Commercial Lines

All indicators point to continued firming of the insurance and reinsurance markets for the rest of this year into next, as underwriting margins continue to deteriorate and investments deliver lackluster returns, an analysts report says.

Property and casualty insurer Cincinnati Financial Corp estimated a significantly lower impact due to catastrophe losses during the second quarter and said it expects to continue to benefit from favorable pricing trends.

In this weekly segment, we bring you the top stories from PropertyCasualty360.com for the week. Click to see the top stories for the week of July 9, 2012.

Catastrophe losses for the first half of 2012 were mild compared to the previous year and notably below the 10 year average, according to a report from German insurer Munich Re.

Strict new capital rules for European Union insurers could be delayed after talks aimed at ironing out disagreements over the final shape of the so-called Solvency II regime ended fruitlessly, Britain's insurance industry lobby said.

National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. says it has $33 million in municipal bond exposure to the city of San Bernardino, Calif., as the city becomes the third in the state this year to file for bankruptcy protection.