April 23, 2007
Congressional hearings examine the need for national disaster solution Two U.S. Senate committees — the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation — met this month to examine the response of the …
April 18, 2007
Another report on the insurance industry confirms and details what has been widely acknowledged: a sharp decline in catastrophes in 2006 contributed to improved underwriting results for the year. The U.S. property/casualty industry posted a $31.2 billion net gain on …
April 17, 2007
Alabama Governor Bob Riley and state agency leaders huddled this week to review Alabama’s plans for the upcoming hurricane season, which begins June 1. The state leaders joined officials from FEMA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National …
April 13, 2007
Warning of another looming hurricane season, lawmakers including Florida Gov. Charlie Crist pleaded this week in Washington for a national catastrophe fund to help stabilize an insurance industry that they say has gone berserk in coastal areas. The Bush administration …
April 11, 2007
The private insurance marketplace, not the federal government, is the best vehicle to address coastal insurance issues and natural disasters in the U.S., according to insurers. Even so, the federal government can play a role in efforts to reduce affordability …
April 10, 2007
Renee McDaniel is not unlike many residents on the Mississippi Gulf Coast: Her home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, her family is packed into a government-issue trailer and her insurer paid just enough to replace the battered roof on her …
April 9, 2007
The government’s role in insurance markets is a matter of increasing importance and controversy. Historically, state insurance departments have regulated insurers and insurance markets, overseeing solvency, rate and form regulation, and consumer protection. More recently, however, the state itself is …
April 9, 2007
The government’s role in insurance markets is a matter of increasing importance and controversy. Historically, state insurance departments have regulated insurers and insurance markets, overseeing solvency, rate and form regulation, and consumer protection. More recently, however, the state itself is …
April 9, 2007
Agents generally support legislation, but insurers caution changes could result in additional costs U.S. Reps. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., and Barney Frank, D-Mass., introduced bipartisan legislation to revamp the National Flood Insurance Program that boosts the program’s borrowing authority to $21.5 …
April 9, 2007
Insurers fight impression their big profits are at claimants’ expense The headline numbers were eye-popping: Allstate reported a record $5 billion profit for 2006. State Farm Insurance’s profit climbed 65 percent. St. Paul Travelers’ earnings rose sixfold in the fourth …