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The Travelers Companies, Inc., Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and two leading national insurance agent and broker organizations today yesterday support of a comprehensive, private market approach to improve the affordability and availability of coastal wind storm insurance for homeowners. Federal legislation would be required to enact the outlined concept.    “Travelers is committed to finding… Continue reading Big I, The Council, Nationwide and Travelers Announce Support of Coastal Insurance Solution

In a widening effort to crack down on suspected manipulation of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. shares, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed Wall Street’s biggest firms and hedge-fund advisers.     The SEC’s enforcement unit demanded information from investment banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and Merrill… Continue reading SEC Widens Crackdown in Illegal Manipulation of Market Prices

The Institute for Business & Home Safety, the insurance industry’s property protection advocate, has completed comprehensive research on the Witch Creek Wildfire, which damaged or destroyed nearly 1,700 structures in San Diego County, Calif., in 2007 at a cost of $1 billion. While the research focuses on Southern California, the results have applications nationwide, now… Continue reading Landmark Wildfire Study Identifies New Risk Factors and Recommendations for California Homes

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) considers recent modifications to H.R. 5840 to be good steps forward and continues to seek more clarity on how a preemption proposal would impact existing laws such as the McCarran-Ferguson Act. “Preemption of state laws, if necessary, should be accomplished by legislative action, not through an administrative… Continue reading PCI Still Seeks Clarity on OII Preemption Language

Fueled higher by surging energy prices, official figures have shown that US inflation accelerated at the fastest rate in 26 years in June. Consumer prices rose by 1.1% in June, the Labor Department said, more than the 0.7% many analysts had expected. Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday that the threat of rising… Continue reading US Inflation Rate Hits 26-Year High

Liberty Insurance Company Limited (LICL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Group, has been granted approval to establish a branch in Beijing by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC). Beijing is the first branch established by LICL in China and will offer various personal lines products, including auto, and a wide range of commercial… Continue reading Liberty Mutual Group Expands China Operations with Beijing Branch

Allstate Insurance Co. has agreed to settle a Missouri insurance case that had attracted national attention over the insurer’s refusal, and eventual agreement, to provide key documents on how it evaluates and pays claims. The Northbrook-based company’s reluctance to release the records led to more than $7 million in fines from Jackson County Judge Michael… Continue reading Allstate Settles Dispute on Claims Documents

The A.M. Best Co.’s cycle management study shows that property/ casualty companies face a real challenge when it comes to outperforming their peers on a consistent, long-term basis, with only 14 percent of the total study population exceeding their industry composite medians over the most recent soft and hard market cycles.    The report reflects… Continue reading Few Companies Excel at Managing through Market Cycles, A.M. Best Says

Stating that it believes the world’s largest insurer could post up to $7 billion in second-quarter losses on assets linked to subprime mortgages, Wachovia cut its investment rating and earnings outlook for American International Group (AIG)on Tuesday.     Wachovia downgraded AIG to “market perform” from “outperform,” saying the investment losses could offset operating earnings… Continue reading Wachovia Downgrades AIG Investment Rating, Projects Large 2nd Quarter Subprime Losses

The federal insurance fund set up to protect money deposited at failed banks will have to shell out up to $8 billion to depositors of shuttered IndyMac BancorpIMB.     The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimated its insurance fund would have to pay out between $4 billion and $8 billion to cover some $18 billion… Continue reading Fed Insurance Funds Could Reach $8B in IndyMac Failure