Commercial Lines

After a rough, cat-filled 2011, how do commercial-lines carriers feel about 2012? NU asked several key players for their perspective on which lines offer new opportunities; how they will expand their distribution channels; where carriers will be investing; and how they will handle relationships with risk managers as the...

Catastrophe losses in 2011 led to the U.S. P&C industrys largest underwriting loss since 2002, according to A.M. Best. And while the latest MarketScout barometer shows that 2012 began with another month of commercial-lines rate increases, Best maintains that a true hard market is likely at least a year or...

Most manufacturers approach workplace safety as they did a generation ago, But there are new management systems that can guide employers to 60 to 70 percent reductions in injuries.

The massive and global expansion of demand for wind turbines is good news for manufacturers. But, naturally, these manufacturers, whether large original-equipment manufacturers or smaller component-parts producers, also face a number of risks which can cripple a company wlacking the proper coverage.

With Workers Compensation, the big shift is the medical component of costs exceeding indemnity costs. With Supply Chain risk, its the realization that supply and upstream customer chains can be far more fragile than anticipated in a catastrophe. And for food processors, the emerging challenge is a food-safety law that...

Total insurance-industry employment grew by over 5,000 jobs in December 2011 compared to November, but Insurance Information Institute President Robert Hartwig notes that the big news is not the month-to-month changes, but rather the recalibrating of current and recent industry employment.