s economic health, gross domestic product, shrank at a 0.3 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, the strongest signal yet that the country has slipped into recession.      It marked the worst showing since the economy contracted at a 1.4 percent pace in the… Continue reading GDP Shrinks as Consumer Spending Retreats, the Latest Recession Sign

The increasing number of large catastrophes in 2008 is one of a myriad of factors that could result in higher insurance premiums, according to Lynn Knauf, director of personal lines for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCIAA). “(Catastrophes) very well could affect rates but there are many factors at play right now,” said… Continue reading Cat Losses, Financial Market Turmoil Hitting Insurance Industry, Premiums to Rise

Trade group Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that demand for U.S. mortgage applications climbed last week from a nearly eight-year low, while borrowing costs dipped. The MBA’s seasonally adjusted mortgage applications index, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, increased 16.8 percent to 476.7 in the week ended Oct. 24, reversing the prior week’s 16.6… Continue reading Mortgage Applications on An Upswing Last Week

After being seized by the government last month, Fannie Mae will write down about $20 billion of assets, eroding its capital and increasing the likelihood the U.S. Treasury may need to inject cash into the mortgage giant. The company will “take a valuation allowance” that is “likely to be substantially all of the value of… Continue reading Fannie Mae May Write Down $20B in Assets