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The Professional Insurance Agents of New York State Inc. will testify at hearings being conducted by the New York State Insurance Department in Albany tomorrow, July 23, underscoring its support for contingent commissions paid to independent agents. PIANY past President John Bailey will reiterate the association’s long-standing position that contingent commissions are legal, effective compensation… Continue reading PIANY to Underscore Its Support on Contigent Commissions at NYSID Hearing Wednesday

Automobile insurance rates continued to rise for the second straight quarter according to rate quotes given to customers from more than a dozen insurance companies. Quotes given to customers during the second quarter increased an average of 3.4% when compared with the first quarter 2008 — when auto rates began to rise for the first… Continue reading Insurance.com: Auto Rates Continue to Rise

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season has begun a month earlier than usually, possibly indicating a rough year for tropical storms for the United States, Caribbean and Central America although not quite a repeat of the devastating 2005 season. On average, the fourth storm of the six-month season does not occur until August 29. This year,… Continue reading Hurricane Season Starts Early, May Indicate Rough Ride

After nearly $2 billion in claims from the Southern California wildfires in 2007, the insurance industry faces the prospect of another rough wildfire season and escalating losses in the years to come. Across the nation, the past two wildfire seasons have been the most severe on record and larger fires are more frequent.    —… Continue reading AM Best Report: Wildfires Could Add to Insurers’ Cat Losses

Continued calls for federal windstorm insurance offered through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) are misguided and would needlessly displace the private market, disrupt existing state funds, and create a significant burden for U.S. taxpayers, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI). A town-hall hearing scheduled for this evening in Bay St.… Continue reading PCI: Calls for Federal Windstorm Coverage Are Misguided

Tropical Storm Dolly churned toward southern Texas on Monday, with forecasters expecting it to grow into a hurricane before hitting land near the Mexican border later this week.     The storm, with sustained winds of nearly 50 miles per hour (85 km per hour), emerged from the Yucatan Peninsula over the warm waters of… Continue reading Texas, Mexico Meet Dolly as Storm Heads South

A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the issuer credit ratings to “bb-” from “bb” of Kingsway Financial Services Inc. of Ontario and Kingsway America Inc. in Illinois. Concurrently, A.M. Best has downgraded the financial strength ratings to B+ (Good) from B++ (Good) and the ICRs to “bbb-” from “bbb” for most of the subsidiaries of KFSI.… Continue reading Kingsway Financial Downgraded

ACE Ltd.’s redomestication to Switzerland from the Cayman Islands was completed Friday, and the insurer’s holding company is now located in Zurich. ACE shareholders approved the move at the company’s annual general meeting in Bermuda on July 10. As part of the redomestication, ACE on Tuesday announced the appointment of Olivier Steimer, chairman of Lausanne,… Continue reading Ace’s Move to Switzerland Completed

Congressional investigators in a report released Wednesday stated that the National Flood Insurance Program owes the federal Treasury more than $17 billion from hurricane-related losses and has been unable to set aside enough money to meet catastrophic losses that could arise in the future.    In a letter to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) that… Continue reading Flood Program Owes GAO, Lacks Funds for Future Losses

According to preliminary analysis by Insurance Service Office’s Property Claim Services unit, U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to shell out an estimated $6.025 billion to homeowners and businesses for second-quarter property losses as a result of 16 catastrophes in 27 states, nearly double the number of catastrophes in the first quarter.     PCS estimates… Continue reading ISO: P/C Cat Claims Doubled in Second Quarter