National Underwriter P&C May 9, 2011
Cover Story
Death Of bin Laden Doesn’t Lessen Terror Threat
Insurance-industry experts are cautioning that the death of Osama bin Laden does not represent the end of the terrorism threat for the United States. The threat, in fact, may worsen if terrorists seek to execute a reprisal attack.
Market Report
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No Red Alerts In Program-Biz Segment
In spite of competitive conditions in the specialty program business segment, an insurance industry analyst doesn’t see any flashing red alerts signaling major troubles ahead for program carriers so far in 2011.
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TMPAA Carrier Scores Less Volatile
Using his firm’s scoring method to gauge insurers’ financial strength, ALIRT Principal David Paul notes that specialty-insurer composite scores are less volatile than composites for the entire commercial-insurance industry over the long term.
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Program Administrators To Gather At TMPAA Midyear
Mark your calendars! NU provides highlights of the upcoming Target Market Program Administrators Midyear Meeting in Boston.
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Small Products Fuel Recent Growth For Distinguished Programs, Exec Says
Jeremy Hitzig, CEO of Distinguished Programs and 2011 president of the Target Market Program Administrators Association, describes his firm’s strategies for achieving growth and efficiency, as well as ongoing initiatives at TMPAA.
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Economic Crisis Launch Was Perfectly Timed For MGA Startup V3, CEO Says
It may have seemed like horrible timing when Susan Rivera was starting up a program business-focused MGA in late 2009, but there were several advantages to launching in the wake of a global financial crisis and about six years into a soft property and casualty insurance market, she says.
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More Good Timing
The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan are spurring interest in the earthquake Difference In Conditions (DIC) product at V3 Insurance Partner, according to President and CEO Susan Rivera.
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Workers’ Comp Reserve Risk: Is It The Cat Lurking On Your Balance Sheet?
Traditional loss reserving methods that assume past loss development patterns will repeat produced initial loss estimate that were 25 percent too low for some years during the last soft market, say Guy Carpenter, arguing for the use of modern statistical approaches.
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London Players Assess Japan EQ Impact On Global Market
Is it time for a market turn? What, if any coverages written in the London market are showing signs of firming?
News
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Commercial-Lines Prices Moderating, But Soft Market Hangs On
Recent commercial-lines reports point to a slowing of the prolonged soft market, but experts are hesitant to declare the onset of a hard market or even to guess whether the price stabilization will last.
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Marsh Survey: Executives Expect More From Risk Managers
C-suite executives expect risk managers to better explain risks and solutions and become more involved and integrated in daily activities, according to a recent survey.
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RIMS Embraces Strategic Risk Management
An emerging discipline—strategic risk management (SRM)—was defined and recognized by the Risk and Insurance Management Society at its annual conference here.
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Amid Tighter Restrictions, Environmental Gaps Appear
With more businesses operating globally and environmental restrictions tightening, environmental-coverage gaps could leave risk managers vulnerable, Aon executives say.
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EQECAT Says $2-5 Billion In Insured Losses From Tornadoes
Storms that spawned deadly tornadoes in the South from April 19 to April 27 are expected to cause between $2 billion and $5 billion in insured losses, according to modeling firm EQECAT.
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Views Differ On Fate Of State Farm-Serviced NFIP Policies
Whether State Farm captive agents will continue to be allowed to service flood-insurance policies currently placed through them will be on the agenda when the full House Financial Services Committee takes up legislation reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Opinion
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Remembering
During a week that had an abundance of news stories directly impacting property and casualty insurers, NU’s editors had a choice to make regarding what to feature on the cover of this edition.
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Happy Memories: NU Thanks Van Zandt, Emrich & Cary Inc.
Late last month, I received an e-mail with an unusual subject line: “1947 Commemorative 50th anniversary edition.”
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Agency-Acquisition Market Heating Up?
Recent data suggest that the agency-acquisition market may be heating up.
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Investors Warm Up To P&C Insurers, Challenges Remain
The second round of P&C earnings reports for the first quarter reveal differing strategies for the challenging workers’ comp line, struggles for regionals and rising retention rates for many primary carriers. The last trend may suggest the market is bottoming, P&C Insurance Analyst William Wilt notes.
