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In the face of decreasing lending volumes and an increase in loan defaults, Countrywide Financial announced an additional 900 job cuts. These reductions are in addition to the 500 announced last month in the company’s Full Spectrum division, which handles loans below prime quality, and in the unit that deals with loans originated through brokers.… Continue reading Countrywide Financial to Cut More Jobs

This afternoon Florida congressmen will urge lawmakers to pass legislation designed to stabilize the property insurance market in disaster-prone areas.     Introduced last month by Reps. Ron Klein and Tim Mahoney, the bill would allow state insurance funds to share the risk of a major natural disaster-related loss with one another.     However,… Continue reading FL Congressmen Urging Lawmakers to Pass Bill Stabilizing P/C Insurance Market

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that for 2013 model-year vehicles, head protection for side crashes will be required.    The safety upgrades are designed to reduce deaths and injuries to motorists struck by another or truck along their vehicle’s side. More than 300 lives may be saved and more than 400 serious injuries… Continue reading Head Protection for Side Crashes in 2013 Vehicle Models Required

Eric R. Dinallo, New York Insurance Superintendent, unveiled an alternative to the state workers comp system that presently allows carriers to collectively set rates through the state New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board.     In a report to Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Dinallo stated that he instead wants to adopt a competitive, loss-cost model with… Continue reading NY Insurance Superintendent Proposes WC Alternative

On Tuesday, Zurich Financial Services AG announced that it purchased a minority state and took control of a Chinese insurance-brokerage firm. This is part of the Swiss insurer’s plan to establish a national insurance sales and distribution system in China. As previously reported in the “Daily NewsFlash”, Zurich’s goal is to have 1,000 agents in… Continue reading Zurich Buys Stake in Chinese Brokerage

As previously reported in the “Daily NewsFlash”, the NY State Insurance Department issued a directive on August 28 calling for insurers to stop the practice of non-renewing homeowners policies based upon whether policyholders have other insurance business with the same carrier or its affiliates. Allstate Insurance Company received a citation from the department related to… Continue reading Allstate Receives Citation from NY State Insurance Department

A federal judge in the U.S. district court in Newark, NJ has dismissed all antitrust claims made against dozens of insurers and brokers after almost three years of legal wrangling. The consolidated litigation was a result of proposed class action suits filed in the wake of industry-wide investigations into bid rigging and client steering launched… Continue reading Insurance Antitrust Claim Dismissed in NJ

The biggest U.S. mortgage insurer, MGIC Investment Corp abandoned talks to acquire Radian Group Inc. for about $2.4 billion as subprime loans defaulted at the highest in five years.     Milwaukee-based MGIC shares have been down 57 percent since its announcement in February to acquire Radian, based in Philadelphia. The companies stated today tha… Continue reading MGIC and Radian Stop Acquisition Talks

In an effort to help borrowers from losing their homes, federal and state banking regulators urged lenders and investors to restructure the loans of millions of at-risk homeowners as their adjustable-rate mortgages reset to a higher rate.     In a joint statement made the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of… Continue reading Lenders Urged to Help Homeowners in Trouble

According to the Wall Street Journal, on Tuesday, Sony Corp. announced that it received approval to list shares of its financial unit on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Oct. 11 in an offering valued at as much as $3.13 billion. This makes it one of Japan’s biggest initial public offerings in the past few years.… Continue reading SONY Financial to Sell $3 Billion-Plus in IPO in October