January 1, 2006
Construction executives overall are more cautious than in the recent past two years but still generally optimistic about 2006. Builders in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas are the most optimistic while those in New England are the least. These findings …
January 1, 2006
At least 32 million U.S. households own insurance policies that aren’t right for them, a new national survey conducted by independent agents’ Trusted Choice has found. The survey provides insight into the haphazard shopping behavior of insurance consumers, who sometimes …
January 1, 2006
This coming 2006 New Year seems like it will be the start of a year of big changes for the industry. It is not that the industry will be pulled out by its roots and shaken. Rather, many of the …
January 1, 2006
The National Restaurant Association forecasts the following trends: • Restaurants as homes away from home. With growing demand from plugged-in Americans accustomed to operating in a 24/7 society, look for restaurants to bring televisions and wirelesss Internet access to the …
January 1, 2006
When he is presented with a construction account at his office on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, Rubin Alspector can quickly determine which insurers might write it. He knows his standard markets well enough to know that only one or two …
January 1, 2006
Agent Dave Sinclair remembers his first construction account well since it was only about six years ago. It was a plumber contract with a premium of about $70,000. Today Sinclair’s Wallingford, Conn.-based agency writes about $25 million in construction related …
January 1, 2006
Artisan contractors are being squeezed in the insurance market as general contractors and insurers do what they can to transfer and limit their exposures, especially in so-called “pain” states. Artisans are contractors in roofing, farming, air conditioning, electrical, plumbing, framing, …
January 1, 2006
Restaurant sales to top $500 billion in 2006 Restaurant industry sales are expected to reach a record $511 billion in 2006, the first time sales will cross the half-trillion dollar mark. According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2006 Restaurant Industry …
January 1, 2006
A Navy plan to pay Gulf Coast shipbuilders about $1.7 billion for losses related to damages and construction delays from Hurricane Katrina may overstate the actual costs and could dampen efforts to collect insurance payments, according to a Congressional report. …
January 1, 2006
The property/casualty insurance industry reported a statutory rate of return on average surplus of 9.5 percent through the first nine months of 2005, marginally below the 10.5 percent average return recorded during calendar year 2004. The results were released by …