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Third-biggest U.S. mortgage insurer, Radian, reported a loss of $703.9 million, the largest yet in an industry troubled by claims from failed home loans. The company fell as much as 13 percent before the start of regular trading today. Radian had a third-quarter loss of $8.78 a share, compared with a year-earlier gain of $112… Continue reading Mortgage Insurer Radian Posts Third-Quarter Loss

On Wednesday, Aon Corp. announced its plans to lay off 2,700, predominantly non-client facing employees as part of a new multimillion-dollar global restructuring plan. The Chicago-based brokerage said that it expects the restructuring to result in cumulative pre-tax charges of approximately $360 million from workforce reductions, lease consolidation and other related costs, netting $420 million… Continue reading Aon to Cut Jobs, Part of Global Restructuring

PMI Group Inc, the second-largest U.S. mortgage insurer, posted a quarterly loss, hurt by $348.3 million in losses and reserves for future losses at its U.S. mortgage insurance operations.    The company posted a net loss of $86.8 million, or $1.04 a share, for the third quarter, compared with net income of $104.2 million, or… Continue reading Mortgage Insurer PMI Posts Third-Quarter Loss

The Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) today urged victims of Southern California’s devastating wildfires to use caution in hiring contractors or other workers to repair or replace their homes. Following are guidelines from the ACIC that you can share with your homeowners clients that have been affected by the wildfires.     “As the… Continue reading ACIC Warns So CA Homeowners to Use Caution When Choosing Contractors

Madrid, Spain-based MAPFRE S.A. has announced pre-tax profits for the first nine months of 2007 of $1.39 billion, an increase of 10.8% on the 2006 figure, and plans to merge with U.S. personal lines insurer, The Commerce Insurance Company. MAPFRE announced that it will acquire 100% of Commerce’s share capital for $2.21 billion, indicating a… Continue reading Spain’s MAPFRE Announces Merger with Commerce Insurance

The National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. has agreed to Florida’s insurance regulator’s request to further reduce workers compensation rates, resulting in the largest one-year workers comp rate decrease in the state’s history. The Boca Raton, Fla.-based NCCI agreed with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s request to reduce workers comp rates by 18.4%, after… Continue reading NCCI Supports FL WC Rate Cut

According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), a research group for the P/C industry, about 14,000 insurance claims have been filed from last week’s fire and wind storms in California.    The III stated that insurers may have to pay up to $1.6 billion in claims for fires that ravaged the state’s homes, farms, vehicles… Continue reading III Reports Nearly 14,000 Claims Filed in So CA Fires

The board of the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association has approved another 2 percent surcharge on all homeowner policies, including Citizens Property Insurance Corp. policies for the first time, to pay for the failure of the Tampa-based Poe Financial Group’s three insurers: Atlantic Preferred, Florida Preferred and Southern Family Insurance companies. State Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty… Continue reading Insurer Failures in FL to Cost Homeowners in Surcharges

Europe’s largest bank by assets, UBS AG, announced its first quarterly loss in almost five years after declines in the U.S. sub-prime mortgage market led to $4.4 billion in losses and write-downs on fixed-income securities. The third-quarter net loss was 830 million Swiss francs ($712 million), or 49 centimes a share, compared with net income… Continue reading U.S. Sub-Prime Market Leads European Bank UBS to Quarterly Losses

According to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday, U.S. home prices fell nationwide in August for the eighth consecutive month. “There is really no positive news in today’s report,” said Mr. Robert Shiller, chief economist for MacroMarkets LLC which collaborated with S&P on the indicator. Home prices as measured by the index have fallen by more… Continue reading Housing Prices Down for the Eighth Consecutive Month