Economy News

From Zero to 200 in 5

The Rise of Kansas City-based Ascension Insurance Len Kline and his business partners, the private equity firms Parthenon Capital and Century Capital Management, had an ambitious goal when they created Kansas City, Mo.-based Ascension Insurance Inc. in late 2007. They …

East Meets West

The Hanover Group Expands Out West, Enters Agreement With OneBeacon The Hanover Insurance Group Inc.’s CEO Frederick H. Eppinger expects the western United States to be a key growth driver for the super-regional insurer in the next several years. Having …

Small Businesses at Risk: A Growing Market for Employment Practices Liability Coverage

Small business owners are at risk from employment-related charges and lawsuits. Workplace discrimination claims are at an all-time high and small business owners feel vulnerable. Yet, although a recent survey showed that most are worried they might face an employment-related …

Trends for 2010

Soft Market, Economy, Taxes and the Producer Dilemma on the Frontlines for Agents To be proactive, one needs to understand and exploit current and future trends. Most trends can be predicated by understanding recurring cycles and applying that knowledge to …

Construction Specialists See Slow Recovery in 2010

Bright Spots for Commercial Contractors; Tough Times for Residential Market Construction insurance specialists say market improvement in 2010 for the construction industry will be slow for most sectors — even so opportunities do exist. Publicly funded construction projects have seen …

Insurance Surcharge Proposed To Fund Calif. Fire Suppression Efforts

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has submitted to the Legislature his proposed 2010-11 budget — and called for “greater reductions in nearly every aspect of state government than were necessary in 2009.” “With our national economy still struggling to recover, California, …

Uneven Expectations

Economy to Recover in Some States Before Others The most recent reports of property/casualty insurers indicate a return to profits, thanks in large measure to a quiet hurricane season. But behind the rosy reports is a thorny problem — that …

N.Y. Fed Sought to Limit AIG Disclosures of Bank Payments

The New York Federal Reserve Bank under Timothy Geithner urged insurer AIG in late 2008 to limit disclosures about its payments to banks after getting a $180 billion government bailout, emails released Thursday showed. The email exchanges, between the New …

Los Angeles Workers Face More Wage, Labor Violations Than N.Y., Chicago

Low-wage workers in Los Angeles experience more wage and labor violations than low-wage workers in Chicago and New York, a new study by the UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment has found. The survey found that low-wage workers …

Lloyd’s Analyzes New and Changing Risks

The start of a new decade is always a time to take stock in what the past has brought, and what the future may bring. As part of its “360 Risk Insight” series, Lloyd’s of London queried “a cross section …