Recently added articles from Best's Review:
Money matters.(From the Editor's Desk)(Editorial)
Sep 01, 2008; Goch, Lynna ... As a New Jersey resident, I look to the Department of Banking and Insurance to keep an eye on auto and homeowners insurance rates; however, state insurance regulators take on many more tasks. They ensure the financial health of insurance companies, review and approve rates and license ...
Quote/unquote.(Comment)(Quotation)
Sep 01, 2008 ... "Axa's business strategy, is built to withstand severe economic conditions." Henri de Castries Chairman, Management Board Axa [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "A very small fraction of each of the risks is taken by quite a large number of reinsurers each ...
Clarifications.(Correction notice)
Sep 01, 2008 ... In the "Quality Business" story that appeared on page 49 of the July issue, the sumgraph should read "The Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. has maintained an A.M. Best Co. financial strength rating of A or higher since 1928.'" In the "Top 200 Life/Health Writers" story that ...
Vacant-property insurance sales go through the roof.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008; Hemenway, Chad ... The skyrocketing rate of U.S. foreclosures has provided endless headaches for lenders, but the failures are actually creating opportunities for insurance wholesalers. RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, reported 220,000 homes were taken by bank ...
Olympic-size risks.(London Calling)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: OLYMPIC-SIZE RISKS: As the Beijing summer games got under way, insurers studied the spectacle for ideas on how to provide coverage for the XXX Olympiad in London in 2012. "People are looking at insurance for the London Games already," said ...
Bell leaves Alabama post.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Walter Bell resigns )(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008; Carr, Sean P. ... Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell resigned last month, drawing kudos from colleagues and some criticism from a competitor. Howard Mills, New York State's insurance commissioner from 2005 to '07, recalled Bell as a strong presence during the National Association of ...
Worth repeating.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Quotation)
Sep 01, 2008; Wedbush, Ed ... "You buy your straw hats in the winter." --Ed Wedbush, president of Los Angeles-based Wedbush Morgan Securities, noting ...
Credit concerns hit captives' portfolios.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008; Dankwa, David ... A direct effect of the credit crisis on captive insurance companies has been that fronting insurers have increased collateral requirements and are more closely scrutinizing the types of investments within the required collateral or trust. Whereas before the credit departments of ...
Oil companies' risks grew in '08.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(Survey)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008; Jones, Marc ... Oil companies face a range of potential risks, from energy price volatility and the availability of oil and gas resources to terrorism and other supply-chain threats, according to a new report from broker Marsh. Marsh surveyed national oil companies in February to see how the ...
NAIC posts receivership web page.(Briefing: Highlights From BestWeek)(www.NAIC.org)(The National Association of Insurance Commissioners)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008; Carr, Sean ... The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has released its online Global Receivership Information Database (GRID), an online clearinghouse with information on more than 1,200 receiverships, provided by all U.S. states and the District of Columbia. GRID is a voluntary ...
Indianapolis has sued 15 insurance companies for reimbursement of $5 million used to clean up hazardous materials at an old manufacturing site.(Litigation)
Sep 01, 2008 ... INDIANAPOLIS HAS SUED 15 insurance companies for reimbursement of $5 million used to clean up hazardous materials at an old manufacturing site. Defendants reportedly include Aetna Casualty & Surety Company of Illinois, Arkwright Mutual Insurance Co., Employers Insurance ...
The U.S. government.(Reinsurance)(ZimRe Holdings Ltd.)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008 ... THE U.S. GOVERNMENT has frozen the assets of Zimbabwean investment and reinsurance holding company ZimRe Holdings as part of American efforts to pressure the regime of Robert ...
New York State.(Regulatory)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008 ... NEW YORK STATE will enact a law in January limiting the ability of insurers to deny coverage based on delayed notice of a claim, unless the delay caused demonstrable harm to the insurance company's ability to ...
Blue Cross gets favorable prognosis.(By the Numbers: Recently published Special Reports from A.M. Best Company)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Overall results remained favorable for Blue Cross Blue Shield companies in 2007 and should continue in '08. Only a few insurers are exposed to the subprime and equity markets and ...
Wildfires: bigger, costlier, on the rise.(By the Numbers: Recently published Special Reports from A.M. Best Company)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008 ... After nearly $2 billion in claims from the Southern California wildfires in 2007, insurers face the prospect of another rough wildfire season and growing losses in the years ahead. The past two seasons have been the most severe on record and larger fires are more frequent. (A.M. Best ...
Cycle management: tough act to follow.(By the Numbers: Recently published Special Reports from A.M. Best Company)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008 ... An A.M. Best cycle management study shows how hard it is for property/ casualty insurers to beat their peers' performance consistently. Only 14% of the companies in the study outperformed their composite medians over the most recent soft and hard cycles. (A.M. Best Special Report, Few ...
Meetings.(Briefing)(Calendar)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Sept. 10-13 National Alliance of Life Companies: Fall Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Web site: www.nalc.net Sept. 10-13 National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices: Annual Convention, San Diego Web site: www.napslo.org Sept. 11-14 ...
Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Co. leads as the AMBG declines -23.12% year-to-date.(Briefing: Stock Watch)(A.M. Best's Global Insurance )
Sep 01, 2008 ... The A.M. Best stock indexes cover 176 publicly traded insurance companies and brokers. Companies in the A.M. Best stock indexes include insurers and insurance-related organizations with financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, along with brokers. As of the U.S. market close on Thursday, ...
Genworth joins growing list of GIC probe-linked defendants.(Briefing: Stock Watch)
Sep 01, 2008; Lehmann, R.J. ... Genworth Financial Inc. (A.M. Best # 59197) confirmed last month that it has received subpoenas from Florida and Connecticut in connection with a multistate investigation of alleged bid-rigging in the sale of guaranteed investment contracts to municipalities. The company stud ...
Insurance jobs.(Briefing: Employment)(Statistical table)
Sep 01, 2008 ... U.S. insurance industry payrolls added 2,800 positions from June to July, even as total U.S. nonfarm payrolls declined for the seventh consecutive month and the unemployment rate spiked, according to seasonally adjusted data released Aug. 1 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total ...