Record widespread flooding across the Midwest has once again highlighted the catastrophic dam- ages that flooding can cause. Yet a survey conducted for the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) revealed that only 17 percent of Americans have a flood insurance policy. …
To conclude the Liberty Mutual ruling marks the end of the Spitzer era may be wishful thinking. Liberty Mutual downplayed its recent victory when the New York Supreme Court declared that contingent commission agreements are not illegal. “Contingent commission agreements …
Scott Addis’ biggest pet peeve is the way consumers perceive insurance agents. After an unpleasant encounter with a stranger at a cocktail party, who upon learning that Addis was an insurance broker rather than a certified public accountant or an …
Large, regional brokers won’t be immune from the cyclical downturn hitting many sectors of the insurance industry. Although geographic and product-line diversification will offer some protection from the insurance slump and a few brokers report success in negotiating higher commission …
providing [the Department of Insurance] a well-crafted response. Receiving a letter from the California Department of Insurance concerning a customer’s complaint is truly an unsettling experience for many agents. The initial response for many agents upon receiving the complaint letter …
The continued steady subprime and credit crisis-related lawsuit filing level suggests that the litigation wave will continue during the second half of 2008. Is litigation stemming from the subprime- and credit crisis-related activity increasing directors’ and officers’ insurance premiums? Despite …
People think and act differently when they’re owners. They take more ability to shape the outcome of the company. Privately-owned companies can be more nimble in the marketplace, and this is very important today. [Warren Buffett] operates with a high …
One of the nation’s largest insurance companies is lobbying Congress for permission to sell policies that cover damage from both wind and flood water, a plan billed as a way for insurers and homeowners to avoid costly litigation after disasters …
Large regional insurance brokers won’t be immune from the cyclical downturn hitting many sectors of the insurance industry. Although geographic and product-line diversification will offer some protection and a few brokers report success in negotiating higher commission rates, some experts …
In both Mississippi and Louisiana, the principal argument in support of the alleged ambiguity was that the flood waters during Hurricane Katrina were pushed ashore by wind, a covered peril, and the flood exclusion did not clearly exclude this ‘storm …
