Articles by Ben Berkowitz

Despite Losses, Insurers Not Hiking Prices Broadly

Despite more than $100 billion in disaster losses around the world this year, insurers are not yet experiencing a broad and sustained increase in pricing power, defying predictions from a year ago that even half those losses would be enough …

Despite Losses, Insurers Not Hiking Prices Broadly

Despite more than $100 billion in disaster losses around the world this year, insurers are not yet experiencing a broad and sustained increase in pricing power, defying predictions from a year ago that even half those losses would be enough …

Berkshire Hathaway Q3 Profit Falls on Derivatives

Warren Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported a smaller third-quarter profit Friday after losing more than $2 billion on derivatives related to stock market performance. That was nearly three times what Berkshire lost on the same instruments a year ago. …

Travelers Latest to Add to Asbestos Reserves

Travelers Cos. is the latest large insurance company to say the asbestos problem, which the industry was supposed to have put behind it long ago, has not gone away and may be getting worse. Travelers put 25 percent more into …

Chartis CEO Says Europe Still Safe; Insurer Seeks ‘Value Over Volume’

AIG’s global property and casualty insurer Chartis continues to see opportunities in Europe despite the sovereign debt crisis, the chief executive of the unit said in an interview last Friday. Peter Hancock also said Chartis is pursuing a strategy of …

Transatlantic in Talks with New, Undisclosed Bidder

Transatlantic Holdings said Monday it has entered into deal talks with an undisclosed bidder, adding a fresh twist in a months-long takeover saga and sending the reinsurer’s shares up sharply. For nearly four months, Transatlantic has been the subject of …

Mortgages At Risk If Flood Insurance Program Expires

The federal program that insures homes against flood damage expires next Friday and is at risk of not being renewed, even as an early fall storm threatens to inundate much of the northeastern United States yet again. Industry executives say …

Irene Water Damage Worse Than Wind: Ipsos/Reuters Poll

The number of people in the Northeastern United States who suffered water damage from Hurricane Irene is more than double the number who suffered wind damage, an Ipsos/Reuters poll showed Thursday. Yet two weeks after the storm struck, only 6 …

How Federal Reserve’s Move Hurts Life Insurers

The Federal Reserve’s latest move to stimulate credit for consumers and businesses, known as Operation Twist, is likely to threaten the earnings of some of the country’s largest insurers for years to come. Wall Street in the past week has …

President Obama Endorses House Flood Insurance Bill in Deficit Plan

President Barack Obama endorsed key elements of a U.S. flood insurance reform bill passed by the House in the tax and deficit plan he unveiled Monday, even as the reform has stalled in the Senate without a clear path forward. …