Commercial Lines

Industry officials believe the House will accept the 60-day National Flood Insurance Program extension the Senate passed yesterday, but an ultimatum in that bill could give the House pause.

With 2012s first quarter in the books, executives and industry observers have noted that property and casualty pricing remains on the upswing. Following are observations from industry leaders made during conference calls and in recent analyses in response to 2012 first-quarter results.

The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season will be "near normal" with nine to 15 tropical storms and four to eight of those will strengthen into hurricanes, the U.S. government weather agency predicted on Thursday.

The Senate passed a 60-day National Flood Insurance Program extension as part of an agreement between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La. to move a five-year program extension bill to the Senate floor.

Sen. David Vitter, R.-La., today introduced a five-year National Flood Insurance Program extension in the form of an amendment to bipartisan drug legislation.

Catastrophe modeler EQECAT says the earthquake in Northern Italy on May 20 will cause about $127 million in insured losses.