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Earnings are up at Connecticut-based Odyssey Re Holdings Corp., which posted a 34.5% profit, or $317.9 million, for the first half of the year. However, for the second quarter, Odyssey Re’s profits declined fell 54.7% to $66.9 million. The sharp decline is in light of a 62.3% drop in realized capital gains on investments for… Continue reading Odyssey Re On Earnings Seesaw

Embattled mortgage market giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which together own or guarantee nearly half of the $12 trillion U.S. mortgage market, may report further downgrades to their forecasts for credit losses in their upcoming second-quarter results, starting as early as this week. Investors have already been warned by the government-sponsored mortgage companies that… Continue reading More Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Downgrades to Come?

China is said to have already won most of the medals in the financial Olympics by managing to avoid the toxic debt investments that have catastrophically drained banks in the U.S. and Europe of late. Among the world’s largest financial companies, Chinese banks hold three of the top six spots based on market value, even… Continue reading China Gets the Gold – Literally

In a statement made prior to news of a bomb blast today in the region of Xingjiang which killed 16 police officers, the director of risk management for Beijing’s Olympic organizing committee, Zhou Wangcheng, called the chances of a terrorist attack occurring at the Olympics “very small.” According to Zhou, organizers undertook risk assessment with… Continue reading Upcoming Olympics: Insurance Plan in Place Against “Very Small” Risk of Terrorist Attack

In the month of July, the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to a four-year high as companies cut workers for a seventh-straight month, underscoring that the economy remains vulnerable to a recession in the second half of the year. However, the employment decline was less than Wall Street economists had feared, suggesting that any downturn is… Continue reading Unemployment Rate at Four-Year High, Yet Job Cuts Fewer than Expected

NCCI Holdings Inc. reports that Workers compensation claim frequency continued to decline during 2007, although at a slower rate than during the previous two years. While a 2.5% decrease in 2007 claim frequency continues a trend that started during the 1990s, it is “more modest” than the 7.0% drops during each of the previous two… Continue reading Frequency of Workers Comp Claims Continue Decline

Florida will pay $224 million to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for a guarantee that the state can borrow up to $4 billion if necessary to help cover future losses by its emergency hurricane insurance fund.    Gov. Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink reluctantly voted to approve the deal Tuesday. The State Board of… Continue reading Florida Spending $224M on Insurance Fund

Insurance companies, coastal residents, and builders face growing challenges when it comes to insuring, owning, or building property along the United States’ coastlines.    “The coastal issue is very challenging because basically we have overbuilt in areas that, in hindsight, probably weren’t the best places to build,” said David Marlett, director of the Brantley Center… Continue reading Growth in Coastal Development Challenges Insurance Industry and Property Owners

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) today praised U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank’s legislation, H.R. 6308 — The Municipal Bond Fairness Act. The legislation seeks to ensure uniform and accurate credit ratings for municipal bond issuers and to provide the federal government with a mechanism to monitor systemic risks,… Continue reading NAIC Commends Movement of Municipal Bond Fairness Act

As the number of green building projects continues to grow throughout the U.S., many leading commercial property and casualty insurers have been reluctant to provide specialized coverages or program enhancements this construction may require or warrant. A new report from Marsh Inc., the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor, finds many insurance companies remaining… Continue reading Marsh Report: Insurers Cautious in Underwiting Green Building Exposures