E&S/Specialty

NY Yankees Alex Rodriguez--in year two of a 10-year, $275 million contract--sent a scare through the sports contract insurance market when it was announced in March he would need surgery on his hip, costing him at least one-quarter of the baseball season.

Marsh insurance brokerage said today it has established protected cell captive insurance facilities in Washington, D.C. and the Isle of Man.

William R. Berkley, chief executive officer of the W.R. Berkley Corp. specialty lines insurance organization, said the market is turning faster than previously expected, but the initial upward rate hikes will likely be lower than past hard markets.

Wildfires, hurricanes, identity theft and floods. In most cases, these things just happen and can't be predicted. Disasters can strike anyone at any time.

U.S. federal securities class action suits in 2008 rose 29 percent over the previous year fueled by the global financial crisis, according to a consulting firm report released recently.

The cost and overhead of running a private practice have overwhelmed many doctors in recent years.