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The credit crunch hit American International Group Inc. has been hit by the credit crunch with powerful punch, world reported a $5.3 billion fourth-quarter loss mainly due to a write-down that exceeded many analysts’ expectations. It was by far the worst quarterly loss the company has reported in its history, which dates back to 1919.… Continue reading AIG Posts Huge Fourth-Quarter Losses Amid Credit Crunch

A.M. Best Co. has placed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of GMAC Insurance Group (GMACI) and its sixteen members, led by Motors Insurance Corporation, under review with negative implications. Best said it took the rating actions due to its “heightened concerns regarding the financial pressures… Continue reading Best Puts GMAC’s Ratings Under Review/Negative

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has dropped plans for a ballot initiative that would have permitted law-enforcement officers to confiscate the license plates of vehicles without insurance, saying he wants to seek legislative remedies to reduce the state’s number of uninsured motorists. Poizner will focus on the previously announced expansion of the California Low Cost Automobile… Continue reading CA Insurance Commissioner Poizner Drops Uninsured Mototirst Referendum

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) today announced a change in leadership at its Guy Carpenter & Co., LLC, reinsurance services subsidiary. Peter Zaffino has been named Chief Executive Officer of Guy Carpenter, succeeding David Spiller in this position. MMC has also appointed Britt Newhouse as Chairman of Guy Carpenter. Both appointments are effective immediately.… Continue reading Guy Carpenter Names Peter Zaffino as CEO, Britt Newhouse Chairman

The second-biggest provider of of U.S. residential mortgage funding, Freddie Mac, announced today that its loss widened to $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter as the housing and credit crises worsened. The government-chartered company said the net loss increased from $401 million in the year-earlier period. It is coming off a $1.2 billion loss for… Continue reading Freddie Mac Posts $2.5B in Fourth-Quarter Losses

Today Moody’s Investors Service announced that it may consider cutting its bank financial strength rating on Fannie Mae, the largest provider of financing for U.S. home loans, after it reported a $3.6 billion quarterly loss. However, the agency did affirm Fannie Mae’s Aaa senior debt and Prime-1 short-term debt ratings with a stable outlook. “This… Continue reading Moody’s: Fannie Mae’s Rating May be Cut After Quarterly Loss Report

Reed Elsevier Plc agreed to buy ChoicePoint Inc. for $3.5 billion, adding the biggest U.S. provider of information services for the insurance industry to its LexisNexis database.     Reed Elsevier will pay $50 a share in cash. The London-based company also will sell a unit that publishes 135 trade magazines including Variety, the bible… Continue reading ChoicePoint Acquired by LexisNexis Owner Reed Elsevier

The Justice Department approved UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s takeover of Sierra Health Services on the condition that certain assets in the Las Vegas area be divested. The Justice Department said it will require divestiture of assets relating to UnitedHealth’s Las Vegas Medicare Advantage business. In March, UnitedHealth agreed to buy Sierra Health for about $2.6 billion,… Continue reading UnitedHealth Purchase of Sierra Health Approved

New York Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is taking on State Farm Group, writing a letter to CEO Edward Rust Jr. questioning his company’s plans to non-renew certain policies in Long Island. The senator in the letter said she was “particularly concerned about the hardship that this drastic decision could pose for… Continue reading Senators in NY Take On State Farm over Non-Renewals in L.I.

A.M. Best has completed its assessment of the U.S. commercial market and continues to view the outlook as stable for 2008 despite the ongoing soft period in the cycle. Commercial lines carriers have bolstered their positions after robust earnings in recent years by investing in price monitoring tools, predictive modeling, distribution channels and claims systems.… Continue reading A.M. Best: Commercial Lines Market Also Stable