Articles by Mark Hollmer

Hollmer is a former Carrier Management editor and writer and veteran industry journalist based in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Surplus Lines Rate Hikes to Slow As Competition Grows

Two insurance rating entities see slowing rate increases for the surplus lines segment in the coming months as competition grows. Moody’s Investors Service said that the U.S. excess and surplus lines sector is experiencing growth and strong profitability, thanks to …

Allianz to Assume Fireman’s Fund Commercial Lines; Future of Personal Lines Uncertain

German insurance giant Allianz said it will absorb the commercial lines business of its U.S. subsidiary Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. into one of its own global divisions. Meanwhile, after days of declining to comment, Allianz has acknowledged it is considering …

Commercial Price Increase Slowdown Carried Into Q2 with Few Exceptions

Commercial insurance prices continued to moderate in the 2014 second quarter. This time, they inched up 3 percent in aggregate, versus a 4 percent increase in the first three months of this year, a new Towers Watson survey concluded. Thus …

China Investment Firm Fosun Buying Stake In Ironshore

An investment group from China will buy a big stake in in Ironshore Inc., a billion-dollar insurance holding company led by former AIG executives that filed plans for a $100 million IPO in June. Fosun International Ltd. has agreed to …

Nationwide Mutual P/C Felt Pain of June Storms

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.’s property/casualty arm performed solidly in the 2014 second quarter, despite the Polar Vortex and major storm activity that hampered earnings over the first six months of the year. The Ohio-based privately-held mutual insurer booked more than …

Will Energy Firm Executives Be Sued for Ignoring Climate Change?

Environmental groups said executives of coal, oil, gas and other “fossil fuel” companies could be held liable and risk lawsuits if they support groups that deny climate change and resist policies to fight it. In the current legal environment, however, …

House Chairman Vows to Have Bipartisan TRIA Renewal Bill Ready Next Month

The chairman of crucial U.S. House subcommittee said a bipartisan bill of its own that will renew the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, or TRIA, will be unveiled in June. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, disclosed as much on May 20, in …

Troubled Tower Cuts Ties with PwC; Fitch Withdraws Ratings

Tower Group International has fired PricewaterhouseCoopers as its accounting firm, six months after announcing it would restate previously filed financial statements for 2011 and 2012 due to “inadvertent mistakes.” The move comes in the wake of Tower’s disclosure late last …

W.R. Berkley Posts Q1 Gains But Cites ‘Painfully Competitive’ Reinsurance

For W.R. Berkley Corp., sobering results from its global reinsurance division were a blemish on an otherwise successful 2014 first quarter, during which the Greenwich, Conn.-based company enjoyed overall gains in net income, gross premiums written and returns on equity. …

Insurance Industry Welcomes Terrorism Bill But Not Co-Pay Hike

Insurance industry lobbying groups are hopeful that the bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate on April 10 to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, or TRIA, will have a better chance for passage than some of the earlier House attempts. …