Reinsurance rates have decreased by as much as 10 percent as of the Jan. 1 renewals, as two leading reinsurance brokers indicated there are reasons for concern in the marketplace.

Liberty Mutual reached an agreement with two state attorneys general to pay a total of $7.5 million to settle allegations it engaged in a bid-rigging and kickback scheme with insurance brokers.

Two groups of forecasters are predicting another busy hurricane season this year after coming off nearly spot-on predictions for a very active 2010 season.

One thing is clear going into 2011. While there are signs of economic improvement there is no doubt that there are plenty of challenges that lie ahead for the year.

Liberty Mutual reached an agreement with two state attorneys general to pay a total of $7.5 million to settle allegations it engaged in a bid-rigging and kickback scheme with insurance brokers.

Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that the climate change critics are right--that climate change, aka global warming, is junk science.

Three major themes of the challenges facing property and casualty insurance agents in 2011 come under the headings of managing finances, technology and political mandates.

With each new year, there is the hope that the previous year's problems will fade into the distant past. Often, however, the reality is that those issues remain present challenges.