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QBE Insurance Group Ltd. of Australia, one of the world’s 25 largest insurers and reinsurers, announced its agreement to purchase the Australasian and Asian mortgage-insurance businesses of U.S.-based PMI Group Inc. for 1.03 billion Australian dollars (US $902.2 million). The purchase allows QBE to capitalize on the challenges in the U.S. market, where credit crises… Continue reading Big Buy for Australian Insurer

Ratings on the insurance arms of MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Group will no longer be reviewed by Standard & Poor’s for downgrade, although the ratings organization says it will retain a negative outlook on both insurers. The negative outlook on MBIA Insurance Corp and Ambac Assurance Corp mean they still may be downgraded from… Continue reading Insurers Make It Off S&P Rating Review, Outlook Still Negative

A Massachusetts “fair share” contribution regulation that would tighten the rules employers in the state must meet to avoid paying an assessment to the state to help provide coverage to the uninsured has been issued by Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration. An existing “fair share” contribution regulation is part of the state’s health care reform law… Continue reading Proposed Rule Tightens Insurance Regulations, Bumps Assessments

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has recommended a 16% rate increase, to take effect January 1 if approved. In the event California adopts a current proposal by the Division of Workers’ Compensation to change the state’s disability rating schedule, the Bureau said it would recommend an additional 3.7% rate increase for January.… Continue reading Workers Comp Bureau Wants 16% Rate Hike

The Bush administration is backing down from a threat to penalize states enrolling middle-class children in a health program intended for the poor. The administration unveiled several new requirements last year for states that use a state-federal health program to cover children in families with incomes above 250 percent of the federal poverty level —… Continue reading Administration Reverses Decision on Children’s Health Program

Embattled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can add foreclosure maintenance to their laundry list of financial problems, as the number of homes in receivership held by the two companies has doubled in the past year alone. The trend is ominous for the market, and means that the already financially strapped companies are forced… Continue reading Fannie, Freddie, Fast Becoming Foreclosure Owners

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised its outlook for the U.S. commercial lines insurance sector to negative from stable Wednesday, saying that the “ongoing decline in pricing for commercial lines and decreases in investment income” are contributing factors. Prices continue to decline across all commercial lines, S&P said, adding that second quarter renewal rates fell… Continue reading Outlook for Commercial Lines Revised Downward by S&P

The New York State Insurance Department has issued a circular letter to “all insurers writing homeowners and dwelling fire personal lines policies in New York state” regarding flood insurance, reminding them that they must start sending annual flood notices to their clients at the end of August. In the letter, the Department says recent natural… Continue reading Flood Insurance Notification Letter Issued by State Insurance Department

In a case involving more than $1 billion in Hurricane Katrina-related property damage and business interruption losses, a federal appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that granted coverage to Northrop Grumman Corp. despite a flood exclusion in the company’s excess policy. The appeals court ruled that the flood exclusion was not ambiguous and did… Continue reading Katrina Claim Policyholder Gets a Setback, Court Overturns Ruling

The Justice Department and the Attorney General of Illinois announced that Amerigroup Corporation has agreed to pay $225 million to resolve claims that it defrauded the Illinois Medicaid program. The settlement resolves allegations that Amerigroup and its Illinois subsidiary systematically avoided enrolling more-costly-to-treat pregnant women and unhealthy patients in its managed care program in Illinois… Continue reading Amerigroup to Pay $225 Million in Fraud Suit