The House Capital Markets Subcommittee [wants] to learn about the causes and effects of recent bond insurer ratings downgrades. We will, in particular, focus on the spillover effects for municipalities and the financial services industry. Bond insurance represents a microscopic …
For years, property casualty (P/C) agencies have been making the jump into offering personal insurance — life, long-term care and disability — as an adjunct to their traditional products. Brokers have realized that the same people to whom they sell …
Ronald Evano took great pains to bilk insurers. Literally. The self-described gypsy shook down insurers, restaurants, bars and other businesses along the East Coast by swallowing broken glass and claiming the shards were lodged in food and drink he’d been …
The best crisis plan in the world is useless if it sits on a shelf. A company’s employees — from the top down — must be ready to put the plan into action on a moment’s notice. That takes communication …
The best crisis plan in the world is useless if it sits on a shelf. A company’s employees — from the top down — must be ready to put the plan into action on a moment’s notice. That takes communication …
On Dec. 26, President George W. Bush signed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 to reauthorize the federal backstop for seven years. First and foremost, reauthorization of TRIA means it is working. Without a federal backstop, the …
It’s that time of year — predictions about everything from the economy to politics run rampant with a new year. Predicting the future is never easy. But there are some issues facing the independent agency system in 2008 that are …
Funds fulfill statutory promise to protect policyholders At the heart of every property and casualty insurance contract lies a promise to soften the blow of misfortune. But what happens when an insurance company becomes financially troubled, fails and is no …
Federal antitrust laws are intended to ensure a competitive market by prohibiting companies from acting in concert with each other, such as through price-fixing or sharing arrangements that exclude other competitors. The McCarran-Ferguson Act delegated to the states oversight of …
After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the market for commercial property and liability insurance in large urban areas was in turmoil, as reinsurance for terrorism became expensive and scarce. Congress responded in 2002 with a federal backstop — …
