E&S/Specialty

Investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said mergers and acquisitions accelerated during the 2010 second half, indicating that larger companies with abundant capital are looking for "opportunistic growth."

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) voted unanimously to pass a resolution supporting The National Conference of Insurance Legislators'

Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. announced late last month that it has launched a new U.S. Contract Binding Authority unit to operate within Endurance American Specialty Insurance Company, Endurance's U. S. surplus lines insurer.

Ryan Specialty Group, LLC said its wholesale brokerage unit, R-T Specialty, LLC, has acquired OakBridge Insurance Services, LLC.

There are in excess of 35,000 independent insurance agents and brokers in the United States, and the vast majority of them are privately held.

Corporate America and trial lawyers are anxiously awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear an appeal in a discrimination lawsuit case involving thousands of women seeking class-action status against Wal-Mart.