Reinsurance

Workers' compensation insurers and reinsurers are operating in a risky environment similar to the one in the late 1990s that "put a number of workers' comp [insurers and reinsurers] into the grave," according to a Moody's Investors Service report.

Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kansas, has introduced legislation in Congress with strong support from the reinsurance industry that would create a federal license for reinsurers.

Consolidation in the crop insurance sector continued as Everest Re Group, a Bermuda-based insurer, announced Wednesday that it has entered into discussions with Kansas-based Heartland Crop Insurance regarding a potential acquisition.

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."

Reinsurance capital has grown by 17 percent over the end of 2009 primarily on the strength of investment returns, according an Aon Benfield report.

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani slammed ex-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's investigative tactics and defended Maurice "Hank" R. Greenberg, calling him a great man who was unfairly persecuted.