September 23, 2008
Universal North America Insurance Co. will begin providing automobile insurance coverage in Arizona and Nevada this month, the company announced. The Universal family of insurance companies already provides homeowners insurance and other coverages to more than 140,000 residents in six …
September 22, 2008
Hawaii Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt announced a new insurance option for homeowners: Universal North America Insurance Co. will offer homeowners (including hurricane option), dwelling, fire and flood policies in the state, with automobile coverage expected to be added in 2009. …
September 22, 2008
Extreme risk modeling firm, EQECAT Inc., and catastrophe risk experts, Risk Management Solutions (RMS), have revised their estimates of insured losses from Hurricane Ike, which hit Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 13. EQECAT has narrowed its estimated onshore insured losses to …
September 22, 2008
Taxpayers In At Least 20 States Could Face Multi-Billion Dollar Tax Burden Natural catastrophe legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and pending in the U.S. Senate would create a multi-billion dollar burden on taxpayers in at least 20 …
September 22, 2008
As Losses Mount for Insurers, More Proposals for a National Solution Emerge Neither Gustav nor Ike walloped the property/casualty insurance industry the way Katrina did but there is still concern in insurance and reinsurance circles over the cumulative effect of …
September 19, 2008
The troubled U.S. flood insurance program would be temporarily extended for seven months under legislation introduced in Congress Thursday, buying time for lawmakers to work out deep disagreements over reforming the debt-burdened program. The short-term extension would prevent the National …
September 19, 2008
Reuters reports that Representative Barney Frank (D – Mass.) has introduced a bill to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) seven months beyond the scheduled September 30, 2008, expiration date to allow lawmakers to iron out “deep disagreements.” Adding …
September 19, 2008
A Texas consumer group took issue with the state-chartered windstorm insurance association over its refusal to pay coastal residents for storm surge damage in Hurricane Ike. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association says it only intends to pay Gulf Coast policyholders …
September 18, 2008
Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the catastrophe risk modeling firm, has refined its estimate for U.S. onshore and offshore insured losses from Hurricane Ike to $7 to $12 billion from its original estimate of $6 to $16 billion. This estimate includes …
September 18, 2008
The American Insurance Association is participating in this week’s conference “Out of the Storm: Confronting America’s Catastrophic Risk Crisis,” organized by the South Carolina Department of Insurance and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The conference, ongoing through Sept. 19 in Hilton …