Personal Lines

A Washington state man is facing insurance fraud charges after allegedly trying to get an insurance company to pay $20,000 for his pet cat that died in a car accident.

The claims numbers are rolling in as insurers and homeowners begin the painful process of inspecting what remains of the devastation left from the Colorado wildfires that at their height forced 32,000 people to evacuate their homes and left one insurance executive describing his own brush with loss.

Commercial and personal insurance lines pricing continued their upward drive through the month of June as composite rates matched the previous months increases, according to the latest MarketScout barometer.

Improved vehicle design has certainly had some impact on the reduction of accidents, but the decreased number of accidents reported to police agencies is more likely due to financial woes.

Windstorms that exploded through the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic late last week have left thousands without power and insurers dealing with an increasing number of claims that are rising into the tens of thousands.

The Japanese property and casualty insurance industry is expected to improve its earnings within the next year-and-a-half as adjustments the industry has made takes effect, says Moodys Rating Service.