Traffic can be hard to stand, but two suspects threw fraud in the mix, and now it's a real lock-up.

Itasca, Ill.-based insurance firm Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it has acquired St. Paul, Minn.-based consulting firm Fox Lawson & Associates, LLC. Terms of the deal were not released.

The property and casualty insurance industry in general supports creating a Federal Office of Insurance, according to testimony yesterday before Congress, but some trade groups are at odds on its scope.

National Underwriter is about to release results of a new survey of top-rated commercial lines writers--valuable information for insurance buyers with renewals in the works. Find out how to get a sneak preview at www.NoRiskZone.com .

Nationwide Insurance Company is proposing the creation of a government backstop for insurers willing to offer a homeowners policy for both wind and flood coverage.

Insurance regulators are proposing their own draft measure to Congress modernizing state oversight of reinsurance.

Health care reform legislation that the insurance industry can support took a giant step forward last week when the U.S. Senate Finance Committee rejected two amendments that would create a "public option" to compete with private carriers.

Rating agencies betrayed not only the public trust "but also their special status under our laws," the chair of a House Financial Services Subcommittee charged last week.