As the lawsuit over the amount of the recovery from destruction of World Trade Center’s twin towers plays out in Judge Michael Mukasey’s federal courtroom, Standard & Poor’s came up with another kind of verdict. The rating agency doesn’t anticipate …
A recent report issued by the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) on the use of credit-based insurance scoring found no basis for any conclusion that credit history is skewed toward ethnic minorities or low-income individuals. The study actually indicates that there …
The New York Senate’s Standing Committee on Insurance, chaired by James L. Seward, R-District 51, held hearings last month regarding growing concerns about insurance fraud, particularly staged accidents, that abuse the state’s no-fault auto insurance system. As summarized in a …
The MONY Group Inc. postponed the shareholder meeting that was to vote on a merger with French insurance company AXA, after a Delaware court decided that the company must explain the deal better to shareholders. The special meeting to vote …
Insurance Services Office Inc.’s (ISO) A-PLUS unit has unveiled a new service insurers can use to cross-check policyholders against a U.S. Department of the Treasury master watch list to ensure that customers are not conducting business with persons and entities …
An article in the Feb. 9 issue incorrectly stated that New Jersey carriers have appointed 500,000 new agents since auto insurance reform legislation was enacted last year. Only 500 new agents have been appointed, according to the office of Gov. …
I’ve sat in classes taught by Jim Harrison (insert two dozen professional designations here), one of the best insurance educators in the country. He has this little shtick that wakes up the class. He tells an ugly commercial liability claim …
Silicon Valley operatives like to gloat about a shrinking independent agency system. Today there are 42,000 independent agencies in the U.S., down from 46,000 in 1992. Nearly three out of 10 independent agencies have been involved in a merger or …
They’re scrutinized by regulators. They’re under the gun from companies trying to figure out ways to go around them. They face fierce competition in a buyer’s market. They see companies appointing agents left and right again, often diminishing their role. …
A couple of months ago we talked here about the coming consolidation of insurance companies. But instead of constricting markets for agents and brokers, you’ll have more markets than ever. Those ridiculous minimum-premium rules will be replaced by technology that …
