Category: Show on Homepage

The Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to extend and reform the National Flood Insurance Program (S.2284 – Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2008). The bill provides for a five-year reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) beyond its September 30 expiration and includes several reforms. In response to the Senate’s legislation, the… Continue reading Industry Applauds Legislation to Extend and Reform Flood Program

As the nation braces for the hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and floods that accompany the spring and summer disaster season, nearly half of U.S. consumers are insufficiently prepared — in terms of their insurance coverage — to deal with potential losses, according to new research by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).      The NAIC’s… Continue reading NAIC Survey: Nearly Half of Americans Unprepared for Disasters

Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, the former chief executive of American International Group (AIG), is skipping today’s annual shareholders meeting after calling for its postponement in light of the insurer’s problems.    Greenberg had said yesterday that AIG is in “crisis,” adding pressure on successor Martin Sullivan to turn the company around after two quarterly losses. Greenberg’s… Continue reading Greenberg to Skip AIG’s Annual Meeting After Calling for Delay

The second-biggest provider of funding for U.S. residential mortgages, Freddie Mac, reported a loss that was narrower than analysts estimated. Additionally, the company said it will raise $5.5 billion in capital to help overcome rising credit costs.    The company said it lost $151 million, or 66 cents per share in the quarter, compared with… Continue reading First-Quarter Loss for Freddie Mac Less than Expected

Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John W. Oxendine on Tuesday reported that the state was hit with more than $50 million in insured property damage from last weekend’s storm.    “Our preliminary estimate today is more than $50 million in damage across Georgia,” said Mr. Oxendine. “That figure may rise as new claims are… Continue reading Storm Hits Georgia with $50+ Million in Insured Damages

Real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Wednesday that U.S. home foreclosure filings in April rose 4 percent from March and were a whopping 65 percent higher than a year earlier. In April home foreclosure filings totaled 243,353, up 4 percent from March, RealtyTrac reported in its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The figure is a… Continue reading RealtyTrac: Foreclosures Continue Upward Trend

AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center meteorologists, led by Chief Long-Range and Hurricane Forecaster Joe Bastardi, have released an expanded hurricane season forecast for 2008. The forecast calls for a near average overall number of named storms but suggests a heightened risk for the eastern U.S. coastline.    “Although we are forecasting a total of 12 named storms… Continue reading Hurricane Forecast for Eastern Coastline Expanded

A massive search and rescue operation is under way in south-western China after one of the most powerful earthquakes in decades. The quake measured a 7.9 magnitude. Troops have arrived in Wenchuan county at the epicenter, which was largely cut off by the quake – but heavy rain is hampering rescue operations. Elsewhere in Sichuan… Continue reading Quake Death Toll Rises in China

China’s worst earthquake in three decades with a 7.9 magnitude has killed at least 12,000 people with thousands still missing. Additionally, according to London-based Risk Management Solutions Inc. (RMS), the earthquake that hit Sichuan Province in China yesterday is expected to generate a large number of insurance claims.     The quake, among the most… Continue reading RMS Expects China Earthquake to Result in Large Number of Insurance Claims

The second-largest U.S. bank, Bank of America Corp., upped its forecast of home-equity loan losses to more than 2.5 percent.     Liam McGee, president of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company’s consumer division, gave the new forecast at a conference in New York sponsored by UBS AG. The bank previously projected a loss rate of… Continue reading BofA Raises Forecast of Home Equity Loan Losses