E&S/Specialty

The insurance industry has traditionally been ahead of the curve when it comes to anticipating important trends, getting out in front of large-scale behavioral shifts and rapidly adapting to evolving societal realities.

Global specialty insurer Torus said it has established a managing general agency in Bermuda for its United Kingdom-based excess and surplus lines company, Torus Insurance (UK) Limited.

The Professional Insurance Wholesalers Association of New York State Inc. said Lucas Snyder was elected president of the association at its recent meeting in Pearl River, N.Y.

A federal court has rejected efforts by the president of a firm whose tainted peanut butter killed nine people to obtain coverage over the $1 million limit of his company's directors and officers liability policy.

Pursuing directors and officers claims against investment advisors in connection with the Madoff pyramid scheme could be difficult as multiple Securities and Exchange Commission investigations failed to uncover his fraud, an attorney advised recently.

While recent comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggest the nearly two-year-long recession may be nearing an end, the economic downturn is likely to remain a force behind additional and potentially uninsured risks for a long time.