A unit of the European Union reached informal agreement last week on Solvency II, a broad framework to enhance insurer capital requirements and supervision. The action drew a positive response with reservations from some insurance segments.

Bills to ease rules for bringing "bad faith" lawsuits in claim disputes have been introduced in a growing number of state legislatures, but so far insurance interests have been winning.

Even as some insurance industry bonuses draw criticism, Jack Windolf, the chief executive officer of Bollinger Insurance Solutions brokerage, is drawing national acclaim for dishing out $1,000 to all 434 company employees from his own pocket.

Loss battered Swiss Re announced today that it has named a new chief operating officer and plans to trim more than 1,000 jobs from its global workforce and close some offices.

An insurance executives' think tank in advance of tomorrow's London G-20 meeting has written finance leaders advising them that any regulatory moves to fix the economic crisis should recognize the difference between banks and insurers.

As discussions heated up over whether to give Washington broad authority to regulate insurers posing systemic risks to the economy, the controversy cooled somewhat last week over retention bonuses paid to players at AIG's Financial Products unit.

A unit of European Union reached informal agreement yesterday on Solvency II, a broad framework to enhance insurer capital requirements and supervision. The action drew a positive response with some reservations from some insurance segments.

There was no discrepancy between American International Group's chief executive approving an expedited payment of bonuses and his remarks that he was unhappy with them, a company spokesperson said yesterday.