Commercial Lines

Investors got a chance this week to weigh in on the government's odds of recouping the full $182 billion bailout of American International Group Inc. The response so far: Don't count on it.

Agent associations are criticizing what they say are federal efforts to strip away crop-insurance servicing components from their members.

It's still a buyer's market for insurance on upstream and downstream energy risks, according to a Marsh report. However, uncertainty has developed as reinsurers take heavy losses and natural and man-made catastrophes take their toll.

In today's lending environment, nearly all small and midsize business owners sign a personal guarantee to secure bank financing. This uncomfortable reality—putting a house and other personal assets at risk—can now be mitigated with a new insurance product: personal guarantee insurance.

New rules that expose executives and directors of troubled financial-services institutions to unexpected negative consequences—including the possible loss of their salaries and other compensation—have sparked the creation a new insurance coverage.

With new coverages evolving and the SEC setting its sights on increased enforcement activities, specialty insurance coverage for regulatory investigations is a hot topic among buyers and sellers of management liability insurance. Brokers assess the options and price trends.