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Early Friday morning CNBC reported that according to a source eight banks have formed a consortium to seek a rescue plan for bond insurers. With this announcement, shares of bond insurers Ambac and MBIA jumped in trading before the opening bell on Friday.     Shares of Ambac rose 11.7 percent to $13, while MBIA… Continue reading Early Friday Trading Sees Shares of Ambac and MBIA Rise Amid Rescue Plan Reported on CNBC

Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Talty Insurance Agency. The transaction is expected to be completed today. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.    Talty is the third organization to join Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company’s Colorado operation in the past… Continue reading HRH to Acquire Another Agency

Governor Eliot Spitzer signed into law legislation passed by the New State legislature a bill that will implement a loss cost system for the setting of workers’ compensation insurance rates. The legislation was commended by the American Insurance Association (AIA). “This legislation will allow for more competition and more choice in the workers’ compensation system,… Continue reading NY State Passes WC Loss Cost Law

The world’s biggest software maker, Microsoft Corp., made an unsolicited $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo! Inc. in an effort to challenge Google Inc.’s dominance in Internet search services and advertising and what would be the biggest Internet deal since the Time Warner-AOL merger.    The $31-a-share bid of cash or Microsoft stock is 62 percent… Continue reading Microsoft Makes a Bid for Yahoo

Additional increased projections for losses among sub-prime loans by Moody’s Investors Service and the flood of mortgage-debt downgrades from Standard & Poor’s has sent ripples through the credit market, painting a bleak outlook for the housing market.       As a result, debt investors turned their backs on a stock-market rally and looked to the… Continue reading Sub-Prime Losses to Grow

French-based AXA SA, Europe’s second-largest insurer by market value behind Germany’s Allianz SE, reported a 20% increase in revenue last year, due to strong sales growth in the U.S. and Australia and the contribution from its acquisition of Winterthur. The insurer announced that it has barred withdrawals from its AXA Life Property and AXA Pension… Continue reading French Insurer AXA Reports Significant Revenue Increase in ’07, US and Australia Premiums a Factor

Attributing competition in auto insurance and losses from the California wildfires, Safeco Corp announced on Thursday its net income fell by nearly a third in the fourth quarter. Net earnings were $144.5 million or $1.56 a share, compared with $216.4 million or $1.96 a share a year ago. The property/casualty carrier stated that catastrophe losses… Continue reading Auto Competition, CA Wildfire Losses Contribute to Safeco’s Lower Fourth-Quarter Profit

According to data released by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the top three reasons consumers filed formal complaints against their insurance companies in 2007 were delays, denials of claims and unsatisfactory settlement offers. Policy cancellations and premium/insurance rating issues completed the top five.    The NAIC collected the data through its centralized electronic… Continue reading NAIC Study Reveals Top Consumer Complaints Against Insurers

The Colorado House rejected legislation today that would have made insurance underwriting and rating less accurate and led to higher insurance premiums for most consumers, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI). On a vote of 26 to 39 the House defeated HB 1143, which would have prohibited an insurer from using… Continue reading CO House Rejects Credit Ban Legislation, PCI Commends Defeat

Calabasas-California lender Countrywide Financial Corp. confirmed yesterday that it received a subpoena from the Florida attorney general seeking information on its business practices.This tops the lender’s problems who has faced the ire of bankruptcy judges, borrowers and consumer groups for months over the sub-prime mess. Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is seeking information on how… Continue reading FL Subpoenas Countrywide Over Business Practices, Woes Continue for Lender