News

The continuing soft market is weakening the credit quality of property and casualty insurers, making their future "problematic," according to an analysis released by Moody's Rating Service.

New York-based reinsurance company Transatlantic Holdings Inc. said its second-quarter drop in net income was primarily the result of catastrophe losses, the bulk of which was related to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig incident.

British Petroleum announced that Tony Hayward, the company's chief executive officer, will step down effective Oct. 1.

In this month's contents conundrum, an adjuster finds himself in the challenging position of having to assess the value of a stolen item: a much-coveted animal tranquilizer gun.

New York-based insurance broker Marsh said it has named Elizabeth Francy Demaret to the new position of managing director and multinational client service director.

Alabama has made a three-year agreement with Swiss Re in which Swiss Re will pay the state for wind losses based on documented wind speed in the event of a hurricane.

Montpelier Re reported 2010 second-quarter net income down 57 percent, resulting from a sharp drop in net unrealized investment gains compared to the 2009 second quarter, but the company's operating income grew compared to a year ago.

In 2009, the property and casualty insurance industry recovered from a devastating global financial crisis that had drained 12 percent from policyholder surplus and nearly erased the net income recorded the year before.