With consumers’ credit scores dropping as lenders tighten credit terms, insurance consumer advocates are stepping up their criticism of the use of credit scores by insurance companies. They are also warning insurers that they could lose business and consumer confidence …
In the midst of the financial turbulence, it’s easy to lose sight of longer-term trends. The economic downturn doesn’t necessarily mean the end of certain industries, but it does imply that there are some changes ahead. The global property/casualty (P/C) …
U.S. life insurers, already weakened by the global financial crisis, are expected to report their worst-ever quarterly results in the coming weeks, stoking expectations that federal funds will be needed to prevent the sector from becoming the next casualty of …
“Recent insurer downgrades and financial woes have raised the level of counterparty risk to buyers who are becoming increasingly concerned that their insurers may not pay out on their insurance contract when they are supposed to,” notes Willis Group Holdings …
Trade credit insurer Coface notes that the current “credit crisis, which entered its second phase in the fourth quarter of 2008, is worsening in all regions. After observing a decline in the average financial strength of companies in 22 countries …
Property/casualty insurers remained profitable in 2008 despite taking hits from several catastrophes, the recession and the ongoing financial crisis. P/C insurers earned $2.4 billion in net income after taxes in 2008, but profits and profitability both tumbled as catastrophe losses, …
The 16-member Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) issued a statement that it “welcomes the European Commission (EC) Report in favor of renewal of the Insurance Block Exemption Regulation (BER).” The EC has been examining whether this exemption, which …
When it comes to an agency’s satisfaction with its personal lines insurance companies, commissions do not rank as tops. Nor do commissions rank second. In fact, out of six satisfaction factors, compensation from an insurer ranks dead last, according to …
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and a North Carolina insurance company have reached a settlement barring the company from using what Coakley described as unfair ratings practices. Occidental Fire and Casualty Insurance Co. has filed a rating plan to begin …
Northumberland, Pennsylvania-based Keystone Insurers Group has hired five new executives and restructured its top management team in a move aimed at boosting growth and enhancing services, the company said. Ralph Sitterson, previously vice president of claims at Berkley-Mid Atlantic Group, …
