Loss Control

Hurricane Sandy pounded the Bahamas with battering winds and rain on Friday, sweeping over the island chain after killing 21 people across the Caribbean and posing a menacing threat to the U.S. East Coast.

Tropical Storm Sandy is now a hurricane headed for the south coast of Jamaica and is due to make landfall later in the day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday

Many states have passed laws allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons, creating liability exposures that the prudent employer will not ignore.

A convective storm front on Wednesday caused six tornado touchdowns in Alabama and Arkansas and hail and wind damage in several other states, reports EQECAT, but 2012 has seen fewer of these storm systems than last year, forecasters say.

Reinsurers should take into account the fact that climate change has boosted natural catastrophes when they price weather disaster insurance, insurer Munich Re said.

Hurricane Paul weakened as it closed in on a sparsely populated area of Mexico's Baja peninsula on Tuesday, while Hurricane Rafael was expected to miss Bermuda in the Atlantic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

USAA and Amica Mutual were the only 2 out of 12 insurers included in a recent report to score A or above for protecting clients information when payments are made online.

The low interest rate environment is increasing pressure on Allianz to cut costs because it undermines the insurer's ability to earn adequate returns on investment, Chief Financial Officer Oliver Baete said.