October 8, 2012
Despite catastrophic events in 2011, low investment yields and competitive pressures, surplus lines specialists — especially market leaders — generated healthy operating profits and returns on both revenue and surplus. And once again, the surplus lines sector outpaced the results …
October 8, 2012
Media reports notwithstanding, the U.S. economy, while sluggish, is not in danger of going over the fiscal cliff. That’s according to a couple of insurance industry executives, who say that private sector job hiring is up, the housing industry is …
October 8, 2012
Florida’s state-backed property insurer is considering for the first time investing in private insurers to the tune of $350 million, with the hopes these insurers would then take on up to 300,000 of its policies. The move is an attempt …
October 8, 2012
Workers’ compensation reform has arrived — or is arriving to be more accurate — in California. When Gov. Jerry Brown last month signed Senate Bill 863, which is designed to increase disability benefits for injured workers while taking a bite …
October 8, 2012
Owners are the firm’s leaders and need to set the right example and tone for the rest of the people in the firm. If they do not set their compensation based on what they are each doing, resentment can occur …
October 8, 2012
New Jersey motorists have another reason to frown about their driver’s license photos. The state has banned motorists from making big smiles because such expressions don’t work with facial recognition software. The facial recognition technology is used to scan 18 …
October 8, 2012
Poor results in the long-term care insurance sector have led many providers to exit the market, leaving its future uncertain, Moody’s Investors Service says. Moody’s report, “Long-Term Care Insurance: Sector Profile,” says despite the need for non-medical coverage by an …
October 8, 2012
It is approximately four weeks before the Presidential election. There is a very good chance that an insurance agency principal will wake up on Wednesday, November 7, and suddenly realize that it is time to sell or perpetuate the agency …
October 8, 2012
They may not like it, but they don’t see it going away. About 7 in 10 Americans think President Barack Obama’s health care law will go fully into effect with some changes, ranging from minor to major alterations, an Associated …
October 8, 2012
Investments from the capital markets in various forms now provide around 14 percent of the total capital dedicated to providing reinsurance – approximately $35 billion [$17 billion in cat bonds] out of $250 billion. The question remains whether this poses …