E&S/Specialty

Crop insurers said late Thursday the industry and the crop insurance program will be able to "withstand" the severe cuts in subsidies imposed on the program by the Agriculture Department.

The House took an important step toward reforming financial services industry regulation last night, passing legislation that would for the first time establish a federal office designed to deal with insurance activities.

OneBeacon Insurance Group said it has completed the sale of its traditional personal lines business to Tower Group, Inc.

Although reinsurance prices were down for the June 1 renewals, one reinsurance executive recently speculated that price hikes in the insurance loss warranty (ILW) market

One catastrophe risk management firm said there is more than a 40 percent chance that by the end of August, at least a tropical storm will pass over

In the amateur sports insurance world, technology has proven to be an invaluable aid in the distribution of the product, making sales easier and providing services quickly and easily for agents and clients to access.

Surplus lines producers who previously saw technology as a source of disruption to their business model, and retail agents who once had limited access to global specialty markets, are having their needs addressed, executives said here.

Retail brokers may start seeking larger cuts of the commissions paid out on surplus lines transactions as the soft market continues, a specialty lines insurance executive suggested recently.