United States News

America’s Best Independent Agencies to Work For

Salaries and Benefits Lead but Quality of People and Relationships Win Votes, Too The results are in from the 2010 Best Independent Insurance Agency to Work For survey by Insurance Journal. The owners of the Best Agencies to Work For …

U.S. P/C Reinsurers’ Premiums Decrease $12.8B in First Half of 2010 A group of 19 U.S.-based property/casualty reinsurers wrote $12.3 billion of net premiums during the six-months ended June 30, 2010, a decrease from the $12.8 billion net premiums written …

Judge Urges BP Oil Disaster Litigants to Settle, Avoid Trial

The U.S. judge overseeing the hundreds lawsuits filed by shrimpers, restaurateurs and others against BP Plc and its partners as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill urged the parties on Thursday to consider an agreement to avoid …

BP, Partners Say Most Oil Victims Should Not Be Allowed to Sue Yet

BP Plc and its partners in the blown-out Gulf well said on Monday that thousands of fishermen, seafood processors, restaurants, hotel owners and others may not yet have the right to sue over the spill, according to court papers. BP …

Hurricane Karl Bears Down on Mexico’s Gulf Coast

Hurricane Karl bore down on Mexico’s central Gulf Coast on Friday, threatening to cause flash floods and mudslides, but it appeared to have spared Mexican offshore oil operations from major damage. Karl, which was projected to produce a storm surge …

P/C Insurers Post First Half Profit Despite Underwriting Losses

Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes rose to $16.5 billion in first-half 2010 from $6 billion in first-half 2009, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their annualized rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus increasing to 6.3 …

Karl Now a Hurricane, Heads for Eastern Mexico; Igor Threatens Bermuda

Hurricane Karl formed in the southern Gulf of Mexico Thursday and gained strength as it headed across Mexico’s offshore oil patch. No damage was reported at Mexican oil drilling platforms and state-run oil giant Pemex has not curtailed operations, but …

US to Host Major Economies Climate Forum in New York

The United States will host a meeting of the world’s biggest economies in New York to discuss climate change on Monday and Tuesday [next week], the U.S. State Department said. The Major Economies Forum will bring together 16 of the …

MarketScout Wholesale Adds New Hires in Dallas and Austin Locations

Dallas-based MarketScout Wholesale (MSW) has added Kari Luttrell as vice president of operations and Frank Giarratano as a broker in its Dallas office. Paige Bryant also joined the company as underwriter in MSW’s Dallas office as well. MSW also establed …

XL Looks Cheap; Bermuda Ties May Attract Offers

It’s cash-rich, led by a CEO with political aspirations, and was last year’s top S&P 500 performer. Pressured by soft pricing and slow premium growth, (re)insurer XL Group is also undervalued, analysts say, and a prime target for a bidder …