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All three of the major credit rating agencies will get access to more detailed information on loan pools backing up residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) and change the way they are paid by clients in a deal brokered by the New York Attorney General.    Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said the agreement with Standard &… Continue reading Credit Rating Agencies to Receive More Detailed Info, Independence

State Farm Insurance Cos. and police officials said they were pleased with how a gun scare was handled last week, though the company found at least one error in its communication with employees.     “It’s a learning experience. We learn from every incident,” State Farm spokesman Fraser Engerman said Monday.    About 2,000 employees… Continue reading Response to a Gun Scare at State Farm Headquarters Goes Off Well

A California spokeswoman said that a new blaze in the northern part of the state threatened 2,000 structures and may force 5,000 residents to evacuate.    The Camp Fire started Monday night near the city of Concow, according to Mary Ann Aldrich of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.   … Continue reading BREAKING NEWS: New CA Fire Could Force 5,000 to Evacuate

New flood maps for Nassau County could force thousands of previously exempt South Shore property owners to buy flood insurance and, in some cases, adhere to more rigorous building standards. The new maps would redraw the floodplain to include 28,000 additional residential, commercial and public buildings that the Federal Emergency Management Agency says it now… Continue reading New FEMA Flood Maps on Long Island Could Mean More Flood Insurance Purchases

As previously reported in the “Daily NewsFlash”, New York State officials are evaluating whether to expand restrictions on contingent commissions to all agents and brokers. Hearings on this issue will be held July 14 in Buffalo, July 23 in Albany and July 25 in Manhattan, and will be webcast live.     The state’s Insurance… Continue reading Expanding Contingent Commission Restrictions on the Agenda at NY Hearings this Month

Insurance regulatory reform will dominate the agenda at a July 9 mark-up session of the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Insurance.    Having devoted numerous hours to regulatory reform proposals over the course of a half-dozen hearings, the panel will take up three of those proposals with an eye to move… Continue reading House Subcommitee to Take Up Insurance Regulatory Legislation

Today Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank may extend its emergency-loan program for investment banks into next year.    Investors have lived in constant fear of yet another eruption of credit turmoil, which started last year when it became clear that the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble was causing severe… Continue reading Bernanke Considers Extending Bank Lending Program to Stem Further Credit Crisis

On Monday, mortgage and bond insurer Radian Group named Teresa Bryce as president of its mortgage insurance unit. Bryce will be replacing David Applegate, and she is expected to eventually win back an “AA”-level rating for Radian Guaranty, the company said. Earlier this year, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service cut Radian Guaranty’s ratings. … Continue reading Radian Group Names New Mortgage Unit President

The first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic season, Bertha, may reach Category 2 status today as it intensifies east of the Leeward Islands. Bertha strengthened from tropical-storm levels during the night, with maximum sustained winds of almost 90 mph (120 kph) as of this morning at 11 a.m. EST, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said… Continue reading Hurricane Season Kicks Off with Bertha

The nation’s insurance commissioners are meeting this week at at National Conference of Insurance Legislators Summer Meeting in New York City. The meeting runs from July 10-13, and will cover a range of issues, including insurance scoring, reinsurance collateral and catastrophe funds. The NCOIL and National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) have publicly worked to… Continue reading NCOIL Meeting to Address Some Tough Issues this Week